# New dog. German Short



## hunting777

What did I just get myself into???? Long story short. We was on vacation and had neighbor kid watching animals for us. We got a call saying that our dogs were gone when he went to feed them. We were returning home that evening, so we looked for them with no luck. The next day, (on my birthday to add to it) we went looking as well. No luck. That evening we was out looking again when we received a call from the highway patrol. He stated that they had found our dogs hit and killed on the freeway. One was a 12 yr. old lab. She was like a child to me and the other was a 2 yr. old Austrian shepherd. After retrieving them and burying them that night at midnight. We went on with our lives. My kids were really missing their outdoor friends. My 12 yr. old was driving us insane because of his boredom. So my wife started looking on KSL for new dogs without telling me. I got home from work and she said let’s head over to Cache valley to go pick something up. She said that it was something she picked up on KSL. Well when we got to the residence, the puppy was running around. I looked at her and said heck no. Nevertheless, how do you tell your kids no when they are already out of the car playing with the pup. So meet Trigger, our new Short hair. I have never had this breed before. I have always been a lab guy. So far he has been a great dog. He has been spoiled rotten. Any tips on training these dogs? He has a great nose and is pointing some. Which I know comes natural. But would like to work with him more on that. So we bought this dog for my 12 yr old. He promised that he would do everything to work with this dog. He said that he wants to be the one to train him. I know these dogs need lots of exercise, which we intend to do. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. any good info / videos / or whatever will work. One thing I am noticing, he is one stubborn pup.


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## MuscleWhitefish

E collar conditioning would be one of the first things. 



My GWP gets super excited every-time i get the E collar out, because he knows it means we are going out into the wild. 



The one I have isn't a great top of the line model, but it does have a verbal beep button. I have a system that it is the command, the verbal beep, the command, then the shock. The shock is set low due to the dog responding. I think it is at a 3 on a scale of 1-10. I almost never have to use the shock though, the beep changes the dogs behavior if the command doesn't work. 



Another thing would be to get pigeons or chuckars and clip the wings and let the dog hunt them in the back yard. Getting the bird drive going. With retrieves a dead bird or two will work fine. 



As far as gun conditioning. It can be the same as the E collar. If you're going fishing or an area in the mountains where you can have a gun take it with you. The dog will associate taking the gun out as going to play. Slowly work on retrieving and incorporating the gun into the equation. It is not something that you can rush. My dog get excited every time I pull the gun out of storage, thinking it is time to go hunting. Works well for hunting. Kind of a pain when the dog retrieves the target when siting in rifles.


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## Airborne

Buy this book and read it:

https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Dog-Ben-Williams/dp/1595433309

Good luck--your dog looks like a meat headed bird dog--that's a good thing! :grin:


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## one4fishing

Man, I’m sorry about your two dogs. That’s terrible. Maybe consider boarding this dog if you leave town again during fireworks. 
I have an almost 3 year old shorthair that I feel has came out decent. That doesn’t make me an expert but I’ll give a few pointers I’ve learned along the way. 
-Keep it fun for him. If you get frustrated quit. 
-REPETITION. Train every day. Don’t try for 2 hr marathons when you have the time. 5 mins at a time a couple times a day will do wonders. 
-Always try to end on a good note where the pup still wants more. Don’t let him get bored with what you are doing. 
-Don’t rush into collar or gun conditioning until you are confident you can’t screw it up. Those mistakes might be irreversible. 
-Have a plan for each time you introduce new things. Plan for what could go wrong and prevent it. Set him up to succeed. 

These are basic fundamentals for any dog training and there’s lots more I’m sure I could come up with. 
As for the breed they are not Labs. A lab wants to be right there with you. Shorthairs always want to be out front. Way out front. And that’s good for finding birds but might make you a little uncomfortable. The most important thing for you and your son to teach is a solid recall. Throw it into all your training sessions. When he has it down solid transfer in a whistle or the tone on your collar and keep up on it. He needs to come back every time you tell him to. 

It’s true they need a lot of exercise. Not just physical though. They like challenges and to learn new things. Try the game find it with him around the house when he’s being obnoxious. 

Anyways I could go on but I really should get back to work. Your in for good times with this pup. You got one hell of an ole lady for her to do that for you. Good luck.


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## gdog

one4fishing said:


> * -Keep it fun for him. If you get frustrated quit.*
> -REPETITION. Train every day. Don't try for 2 hr marathons when you have the time. 5 mins at a time a couple times a day will do wonders.
> -Always try to end on a good note where the pup still wants more. Don't let him get bored with what you are doing.
> *-Don't rush into collar or gun conditioning until you are confident you can't screw it up. Those mistakes might be irreversible.*
> -Have a plan for each time you introduce new things. Plan for what could go wrong and prevent it. Set him up to succeed.


Man...some really good advice right there!


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## wagdog

I'm going to echo a few things already said and add a couple more. I agree to keep it fun and short while the dog is young. Take your time introducing gun fire. Pick a training program and stick with it. There are a lot of ways to build a bird dog. Try to do something every day to stimulate that dog's mind and senses. Get it out in the field on birds whenever you can. Hunt the hell out of that dog and don't shoot a bird he didn't point.


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## AF CYN

I really like the book by Joan Bailey, "How to Help Hunting Dogs Train Themselves." It has a lot of common sense and timelines to help you with the first year. It would be a pretty easy book for a 12 year old to read and implement some of those techniques with your help.


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## hunting777

So to give you all an update. This dog has been amazing. There is a reason God made dogs! they truly are mans best friend. My 12 yr old has been working with him every day. They are the best of friends. I haven't done hardly anything with the pup in training. My boy has him sitting, staying, laying down, fetching and so much more. plus the Dogs temperament has been great. He loves to play. Now for the hard transition for my kids to go to school and the dog will have to be in the kennel all day. He will need to learn sometime. But the training will continue. thanks for the advice and the great books to read. My boy has learned so much from this.


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## fishcarver

This fall get him around other dogs and hunt with them often. Id be glad to come over and hit some areas. Such a fun dog to have.


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## hunting777

fishcarver said:


> This fall get him around other dogs and hunt with them often. Id be glad to come over and hit some areas. Such a fun dog to have.


Be glad to go out with you.


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## Izzy77

Omg, I'm so sorry. My dog also is like a child for me. I love him so much, but appeared a problem... Dog started to lick my ears very often and then I've understood that I need to learn more about it, because it can be an ill or something like that. So, i googled it and realised that it's not a big problem. Luckily, for me it was very hard, because i'm so afraid to lose my friend...


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## johnnycake

Sometimes they can get a yeast infection and that will cause them to do that.


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## KimberlyJames

I'm sorry to hear your story! But I'm glad you found a new friend for the family.


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## PaleShade

As previously said, living with a clingy puppy will be difficult. It is, however, a problem that must be resolved as soon as possible. You can see a veterinarian if you can't manage the troublesome activity after a few weeks or if you don't see any change. It may indicate the existence of a more serious issue that needs to be addressed. However, I discovered a website called Help! My Dog Won't Leave Me Alone (Fix It Today) - Oodle Life where I found some new facts about dogs. I hope I was able to help everyone!


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## Irish Lad

I've been dog sitting a GSP the last few days. Its aneat, well trained dog. I've always been a Brittany guy. 
I've always taken my hunting dogs to trap/skeet range to introduce them to gunfire. I start way back and play with the pup as I work my way closer. One visit is all it usually takes. Just take your time.


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