West Scotland Dog Training

[timneji]

Hello I am looking for somebody who is experience to train dogs for Hunting purposes, We got a English Pointer x Border Colli and we would like to train him for pointing, retrieving mainly but I'm happy looking into tracking if thats the only opportunity.

I tried to find local contacts but it seem unusual hard in Argyl and Bute area.

I would be happy for any help, advice or contacts.

Thanks
Tim

 

[Brittany boy]

It’s a bit vague, what age is your dog, does it have basic obedience, or is it starting from scratch I know a lab trainer from Ayrshire , don’t know if he would travel to you or other way about.

 

[timneji]

Thank you for your reply. The Dog is 10 weeks at the moment and is starting from scratch. I am happy to travel if thats necessary thats not a problem.

 

[Brittany boy]

I’ll contact him tomorrow and if he’s happy for me to pass his details I’ll PM them to you . Sounds an interesting cross would like to know how youse get on. I’ll be in touch

 

[timneji]

Thank you so much. I can surely let you know how it is going.

 

[Bowland blades]

You need a very gentle and experienced hand to just get a border Collie to not freak out to gunshot . That's the number 1 problem definitely dont let the pup hear gunshot at all till its over six months and then only with mild starter pistol blacks at distant .
Thing with cross breeding is your not going to get a 1/2 -1/2 split so the plan will need a lot of effort and time IF it comes together .
I used to use collie crosses for rabbiting , "none of mine was totally ok with gunshot ", some put up with it but nothing like what you will get from a straight well bred shooting dog . Noise sensitive tendencies are built into the the collie from selective breeding of sheep dogs that you can stop or turn etc at distance hearding sheep.
Hopefully you have a Holy grail dog if or when you introduce the gun

 

[timneji]

You need a very gentle and experienced hand to just get a border Collie to not freak out to gunshot . That's the number 1 problem definitely dont let the pup hear gunshot at all till its over six months and then only with mild starter pistol blacks at distant .
Thing with cross breeding is your not going to get a 1/2 -1/2 split so the plan will need a lot of effort and time IF it comes together .
I used to use collie crosses for rabbiting , "none of mine was totally ok with gunshot ", some put up with it but nothing like what you will get from a straight well bred shooting dog . Noise sensitive tendencies are built into the the collie from selective breeding of sheep dogs that you can stop or turn etc at distance hearding sheep.
Hopefully you have a Holy grail dog if or when you introduce the gun

Thank you for your reply, I can just hope the best until we actually will find out, so far he is not to scared of loud sudden sounds but who knows how he will react. I would love to get him fully trained but if he will not be suitable in the end, for one reason or another than thats fine as well. I don't think I have the expertise to make such a decision, hence i will need somebody experienced who can guide us.

 

[Bowland blades]

Thank you for your reply, I can just hope the best until we actually will find out, so far he is not to scared of loud sudden sounds but who knows how he will react. I would love to get him fully trained but if he will not be suitable in the end, for one reason or another than thats fine as well. I don't think I have the expertise to make such a decision, hence i will need somebody experienced who can guide us.

Try and at least get a mentor , read one of the many books on pointing breed training .

 

[Feargal]

Where part of Argyll are you in? There was a guy at Achnabreac Kennels in Lochgilphead who used to train gun dogs I believe so it might be worth checking. Not specifically pointers though so I’m not sure if it’ll be relevant. On the collie question, the Deer Dog Blueprint video series uses a heading dog which is closely related to the collie (I think) so it might be worth a look online for that…

 

[Mickeydredd]

how confident are you that it will have sufficient HPR traits to warrant the training?

English pointers do not tend to retrieve for starters so there is no inherent retrieving genes in that cross.

 

[Wilbur]

tom breckney if you can find him

 

[Mickeydredd]

Thank you for your reply, I can just hope the best until we actually will find out, so far he is not to scared of loud sudden sounds but who knows how he will react. I would love to get him fully trained but if he will not be suitable in the end, for one reason or another than thats fine as well. I don't think I have the expertise to make such a decision, hence i will need somebody experienced who can guide us.

Personally, I would just get the basics into the dog and then try to encourage him to do the things you want from it as he matures, there is plenty of time before you need to consider going to a trainer.

May I ask why you chose this cross? It just seems alien to the work you want it to do.

 

[timneji]

Personally, I would just get the basics into the dog and then try to encourage him to do the things you want from it as he matures, there is plenty of time before you need to consider going to a trainer.

May I ask why you chose this cross? It just seems alien to the work you want it to do.

Thank you for your replies, I ca not really judge how good he would be, as I do not have experience with dogs used for hunting. so far he show great interest in retrieving toys, don't know how good that will translate to animals. He shows increasing interest in birds, but also don't know how good that is.
I would rather earlier than later get a trainer to not encourage bad behaviour or "ruin" the dog.

This cross was more an opportunity than a targeted approach. I did grow up with Search and Rescue Dogs my whole life border colli's run in the family, so I did not mind the colli in the dog. We did not get the dog with the pure intent to point, but rather it would be the ideal scenario if he would be suitable (which i can't judge hence I looking for an experienced person ). As I said in another comment, if he will be not suitable for what ever reason, that would not be the end of the world.

 

[Brittany boy]

Pm sent mate

 

[Brittany boy]

You need a very gentle and experienced hand to just get a border Collie to not freak out to gunshot . That's the number 1 problem definitely dont let the pup hear gunshot at all till its over six months and then only with mild starter pistol blacks at distant .
Thing with cross breeding is your not going to get a 1/2 -1/2 split so the plan will need a lot of effort and time IF it comes together .
I used to use collie crosses for rabbiting , "none of mine was totally ok with gunshot ", some put up with it but nothing like what you will get from a straight well bred shooting dog . Noise sensitive tendencies are built into the the collie from selective breeding of sheep dogs that you can stop or turn etc at distance hearding sheep.
Hopefully you have a Holy grail dog if or when you introduce the gun

A lot of trainers advise to let a young pup hear loud bangs while doing something enjoyable such as feeding time so they associate the noise and ignore it. I know collies are notoriously gun shy but that’s maybe because they mostly stay in kennels as pups and only come out for training so don’t get the same exposure as a normal gun dog breed. Down to individual choice and knowing your dogs nature and how much it can take as it matures.

 

[Mickeydredd]

Thank you for your replies, I ca not really judge how good he would be, as I do not have experience with dogs used for hunting. so far he show great interest in retrieving toys, don't know how good that will translate to animals. He shows increasing interest in birds, but also don't know how good that is.
I would rather earlier than later get a trainer to not encourage bad behaviour or "ruin" the dog.

This cross was more an opportunity than a targeted approach.

My point is that he is only 10 weeks old, its fairly irrelevant what he is showing interest in currently. I'm sure he would show great interest in a carrier bag if one blew across the garden.

Let him be a puppy and train the basics/obedience. Later, take him to wide open ground and see if any of the pointer trait for running wide show (in moderation as he is still growing).

You will be wasting your money taking him to a trainer until he is 12 months old.

 

[Bowland blades]

A lot of trainers advise to let a young pup hear loud bangs while doing something enjoyable such as feeding time so they associate the noise and ignore it. I know collies are notoriously gun shy but that’s maybe because they mostly stay in kennels as pups and only come out for training so don’t get the same exposure as a normal gun dog breed. Down to individual choice and knowing your dogs nature and how much it can take as it matures.

its because of selection in breeding over generations of sheep work . any trainer who shoots over a pup before the ear membrane has fully developed ( as much or more as six months ) could very well finish the dogs career in shooting .
The longer the trainer can wait regards gunshot the better !

 

[timneji]

My point is that he is only 10 weeks old, its fairly irrelevant what he is showing interest in currently. I'm sure he would show great interest in a carrier bag if one blew across the garden.

Let him be a puppy and train the basics/obedience. Later, take him to wide open ground and see if any of the pointer trait for running wide show (in moderation as he is still growing).

You will be wasting your money taking him to a trainer until he is 12 months old.

Thanks for the tip, my impression was always its similar to SAR dogs that start as early as 9-12 weeks.

 

[timneji]

its because of selection in breeding over generations of sheep work . any trainer who shoots over a pup before the ear membrane has fully developed ( as much or more as six months ) could very well finish the dogs career in shooting .
The longer the trainer can wait regards gunshot the better !

Well a deaf dog will not be scared of a gunshot i guess. Just kidding of course, but learned something as well thanks.

 

[Mickeydredd]

Thanks for the tip, my impression was always its similar to SAR dogs that start as early as 9-12 weeks.

Well good luck