Just Midol Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Ruger recently said in a thread that unless we own a gundog we won't know what they like Can someone explain the traits they have which make them harder to train or the inability to get reliable commands? I don't know much about gundogs. I assume they have a decent level of prey drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna H Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 all I know is that I totally understand what Ruger means!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) They're different. Geordie runs around thinking about doing this all day with my cats, and any birds or possums that should fall accidentally into his mouth. I will have more Gundogs though. Edited January 17, 2009 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolving Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 They're different. Geordie runs around thinking about doing this all day with my cats, and any birds or possums that should fall accidentally into his mouth. I will have more Gundogs though. Would a gun dog get along with a little white fluffy dog or see it as something nice to catch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWei Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 They're different. Geordie runs around thinking about doing this all day with my cats, and any birds or possums that should fall accidentally into his mouth. I will have more Gundogs though. Would a gun dog get along with a little white fluffy dog or see it as something nice to catch? Both my gundogs get along with my small white fluffy cat... they don'y try and for breakfast. Having said that, my previous girl RIP sat on a maltese puppy!!! she was ok thou... think the maltese was as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna H Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Both my two get along with my 2 indoor only cats... but I would not trust them with any other cat for a second. Both mine are ok with small dogs as they grew up with them in obedience classes etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Would a gun dog get along with a little white fluffy dog or see it as something nice to catch? I have 2 Labradors and a Maltese and they get along great. However, I wouldn't leave a large puppy alone with a SWF again - one of my Labs at a year old was left alone with the maltese for over an hour and she played with the little one so much that she had to be rushed to the vet for emergency treatment. The life had literally almost be shaken out of her. My 1 year old lab thought of her as nothing but a small plaything and used to grab her by the neck and shake her. Now they get along great, the maltese even tries to sleep with the 2 Labbies and loves being near them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Geordie does get along fine with SWF or any other type of fluffy. Plenty of Gundogs live very harmoniously with cats, my next Toller could be quite alright with cats. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Mine's only half gundog, the other half is working dog. I've grown up with working dogs, but Darcy's my first pet dog so I couldn't really comment on how different she is because I don't really know. However she has been incredibly easy to train, if my next dogs are as easy as she has been then I'll be very very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I don't know the thread that the original post is referring to, but I would rate gundogs as one of the more trainable groups of dogs! I find my boys easy and reliable to train. Gundogs were bred to work with man, not on their own and an uncontrolable prey drive is highly undesirable in a working gundog IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjelkier Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 My Lab Lestat is great with other dogs no matter what the size or shape and loves his kitties but any cat or rabbit, roo, pretty much any small prey animal outside and he is after it in a flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaC Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) I don't know the thread that the original post is referring to, but I would rate gundogs as one of the more trainable groups of dogs! I find my boys easy and reliable to train. Gundogs were bred to work with man, not on their own and an uncontrolable prey drive is highly undesirable in a working gundog IMO. I'm with FHRP - Mort is easy to train once you get him to focus (but he is only 6 months old) - he likes to learn and to be kept busy and he loves to get things right and once he knows the commands he will do them like a shot when you say them to him .... I think Gundogs (although I can only speak for 1 GSP here) are a very intelligent group as such (even though they do some stoopid things!) I just wish mine would use his powers for good instead of evil :D As for small animals - Mort lives with Talin our cat - they are not left alone however but he is getting better at not following Talin around so much .... Mort unfortunately really likes Talin but Talin really dislikes Mort (he dislikes other cats and dogs so its really nothing personal) - so its a challenge... - as for small fluffies ... Mort plays with anyone at the beach that will run with him - on Friday evening that also included 1 pug and 2 toy poodles along with the other larger dogs ... Edited January 17, 2009 by FionaC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayreovi Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) I don't know the thread that the original post is referring to, but I would rate gundogs as one of the more trainable groups of dogs! I find my boys easy and reliable to train. Gundogs were bred to work with man, not on their own and an uncontrolable prey drive is highly undesirable in a working gundog IMO. I've always thought this as well? Both my dogs have fairly high prey drives (one moreso than the other) but they are able to control themselves around my rats......though cats are an entirely different kettle of fish. Tollers are extremely intelligent, whether that ties in with trainability is another matter :D What is it though, with people always saying "If you don't own said breed then you don't know what they are like"? Every breed is different but they are all still just a dog :cool: Edited January 17, 2009 by tollersowned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 they're bred to work and focus quite intently on their job - hence what makes them useful as gun dogs. A few old europeans had a couple of GSPs and they did a great job for most things they hunted. Quite hard dogs and great workers. pity more people dont hunt with their gun dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 I don't know the thread that the original post is referring to, but I would rate gundogs as one of the more trainable groups of dogs! I find my boys easy and reliable to train. Gundogs were bred to work with man, not on their own and an uncontrolable prey drive is highly undesirable in a working gundog IMO. I've always thought this as well? Both my dogs have fairly high prey drives (one moreso than the other) but they are able to control themselves around my rats......though cats are an entirely different kettle of fish. Tollers are extremely intelligent, whether that ties in with trainability is another matter :D What is it though, with people always saying "If you don't own said breed then you don't know what they are like"? Every breed is different but they are all still just a dog :cool: Every breed is different and then every individual within the breed is different. I do think there are unique breeds, such as sibes, that were not only bred with insane prey drive levels, dominance levels and pack drive but they were also bred to be very aloof and independent. That makes them hard to train, but there are probably other breeds with the same characteristics. So the only hard thing about a gundog is their drive levels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogon Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I mentioned in another thread the comments I get when I say I have a cocker spaniel. The usual words are 'stubborn', 'hard to train' 'food obsessed', 'stupid' and 'can be aggressive- so watch out'. Mind you, I don't think they've ever owned one! It really %$#@**@ me off, to say the least ...so far my 11 1/2 week old pup is 'friendly', 'affectionate' ,'quick to learn' and mostly 'compliant' (he's a puppy). IMO he has a high prey drive and works beautifully to the 'off' command - a built in understanding given the work they were originally bred for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 The only more challenging gundogs I've seen have either been adolescents or had "challenging" handlers. I once took a repeat Beginners class of which every dog member was an adolescent gundog. As youngsters, some of them have the attention span of gnats. They learn fast but can be challenging to keep focussed - that's not insurmountable. Some gundogs can be late maturing and that can be a bit exasperating for owners. A few can be stubborn or dominant - that's not limited to breed. I'm sure there are some right drongo gundogs around but I haven't met one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Where is Rob? Working Setters has some pretty handy gundogs and is a pretty good hand with a dog. A good Gundog learns that the owner is the key to drive satisfaction. I would not say a Gundog has over the top drive.No I would say a Gundog has a good healthy functional level of drive to carry out its original purpose.The problem can be that in some cases people have only experienced dogs with poor or low level drive and so when they meet the real thing they think its over the top. The huge advantage that works for Gundogs is that people are still working them and thus evaluating drive level and this keeps the breed functional and healthy. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireybell Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 My cocker was a dream to train in obedience (besides the drop/stay which she now wont do?). She picked up all her commands after about 3-4 goes. When we are off lead in a park her recall is brilliant. The only time I've ever had a problem was when I was sick for a week and she didn't get walked for three days. The next time I took her out she didn't want to come back to me. She was obviously protesting because we hadn't been out in a while. I walked away from her and she ran back to me. She gets on with every person and dog she see's as her theory is that every living thing was put on this planet for her to love! She's very friendly. Occasionally she chases the cats but usually because she is shooing them off her bed. However she loves nothing more than to chase birds! I dont think she'd hurt them if she ever caught one, she'd be more interested in letting it go so that she could chase it again! I also have a beagle X cocker who has been very easy to train. She is not so out there as my cocker so she takes her time to warm to people and other dogs. She is totally food driven and I think would be happiest if I left the lid off the biscuit tub! She's also a laxy little thing. If it wasn't for my ADHD cocker she'd sleep all day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna H Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 As youngsters, some of them have the attention span of gnats. They learn fast but can be challenging to keep focussed - that's not insurmountable. That's pretty much what I've had with both my two GSP's... they do grow up... eventually, and you are right in saying that it can be a bit exasperating! They stay overgrown puppies for a loooong time; some breeds/dogs longer than others. It's mostly the adolescent period, as younger pups, both were super easy to train, and very quick to learn. Once they hit about 3-4 (or maybe 10 ), they grow up a bit and settle down some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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