gwp wont point

[3dvapor]

My new pup is just over 6months and ive run him at the release sights for pheasant and bought pigeons and a launcher but cant get him to lock up on point.  Have any of you guys dealt with this.  Ive had my older female locked up on pheasants and he acts as if he cant smell nothing.  The pigeons he smells in the trap but just wants to jump on the trap wont lock up.  Any advice is appreciated.

[callturner]

Pro trainer, and sometimes they never click. Sometimes it takes a while. Find a pro and ask , forums generally get you too many wrong answers. And don't be afraid to get 2nd and 3rd pro opinions, Good luck!

[walleye1]

Wing and pole. Eventually he will stop chasing.

[Shannon]

A six month old dog has outgrown the wing on the string thing IMO. Sounds like a lot of wild bird exposure or an experienced trainer with a quick release finger on traps. Lots of them. If you pop a bird at even the slightest first scent for the dog, he will eventually start to point. If the dog is able to catch the trap with a bird in it you are doing it wrong. You should be popping the trap way before this. A good trainer will speed up the process from you doing it solo. Good luck!

[3dvapor]

Thanks for all the information ive been pretty bummed i never haved used the pole and wing just let him fetch bumpers with a pheasant tail on it.  Table training 4 nights a week now with sits and hand signals but was hoping he was going to be a good chukar dog.  I have never let him attack the launcher i always grab the check cord and try to lead him into it down wind.

[RC3]

Yeah don’t even worry about having ahold of the check cord.  Wild birds are the best for sure if you can just let him learn on them, if not what Shannon is saying is put bird in launcher and try coming perpendicular to the wind if possible, not downwind and the minute you can tell he smells it, if he moves pop it.  Then hopefully he’ll learn if he moves the bird flies. 

[Alex4200]

I am going to tell you one experience I had with a dog and I hope it helps. I got a setter that was about a year old when I got her. I was told she had exposure to birds when I got her. First season I took her to release sites for more bird exposure. What I didn’t realize is she was smart enough to learn she didn’t have to worry about getting too close to those birds because they would hold no matter how close she got. Mostly because the released birds didn’t know any better. Unfortunately on wild birds she was always busting them. I finally realized her legs were out running her nose. Everyone I talked to told me to take her to a pro trainer and/or expose her to wild birds. Finally a guy told me I needed to teach her what I expected of her around birds by teaching how to use her nose and point at first smell. The hard part was going to be getting her to slow down while hunting. I started catching pigeons and made a simple wire box that I could put the birds in for releasing. I would set a bird out in the box with a rock on top of it. I would walk the dog in slowly on a check cord until I got where I thought she should be smelling it. I would then make her stop and stay there. Either by having someone else hold the check cord or finding a way to tie the cord to something like sage brush. If she didn’t act like she was smelling the bird I would slowly walk around the bird until she started watching me. I would then kick the box over and let the bird fly. I kept doing this until I knew she was using her nose and was being more aware of what could be in front of her. After many trips a field doing this she finally started pointing and became a very good chukar dog. Never thought I would have to teach a pointing dog how to point but that is exactly what I had to do. Sorry for the long post. Hope it helps your situation.

[wildweeds]

Your expectations are  set way to high for a dog this age. Your kindergartner isn't expected to know nuclear fission. Let your pup be a pup. If you want 18 month old performance off of a less than a year old pup one would look at a pointer, the English variety, they have stronger inherited instinct and that's because of breeding for purpose. So many dogs are bred with "best dog I've ever had or seen" ..... most those types have owned 4 dogs and only saw their buddies dogs as a yardstick. Those breeding with purpose have seen 100s, flitted through a dozen or so before pulling the trigger. I could get your dog to point in about 15 minutes, it's about bird planting and technique in bringing the dog into the bird. Honestly best thing you could do is leave your shotgun and home,  drive to eastern washington and just let the dog figure it out on valley quail. I wouldn't consider it a hunting trip for you, it's for the dog. Age old game of point em or knock em.

[2MANY]

"ive run him at the release sights for pheasant"

Bad idea to share the field with other dog competition and flushing dogs.
Just my 2 cents

[metlhead]

I ran my wirehair on the release site near me at 4 months old. Late Feb and March when no other dogs were around. The pointer clubs are usually finishing their training season and the area is loaded with chukar. I had a rock solid pointer by the time he was 8 months. No gun, no shooting. Just reward for perfection.

[jagermiester]

Your expectations are  set way to high for a dog this age. Your kindergartner isn't expected to know nuclear fission. Let your pup be a pup. If you want 18 month old performance off of a less than a year old pup one would look at a pointer, the English variety, they have stronger inherited instinct and that's because of breeding for purpose. So many dogs are bred with "best dog I've ever had or seen" ..... most those types have owned 4 dogs and only saw their buddies dogs as a yardstick. Those breeding with purpose have seen 100s, flitted through a dozen or so before pulling the trigger. I could get your dog to point in about 15 minutes, it's about bird planting and technique in bringing the dog into the bird. Honestly best thing you could do is leave your shotgun and home,  drive to eastern washington and just let the dog figure it out on valley quail. I wouldn't consider it a hunting trip for you, it's for the dog. Age old game of point em or knock em.

Honestly this is good advice. I wouldn’t put too much pressure on the dog at this age. This spring you need to get some pigeons and put them in launchers. Launch the birds at the slightest indication that the pup knows there is scent. Getting the dog on wild birds and lots of them will do the same thing as long as you don’t shoot them. Kinda sucks if you don’t get to hunt that much. But in the long run its the best thing for the dog.

[3dvapor]

Thanks again for the solid advice.  Im going to try some more pigeons again this weekend ive let him chase them the last couple times which has really got him excited.  He got those crazy eyes weve all seen in our vetran dogs.  Im hoping to build on this until i can get him over some quail in the snow perhaps once he points the pigeons.  Im sure i dont have the patience the pro trainers have.  some of you guys have it down to a science!

[birddogdad]

kitsap here, have a remote DT launcher i don't need anymore, they are like 300 new.. i will take half ...

[mtaylor]

I would agree with some others who have written in. 6 months is a pup, don’t expect a lot out of him. My GWP is 5.5 months old and not pointing. No worries he will! Also have you contacted your breeder? Has he given you advice? He would know his dogs best.

Good luck

[mtaylor]

I will add if you listen to podcasts look up “the hunting dog podcast” Ron Boehme, and then look up the podcasts with Justin McGrail. If you go to the website there are more of them.