I have one coming in a few weeks.

I'm not unfamiliar with hard headed breeds, I had a coon hound for 12 years, but I am unfamiliar with the GWP and other versatile/pointing breeds. I currently have a 7 year old lab that is a big baby.

I want to do things a little differently than I did with my hound. He was slightly food aggressive as a pup, I mostly fixed him, but was always cautious about the kids being near him when he ate, and he was super loyal to the kids, but was very stranger aggressive.

I plan on making sure the kids work with him on obedience and feed him and take his bowl away mid meal as he matures.

I remember dog "puberty" which is annoying as hell, I had to roll my hound a few times during that period of time when he thought it would be a good idea to growl at me.

Part of where I screwed up with my hound was when he was a pup I would encourage him to get worked up over "bad guys", which was a bad choice on my part. I want the new one to alert, but not be a total dick. My lab will do this, so I'm hoping the pup will take cues from him by alerting at strangers but not being too mean to them.

I want this dog to be a true versatile, pointing on upland, retrieve both upland and waterfowl, and maybe (if he can learn it) run some rabbits.

I have Game Dog by Wolters, what books should I get to help with him on point?

I learned how well that pups will learn from older dogs, so I'm hoping the lab will teach him what we do when duck hunting, the lab isn't great at upland though, he won't range.

I also want him to have a solid recall, I have an E-collar but don't want to use it as a crutch. Does anyone have a technique to get more stubborn breeds to recall? My hound never really figured it out until he was an old man, I want this one at my heels when I ask, even if he's in the middle of something. The lab will abandon a retrieve if I call him back, I'm not sure this one will be able to do that, but I still want his ears working when I call.

Any help would be appreciated, I don't want to screw this dog up and I'm hoping when the lab retires he's a solid dog in the field.

Ive got a 12 year old and my brother has a 2 year old.

They are fantastic dogs and the natural ability for most of what you outlined is already hard coded in every one Ive ever met.

Mine is a food hound and fed on schedule/my brothers self feeds. If I could do it over Id free feed. Makes things more simple and his dog does great regulating what it needs while not ever begging or whining about food.

Otherwise out of the box they have both done waterfowl/pointed with incredible ability/small game/protective but not aggressive/great house dogs.

They are wildly smart and not just fetching and hunting machines like I consider most labs.  I prefer that comparatively and sounds like you will too.

I have doing some reading, and it seems a lot of guys that actually hunt differ a lot in training from field trial guys.

One I read this morning said not train your dog to hold point, because on wild birds when they take off running the dog will hold, and you want it to naturally move up with the bird. Makes sense to me.

Really other than basic obedience and teaching him "wait" I did almost all the training for my lab in the woods. I just let him go with me and get us busted or kick him in the ass a bit when he breaks early so he can figure out what we are there for and what works, which is why I hope the pup will mimic the lab when we are after ducks.

I trained both of my shorthairs with Wolters book "Gun Dog".  I ONLY taught sit, stay, come and whoa.  And come was non-negotiable.  I never leashed my dogs.  I always wanted the "out front" and NOT to heel.  They both took to voice, hand and whistle commands as per the book.  1 toot was look at me (then I could hand signal for come or cast off right, left, long, etc.) 2 toots was come.

Training them like this was idiotic easy.  I had sit stay come down in less than a week.

ETA: My thoughts are a pointer should hold steady to shot.  Pointers point. Flushing breeds flush on the run (like English springers will try to catch the bird.)  If a pointer ever catches a real pheasant in the field they will be virtually impossible to break of the habit and stand a good chance of getting shot.  Pheasants rise 5 feet or so, hover for a split second then take off in level flight.  I don't want my dog jumping up at the hover point just where I like to shoot them.  Grouse bust and fly all over - no GSP will ever catch one but breaking on the shot is considered bad form.

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We pick him up next week.

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Oh my God.  He's beautiful!!!!

Realize I'm living vicariously through you.  PLEASE post pics and keep us updated.  You've given me the bug big time to work on the wife to get another GSP (.....Or maybe even a GWP - if I can convince my wife)

What training at home should I do to work on holding steady on the shot?

My lab has a rock solid "wait" command, and won't break on a retrieve until I give him the "get him" command. Will training a duck blind "wait" as a pup help with holding a point later?

I was a competitive skeet shooter at the time of my 1st pup.  I took him to the range all the time.  Leashed him at the fence while I and my group shot and eventually worked up to him being by my side as my squad shot.  Treat his initial "WTF was that" attitude with total disregard like its just another day.  Those first few days I didn't shoot but had him on leash at the fence.  We worked up to him being on the line.  He heard 1,000's of shots by the time we went afield.

I will caution you tho theres a difference in shooting targets that are away from you and the dog and actually shooting a live round OVER the dog.  He about shit himself on his 1st pheasant.  The blind thing sounds good and theres no better teacher than an older obedient dog.  The real problem is that if he holds too long heavily pressured birds will run rather than fly and that can be confusing to the young dog.  My commands were always "Whoa" to calm him down and hold him or "Hunt 'em up" to get him to move.  It really is in their blood to do this and you will learn from him more than you can teach him.

Realize too that a "point" is him wanting to get the bird more than anything in his life, and his breeding and training to hold.  They actually shake like crazy on a good point and "lock up" in the weirdest of positions when theyre sure its a bird.  Pretty amazing really.  Stick with your plan and he'll let you know what to work on.

ETA:  Whats his name?

Name is Wayne.

I plan on getting him out into the woods this weekend with the whole family. No hunting, just hiking, but I'm taking a .22. I plan on getting about 50 yards away while he is with my wife, shooting, and gauging his reaction, making sure no one says anything to him or carries on like it's a big deal. The lab of course will come running at full speed to see what I just shot, but I plan on spending the next few weeks casually shooting while he's around just to make sure he isn't carrying any bad habits about loud noises.

The breeder sent me a video and a very loud motorcycle went by while he was playing, instead of getting scared he ran straight to the fence to see what was going on.

I'm hoping the older dog will also help in that regard, as he's mildly retarded and thinks fireworks means there's ducks down somewhere, he lives for that gun shot, it's his favorite thing in the world.

Duck opens the 17th here. I'll go out just with the older dog the first two days, so he can get his nerves right and we can get some birds, and if he seems ready for it I'll take him along during the week on some shorter hunts so he can see what all the fuss is about. We take a lot of jump shots while duck hunting though so I don't want him out there if he seems even a little timid at that point.

We got him home last night. No accidents in the house yet, he was awake 3 times last night to go outside.

His temperament seems good so far, he's not bold, but not timid either, he seems cautious about new things briefly but isn't afraid to check them out once he's comfortable.

He worked up the courage this morning to play with the lab, and about 4 minutes later ended up getting flattened and ended that play session. Basic obedience should be easy enough as he seems to be treat motivated.

He's a full blown shit head now, but smart as a whip. I've never had a puppy that is this affectionate.

He knows "come" and is working on "sit".

I took him for a walk out back this morning and he was stalking some leaves, and quartered in front of me about 10 feet each side as we walked. I think he's going to have some good instincts to work with.

This thread is incredibly timely to me.  I was coming to this corner of ARF to ask if anyone had any experience with GWPs.  I haven’t started researching breeders yet, but I have decided on the breed.  I hope to have as versatile a hunting dog as possible.

I won’t highjack your thread OP, but if anyone has breeder recommendations, please PM me.

Wayne is a beautiful pup!

If you are near OH she still has one female left from this litter.

Does the breeder have a website?

No, I found her on gun dog classifieds. It's only her second litter.

I’ve never fully understood the logic.  Any pointing dog professional trainer I’ve ever met refuses to teach their dog to sit.  

Something to do with the dog sitting when they point.  Again, I don’t fully understand it but I’ve heard it many times.

Don't some guys train them to sit on the flush so they don't lunge or jump?

I think regardless of the breed basic house obedience is always a good thing.

He now goes over to where he eats and plops his butt on the floor before I set his bowl down.

Here's my buddy, Jack, back in March/April.

Looks like you're on the right track and getting sound advice.

Love the breed.  

Edit - Can't figure out how to post a photo from IMGUR.  Sorry.

I’ve never heard of that.  

I’ve just been told many times, never teach a pointing dog to sit.

"Hup" is the command I think.

Either way, that ship has sailed. I would assume if the dog is halfway smart they will know the difference between sitting for supper and pointing in the field.

He went to work with me this morning, and promptly stuck his face right in foundation tar. I told him no, and he did it anyway.

Hopefully his beard grows out soon so I can trim it out.

My wife probably won't like, a blemish on his puppy face.

I hate days we have to use Karnack.  I just LOOK at the can and get covered in that shit!
Dog seems great.  He'll stick his nose in a lot of places he shouldn.t but he will learn.

Sounds like you training plan is working out.  I also used a "cap gun" at feeding time from way outside at first so the dog would associate something good (food) with a bang. (IM on LI and cant even fire a 22 short in my backyard....)

He had his first real corrective training session today.

One thing I don't tolerate is my dogs whining or crying while waiting in the truck. Typically I've fixed it by correction, if I shut the door and walk away and they begin to cry, I pop them on the butt, tell them no and repeat until they get it.

The lab of course figured it out in record time, my other dogs all just sort of figured it out easy enough. This pup was pretty stubborn about it. Finally got him to sit quietly as I walked away and heaped on the praise and treats, I could tell it was draining him a bit so we went immediately into a play session.

Hopefully he figures it out fast now, as it's not my favorite thing to do, but I haven't found a better way to fix it other than getting a little hands on.

I started working on whoa training him last night (I use the command "wait"), and he figured it out so fast it almost shocked me. I used a board for about 10 minutes until he got it down, now he will do it anywhere in the house for much longer than I ever thought a pup that young could do it.

I'm going to guess it's because of instinct, because he still can't figure out "lay down".

Maybe every 5-6 times on "wait" he plops his butt on the ground though, I'm going to continue correcting that and standing him back up so he learns to wait with his feet on the ground rather than default to sitting down. Not that it would matter much while duck hunting, but I don't want him to instantly plop if I whoa him in the field.

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Damn.  Wayne looks like hes getting big already.  He really is a beautiful dog.  I know, I know I'm a GSP guy but when I picture the definition of "Dog" in a dictionary a GSP (and by close association a GWP silhoutte) that's the outline I see in my head.

I told you I'm living vicariously through you for a little while, so how's his training going?  Is he learning stuff from the "older wiser" Lab?  Would love to see some playtime pix when you get the chance.  You know flopping ears running around with the stick kind of things.

Unfortunately my daughter badly broke her wrist and needed surgery.  Shes 26 and a teacher up in Troy.  After her surgery we brought her back home to LI to recouperate.  She just moved out in March and has a 7 lb Chihuahua pup.  I had that dog for the past 2 weeks and it became obvious to my wife (and daughter) that I adore dogs.  This little guy would lose his mind when I got home and was soooooooo happy to see me every day.  He's very well behaved and not the typical shit bird yappy nippy little shits that Chihuahuas are known for.  He would sit on my lap and snuggle his nose by my thigh... it was great to have a dog again. So much so that my wife could easily see it and how my temperament changed when we were together.  I taught him sit, stay come (85% of the time on come) and actually was the first one to let him off leash in my yard to fetch tennis balls hurled as far as I could with that plastic ball thrower thingy.  It's actually pretty weird because my GSP's would get that ball in 5 seconds but that little Chihuahua had to run a minimarathon to get it.  It was wild seeing him with those tiny legs furiously running for so long.  I could gas him completely with 10 throws.  I could throw for 24 hours and my GSP's wouldn't even be breathing hard..

I believe a new dog is in our future.  Maybe spring. YOUR pictures help my cause because my wife is a GSP lover and has been all her life (Her Dad used to breed them).  Hope its all going good with lil Wayne..... I want him.....

Had some carnage to my work truck yesterday.

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Mine was kind enough to eat the bottom of my rear seat out just last year(at age 11).  Got a wild hair and just went for it otherwise has never destroyed any furniture outside of a dog bed or 2 when he was young

Good looking pup. We just put a deposit down on a draht to keep our GWP company.

OMG your truck.  Just look at those guilty eyes.....

My GSP did this to her bed on some random day when she wasn’t in a good mood...

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Luckily it's my old service truck, no big deal.

Had I bought a new one like I wanted this year I would have been upset.

Training is going very well.

I have him holding a whoa now very consistently, he will also fetch a dummy to hand, and whoa before being released to fetch, all without a collar or lead on. I have two recall commands. "C'mere" is a casual one, optional, like "follow me this way" and "COME" is non-negotiable, so far he responds to that one every time and I always make sure either have a high value treat or make a big deal about taking him to find one in the fridge, he's very responsive to this.

Probably in the next few weeks I will start teaching him to whoa while in motion, like the middle of a retrieve, so he learns it means to lock up regardless of what he is in the middle of.

I am going to build a pigeon trap some time in the next few weeks and start trapping barn pigeons, I'll probably pick up a bird launcher also so I can get him started on some very early bird drills like finding a scent and watching it flush or having him chase a few in flight and return.

I hate to say it, as my lab is a great duck dog, but I think he is outclassed in almost every aspect by the GWP. It's apparent the pup is more intelligent, more athletic, and more capable of learning quickly.

He won't be nearly as cold tolerant though. I was working in the barn yesterday and the lab was napping near me, the pup started to shiver and curled up with the lab to stay warm. The lab is like a walrus, the cold just doesn't phase him.

It's crazy now, I told my wife I thought the lab might be sore because he seemed slow on his dummy training. She said he's always been the slow, I just didn't have any other dog to compare him to.

If this pup works out well as a versatile field dog I can see myself getting a registered female when the lab is gone and having a litter or two of them, my kids will be old enough by then.

He also has discovered the floor register in the living room and likes to sit on it now.

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My brother’s pup turned 3 today. He is a ham but smart and a great dog. Brother’s first and did a great job with him

He's spoiled.

Getting big enough to take hunting soon on a few of the warm days. I plan on taking him out with the lab to see if we can kick up some grouse.

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what is the coat like on these dogs so far as in house maintenance and shedding.   Compared to a lab.  For example, the lab doesn't pick up burrs mostly, wipes off very easily, no hair trimming, lots of shedding that's easily resolved with a swiffer.     Where is the GWP in comparison ?

They come with a variety of coats. You can get super short slicked coat or wooly sheep coat and everywhere in between.

My buddies all run labs(yellow and black) and I feel like they shed a ton more than my GWP.  

My GWP with medium coat sheds more than my brothers with a slightly longer coat.  Hard to say why.

Our good friends just got a pudelpointer that looks alot like a GWP but is solid in color. If I recall those dont shed at all

I can't imagine this dog will shed more than my lab, he can create tumbleweeds daily somehow.

Not sure how his coat will end up either. The sire has a very tight, but dense and course coat, closer to a DD. The dam has a very long coat that looks a lot like WPG. I'm hoping he lands somewhere in between, but the tighter dense coat would probably be ideal for a field dog. His feet have a lot of wiry hair already, but a lot of people have said he will keep his puppy coat until he's about a year old.

Either way, I haven't seen any shedding yet, and if he's anything like my hound was then shedding will really only be bad two times a year when their coats thin out or thicken up.

I don't know what the deal with labs are, I'm surprised he can even get fat with all the energy spent on growing hair and shedding it.

5 months old this weekend. Time to start taking him to the woods.

Got his first taste of blood this morning.

I took both dogs out to state land for a long walk, popped a red squirrel. That really kicked on the bloodlust, he was 100 mph after that. I'll probably take him out squirrel hunting a few more times before we go out grouse hunting, just because it's an almost guaranteed successful hunt, and he won't have to slog through the brush with me and lab for hours.

Brought it home and did some wait/retrieve work with it for a few minutes, he was enthusiastic about it.

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He's officially a peckerhead.

Got up for 20 seconds and turned around to this.

Mine had a deep hatred for squirrels in his youth. My brothers 3 year old also goes ape when he sees them.  Top speed out the door off the deck and across the yard. One wrong move and its crunch time. He also is known to trap them in downspouts and proceed to rip the downspout off the house to gain access.

With the warm weather the last few days I decided to see how he handled the water.

Took him down the river and threw a stick in for the lab. The first 3 times he just got his feet wet and waited for the lab to come back.

Then I threw it and gave the lab the command to retrieve and the GWP ran 100mph and leaped in.....

Instantly sank like a rock, I saw 4 legs upside down above water then he was gone. A second or two later he popped back up unphased.

After that he was pumped to get into the water every retrieve, needs a lot of practice though, he pogo sticks it when swimming. He would have kept going for another hour I think, but the lab was wiped out, next time I'll take him down alone so he can focus a little better.

He got into the current once and I saw his eyes get wide. I need to get him a lot of time down there so he can get used to using the current instead of fighting it.

I'll probably get him a vest for fall, I don't really worry much about the lab because he can basically just stop swimming and still float, I think this dog is going to drop instantly as soon as he stops paddling.

Went to the woods this morning after squirrels.

He did pretty much exactly what he was supposed to do....unfortunately I missed

Next time I'm taking a shotgun.

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Interesting story and I hope you guys have a great many seasons together. I don't understand the taking his food from him in the middle of eating idea, would you want someone to take your plate during dinner? That does not show your dominance or who is Alpha , it's not a good idea at all.

Why not? The only dog I haven't done it with was the only one that was food aggressive.

Not only do I take the food bowl, but I'll take it out of the bowl with my hands while he is eating.....well, not anymore, but as part of training a young pup.

I actually did it the other day while he was eating randomly, just grabbed a handful out of his bowl, he didn't care.