The Trials and Tribulations of Chukar (a Brittany)

[10Key]

I am starting this thread to document the training regimen of my Brittany Spaniel, Chukar. This is my first puppy and dog for that matter, I anticipate quite a ride during the training process. The plan is for Chukar to be a good dog, first and foremost and an adequate hunting companion for upland birds. I've picked up several books, a DVD and I have spent countless hours online (of course I started at Hunt-WA) in hopes of gathering as much information as possible.

We picked Chukar up from the breeder December 5th, his 49th day. From there, I am going to skip ahead to when I started obedience training.

...to be continued

[Machias]

Looking forward to the story and a few photos along the way.  Good luck with him.

[10Key]

December 12th:

After a week of Chukar getting used to my wife and I, I decided it was time for Chukar's first day of school. The goal for training today was to expose Chukar to the collar, leash and whistle...If he responded, that would be a bonus.

I started with 10 minutes of sit, stay, come on a  leash...I used treats intermittently. To start, he didn't like the collar and leash, it was really distracting for him. He was able grasp the sit command the best and he was even able to nail the sit, stay, come trio one time...most likely a fluke as stay and come never seemed to resonate again.

For the afternoon session, I tried to reinforce the commands we worked on on the morning. He was more distracted this time, whether it was the collar, leash or the backyard that he was still exploring, I don't know.

On a side note, we really are trying to get him to recognize his name, using it as much as possible. Of course, MUTHER CHUKAR is used here and there.

[TEX-X]

keep it fun and simple... don't expect to much from a pup of that age...  welcome to dog training... i got hooked on training bird dogs a 4 or 5 years ago and have been hooked since!  I now have 3 GSPs...  any questions you have ask and i'm sure we'll get an answer... there are a few people on here that have some good experience and knowledge on the subject... what books and DVD did you get?

[10Key]

Thanks Tex...the toughest thing for me has been tempering my own expectations

I have Wolter's Gun Dog, Weaver's Training Your Pointing Dog for Hunting and Home and Tarrant's Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog: The Delmar Smith Method. Of the three, I reference Wolter's 75% of the time and Weaver the remainder...I haven't found anything in Tarrant's book that I like. The DVD I got for an Xmas present is Gun Dog's "Training Your Spaniel"...It is based on flushing dogs, but there are a few snip-its that I like so far.

[TEX-X]

i think that tarrant's book was a really good read...  even though Delmar's technique is a tad outdated i think it's still a solid technique...  his son rich now has a silent method out that i've heard great things about... wolter's gun dog is a great book....  just some advice for you... that i wish i would have had in mind when i first started training.... go slow... it's alot easier to do things longer than you have to than having to correct a bad trait that a dog learned from to rapid of a training schedule...  get some pics up of training when you get the chance

[Rowdy]

The best advice I've received from a very good and respected dog man was, find a program (book, DVD, trainer's plan, etc.) you like and view as doable and stick to it.  Young pups have short attention spans and training will not always go smoothly.  Don't get frustrated if you have to back up a step or two, keep things short, and try to always finish on a good note even if it's something very simple (retrieve, here, sit, etc.).  If the pup steps up during a training session and does something perfect or something that really wows you, praise the pup and put him/her up for awhile letting what just happened sink in.

I sent my pup away for his initial training but I made several trips to the trainers staying weekends and helping work alot of dogs.  It was great for the pup but even better for me, I was able to experience tons of different situations that became very handy later.

Enjoy the pup and form a strong bond.  Remember to be patient.

Good Luck pups are a blast,
Jake

[Shootmoore]

Looking forward to the read.  Your first training day post made me grin, remembering back to days with my different pups.

A couple of general tips.

Consistancy!

Use the training in the books but don't become frustrated with the timelines (just like people, each dog is different)

Consistancy!

Have FUN!

Shootmoore

[10Key]

December 13th:

Chukar started out his day meeting kids for the first time, he met boy/girl twins that are 5 years old. Overall, he did quite well with them. As can be expected, the kids were pretty rough with him, he played along and didn't get too excited or bite them.

After the kids took off and Chukar calmed down a bit, I took him outside for school day number 2. The goal for this session was to continue to reinforce the work we had done the previous day...nothing new was to be added. This session of sit, stay, come was as expected. When I had is undivided attention, sit was no problem, stay was an issue and come worked only after a tug on the lead (I am using the say "come", drop hand and blow whistle one time method).

Overall, the session was very short, probably 5 minutes max as I lost him fairly quick. Thinking back, I recall that I was quite frustrated when I came inside. I told my wife about it and she said, "you've got to be patient, how are going to be when we have kids?" She went on to say, "I don't want you bummed when our 2 month old baby can't walk or talk"...I smiled, and said you are probably right...As I thought to myself, don't all 2 month old babies walk and talk?

[10Key]

December 14th:

This was a Monday and by the time I get home from work, the sun has long set. I decided I would take this third session to the spare bedroom and see where I could get. Right off the bat, I knew it wasn't the best choice. First of all, Chukar had yet to explore this room adding to his "short" attention span and secondly, I didn't have the proper tools set and ready to go when I saw the window Chukar was giving me. I did my best to recover and salvage something out of the session, he nailed the sit command with the leash and come was ok...I was struggling with the stay command (and still am to this day to be honest).

[10Key]

December 16th:

Another inside session, Chukar had a very short attention span. I tried to make it at least 5 minutes, sit, stay, come. Sat ok, would only come with coaxing of lead or treats.

[gasman]

Sounds like a good start to a long and frustating relashionship 

I knw exactly how you feel, I am training my dog number 2 and 3 right now. Trained number one last year but never was able to coplete training due to his untimly death. So I do understand your frustration 

The one thing I was told by a profesional trainer and is the key to success is, "It's A Dog".

Every time i get to the pint where i want to pull out my hair, I have to stop and remember, "It's A Dog".

If you keep these 3 words in mind durring yu training it will releave much stess.

Good luck and have fun cause, he will do all he can to please you, I would be on it 




"It's A Dog"......
(words to live by)

[10Key]

December 17th/18th:

No formal training on these evenings (my notes were blank)...I was worn out from the week (work and Chukar). We did take him on a couple of car rides, he has been a trooper so far. We are prepping him for the long drive to eastern Washington for Christmas.

[TEX-X]

do you let him just roam the pickup... or does he ride in a dog box in the back?

[10Key]

The only time we have let Chukar "roam" was the ride home from the breeder. Since that time, which has included trips to Tri-Cities, Lake Wenatchee and numerous trips around town, he has been kenneled. His kennel sits on the back seat facing us.