Brittany Training

[loosegoose]

I'll be getting my first Brittany in the spring and am looking for some input on a good book and/or video to train my dog for hunting.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[gspman]

I like the George Hickox videos.

[setterguy]

If you can find it, the book "do it right, do it yourself" By Len Jenkins is a wonderful guide to training a pointing dog. I have trained my dogs with his methods and am very happy with the results. I would also suggest enrolling your pup in some kind of puppy program with a professional trainer. These programs are usually about a month long, where they are introduced to live birds, gunfire, hunting with other dogs and range. These pros have the resources and knowledge to introduce things at the right time and dosage. Once you have a good foundation you can start to emplore your own techniques and preferences, and make your dog into the hunting partner that I'm sure you are envisioning right now. Most programs are quite reasonable, 4-500 bucks. It sounds like a lot of money, but when you consider the lifetime of quality hunting that you will enjoy with a well trained animal, it comes out to pennies per flush. Good luck with the new pup.

[Heidi]

I have an 11 month old Brittany and 3 or 4 tapes and a couple of books that you could borrow. Videos are kind of expensive $25 or so. Watch, read and return. Got a house is Blaine and work in Bloomington. Let me know

[Heidi]

loose goose,

I also have a house in st cloud. I see you may be up there.

[Beef46]

My 6 month old Brittany is in training at Elk River Kennels with Al Freiberg right now. Picking him up on January 17th. I can't wait. I miss him big time and my 18 month old daughter is really sad now that he is not at home.

Thank God for pictures.

[loosegoose]

Beef,

Is that obedience, gun, and retreiver training? If so how much does he charge?

[Tripleplay]

I have a German Shorthair and although I picked up a number of books and videos I would agree that some professional time is well worth the expense.

If you can find someone in your area that belongs to NAVHDA both you and the dog would benefit greatly. I was a complete novice to pointers when I got my dog, but the kennel I bought her from got me interested in joining. I was able to do training with other experienced trainers and amateurs (most of them) on working with a pointer and to this date I'd say it was most important to teach me what to do instead of teaching the dog because I was most likely just going to screw the dog up!

I also had the opportunity to work with the trainer at the kennel for a limited cost (maybe $25 a session or so)which really helped since then I didn't have to buy and store birds, etc..

I didn't go real far in NAVHDA regarding testing but I know that the base time I spent that first 15 months or so has got me a dog that I can count on.