Exercise requirements for a GSP?

[Keith Edmunds]

I also quickly came to see something Guy Wallace wrote about ‘a leisurely walk in the country spoiling a good dog’ (to paraphrase) - so many variables out of your control that can set back or undo lots of your focused training.

I do agree with this but I do think there is another way to look at it. With Hendrix, our 4th imported teckel, I made a change in the training plan. Pretty much from day one (he was imported at 5 months) he has had daily exposure to farmland, woodland and everything within it. With him being my fourth, I knew the desire to hunt would need zero encouragement. I focussed 100% on obedience - sit/stay (at increasing distances) and recall. Since 1 year old he has had daily 5 mile (human miles - he probably does double that) walks over the farm. He has had more liberty than the other teckels but I believe, due to this, he has become adequately desensitized to the stimulation that would normally turn them into 'gung-ho' full-on hunting mode.

Deer and hares will probably always be a 'watch out' but he always comes back pretty quickly. He seems to have learnt that he will not catch them and rarely goes more than a couple of fields, maybe 400 metres max - the others would just keep going! With pheasant and partridge, he flushes them, watches them rise then goes back looking for more. He naturally stays within about a 50/60 yard radius of me. He would actually make a cracking rough shooting dog. I never thought that I could have a 'country companion' working teckel but at 2.5 years he is nearly there.

 

[Auroch]

I do agree with this but I do think there is another way to look at it. With Hendrix, our 4th imported teckel, I made a change in the training plan. Pretty much from day one (he was imported at 5 months) he has had daily exposure to farmland, woodland and everything within it. With him being my fourth, I knew the desire to hunt would need zero encouragement. I focussed 100% on obedience - sit/stay (at increasing distances) and recall. Since 1 year old he has had daily 5 mile (human miles - he probably does double that) walks over the farm. He has had more liberty than the other teckels but I believe, due to this, he has become adequately desensitized to the stimulation that would normally turn them into 'gung-ho' full-on hunting mode.

Deer and hares will probably always be a 'watch out' but he always comes back pretty quickly. He seems to have learnt that he will not catch them and rarely goes more than a couple of fields, maybe 400 metres max - the others would just keep going! With pheasant and partridge, he flushes them, watches them rise then goes back looking for more. He naturally stays within about a 50/60 yard radius of me.

My GWP is my first working dog - for the first 8 months or so I was paranoid about 'ruining' him if he started chasing deer (although having seen his speed, strength and stamina I'm not sure he'd break off after 400m!) - probably putting too much weight in something I'd read in 'the Specialist gundog' about this - so chose my training locations and times to minimise the chance of this and expose him to pheasants and deer in a controlled way. Just as with your teckels, there hasn't been a need to encourage him to hunt, so the majority of our time is spent on obedience, exposing him to different environments and obstacles that I'll expect him to encounter when he's working and developing steadiness. If I was doing it all again with another pup I would have the advantage of a relatively well behaved dog to set an example and learn from and certainly be a bit more relaxed myself.

Having re-read my earlier post I should clarify that the 2x30 min training session I referred to are each within a longer walk - at the moment we're walking a couple of miles from the house to reach suitable woodland or heathland to train in - he's certainly keeping me fit!

 

[Keith Edmunds]

My GWP is my first working dog - for the first 8 months or so I was paranoid about 'ruining' him if he started chasing deer (although having seen his speed, strength and stamina I'm not sure he'd break off after 400m!) - probably putting too much weight in something I'd read in 'the Specialist gundog' about this - so chose my training locations and times to minimise the chance of this and expose him to pheasants and deer in a controlled way. Just as with your teckels, there hasn't been a need to encourage him to hunt, so the majority of our time is spent on obedience, exposing him to different environments and obstacles that I'll expect him to encounter when he's working and developing steadiness. If I was doing it all again with another pup I would have the advantage of a relatively well behaved dog to set an example and learn from and certainly be a bit more relaxed myself.

Having re-read my earlier post I should clarify that the 2x30 min training session I referred to are each within a longer walk - at the moment we're walking a couple of miles from the house to reach suitable woodland or heathland to train in - he's certainly keeping me fit!

I think you've done the right thing. In those first two years my arse cheeks were clenched up tight during our farm walks - who knows what's around the corner. I now rate Hendrix's development by what percentage of the walk I was totally relaxed - we are certainly getting there.

Interestingly, at the start of the C19 lock-down I decided to walk him earlier, out of the house by 6 am to avoid any other dog walkers. At 6 am in March that very same farmland circuit was a different place!! Hares were still out and active, the dew hadn't burnt off and scent must have been ripe. He reverted back to a 9-month hooligan! After three mornings of this, I went back to an 8-9 am walk - totally different animal - back to my 'country companion' again.

 

[andrew thoma]

Had a few over the years and they are no different to any other working dog......they need to be worked hard every day. However, if you want a pet for the kids get some thing else!

 

[Jones57]

lovely dog one hell of an hunting instinct . never had a dog that loves water so much and gopping ditches of mud even better, (loves to play submarines up the lengths of the worst stretches of stagnant mess ) .
If you ignore her she will go and grab your attention by digging the garden up or eating a shed or something .
will walk for miles and not flinch she also likes lazy days
super intelligent and loves learning new tricks absolutely loves kids although shes never left unsupervised with them .
A nose that has to be seen to be believed when on a scent she just changes gear and goes ,what a machine.
all that said a terrific animal but not a beginners dog ,easy to spoil when you make a mistake, it takes a fair bit of time for her to forgive and forget (she lets you know that you,ve messed up) but what a privilege it is to own a GWP.
What was the question oh yes how much exercise : -
All the time you can spend with her with a weapon over your shoulder and your friend at heal - Bliss
But dont forget every outing is a training outing even a walk around the block.

 

[Keith Edmunds]

not a beginners dog ,easy to spoil when you make a mistake, it takes a fair bit of time for her to forgive and forget (she lets you know that you,ve messed up)

That is 100% true for working-bred teckels too.