CAN ANYBODY GIVE ME INFO ON HOW TO TRAIN A POINTER TO POINT?
elkkhunter
10/8/07 2:37pm
I HAVE A GERMAN SHORTHAIR PUP AND AM NOT FOR SURE HOW TO TEACH HIM TO POINT, ANY INFO WILL BE APPRECIATED!!
THANKS!!
THANKS!!
3,605
Most GSP pups will point by instinct if you give them the chance, you shouldn't have to "teach" them this, it comes very naturally.
Here is what I have done. Tie a bird wing (usually I use a quail wing) to the end of about an 8-10' section of fishing line attached tot he end of an old fishing rod. Let your pup sniff, lick and taste the feathers, but do NOT let them try to eat them. That will get them interested in the feathers.
let your pup see the wing in the air about 2' off the ground (don't tease them with it though). Then let the wing land on the ground. The pup should move toward the wing in an attempt to see what it is. As the pup gets to within about 18" of the wing, lift the wing and place it about 5' from the pup in front where they can still see it.
The pup should then move in again (if he doesn't, just give the wing a little wiggle). As the pup moves in, again give the wing a little bird like movement to about 5' in front of the pup again. After a couple tries, the dog will start to sneak in. Right as they are about to pounce on the wing, they will usually lock up and point. When they do, reinforce this behavior with the "whoa" command which tells them to stay right where they are.
Then, when the dog does break point and goes for the wing just yank it out of there to teach them that they can't catch it. Don't let them catch it.
After a week or so of doing this every day, the pup may get a little bit bored with this. At that point you may have to let the pup get the feathers in its mouth again to get its excitement level back up about the exercise. About a month of that and your dog should be ready for some live birds. I would start with quail.
I have had pretty good success using this method (which I got from my father-in-law and I believe it is also mentioned in Walter's Gun Dog Training book).
Let us know how it works out!
Here is my pup at 10 weeks pointing the wing in the back yard.
Here he is last weekend with a successful chuckar hunt in SW Idaho.
GPWDeer
I would also suggest joining a training group in your area. I'm sure you could find a pointer club close to home.
Go to the website above and ask about training books and clubs in your area. That's how I found the local retriever club in my area. You should be able to tap a lot of pointer knowledge on the pointer forums.
Good luck...
Mark
Go to the book store and get Bill Tarrant's book On the Delmar smith method. If you can't find it there, go to Rick Smith's web site, just google Rick Smith, he sells it.
If you want more detailed help come on over to
As was said, you don't teach a pointing dog to point.