Training a German Shorthaired Pointer to do an early Water Retrieve.

Care must be taken in letting the young German Shorthaired Pointer off the lead so he cannot run out of control.

Throwing Dummies and not retrieving is an important part of retriever training for any gundog but especially an HPR dog like the German Shorthaired Pointer.

This kind and gentle method of teaching your dog to hold a dummy  simply needs patience and a sympathetic approach. Once learnt and established over time the habit of carrying gently will transfer to game in the field. 

Stop whistle training must be methodical and not rushed.  It is not just about your whistle.  How you behave when your dog is free will have a great effect on the result.

A young GSP is practising quartering on open land. We are looking for hares to improve steadiness. Work a headwind in the early days and use body language to direct them, avoiding too much whistle, but keep your whistle in your mouth incase something jumps !

In this video Jerzi's keen approach to retrieving  has allowed her to moved forward quickly but I must still be careful to keep her calm and confident. There is no Age = Level of training rule, because every dog is different.  Work at the speed you feel is right.

Continue to use any straight line like a track or fenceline to help your dog to keep focus on its retrieves. Young dogs must keep their line on memory or blind retrieves (as well as seen retrieves) and ignore bad deliveries at your peril !

When you think your dog is ready work on game bearing in mind that they are all ready for this at a different time. This young dog at 2 years old is learning to hold her point and then flush the bird on command but I dont want her to chase so being quick with the stop whistle is essential.

Poor hunting conditions can still turn into worthwhile training sessions. Move your dog around and make him listen. Always lots of praise.

Here German Shorthaired Pointers are making good use of a quiet drive learning steadiness and obedience. When you first take your youngster out on a shoot day this is all you will want to do alongside an easy memory retrieve in a quiet moment. Beware, it is very easy to spoil a young dog by giving it too much work too soon.

Teaching your GSP basic commands will take considerable time before they are fully established and reliable. During all this time care needs to be taken in how much freedom you give your young dog on a walk and any unsupervised freedom is definately a quick way to them learning bad habits.

Young GSPs love to run but you dont want them to run wild. This 7 month old pup is learning to remain tuned into me although I am giving her the freedom that she craves. The frosty morning gave added excitement to her early morning play.

Once you start retrieving outside with a young dog be sure to work on calm steadiness exercises with distractions and using the company of other dogs is one important part of setting up those distractions.

GSPs are excitable by nature and dummy work can easily suffer from sloppy delivery. Here are a few tips for when you have moved outside and the dog knows the commands but has started to mess about.

Once your young GSP has mastered retrieves at home move to more interesting locations to prevent repetitive boredom. Working with other dogs and keeping away from game is important to help them achieve.

Many handlers expect that their young hunting dog will remain obedient when they move their training from the garden or yard to wide open spaces with distractions.... it won't.

A young dog, especially a hunting dog, needs lots of proofing on commands in different situations with different distractions before it is fully trained.

Once your dog has had its first swim and water retrieve take things slowly to build their confidence in the same location for a week or more, before you move to a different location.

Once your dog has learnt to swim move forward slowly so they gain confidence. This youngster has been swimming on the same pond every day for a week since she first learnt and will now leap in happily. I am using a treat to ensure that she holds onto the dummy until delivered and once the habit is established the treat can be dropped out.

Steadiness to all game is hugely important for a working gundog and by spending lots of time in the countryside you will have chance encounters with nature that help you in training your dog.

Encouraging your young GSP to hunt wide on open ground will establish habits for life.

A good entrance on a water retrieve is the secret to success. Dont allow your dog to hesitate or choose an entry point different from where you are sending it in. Dogs can become more anxious about swimming if you dont take charge of the entry.

Young dogs almost always go through a stage of carrying a dummy like a cigar, or holding it by the toggle. Ignore at your peril - Training this out of them is important for successful retrieves. This video shows the different ways I encourage my young dog to retrieve in a way that is acceptable and will help her in the future in managing live birds.