003001.1 · TRAINING · NOBLE KENNELS
All dogs must be trained.
Don’t train your Gun Dog at your own peril. These dogs like structure and will do anything to please you. They are among the smartest dogs around, even if their stubborn streak sometimes gets in the way. Utility Gun Dogs are used around the world in law enforcement, tracking, hunting and government agencies.
- Document
- 003001.1
- Revised
- 09.09.2024
- Exercise
- 20–30 min flat out, daily
- Crate
- Non-negotiable
001 · THE GOLDEN LESSONS
Four commands that will keep your sanity
Two rules before you start. All commands are best given with a hand gesture and voice simultaneously. And if your dog cannot do them, you are doing something wrong; please ask for help.
Sit
Closed fist · “Sit” · Single whistle
The dog should sit and not move, no matter where it is. Even 100m away.
Come
Arm gesture · “Come” · Three whistles
The dog should come to you and stand in front of you, no matter where the dog is: including beyond a kilometre.
Heel
Tap left leg · “Heel”
The dog should walk beside you, not in front of you. This is how you teach a dog to walk on a lead, with no lead.
Bed
Point · “Bed”
The dog should get on its bed or into its crate, and not move.
002 · THE CRATE
Crate training is a GSP’s best friend.
They feel safe in it, and it gives them time out from the other two-legged animals. Leave the door open and let them come and go until you need them to be still.
It also travels. A dog that settles in a crate is a dog you can take places, which matters, because this breed wants to come with you.
003 · WHERE TO LEARN
Standing Stone Kennels
If you want to learn to train a versatile gundog properly, this is where we point people. Ethan and Kat Pippitt breed and train German Shorthaired Pointers in Kansas, and they have put more good instruction online than anyone else working with the breed.
The reason we recommend them over general obedience content is simple: they train this breed, for this work. Most dog training advice is written for dogs that were never bred to range out a kilometre and hold a point until released.
YouTube — free
Start here · No cost
Hundreds of videos, free. Everything from bringing an eight-week-old home through to steadying a dog on birds. Start here before you spend anything.
Step-by-step courses
Structured · 8 weeks to 12 months
Their Versatile Dog course takes a puppy from eight weeks old through to a year, in order, with obedience and developmental goals set out for each stage. It can be adapted for an older dog. This is the answer if you find yourself training whoa one day and recall the next with no plan.
Podcast and community
Ongoing · Patreon
The Standing Stone Podcast is worth the drive time — they break down their own dogs’ hunt tests, including the failures, which is rarer and more useful than it sounds. Their Patreon community also offers one-on-one support and one-off video consults.
Two honest caveats. They are in Kansas, so the board-and-train and onsite programs are no use to you — the online material is the relevant part. And they train to the American gundog tradition, which uses tools and methods that are more contested here than there. Take the structure and the breed knowledge, and ring us if something doesn’t sit right with you. We would rather have that conversation than have you guess.
004 · DOG SPORTS
The best way to keep you and the dog active.
Dogs NSW runs a range of sports and activities your GSP will love. We are happy to prepare you to attend these events and introduce you to people local to you. Every state has an equivalent body.
Gundog and retrieving trials
What they were bred for
This is what GSPs were bred for, and they love it. There are two types.
RATG — Retrieving Ability Test for Gundogs. The civilised version, using dummies. Enormous fun.
Field trials — using dead game and blanks in a gun to simulate hunting. Less popular.
RATG is open to both registered and associate gundogs. It is a test of basic retrieving ability, normally held by obedience clubs or at Gundog Group shows and obedience trials — usually on ovals or club grounds, so the area and terrain are limited.
Titles are awarded at two levels: Novice Retrieving Ability (NRA) and Open Retrieving Ability (ORA).
Novice consists of four exercises: walking to heel, a recall, and two single mark retrieves. Open also consists of four: walking to heel, a one-minute stay with recall incorporating a stop on command, a walk-up retrieve, and either a double mark or a double rise retrieve.
The handler may use whistle, voice and hand signals to control the dog, which must complete all exercises without lead or collar.
Obedience
Where most people should start
Trained club instructors will teach you to train your dog. This is the beginning of a partnership you and your dog will build on while learning to work as a team.
Your puppy will learn to walk on lead without pulling, to sit, stay, drop and stand using voice and hand signals, and the very important command — to come when called.
As you both gain confidence you progress through the classes, and from there into obedience trialling and rally obedience.
Agility
Get fit together
A fun sport for dogs and handlers to get fit together. Dogs learn obstacles including hoops, tunnels, weaving poles, the scramble, dog walk, table, see saw and jumps.
005 · EXERCISE
A walk is not enough.
GSPs need exercise every day. They need to blow off steam with twenty to thirty minutes of flat-out running. A walk is good, but they need to run themselves ragged.
When they are bored, they will entertain themselves by destroying anything you leave in their field of view — regardless of which side of the fence it is on. Every GSP owner has a horror story, whether that is the garden hose or the couch cushion. Stimulated with plenty of toys and properly exercised, they can be trained to be left alone without destroying the neighbourhood.
Snake avoidance and harnesses. Snake avoidance training is popular for people in high-risk areas and worth considering. These dogs should wear a chest harness when running in the bush.
All guides Feeding guide 0426 815 246
003001.1 — GSP Information Pack — Noble Kennels. We supply our full training guide when you pick up your puppy.