German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[Brandon Ward]

I hate to be the first post but here goes! I have 2 dogs a 2 yr old gsp and a 5 1\2 month old gwp. I have already introduced birds to the pup and also introduced gunfire no prob. the birds he points very solidly for a pup but only holds for so long before he jumps in. The problem I have is that when I take him to the field he seems to be lagging behind and pays more attention to deer poop then anything. I guess my prob is not a lot of wild birds in Wisc. I have been using chukars for training and he seems to have great instincts so should I just keep planting birds for him and lay off on taking him out with the gsp in the field or ???? He has opened up some but I am afraid that all the time I take him out in the field without finding any birds he might think this is just playing around. Thank you

[cmmilach]

Hi,

I would not be too worried about him smelling deer poop & other things. I have a 4 month old gwp female who I just started on pigeons, she seemed more interested in just chasing them & then picking them up, but I just kept letting her have fun & now she will retrieve to hand.

I also own an eight year old male who is a bird finding machine, but he started out just smelling the ground & chasing rabbits. I would go out & plant birds & then take him out & let him "find" them. After awhile, he would take off like he had been shot out of a cannon looking for the birds.

I live in Colorado & there are no wild birds here, so I to have to use pen raised. Trouble is, he knows he can catch them & creates a whole other problem.

Good Luck!

[dualgwp]

Hang in there with your pup. I would continue to take him out with your older dog and just let him learn what the world is all about. With luck you will run across some wild birds and then you will see the lights come on. It just takes some time, and lots of patience.

Just ignore the poop eating (as difficult as this may be) that too will pass (no pun intended!) The more experience he can get now, the better dog he will be for you in a year or so!

Good luck,
Bernee Brawn
Justa GWP's

[Brandon Ward]

Thank you for the replies. Being new to the breed and training I am really excited about this dog. His demeanor is right on and the dog came from CH NFC lines along with some SH,MH and Companion dog titles as well . obviously the breeding is there Its just a matter of time. He has had a couple exposures to wild pheasants but thats about it for wild birds Thanks again.
Brandon

[Vom Britt]

Brandon,

Dual gave you some good advice. Young pups need as much exposure to real hunting situations as you can possibly give them, IMO. I have a young pup about your age and take her out with the big dogs for at least three hours each day on the weekend. She hasn't pointed a wild bird but has had a number of flash backs for a few seconds when braced. Young pups have a short attention span and we have to recognize and deal with it because at their young age they can do no wrong.

Bob
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Bob