# Need tips for my training my German short hair



## deerslayer80 (Mar 27, 2007)

I bought my dog in the spring and have had little time to work with her. I live on a military base so space is a problem. Most of her training has been done when I get home from work and in short quarters. She's learned the basics like sit, come, whoa, and stay. My main problem is that she's so hyper and she hasn't been pointing very much. What can I do to slow her down so it's easier to work with her, and how can I get her to start pointing on a regular basis?


----------



## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

I'm not a pointing guy but my guess would be birds, birds and more birds. As far as the hyperness goes a tired dog is a happy dog, if it's a complicating training take her for a run befor your training session to blow off some steam, you might end up with a dog that is more focused on it's work.


----------



## hunter9494 (Jan 21, 2007)

BD is correct, birds, birds and more birds.

i am far from an expert, but at this stage, i would get ready and take her pheasant hunting in October, at least a few times at first, by yourself, no other dogs or people allowed.

you are in a great state to let here "learn" how to handle wild birds. sure, she is gonna run through birds, bust birds and chase birds, but she WILL learn, all by herself, how to handle birds after a bit too. just be sure to never shoot a bird she does not point and understand you will be doing more training, than actual hunting the first couple weeks.

she obviously knows the basic commands, which she will probably ignore when she is working birds, but IMHO it is more important to keep her prey drive and search at a high level. you can "put the brakes on" later as she becomes more savvy and style her up as time goes by and she will learn not to crowd her birds while making solid points too.

just remember, let her have fun and let her learn about pheasants on her own. i think in the long run it makes for a much better hunting dog and a good pheasant dog can hunt anything, toughest bird on the planet for pointing dogs IMO.

good luck.


----------



## deerslayer80 (Mar 27, 2007)

Thank you for the info. I'm planning on taking her out after some grouse around Minot. I haven't had a lot of luck finding good phesant fields around here. Does anyone know where a guy could go to get on some birds for training purposes. I heard the Lake Audubon area is packed full of them, but is there any state land or non posted land to use? I'd hate to drive down there and find that everything's non-accessable.

Thanks again...


----------



## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

deerslayer,

The hyperness most likely is from not enough daily exercise, and left unchecked may lead to unacceptable behavior. As you most likely already know shorthairs are a very high energy breed in general, and require lots of exercise, and I don't mean just walks around the block. Yes, that is better than nothing, but they need room to run and run hard several times a week at least. So #1 you need to find such places nearby to do this.

The truth of the matter is that you are really doing the dog an injustice if you cannot find the time to give it proper daily exercise. They are certainly not the breed for everyone's lifestyle. That said, organize your time a little and you will be surprised what a half hour each day will do.

And yes, what the others have already mentioned. Birds, birds, birds.

FWIW


----------



## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Does your Military Base have large areas of land that you can hunt on? Can you hunt and train on the base? I can't imagine you're having trouble finding a place to train the dog. There's nothing but bird's up there.

But more to your question. You can train a dog pretty thoroughly right in your back yard and that means birds too. You can have her retrieve clip wing pigeons, point launcher's, point bird's behind bushes and all in your back yard. Yes, you do eventually have to get to the field but you can do all of the basic work right in your yard. If your're allowed to have birds on a military base. :sniper:


----------



## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

deerslayer80 said:


> I bought my dog in the spring and have had little time to work with her. I live on a military base so space is a problem. Most of her training has been done when I get home from work and in short quarters. She's learned the basics like sit, come, whoa, and stay. My main problem is that she's so hyper and she hasn't been pointing very much. What can I do to slow her down so it's easier to work with her, and how can I get her to start pointing on a regular basis?


This may sound cocky but I am an expert with shorthairs ( in the last thirty years I've trained over 100 of them plus my own which is another 30 or so) your dog sounds perfectly normal to me.

WHile GH is correct you can use pigeons ect.

He is an ex pro dog trainer and knows how and when to use them.

In your case I wouldn't reccommend it, use the wild birds in ND, pen raised and released birds are just as likely to cause problems and the dog doenst need to be exposed to them in a state like ND.

In your case the two things I would do are start exercising the dog by jogging with it or bicyling with it, MAKE THE TIME dog ownership is a responsibillity my shorthairs get two daily half hour free runs minimum.

By free run I mean supervised by me in a safe place.

Second exposure to wild birds will bring out her pointing and holding points its your job to find places to do that ( which is simple in your area). You cannot teach a dog to point or hunt they do that instintively, you can only expose them to game and let their instincts and experience do the rest. Fooling with pen raised birds or pigeons where you live is the worst alternative you have available living in ND.

Good luck I think your dog is perfectly normal dont worry about the hyperactivity.

I wouldn't want a shorthair that age that wasn't, just exercise her on the weekdays and expose her to wild birds on the days you have off and she will turn into a fine dog as she matures.


----------



## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

Joe,

You've been given great advice here about your pup. You should be able to walk the dogs in some fields near base. Just ask the landowner if you can exercise your dog on their property. You may not bump into pheasants while walking in cut wheat fields, but it provides great exercise and exposure to a lot of wild creatures/smells. I was once told taking a walk with your young pup is the best thing you can do for training...after doing that with several dogs, I agree wholeheartedly.

As the others stated, you'll need to make time. That may mean less time bowhunting w/ Josh :wink:

Good luck and feel free to call me via DSN...my number is in the Global.

Mike


----------



## deerslayer80 (Mar 27, 2007)

Thank you for the great advice. I've been spending a lot more time with my dog in the field and she has come a long ways. I have been getting on a few grouse here and there but I'd like to find a good area where I could expose her to a few free range pheasants. I know the further south-west you go the better it gets. Other then that, she is showing a lot of potential and I'm very happy choosing this breed. I found that if I let her fun for about 15 to 20 minutes she's much easier to work with.

Minot is a good area for hunting but the amount of pheasant per acre is not that great. Fortunately I've been able to hook up with a farmer that has some CRP and I'm able to run her there. Many other farmers had bad experiences with basers and they've ruined it for my dog and myself.

The base here has some room, and it's very limited, but you must have your dog leashed at all times.

I'm an avid bow hunter and I have the strongest passion to be in the woods. After seeing my dog perform the way she did the other day I can't help but to break away from that passion to experience hunting more with the dog. There's nothing better then watching her work and the pride you feel when she retrieves that collectively harvested bird.

I have to admit that I was selfish with my time between extra jobs and other activities. I now understand that "time" is single-handedly the most important thing that will build a good working relationship with you and your dog.

Thank you again everyone. I great appreciate all your input and advice.

One last question, I found that when I run my dog a lot that she tends to start limping on her left leg. I keep a active eye on her paws and she shows no sign of thorns, cuts, or slivers of any kind. I did notice that her pads seem to be a little dry but they don't look badly cracked. Is there anything that would be causing her to limp on a daily basis? I did hear that you can buy some type of oil to put on there paws, is this a good thing to invest in, or is she just building up callus on her paws?


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Good luck. For the people not very familiar with Minot, there isn't much for pheasants out there. Not all of ND is chock full of em :wink:  I have seen quite a few sharpies up that way though.


----------



## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

deerslayer80 said:


> .
> One last question, I found that when I run my dog a lot that she tends to start limping on her left leg. I keep a active eye on her paws and she shows no sign of thorns, cuts, or slivers of any kind. I did notice that her pads seem to be a little dry but they don't look badly cracked. Is there anything that would be causing her to limp on a daily basis? I did hear that you can buy some type of oil to put on there paws, is this a good thing to invest in, or is she just building up callus on her paws?


Get her to the vet right away. Don't mess around with it. It could be several things and some can be serious.


----------



## deer68 (Mar 16, 2004)

Got a shorthair this last winter and this summer she started limping and I took her to the vet right away. They took some x-rays and found a little piece of cartilage that was torn away from from the top of her Humerus bone(OCD). Go to http://www.thepetcenter.com/xra/ocd.html and you will see what I am talking about. The x-rays were exactly as on the web page I just put on here. We kept her kenneled(as much as possible) for about 6 weeks and she came out of it OK. The vet told me that there is two places that he knew of to get surgery on her and they were in Saskatoon, Sask. and Rapid City, SD for a small price of $500 to $1000. I am glad she got over it and is not having any trouble now. I am not saying that this is what it is, but if it is you better get it checked out before it gets too bad and may need surgery. Good luck.


----------

