A Brief Guide To Training

Starting early

Working the dog should be preceded by reading "The Field Gordon Setter; the Black and Tan Bombshell" (hereinafter referred to as "The Book"). This will cue you to think about birds, training areas, wind and scenting conditions. Most training and working situations are covered in the field training section of the book. If you run into problems, either call the kennel or re-read The Book. Or both! If you have received a young puppy that has had no training, use The Book as a guideline to present the puppy with opportunities to learn. A Springset Gordon Setter puppy will point and retrieve naturally, if he is given an opportunity to develop these behavior patterns. The puppy cannot train himself. You must spend the time to train him when he is ready to learn from you as a baby puppy. Delay, and you will be playing "catch up". A lack of birds early in the puppy's life can make a slow-learning puppy. So will a handler who is slow on his training, or low on his expectation levels of the puppy's performance. If you are used to training Pointers, English Setters, Shorthairs, or Brittanys, and have never trained a Gordon Setter before, DO NOT WAIT for the Gordon to grow up to a point where he can "take training". "Take Training" is frequently a euphemism for beating the dog into submission, either mentally or physically. Why make you both miserable if you can do the job early, and have fun with the puppy doing it? The Gordon Setter is extremely intelligent and earns quickly. DO NOT WAIT for him to grow bored, and turn the learning experience off. Start on the wing and rod and within 4 minutes go directly to birds! DO NOT WAIT for the dog to develop his "run". Again, read the book - it takes you step by step through developing a Gordon puppy.

More:
Starting Early    First Steps     Shooting
A Started Dog    Giving Directions    Retrieving