Essential reading for GWP newbie?

[NigelM]

I'm no dog training expert. Don't claim to be.

I have bonded with the dog well. Having him in the house I believe makes that easier. Doesn't work for all breeds, but with the HWV I believe it does. Never did it with the labs or the cocker, but with him it felt right for the dog.

When we go out on the deer he has always been with me. When he was younger he did sod up a few stalks, but he has learnt, and now understands that if he does get "over enthusiastic" the odds on getting a shot off and the treat of a retrieve and a piece of heart diminish greatly. Perseverance has paid off. A good steady point usually brings in the venison. He has never been on the lead (I didn't take him out until he was pretty steady to heel) but creeps along beside me with his nose in the air. We still have the odd "moment", but he's only just 3.

I have also learnt to trust him. His nose very rarely lies.

We get out a day a week on average. He just wants to be with me and I enjoy his company. I don't think it's just one thing that has made it work, it's a combination of lots of factors that have resulted in a bond and trust between us.

I have not got into blood tracking. I wanted him to air scent and felt that if I focused on tracking I would loose some of what I wanted to achieve, the pointing. On the few occasions that deer have run a bit, 100 yds on one occasion into standing maize, he has put his nose on the floor and been on it very quickly, but we have never trained for it.

What I have done might not be "right", but I am happy with him and he is very happy with our days out. That's good enough in my book. I think I have a pretty good deer dog who also works well on the birds, an all rounder. If I winged a deer badly and had a 1km track I would probably have to call in the experts, but I'm a pretty careful stalker and have not come across that situation yet. For 99.9% of my stalking, he is good enough. I will worry about the 0.1% when I come across it.

I'm sure the way I have done it wouldn't work for all dogs and I know I'm lucky with this one, but I appear to have had a result. You have to get lucky every now and again

 

[Robbo46]

+1 for the niels sondergard book, working dogs for deer. As someone who was (still is) just starting out training a deer dog for the first time I found it informative and well structured. Muntjac Trading holds copies I think if it interests you.
All the best with the pup
Robbo

 

[Siggy]

Instead of reading, you might want to try this:

The Deer Dog Blue Print - Deer Dog Hunting Videos

A New Zealand take on deer dogs. I've watched the first episode and it looks pretty comprehensive. They are coming out in monthly instalments so if the training goes to a full 18 months, its going to be expensive to follow the whole program. May be more focused on deer indication than deer tracking, but that might suit a GWP more than say a Bavarian. Also it's a program designed to produce a working dog, so if you are looking for a house dog/pet, you might have to modify the training somewhat.

 

[Jagare]

So you've got your pup and as others have said bond with the dog and then get the obedience training in place. As its a going to be a deer dog why not train it to track you can start tracking training at 5-6 months. Training a dog to track is easy read books as recomended in other posts or go on one of the tracking courses. Cookingfat or wolvarine are the chaps to contact about that. Remember that the Gwp take a long time to mature and tracking stimulates the dog. Pointing deer should come natural once the dog gets a few stalks behind it.
Plus don't make the mistake that so many do and that is get it out on deer before you have trained the dog. I would not let a dog of mine anywhere near a deer till its over a year old.