There is nothing like starting a new pup and the only thing better than one little rascal is two! Starting a new young pointer isn’t as time consuming as many people think. As a young puppy the most important things we want to accomplish are getting the dog well socialized with humans, building prey drive and running style and acclimated to the shotgun…
For young dogs socialization is key, we want to build a happy, confident and well-adjusted young dog. Take that puppy with you everywhere you go! One of the unique things about a young dog coming into the world is that they seem to enter the world liking humans and us the same, a truly unique relationship that is to be cherished.
As far as prey drive and running style, young pups are too immature for advanced training. Now is the time to let your dog chase around some crippled pigeons and just have fun. Now is not the time to look for pointing perfection, we just want the young dog fired up about birds! At this point in the puppies development it is also advantageous to do some wing on the string drills to bring out the pointing and stalking instinct within your dog. Never let the pup catch the wing and eventually he will become frustrated and start stalking the wing and showing you the beginnings of his pointing instinct!
Young dogs really are a lot of fun, if you are looking for help developing a young dog be sure to visit Valhalla Kennels for Saturday morning puppy classes allowing you and your pup the opportunity to socialize with other people and their dogs and get proper bird and gunfire exposure.
We look forward to seeing you in the field this winter!
Happy hunting,
Valhalla Kennels & Gun Dogs
