WEBINAR family to a shelter volunteer own inability illustration clients to gunfire and he appears to be well acclimated, you should be cautious when shooting over him during his first 't put him a situation where several shooters simultaneously fire multiple rounds over him with 12 gauge autoloaders. Hunt your pup by yourself during his first or with a trustworthy companion willing to limit the number of rounds fired over each point, and to not shoot at wild flushes. Shooting at wild flushes discourage your impressionable dog from pointing, and also result the close discharge of a shotgun which your first year dog is not expecting. As Weaver notes, Hunters who are more interested killing birds than their pup's development often be at fault the onset of gun shyness. Taking your pup to the local gun club, or firing over him while he is eating, are both highly risky alternatives to properly introducing gunfire to pups focused on chasing flushed game birds. These, and other similar procedures are, therefore strongly discouraged. 't risk ruining your pup by taking such seemingly convenient, but inappropriate, shortcuts. The effective trainer intuitively knows when to quit, and always endeavors to conclude a training session on a positive, successful repetition with their enthusiastic prospect wanting more. They work their dogs on enough birds to keep them sharp, but not on that their bird work becomes lackadaisical, or sloppy, due to physical or mental fatigue. They 't throw the retrieving dummy until their dog refuses, but instead quit one repetition earlier on a perfect exercise. They focus on the quality of work, and not the quantity. pups are easily distracted, or lose interest. When their attention wanders, they lose enthusiasm and the capacity to learn. Effective trainers also avoid over handling their dogs, and giving commands which they can't enforce. The former cause your dog to tune you out and the latter encourages disobedience. Successful trainers always put their dog away happy, and eager for more work. The best trainers, also, as Wehle often observed, leave no fingerprints. Puppies should be individually worked the field, and not with other pups or older dogs. experienced older dog not train a puppy. The pup simply learn to trail the older dog, rather than to hunt independently. As accomplished author and trainer O. has noted, A smart pup learns to hunt from its genes, not from another dog or a trainer. Two pups worked together tend to focus on playing, rather than learning to hunt. Even if one of the pups tends primarily to business, the other invariably follow him around rather than show the necessary initiative to develop independent hunting skills. Competitiveness also encourage both pups to knock, rather than point, birds. When your pup is hunting independently, and when he consistently exhibits efficient forward pattern within the ten to two o'clock arc, you can try working him with another dog. If he is distracted by his brace mate, resume working him alone. If you are handling two dogs, make sure that you are able to properly monitor and assist both that your pup does not regress. By the time your pup is four months old, he should be introduced to a collar and lead. He should be accustomed to a tie out, if you use one. It is important that your pup be confident and uninhibited on a lead and or tie out to ensure that you can safely exercise him on road trips. It is also beneficial to take your pup on walks town, or the local park, where he can encounter new places and meet new people. Be cautious, however, with introductions to strange dogs. apparently friendly dog can seriously injure a puppy instant. Let your puppy pull on the lead. There be plenty of time to teach him to heel. If you begin to teach the heel command at six months of age, or older, you obtain quicker results without unduly intimidating your pup, as opposed to attempting to teach this command at a younger age. When teaching the heel command, a multi-link prong collar, available from Lion Country Supply, Gun Dog Supply, and other retailers, is excellent training aid. Some trainers also experience good results with the Smith wonder lead. Most pups are ready to be introduced to the whoa command at six months of age. The value and use of the command is often misunderstood by the novice. It is, of necessity, taught