hi, can anyone advise me on introducing my Ess pup to his lead? he is 8 weeks old and i wondered if this is too early? I have got him use to his collar but today when i tried him with his lead on (in the garden - and with treats!) he went ballistic - was i trying too early?. Another point is he can be a little aggresive how do i let him know that i'm the boss not him! Sorry if i sound totaly useless but i want to get this right for his sake as he is adorable and very bright.

Hi Jacky, welcome to ESS ownership. Hope you've got lots of patience and energy!! They go like a bucking bronco when you put that lead on, don't they? Try it for a minute or two round the garden. You may not get far, but they do get used to it eventually. Plus, when you can actually go beyond the back gate, they soon find things more interesting and forget about the lead. In the meantime, you'll just have to walk her around outside in your arms, like Geri Halliwell.

Lead training in the garden is something I never bother with prefering to wait until I can take the puppy out. That way there is other things to occupy the puppy's mind! I get a puppy used to a collar right from the time I first get it, putting it on just before feeding so again, the puppy's mind is on other things. Before the injections I'll take my puppy out in my arms to see the wide world and at this time I clip the lead on for added reassurance, knowing that in the unlikely event that she struggles out of my arms I still have the lead to hold on to. When I get back home I put her down BEFORE unclipping the lead so that even though i've not done any lead training as such, the puppy already has good feelings about the lead.

Regards, John

Thanks a lot for the tips, i must admit i love this bundle of trouble to bits but my hands are suffering with all the teeth marks! my last dog was a lab and very gentle so a springer pup is a bit of a shock apparently he was the pup that all the rest of the litter followed so i guess he just needs to adjust to the fact that we are in charge, he is still very young but very alert.

By the way sorry to dissapoint but i'm soooo unlike Geri Haliwell!

Dave, Geri's to big to carry around in your arms! Put her down and stick a lead on her :rolleyes:

JK, I usually start out by putting the lead on my puppies for a quick two minutes around the garden as well. They quickly associate it as something that means 'fun'. Infact, I did such a good job on Reefa, that the stoopid animal actually gets excited when we are already out and I call him back to have his lead on :D

Leigh my puppy (Ike) is permanently on a high though you can tell he is a gun dog as when i take him in the garden he looks up at the birds as though he is waiting for one to drop out of the sky he'll be waiting a long time!:)

I'm sure you've started doing some training with your pup, by the sounds of it, so, what I did with both of my dogs was to put the lead on for a couple of minutes every day while doing training sessions, which only last a couple of minutes two or three times a day at this age. They never even noticed they had themm on because they were so excited to be training so we never suffered the wriggle around and try to escape routine you see so often with little pups because by the time they were old enough to go out, they had been having their lead on for weeks and were used to it.
regards
emily :)

Thanks Emily. What i could do with is some hot sunny weather to take him out in the garden as it hasnt stopped raining today though at the moment he is sound asleep at my husbands feet as he does the ironing(my husband that is!):)

JK, is Ike from working lines and are you going to work him? It always amused me how my puppy would stop and sit, to watch the police helicopter fly over :D gawd knows what he thought it was!

Leigh, yes his mother and father are both working gun dogs but Ike will just be a family pet though looking at his pedigree there are a lot of field champions, I just hope none of our neighbours have budgies!:D in fact watching him play with his toys is hilarious as he stalks them then pounces on them.

Jacky, you don't have to actually 'work' him on live game, but on dummies. You'd be amazed at what they can do, and it will bring both of you a lot of pleasure. Where are you in the country?

Dave I live in the Lake District, about 13 miles from Keswick. My son (aged 15) would probably love to train him using dummies, how do you do that?

Hi,

Not Dave but I have a springer who is trained to retrieve a dummy. She is very ocasionally worked so I do a lot of dummy work with her to give her something to do.

Firstly, you need to buy a dummy. I get mine from Turner Richards (do a search and you will find a web site for them). It's a bit difficult to explain how to do it (I'm sure John will manage though)!

Best advice is to get a book on gundog training. Read and use what makes sense. I have a number of books which I take bits out of. I don't agree with all the methods and use what I feel happy with.

I'm not sure if there are any gundog training classes around you. I live on the Lancs/N Yorks border and can't find one for love nor money!

There is the Lowther Horse Trials and Game Fair at the beginning of August which will be fun to go to. I go every year. They have gundog scurries, demonstrations and a lot of stalls.

No matter what, remember to have fun with him!

Helen

hi Helen thanks for the info. I've been to Lowther Horse Trials its a great day out, the gun dogs are brilliant to watch. I'll have to see what date its on this year as i'll probably get a dummy from there. I don't know of any training classes around here but at the moment i'm having trouble toilet training him never mind retriving!:)

JK, why not Whistle Train Ike too ;-)