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Thread: GSP Training

  1. #1
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    Default GSP Training

    I’m sure there’s a few guys who have trained an upland dog so hopefully I can get some advice. I know a little about training dogs for waterfowl, 100% new to pointers.

    I picked up a 5 year old gsp last weekend. He was hunted the first 3 years of his life, even hunted Kansas twice for wild birds. The owner had some personal and health issues, the dog didn’t hunt for the past 2 years, and he sold him.

    He’s collar conditioned, not gun shy, isn’t scared of thick cover in the slightest, acts very birdy, has pointed in the yard a couple of times (unprovoked, no placed scents/birds/wings), he naturally works in front of me at 20-60 yards and the beep of a whistle will bring him back in range if he strays out of that zone. He’s rusty on basic obedience, I’m not going to teach sit, but I am teaching heel (he’s getting better by the day). He sucks with ‘here/come’ unless you give him a few beeps on the whistle and nick him a couple of times on the collar (very receptive on collar, I keep it on 2 or 3). Overall after 4 full days with him, I’m pleasantly surprised and I think he has potential. He’s got a good demeanor as well and does well with my kids and wife. The only major negative is he likes to bark in the kennel, that’s getting straightened out as well (doesn’t bark in a crate).

    The plan is to use him for released birds at my place in Arkansas to have something to do in the afternoons. I’m sure I’ll take him on a hunt for wild birds one day, but vast majority will be pen birds.

    To my questions. I have wings and scent coming in on Friday. I’ve read some places to stay away from this, opinions are welcome. I plan on getting some live birds as well to train with. I have plenty of places to plant birds and train around my house, not too many where I can shoot as well. What’s the go to way to get the rust off of him? A quail launcher?

    My main goal is to not screw him up. If he points, holds, and “hunts” like he does on our walks behind my place, I’ll be happy. He will not be used for waterfowl what so ever.

    Hit me with advice.

  2. #2
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    Teach whoa, teach whoa and teach whoa some more, with distractions and without. I start the whoa command on a training table , then work to the ground with leash, and then without a leash with an E-collar. If you have access to homing pigeons work those in using the remote control traps. You can release pigeons while dog is made to whoa on the table as well. At first keep the pigeons at a distance from dog on the table. You can start releasing them closer to the dog’s face as it gets more steady. If you don’t have a training table a picnic table will also get the job done.

    I will also add I started mine on a place board/box before the table. You can use the board as a foundation when you start placing birds in traps in cover. Put the board upwind from the bird. Once dog gets scent place him on board, give whoa command, wait and increase distance from dog before releasing bird. You will eventually be able to take the board out of the training exercise.

    Feel free to PM me or ask for my cell an I will offer any other advice I can.
    Last edited by CofC Waterfowler; 07-29-2020 at 10:27 PM.

  3. #3
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    Sounds like he’s got a good foundation and just needs reinforcement and work. Once I got mine on real birds I quit with wings and scent. GSP’s are very biddable and naturally want to please. Sounds like you’re doing right so far. And those shitheads can be mouthy. These last two of mine are pets now. I had Cora going good and then Emily got sick and I stopped, I doubt she’d come around now.
    Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.


    You might take out a dozen before they drag you from your home and skull fuck you to death. Marsh Chicken 6/21/2013

  4. #4
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    Most GSPs come pre-configured to point and hunt birds. CofC hit the nail...teach whoa. Whoa not only means stop, it means freeze and maintain a rigid stance. It's a two part command...whoa and then the release command. The release can be a verbal or tactile command or both. At first, I prefer to tap my dog on the shoulder to release him from whoa with the "OK" command. Don't let him decide when it's time to move again. Make him wait on your release command. Practice it everywhere. Make him whoa before going through the door. Make him whoa before crossing a road. Those little things will come in handy by themselves. He won't bolt out the door when the Fedex guy knocks and he won't bolt across the road when a semi is coming. Whoa him for no apparent reason. Make him wait for the release command.

    The training table CofC mentioned is very helpful and keeps the dog's attention on you. I prefer something that is not stable but rather shaky and wobbly. It helps you keep his attention. Mine has ramps on both ends so I can walk the dog over it and occasionally whoa him. This book gives a very good description of a training table and how to use it:
    https://navhdastore.org/thetraininga...untingdog.aspx

  5. #5
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    I'm with salty. I don't think this dog needs any formal work, at least before you see what you've got in the field. Obedience can be trained and touched on the same as you would any other dog.

    Plant some birds and run him to see how he performs, the dog may be a solid hunter already.
    "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

    "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

  6. #6
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    Trying to locate some live birds, anyone have any connections?

    I've called everyone I can find within 2 hours of Boone, NC. Best I've found is a couple places with birds ready in the next 3-5 weeks.

  7. #7
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    Little early for quail. Their scent is just starting to come back from nesting season.

  8. #8
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    What smilee said.

    But since we are on the topic. Does anyone have a line on some pigeons? I'd like to build my own coop and have a few on hand. I really don't want to pay $100 for somebody's racing whoop-di-do's.
    "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

    "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

  9. #9
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    I just use a pigeon trap and trap them under a popular pigeon bridge here in Greenville. Trap was cheap off gun-dog supply.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by FULLCHOKE View Post
    I just use a pigeon trap and trap them under a popular pigeon bridge here in Greenville. Trap was cheap off gun-dog supply.
    Tried that, someone stole my trap.
    "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

    "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

  11. #11
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    One thing I did to help with whoa training is to take the dog to a field and just let him point at something and whoa. Let the dogs natural instincts apply with the command and then introduce birds. When my pup was younger he would point at a lot of things and I always used that to enforce the whoa command.
    “Duck hunting gives a man a chance to see the loneliest places …blinds washed by a rolling surf, blue and gold autumn marshes, …a rice field in the rain, flooded pin-oak forests or any remote river delta. In duck hunting the scene is as important as the shooting.” ~ Erwin Bauer, The Duck Hunter’s Bible, 1965

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntinghagen#12 View Post
    Trying to locate some live birds, anyone have any connections?

    I've called everyone I can find within 2 hours of Boone, NC. Best I've found is a couple places with birds ready in the next 3-5 weeks.
    There probably won’t be any available for another month or 2. If you find some you may want to build a flight pen. They get to be slim pickings by January

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by PJ1012 View Post
    There probably won’t be any available for another month or 2. If you find some you may want to build a flight pen. They get to be slim pickings by January
    I found a couple places with birds that are ready, but they’re all 3-4+ hours away. A couple places close, but their birds won’t be ready until 9/1ish.

  14. #14
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    Decades since I’ve dealt with training bird dogs, but their training is more about commands like mentioned above because they come pre wired for it. With the dog you have you should be in business in no time at all.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntinghagen#12 View Post
    Trying to locate some live birds, anyone have any connections?

    I've called everyone I can find within 2 hours of Boone, NC. Best I've found is a couple places with birds ready in the next 3-5 weeks.
    You got a preserve anywhere nearby?
    Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.


    You might take out a dozen before they drag you from your home and skull fuck you to death. Marsh Chicken 6/21/2013

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by MolliesMaster View Post
    What smilee said.

    But since we are on the topic. Does anyone have a line on some pigeons? I'd like to build my own coop and have a few on hand. I really don't want to pay $100 for somebody's racing whoop-di-do's.
    I picked up pigeons Wednesday. Where are you located?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by TennDan View Post
    I picked up pigeons Wednesday. Where are you located?
    Florence. Where did you get them from?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

    "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Saltydog235 View Post
    You got a preserve anywhere nearby?
    About 90 minutes away, talked to the owner today. He doesn’t have birds ready right now, he will in September though. $4/bird to take home, $5/bird for him to put out on preserve for training/hunting. I plan on spending some time out there since he trains birds.

    I’m going to work with him 5 or so times a week. If he keeps progressing and does well with live birds, I’ll keep going with it. If he stalls or has difficulty with live birds after several trips I’ll probably hire a trainer for a month to tune him up. Seems to be doing well right now though.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by huntinghagen#12 View Post
    I found a couple places with birds that are ready, but they’re all 3-4+ hours away. A couple places close, but their birds won’t be ready until 9/1ish.
    How many you looking at buying? My aunt has kept my cousin’s bird hobby going since he passed, and she mentioned trimming down some. I was up there about a month ago and she must’ve had 250-300 quail. My cousin raised them as a hobby. They still have 3 or 4 different pheasant species, doves, quail, chickens, ducks, you name it


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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by billbuster84 View Post
    How many you looking at buying? My aunt has kept my cousin’s bird hobby going since he passed, and she mentioned trimming down some. I was up there about a month ago and she must’ve had 250-300 quail. My cousin raised them as a hobby. They still have 3 or 4 different pheasant species, doves, quail, chickens, ducks, you name it


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Dozen or so right now.

    Where’s she at?

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