German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[palaga_2k7]

my gwp will not point when in a field...
When training her in my garden wit a pheasant pointing and whoa is no problem but when in a field she hunts like a springer spaniel just dives in and rises the bird without pointing....

[Leadhead]

Without more info it hard to help you, your dog my be site pointing and not using its nose. I would keep the dog on a check cord in the field to maintain control, let her lead you to the bird using the cord to check her from flushing and reinforce the Who! command

[whiskerdog1]

How Old is your Pup?

If more than 10 months, Id use a Checkcord around birds. For now. Every time here on out. Hunting season is over, youve got all Summer to work on.

When she first hits scent, stop her, stroke her and praise her.

Then Flush the bird. No more chasing unless she is still a puppy.
Eventually you will shoot the birds to reward a good point, but use a 22 cap for now when bird hits flight.

Id Use a controlled setting with pigeons or quail planted. Bring dog up into scent cone and watch dogs body language for hitting scent.


Use Command-Whoa at home, on the way to food bowl, in the yard while walking, on a table and on birds.

When she breaks Whoa, pick her up, place her where she first broke and start over. Say WHOA. Then praise her.
Do again and again. Be patient.
_________________
Real men hunt Wire Dogs

[Jon]

I'm laughing because we have all had dogs that decided to point in their own good time. My latest was a young male a few years back that pointed like a demon as a young pup and then went into the bump and chase mode around 8-9 months of age. I took an old setter trialers advice and as a first step took the dog out on a warm day when I got to ND....where I knew there would be pheasants. I watched this young male try to catch birds, run out of sight, drag his sorry butt back with his tongue hanging out for a couple of hours. Had to admire the dog for his toughness...no lack of moxy in that young dog!! The temperature was north of 75 degrees and it was hot in the grass. Finally he held point on a bird and I killed it....and over the next few days, we were able to repeat it several times. That dog was green broke by the time we left ND 3 weeks later...no screaming, electric, yelling "whoa", etc.

Each dog is different...and a good trainer reads the dog and what the right "formula" is....but birds you can't catch combined with the willingness to break the gun and walk til there's a point...is a tried and true method...provided you have the birds, the patience, and the dog is half intelligent.