[DEVIANT]

I am getting a new addition to the family. A freind's father-in-law breeds and trains German wirehaired pointers and has a 9 month old pup that he has been working with. I chose the GWP because they are the most versitile hunting dogs (I also think they are really cool). I am not bad mouthing the other breeds out there, but I wanted a pointer for upland game as well as a waterfowl dog. The dog points and retrieves, but he stated the he needs a little more work to keep him focused with the training that he already has. I have always had regular house dogs growing up and they have all been good obediant companions. All of my past dogs have been mutts. The GWP will be my first purebreed. He will be a companion/my first hunting dog/retriever and I want to keep up on his training.

My question is if there is a good book so I can get "schooled" in the ways of training retrivers as well as advice? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[spankey]

post up a picture

 

[TEX-O-BOB]

It's a well known fact that the GWP needs no formal training. They have all the natural ability they will ever need built right in. Just hunt the dog as much as you can and he'll train himself. :wink: 8)

As far a training books or DVD's.... Take your pick, they all have good tips to offer. You'll find that one book or one video is not a sure fire way to train every dog. Read and watch as many different styles of training as you can and train your dog the way that suits you and him best.

Good luck with your new pup!

BTW, your right, the GWP IS the most versatile gun dog on the planet. 8) And, they are really cool! 8) 8)

 

[huntall]

+1 tex

Congrats on such a cool breed.

 

[threshershark]

The most important book for GWP:

Shave His Butt & Teach Him to Walk Backwards -- Tips for a Better-looking GWP

:mrgreen:

 

[DEVIANT]

Thanks for all of the replys. I will post a pick once I get him. I have some from the breeder, but I will post my own. I have a business trip that I have to get done, then I make the trip to Idaho to get him.

Another question is shock collars. I have not had any need in the past for one, but the friend suggested that I use one for continuing his training. Your thoughts?

 

[InvaderZim]

Another question is shock collars. I have not had any need in the past for one, but the friend suggested that I use one for continuing his training. Your thoughts?

I haven't yet needed a shock collar for Oprah (my Draahtharrrrrrr :wink: ) but we haven't started any formal "screws to the wood" training either (Stop to flush, steadyness, etc.)

Crazy as this is gonna sound, but Tex is nearly correct here...they almost train themselves. They'll point and retrieve without any effort and have great drive and desire.

You will however need to put the finishing touches on him/her if you so desire (....but they can be a great hunting dog with just the pointing and retrieving part.)

8)

 

[threshershark]

Collars: Very useful for finishing a bird dog but a word of caution -- many people use them as some kind of zap-happy training tool and it can negatively affect your dog.

IMO, train dogs using traditional methods. Collars are excellent for reinforcing existing training, in cases where a dog knows exactly what he/she should do and decides to ignore the handler anyway etc. It assists with helping the dog understand that even though he's waaay out there, he still needs to obey commands. Use them only after properly conditioning a trained dog to the collar and you'll end up with nice polish.

 

[TEX-O-BOB]

Collars: Very useful for finishing a bird dog but a word of caution -- many people use them as some kind of zap-happy training tool and it can negatively affect your dog.

IMO, train dogs using traditional methods. Collars are excellent for reinforcing existing training, in cases where a dog knows exactly what he/she should do and decides to ignore the handler anyway etc. It assists with helping the dog understand that even though he's waaay out there, he still needs to obey commands. Use them only after properly conditioning a trained dog to the collar and you'll end up with nice polish.

+1

 

[roaroftherockies]

I have a question for you guys. Hope you don't mind me jumping in, but you sound very knowledgable about the GWP. I have a two year old, Ike, mother is Draathaar and father is GWP. Amazing dog, and it's funny that you say how they train themselves because that is exactly how Ike has been. He is so much fun to hunt with. Very versatile and loyal to my commands. I am feeding him Black Gold, the chicken and rice mix. It seems to give him good energy, but as it gets colder, I am thinking of moving him to a lamb and rice mix for a little added fat for my boney gangley hound. Is there something better? I am also curious why his crap is more on the runny side? Not all the time, but tends to be soft most of the time. I am fairly up to speed with the breed, but sounds as though I could learn a great deal from you guys.

 

[DEVIANT]

As far as food goes, Blue's breeder/current owner said that he feeds all of his GWPs old roy from wally world. I asked him why old roy and he said that he did a comparison and old roy had a better mix between between meat, vegatables and fiber. Plus the price is right also.

I have always given my other dog (rat terrier/mutt) Iams lamb and rice and he does great with that. The only time his crap gets runny is when the wife spoils him with table scraps when she cooks. He is like a crack addict for people food!

Another thing, when I had a german shepard/husky/wolf mix growing up, he had a raw egg every morning over his food and a chunk of cheese in the afternoon after we exercised him. He had awsome energy and his coat would have an awsome shine!

 

[TEX-O-BOB]

If you want good energy and good balanced food go with the black bag (Black Gold) if you want high energy for a dog that is very active, being trialed and hunted a lot, or a dog that has trouble keeping the weight on, (any EP) I'd go with the blue bag.

John Evans is the Black Gold rep around these parts and cutomer service is his middle name. Give him a call and he'll set you up right for your exacting needs. 435-452-1441

Tell him Darin sent ya.

 

[threshershark]

I have had great luck with Purina Pro Plan, it's kept my pups healthy through many, many winters.

 

[Duurty1]

started with iams puppy. switched to nutro at 1 and have had great results. that was on both of my hunting dogs

 

[roaroftherockies]

Tex, thanks for the heads up. I just got off the phone with John. What a great guy! He has me squared away now. He also said that your dogs had to have an anti-biotic last year for giardia (spelling)? Was that from marsh water you think? Anyway, thanks again for your help.

 

[TAK]

The most important book for GWP:

Shave His Butt & Teach Him to Walk Backwards -- Tips for a Better-looking GWP

:mrgreen:

PLUS 5 HERE!

 

[TAK]

Tex, thanks for the heads up. I just got off the phone with John. What a great guy! He has me squared away now. He also said that your dogs had to have an anti-biotic last year for giardia (spelling)? Was that from marsh water you think? Anyway, thanks again for your help.

Tell us what he said? I feed the BG also and have for a few days. I like to go to the Black and Blue bags in the cold months, red and shinny blue in the hot months. Pretty simple logic. THe Red meat diagests slower and sticks to the ribs a little bit more, the Chicken or fish moves through them faster, each give the energy needed just one birds faster than the other.

I to have heard the Mr. Walmart put out a good food.... Not the OlRoy but the Maximaam Nutrition. My dogs ended up with the squirts on this, but not as bad and sticky as they did on Diamond!

 

[TEX-O-BOB]

Tex, thanks for the heads up. I just got off the phone with John. What a great guy! He has me squared away now. He also said that your dogs had to have an anti-biotic last year for giardia (spelling)? Was that from marsh water you think? Anyway, thanks again for your help.

No sweat, yup, my dogs all got into some really stagnent water and got some sort of bug. They went off their food for a week and all had the squirts and bad guts. I called John to see if anyone had reported problems feeding the BG food as I thought it might be food realated. He said it wasn't common but dogs sometimes get microorganism problems if they get around really bad water. All the fingers pointed to that so I took one of my dogs into the vet and got some meds. She came right out of it in two days so I put the rest of the pack on the same meds and now all is well. Jonh didn't have too, but he called two more times just to see how my dogs were doing. He's a class act.

 

[DEVIANT]

What are your opinions of the Walmart brand of High Performance Ole Roy? That is what the breeder is feeding Blue because it has a higher amount of protien than grain. I do not want to make a huge change from his diet before he gets settled in the new house. After that I would possibly make a change.

 

[roaroftherockies]

John told me that the red bag was a very good bag to use during the winter months. He said that the calorie intake was like 2150, which will be good for my dog. He talked about what you can do during the summer months for their diet. He is just really knowledgable and showed genuine concern for my dog, which he has never even seen. He welcomed my questions.

I do have another one for you guys. My dog has an issue with eating his little friends (my black lab female) crap. I think it is causing him to crap excessively and also makes it runny most of the time. Am I correct in this thinking? Does anyone know how to cure this or any tips on this? Thanks for all your help. This is such a fun breed. They sure have their quirks, but wouldn't trade him for the world!