After moaning about recall, here is a SUCCESS story :) Morse and I sometimes see the Springer Sisters of an early morning walk. Theyre ESS sisters who are very tightly bonded and one is so timid she bolts if she sees another dog. Today he spotted the Springer Sisters, lay down facing them and when I called him he shot TO ME like a rocket! :) We did our thing in one corner of the football field while the Springer Sisters froliced on the other side and no problems. Morse-babe, I am sooo proud of you. Must be my Tohme impersonation ( think ruthless, relentless, be that ruthless!)

Extra treats all round well done young Morse

Way to go Morse :-D

Must be something in the air as our young pointer is deciding to behave herself.

Helen

Ruthless? :D :D :D  Moi? :D :D

Well done Morse! :D I must learn how to do that!

Well done Morse and Lorelei too :D

It's all that wiggling! You are now his dance partner! :-D
Tracy

Having a rough day with Sadie.  Tell me some of the changes good and bad you have seen with Morse.  Sadie is our 11 months old Pointer. 

I am having one of those days when she is chewing on everything in reach, ink pens, scrub brushes, the cat...  I realize it is because she has missed her morning run, but heck I have played the retrieve game twice and a short walk around the neighborhood. It is the first run missed in weeks.  She will get a run, but it will be this evening.  Some people say having a pup is like having a baby...well then I am having post partum.   I guess when we are in the house, I don't know what to do with her other than her treat ball and rawhides which she doesn't much care for rawhide anymore.  She just requires so much time, and I suppose I am a bit down about it.  I have young children, husband, and a home to take care of also.  Just need to vent I suppose.  I am wondering how I will sustain this level of attention and training for the next 12 years+,  PLEASE tell me it gets better.  What can we look forward to?

Hi Darling, I was just thinking about you and Sadie the other day :) Morsey - boy  likes to be part of everything we do so he tanks up and down stairs with me as I put laundry away, toddles to the porch when the kids friends call  etc. He has 3 outings a day for an hour each time, lead walking, training/playing and exploring the woods, then we play with him or groom him whenever hes up, and he likes to chill with us too. Sadie is younger than him so youd do less exercise. You are going to hate me for this but time spent with her now will bring you MASSIVE rewards, so lower your housekeeping standards, get husband and kids to do more in house and with Sadie and play with her. My youngest is 6 and she plays with Morse as hes so gentle. I do remember this stage and feeling knackered and exasperated but the corner turned when he hit a year and all the training started kicking in. I took him to classes for socialisation. Another poster always says be ruthless and relentless in training ie dont give up, there are no days off! Now I can relax a bit when out as I know he will rocket to me when called and walk with me for as long as I need him to, he turns his head and looks to me for signals when out and is a gentleman in the house.

When I got him he pulled like a train,relieved himself all over the house, his attention span was really short, he had no idea how/desire to play with folks and was desperate to get to other dogs but had no canine manners either, his recall was rubbish till recently, and he obsessed about blowing leaves/crisp packets. Now all this was due to lack of stimulation and training as a puppy in his previous home. Ill Pm you if I can as this is too long. Nil desperandum!

Well, I did give the ironing to my husband.  He is thrilled!  I also figured something out today.  I thought I would give this beautiful lemon colored pointer a good year of training and then, she would kinda hang out... like my 13 year old cat.  Ya know escort me on my daily walks.  Have you stopped laughing yet? 

Tell me what type of training is the classes you take Morse to.  I am considering changing to clicker training.  Can you believe I can not find a clicker locally?  I was trying to avoid shipping costs.  Also, do you use a halti?  I was thinking about that.  I thought it might improve my attitude toward walks. 

Sadie is getting an hour free run in a woods just across town.  An evening walk on the leash for about 30 minutes.  I thought I could get up at 5:30 in the morning to get in an early walk.  Oh my gosh!  5:30AM?????

I actually laughed at myself today.  If my old college friends could see me tromping through the woods with this wild pup, then to bring her home to rinse all the deer, dog, goose, poo off.  How does she find this stuff, and doesn't she know this disgust me? 

All kidding aside, Sadie is still a bit mouthy.  I am not completely comfortable to let her hang out with the kids with out me.  We never let it slide, but I am hopeful that will improve with time.  She is very very submissive with other dogs, although very eager.  So, I was surprised she occasionally still gets mouthy to us. 

My youngest is 6 too. 

I sort of wish the breeders could have "coached" me a little more about the needs of the breed.  Next time I will be wiser.  Do you have more than one dog?

Hi Ive only got Morsey boy and hes my first dog, we are waiting for a rescue Staffy Bull Terrier and OH wants a Viszla so wait till the posts on More than One Dog start coming in! We took him to the local classes which are obedience based at first, found them through the vet and changed this spring as it was getting boring. Now we do a class which is based on the UK Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme and looks forward to us in Working Trials - now dont YOU laugh :D I did use a Gentle Leader at first, to spare my arms,  now he wears a half check for walks only. Good for you delegating the ironing! This gives you more time to escape with Sadie, and no you cant leave a dog alone with kids mine are always supervised for Morse's sake as my littlest can still do silly things. The rest are very good dog trainers after intensive instruction. Derry Argue has written a very good book on Pointers and Setters availbale from Amazon and there is loads written about US Pointers. Well now you know training is for life not just a year, and we learn so much about ourselves through training our dogs. I learned I was a perfectionist ( to my surprise and horror!) with plenty patience but inclined to immature fits of emotion expressed on CD, which is not becoming in a 42 year old, and Morse has taught me to lighten up and have fun. I always enjoyed being outside whatever the weather so having a gundog is great for me, OH took a bit of convincing but now hes seen buzzards, kestrels, hares and rabbits, bats etc hes hooked, even on early mornings! Youll get to LOVE it! Im afraid she loves the poo as does Manic Morse who also helps his buddies indulge. By mouthy do you mean literally or that shes vocal if frustrated? They have a secondary teething period when the adult teeth bed in at 9-11 months and you feel youve gone back a stage. Morse still mouths my hand when hes sleepy. :) Keep going and keep busy!