Brittany puppy

[Telemark]

Got him today.



He's a great puppy, and the whole family loves him. Pretty much all the training is my responsibility, and this is my first dog, so any tips are welcome. So far he's a hoot!

 

[Bill]

“Hey Pup, Fetch it up” by Bill Tarrant is an old book but the best I used back in the day.
Just skip the section on force breaking the dog. No need for it and the author says so in latter books he’s written.

 

[Someday isle]

I’ve only had one bird dog in my life. A German shorthair. His bad habits were caused by me. His good habits were caused by his own instincts. My dad had a couple Brits. Truth be told they were all better hunters than I ever was. My advice - enjoy every moment and love them like family. You can’t go wrong with that.

 

[ksgobbler]

Ive owned one brittany. His name was Sam. He was insanely smart, but very sensitive. This guy trains different than alot of others but I like it.
https://higginsgundogs.com/about-us/our-method/method-flowchart/

 

[bwoods11]

Great looking pup

 

[Telemark]

Thanks, guys. He's about 3 months old now. Kind of useless so far. He's cute, but he just pees and poops and sleeps and bites everything.

He likes to cuddle, but half the time that involves biting and chewing on me. And he has sharp teeth like a python. At what age do they calm down and act more like all the Brittanies I've med peviously?

 

[H20fwler]

Pups seem to want to chew random household things until they are about two so try not to give him the opportunity if you can keep shoes and other things out of his reach, he should start loosing his needle like puppy teeth soon. Go ahead and start playing fetch with him now just keep it fun and not serious, also start working on basic commands sit/stay/no/fetch etc. If anyone you know has any leftover frozen gamebird wings start leaving him scent trails and hiding them to let him find them and praise him for it...just don't let him chew wings up, you can keep refreezing the wings in a freezer bag they will last a long time that way. Training new pups is fun as you see them start "getting it" like a light goes on in their head when they understand and start working with you. Keep training session short for now and stop as soon as he starts getting disinterested...plenty of time for serious training when he is a little older, keep it fun for both of you.

Great looking pup!

 

[Telemark]

Thanks! He can sit, but he doesnt stay unless he wants to. He fetches things eagerly, but then sits down and chews them up. We are on vacation now, but in a couple weeks I will be home, and then I think I can get some bird wings or maybe shoot a magpie.

 

[jsasker007]

Don't worry----he'll have you trained in no time.

 

[Telemark]

Well now he can fetch things and deliver them to me for treats. But he sometimes doesn't do anything at all, just sits there being stubborn.

 

[Big Snow Man]

Maybe he thinks this fetching thing is a group effort . He does it a few times and then he watches you do it.

 

[ksgobbler]

You have to always stop with the pup wanting more. If after a 5 throws he is disinterested only throw it 3 times and stop.

 

[Telemark]

All the recent talk about bird dogs got me thinking I should give a little update on my Brittany puppy. He's About 10 months old now. He is hilarious and extremely high energy. He is an excellent family dog and is eager to play with all other dogs and people. He has found some birds on his own and hunts pretty well with me but gets distracted easily by other dogs or people.



He has a great personality, but he is obsessed with food. He will guaranteed find any human or dog food within his reach. And he will eat plastic or paper food wrappers and even toothpaste. He used to eat sand and gravel, but I haven't seen that recently.

 

[Telemark]

Last weekend we took him ptarmigan hunting in the mountains to be evaluated by official judges. They said he had good instincts and hunts well, but he is way too easily distracted and too eager to play instead of hunt.

 

[H20fwler]

He looks great and it looks like you have your hands full with him! He will settle down with age, what did you name him?

 

[Telemark]

My wife named him Bonzo.

 

[chummer]

We had a dog trainer show us how to stop that bitting in one day. When he does it grab him around his snout and growl no at him. Nothing hard, just to get his attention. Put your hand back and get him to bite it again and repeat. Have your wife and anyone else in the house do it as well. I was amazed at how fast it stopped. Even had our kids do it and she stopped bitting everyone in a day.

 

[chummer]

Sorry I didn’t see was grown now. I assume he doesn’t bite anymore. Good looking dog.

 

[Belchertown Bowman]

Also put a dab of tabsco sauce on anything you do not want chewed. After you dab the Tabasco sprinkle chili powder on the wet tabasco.

He will never bit it again.