How to Find your dog

One thing that we often suggest as advice to people who are beginning to search for a dog is to ask themselves the hard questions. Have the answer to what kind of breed you want and why you want it. Maybe it’s a disposition, maybe it’s a hair issue, oftentimes we suggest not picking on color and really looking for the right healthy genetics that are going to make you happy as an owner. Talking to breeders can help you answer some of those questions for yourself. Below is some tips on how to approach breeders and get the answers you need to find the one that fits you.

The next questions to ask your breeder

Pick the Perfect Puppy

Reading a pedigree can also help you do your own diligence

Once you have your Puppy:
Step 1: House Training

This in many trainers' minds is the first step everyone must get through in the home to put an owner in a peaceful state of mind. No matter the situation this is a step everyone must go through with their pup if they plan on having the pup in the house and typically it will start to coincide with other training steps that can help build the foundation for gundogs.

Socialization

A confident dog is one that will perform in the field. As a young pup socialization is a key part of training a dog.

Avoiding Jumping

Oftentimes when dogs are bad jumpers it starts with habits that are created from the day they are brought home. This will give you a good perspective into how to avoid building a jumping habit. One trick from the pros that can be implemented very easily is the “enter the house” drill. When you come home, your puppy is typically excited to see you just as many would expect, and rightfully so. However, as the handler you are going to establish his habits in this area of his life. So, when you walk in the house, instead of giving him lots of attention and hyping him up. Ask them to sit, go down to their level and calmly greet them. By asking them to respect a command before giving them praise will help the puppy build the positive enforcement they will need for training into an amazing gundog.

Building Drive

One thing to note here is a puppy's attention span is not much so often taking the object away while the dog wants more is going to help you build drive.

Here is another look at how to develop a puppy with Mel

Bonus

For pointers this can be a great way to foster their pointing instinct early on. Some trainers use the wing on a string drill often, in our case we rely on good genetics so don’t always feel the need to use this drill but if you have one of the pointing breeds it can be a fun game to mix in along with the short retrieving drills.