GSP Prey drive

[TomT3]

Thanks to everyone else who has taken the time to advise every ones point of view is appreciated.

 

[bogtrotter]

Thanks bogtrotter points taken re taking it slow- I was aware of them taking longer but yes he is still only 15 months so I’ll concentrate more on the basics.

In reality id like him to be an all rounder but truthfully have been concentrating more on deer the last 5 years or so. I do train him with the dummy for retrieving every week but only one session or so.

You are welcome, I wish you every success with him, they are wonderful dogs.

 

[Subsonic]

Hi Tom.

Your current situation sounds very similar to mine with my first GSP. His prey drive was through the roof and at 14 months old I had doughts that I would ever reliably control and trust him. It frustrated me as i had succesfully trained and owned several working spaniels but he was in another league.

Reluctantly I spent many hours researching ecollar training, not used as punishment but as a training tool combined with positive reinforcement. A technique commonly used in the US. Fast forward 14 months and we have just finished his first season picking up at our local shoot. He still has a lot to learn but exceeded expectations and was better behaved than many of the more experienced dogs.

His recall is now 100% , his interest in livestock is respectful and he sits to flush on all game. This was not a quick fix. It required me to learn new techniques and invest a significant amount of time and effort in training him but a complete game changer. I now have a great hard working partner who retained all his drive, loves working and he worships me.

If you are interested in learning more message me and I will forward some YouTube links.

 

[David Barker]

Don't give up on this dog he can be fixed
IMO you have made the classic mistake of starting to soon these dogs are very slow to mature I don't begin to train mine until they are eighteen months don't expect much sense out of him until he is two put the work in you will be as frustrated as hell by him but one day it will be as if someone had flicked a switch and you will have a different dog
Its not a Lab you are training so don't treat him like one go back to the beginning and start on the basics and go slowly don't even think of introducing him to game until you have everything else sorted
I will say it again go slowly you can't hurry training these dogs to try is a receipe for disaster.
Finally do you just want him to work deer or do you want a dual dog IMO if you want him to work birds as well start him on them and get a seasons work under his belt before introducing him to deer start them.on deer and often they have no interest in other Game.
Good luck and make haste slowly.

 

[David Barker]

I feel this is correct and can echo that even a dog that even a good HPR will still drop most things for deer. I trained mine with an expert and had him working really well quartering steady on point and retrieving well . In his 3 year i needed a new deer dog as my Fell terrier gave up at 15 years. That Pointer would not work the ground well after that. I know they can make a jack of all trades but mine couldnt.

 

[Dunwaters]

I feel this is correct and can echo that even a dog that even a good HPR will still drop most things for deer. I trained mine with an expert and had him working really well quartering steady on point and retrieving well . In his 3 year i needed a new deer dog as my Fell terrier gave up at 15 years. That Pointer would not work the ground well after that. I know they can make a jack of all trades but mine couldnt.

The breed is a Jack of all trades, individuals may have preferences.
Some prefer fur, some feather, some walk at heel, some don’t.

 

[David Barker]

The breed is a Jack of all trades, individuals may have preferences.
Some prefer fur, some feather, some walk at heel, some don’t.

Deer tracker blood trailer long line expert is not in there description (HPR). But i have owned many for tracking or blood trailing and winding not in there breed description..

 

[Dogtra UK]

GSP’s and GWP’s are the number one working breed I sell E-Collars for. I reckon I get at least 5 German Pointer owners per week on the phone.
If I configured my website to ask for breed I reckon they would account for 15% of all E-Collar sales.

 

[Dunwaters]

Deer tracker blood trailer long line expert is not in there description (HPR). But i have owned many for tracking or blood trailing and winding not in there breed description..

They will trail if you train them that way, it is there in the jobs list.
GSP’s will do it too, but if you want an all round dog you have to compromise somewhere.
I prioritise bird work, I don’t need a dedicated cold scent expert very often.

 

[TopDown]

@TomT3 if your profile is correct and you are in Essex consider coming along to Norfolk & Suffolk HPR Field Trial Club. There are plenty of members who will never field trial but they do train regularly and there will be some useful contacts local to you. The club is very relaxed and your situation is not uncommon. He's young enough to correct. Feel free to DM me if you want a chat about it.

 

[TomT3]

@TomT3 if your profile is correct and you are in Essex consider coming along to Norfolk & Suffolk HPR Field Trial Club. There are plenty of members who will never field trial but they do train regularly and there will be some useful contacts local to you. The club is very relaxed and your situation is not uncommon. He's young enough to correct. Feel free to DM me if you want a chat about it.

Hi Topdown thank you for that. It is something I will look into. I’ve had him on the long line for a couple of weeks and has improved slightly, he’s obviously still got a long way to go though. I’ve now resulted into only letting him off the lead in very controlled conditions for the time being.

 

[TopDown]

Prey drive is to be channelled not removed. It's not an easy process and I needed (still do sometimes) a lot of help with training my Griff. If there is a secure field near you then sometimes that can be good if you want to do some work which is new and particularly challenging.