re: GSP Training

I would rather a submissive dog. Easier to train IMHO.

I had a springer once that could not stand you looking at her sternly. She wanted to please so much. Taught her to come in 10 minutes when she was 8 weeks old. She would whoa at three months. BUT I was not hunting much when I had her and she was gun shy. The only time I took her hunting she picked up the first dove she saw shot and it fell in weeds waist high.

She absolutely had the best nose I ever saw in a dog. She was ball obsessed and if you were outside with her she would drive you nuts dropping balls at your feet. I kept a tennis racket outside to hit the ball into the woods. If you told her to "find the ball" she would not stop till she found it. She would look for an hour. Once I hit the ball into the woods and it hit the ground twice before it went into the woods. I let her outside and told her to "find the ball". She started hunting for it in big circles and I swear she stopped at both places that ball bounced on the ground to look for the ball.

No question in mind if I had been hunting a lot then and had worked on the gun shyness that no one would have had a better retriever. It was not hard at all to train her. She would heel, sit, whoa, come, back, right, back, and left hand signals and retrieve to hand any ball you sent her for.

I ain't no dog trainer but I believe about 80% of it is the dog. No telling what a real trainer could have done with that springer.

Long story short---don't worry about the submissiveness.

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Because most would rather hunt live birds than retrieve dead ones

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While true, my GSP would rather pick up dead birds on a hunt than be left at home.

B-Young Retrievers in Slaughter, LA

LINK /

They help with basic commands and now we have moved on to hunting. Great people!

Good to hear. Anyone with uppland dogs on Facebook should check out "Louisiana Upland Dogs" We are trying to connect the handful of bird hunters in the state with each other...

Glad you are enjoying it...