[Lucky098]

Hello all! I've just been reading some things on this website about behaviors and wondered if anyone can help me.

My mom runs a rescue for German Shorthaired Pointers (bird dogs), and last Thanksgiving we got a mama dog in who gave birth to 8 solid black little pups that we believe are purebred.

Well, I kept one of these pups.. And he shows a lot of potential to be a hunter. I've never trained a hunting dog, so this is completely new to me and I am attending classes once a week on how to train him.

Yesterday, was his first class at the facility. He did great.. he followed direction and listened.. Today, I took him out to work with him and he acted like a fool. He would not follow me, listen or really acknowlege I was there. The first think that the bird dog trainer has us doing is teach the dogs to pattern by whistling twice and directing the dog in one direction on the lead, than whistle twice and direct the dog in the opposite direction.. Like I said, he did all that I asked at the training facility, but today, I felt like I was literally dragging this dog. He shut down, wanted to walk behind me or next to me, and when he did follow the direction of the lead, he would only go so far. I then started to do the command for patterning and ran with him.. and he would drag behind and slam on the breaks. He wont even follow me when I do it with him.

Some history.. He had a good mama and we dont adopt out our puppies until they are 10 weeks, so he got plenty of time with his siblings... He is a smart dog, he learned to be house trained literally over night.. And he learned "sit".. He did not however, learn the "down" command very well. He would not go down with a treat, he would not go down with slight pressure on his collar or any part of his body, he would not go down by placing him in the down position.. he had to be forced to go down.. For about 3 weeks I had to force him down. And then one day it clicked that I wanted him to go down when I said "down". And I honestly think that the only reason he comes when he is called is because my 4y/o pittie girl is very obedient and always comes when called. He was such an easy puppy to raise it was like he wasnt even here. But now its like a switch turned on and he just refuses to do obedience and (I hope today was just a bad day) be trained to hunt.. And the only reason I am doing the bird dog school, is because he really likes to go find birds and sniff... he naturally patterns and I saw him point a few things. He is very brave, nothing stops this boy and very determined to get what you wanted. He isnt gun shy either.

Some more strange behaviors is the fact that he sits on my other dogs like a chicken on an egg. He does not respect space of any kind. He will walk over you to get to the other side. He'll jump on you excessively, especially when he gets unsure of things. He will "hatch" strange dogs too... I dont think its dominance, because he just doesnt have a dominant personality.. And he is the only male in a house hold of females... I have two 14y/o GSPs, my pittie and a big Pit/Rot mix.. He is also very obsessive. If you take a toy away from him, he'll sit and stare at it and figure out how to steal it back. He doesnt give up for about a 30 mins.. and even after hours pass, he will get the toy back the minute you're not looking. When he chews on things, he chews with the intent to ingest it. I swear he is going to kill himself with an impaction. He doesnt get any soft toys, and if he does get a toy, he is never allowed to play with it unsupervised. He enjoys chewing on things in the very back of his mouth on his premolars and molars with whatever it is halfway down his throat. He will also destroy a toy within minutes of me giving it to him.

He also does not have any stamina. He is completely exhausted today.. This breed is super high energy and can go for days.. I dont think he'll be that type.

He is a very sweet, and affectionate dog. He enjoys being around people and partaking in whatever it is that you are doing. I believe he has a stitch of anxiety.. he gets very vocal if left alone in a crate.. but will give up soon. The trainers at the bird dog school say he has a lot of potential for a hunting dog.. And I'm just doing this for fun.. but my concern is.. if he doesnt do obedience, and isnt a hunting dog.. and refuses to learn anything.. What purpose does this dog have in life? He just wants to run around wild with no correction or guidance. His obnoxious behavior kind of makes him undesirable..

I hope someone can help me and I hope this post wasnt extremely long..

Thank you in advance

[Lunareclipse]

I had a saint bernard that had epilepsy. She would walk over the coffee table to get to me if I called her, rather than walk around it. She would climb over the couch too. She didn't notice personal space at all and thought she was the perfect size for a lap dog. She would constantly run over me when we were outside because she didn't stop when she got to me. She went through our back door a few times because she hit the brakes too late when it was time to come in. She also laid on my other doggies. We were constantly worried that she would hurt herself or someone else. She put me in the hospital twice with cracked ribs and a broken foot.

[Lucky098]

He's not incoherent. He's aware of his surroundings..

[Lunareclipse]

Originally Posted by Lucky098

He's not incoherent. He's aware of his surroundings..

I didn't say my dog wasn't incoherent when she did these things. She only did them when she was coherent. That's just the way she was.

[Lucky098]

ok...

well thanks for the response I guess...

[piratekitty]

Sounds like you dog is toy driven, which is really a good training tool. Use a toy when training and only give the toy when your dog has done what you wanted him to as a reward. Only for a short play or tug. But teaching your dog to release the toy or bring it to you is a must. When your not training dont use that toy or toys any other time, keeps the drive for that high. Keep the toy stored out of sight and behind close door. Bring toy back- tie a rope to toy so when the dog picks it up reel him in and say good boy. Release- Ask him give, offering another toy as a tug. Soon your dog will learn its your idea when he can or can not play with the toy, and with good behavior. Hunting training sounds great for his breed. But training the basics first, come, place, sit, down, heel and so one is a must. Make it fun for your dog ( the toy would do that) train for 10 to 15 min at a time with breaks for your dog. do this daily in different places, ( so your dog will do this with many distractions) All dogs have good days and bad days, just try to end a training setion on a good, in other words if your dog is having not a great sestion do something you know he will excel in and end your training on that. Remember positive verbal rewards always. These are a few things you might try. Good luck.

[threenorns]

i think piratekitty's hit the nail on the head: your dog knew exactly what was expected in the training facility - but once you took him in the field, basically you have to start all over again. this is typical of dogs. certain breeds - standard poodle and border collies, fex - are capable of generalizing: "sit" means "drop your butt" but the usual type of dog cannot generalize. if you teach them to sit in the kitchen, they're completely spun out if you want them to sit on the front lawn but they will perform perfectly in the kitchen.

when you got to the field, did you give him time to process? particulary if it is a brand-new environment or one he doesn't get to very often, he might need a 15-20min walk just cruising around the area in order to process everything he sees and smells and then he can settle down and focus on you. when a dog shuts down, it's the same as a kid - too much input.

you say he's not "dominant", but he certainly is acting it. just because he's a happy, pleasant puppy doesn't rule out him acting in a dominant manner. my dog, too, is a happy pleasant pup but yeah - he'll try to dominate given half the chance (once he's slapped down by the other dog, though, he gives it up gracefully).

and he hatches cats.

oh - the chewing thing? that's pups for you.

give him big marrowbones. that'll keep him occupied. not the smoked kind, not cooked - those splinter and can be dangerous. just a honking big chunk of beef marrowbone. i know a moose knucklebone kept my dog busy for a whole wkend (which is how long he took to eat it).

[lange]

Originally Posted by Lucky098

Hello all! I've just been reading some things on this website about behaviors and wondered if anyone can help me.

My mom runs a rescue for German Shorthaired Pointers (bird dogs), and last Thanksgiving we got a mama dog in who gave birth to 8 solid black little pups that we believe are purebred.

Well, I kept one of these pups.. And he shows a lot of potential to be a hunter. I've never trained a hunting dog, so this is completely new to me and I am attending classes once a week on how to train him.

He's only 2 months old?