English Setter Grayson

[C.O.B.]

I have always used a short leash. Remember he has the attention span of a gnat. Training sessions should be short and sweet. Don't try to teach to much (come,sit,stay,whoa ect) to soon.

[Gary Laudermilch]

You might want to rethink the "sit" command. I never teach a pointing dog to sit. Nothing more frustrating [to me] than a dog sitting while on point. I do teach a "stand" command which means stand still beside me. Useful when burrs need to be combed out, ears cleaned, or belling-up in prep for a hunt. No horsing around - stand still.

[Brett Hoop]

I have found "heel" seems a bit easier for pups to grasp the concept initially, if they have just a tad of the edge off them. Allow pup to burn off some energy first and he will be a little less distracted and better able to focus on what you are expecting of him.

[Southpaw]

No kidding about setters and burrs. I swear it must of been a setter in the burr patch that gave the swiss engineer the inspiration for velcro. Our setters were always dang good on points and honoring, I think told them whoa and standstill more picking burrs. Hard to believe how much energy they still have after long day hunting and full of burrs how squirmy they can be. Don't blame them though, it hurts having them things matted in and trying to get em out. Wore out at least a pair of shooting gloves a year picking burrs. I will say having pointers in the south is a benefit on burrs alone.

Velcro was invented by George de Mestral a Swiss electrical engineer in 1941. This idea of inventing Velcro came to him when one day he returned after a walk from the hills and found cockleburs stuck to his clothes and his dog’s fur. George noticed its natural hook and loop quality and started making a fabric fastener on the same quality.

Gary, forgot that was also a valid point the old timers told me about not teaching a pointing dog to sit, about sitting on point. I have never seen that happen but we did teach brittanies to sit and stay and never had that problem.

[Hixie]

This is all really good information and lots to consider. I knew there would be a wealth of info to be found here and thanks to all for sharing. I will employ all of it as appropriate and according to how Grayson responds. Probably one of the key realizations for me is that he is still very young and there is time to take to get it right with him. If he doesn't respond well now, I'll keep at it at a slow pace and we'll get there. As Dean mentioned, patience and consistency are important.

The suggestions to keep the training sessions to 10 minutes or less and to let him run off some energy before a training session I think will work well with this pup. He's much more biddable after a mile or two.

I too know of many gun dog owners who have no need for some of the obedience commands. Their dogs are kennel dogs whose main purpose is for hunting, which is perfectly fine. For me, “Whoa” and “Come” are critical and should be fully ingrained as the foundation for further training whatever it may be.

As a gun dog strictly, “Heel”, “Stay”, and “Sit” are perhaps unnecessary. I like the suggestion for the “Stand” command as an alternative for “Sit” for the reasons stated (thanks Gary!) and I will be forever disappointed if Grayson sits when he points a bird. I don’t want to even think about how to try to correct that! My hope is that his pointing instinct is strong (there have been plenty of signs of this,) and he will lock up nicely. However, since Grayson is also a family pet, I am going to need him to heel and stay reliably. My wife and kids love to be with him indoors and out, but trying to keep an unruly dog under control and safe is not fun for anybody. So I will continue with these commands and get to the point where he is reliably compliant.

Lastly, thanks to all for your suggestions on collars and harnesses. I am going to try as many as needed to figure out which one works best.

[Dean Romig]

You won't have to worry about Grayson sitting on point. He comes from a long line of fine bird dogs and they are known for their intensity on point. To me, a dog that sits when he has a noseful of bird scent indicates a lack of interest or intensity. It won't happen with Grayson.





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[C.O.B.]

I have seen some Setters that actually lie down when they point. I was told (by the dogs owner) it's a trait some dogs have. Seemed a bit strange to me.

[Gary Laudermilch]

Setters were originally bred to lie down in front of the bird and language of the time called it "setting the bird", hence the name English Setter.

I have seen extremely intense bird dogs sit on point. It is not relegated to any one breed. I assisted a guy with a shorthair this past summer that had all the bird drive one could ask for. Unfortunately, he had moved from retrievers to pointers and he started this shorthair on what he knew - retrieving. It took me a long time to get the dog to stand his birds and then every once in a while he would relapse.

As in all dog training personal preference plays a significant role in the training. Personally, I would sooner avoid problems than try to correct them. I see no useful need for an English Setter or pointer to sit.

[John Taddeo]

What a beautiful dog !!!!

[Dean Romig]

I'm sure I am the only one with this opinion but I see sitting on point as a result of a flaw in the dog's training.





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