I agree with Randy.

Shorthairs are exceptional dogs and if trained correctly can blow other "hunters" out of the water.

Much like testing SAR and other working dogs (LE), you could add making her wait to go and get the toy or ball, or whatever it is you use to play fetch with her.

Starting out with short periods of time and gradually working up. This not only requires the dog to run, fetch and return to you, but it will also require her to exert more energy by having to use her nose.

Our shorthairs loved the game and then once they started "tracking" or watching the item drop, we would turn a circle or two and let them go. They would "forget" where it dropped and still have to work at it.

I still do this with my current dogs as well.
A tired or semi-tired pup is much easier to train with and get the desired results.

Carol, ya got such a way with words. It would have taken me probably three paragraphs to say the same thing about training during play.

Randy

Thanks Randy. You do a great job too!!!
Sometimes it does take me three paragraphs and it still does not seem to come out correctly.

I was thinking along the same lines as what Carol said too.

A dog that will play for hrs on end is motivated by SOMETHING! Is it retreiving maybe?

So use it. Those one hr play sessions become play/ob sessions. Might be frustrating at first but get the dog to work for those retrieves!

"Sit" throw the ball, "down" throw the ball, "stay" throw the ball and so on.

Patience, start simple no distractions. DOn't expect to pull the ball out when someone comes to the door and tell the dog to sit...too big a distraction to start with.

Searching for the toy is a great idea too. I imagine that your dog has some hunt drive!

You want to teach the dog some focus and work the mind, not just make the dog physically tired. Baby steps though.

I have known a few GSP and I know the drive and hard headedness you speak of.

I agree %100 with Randy that you should look into training this dog to do what it is bred for. Join a club and find a trainer. It will give you goals to work towards, help in training, and the dog can live up to that potential and focus that drive!!!

Another benifit of finding a good bird dog trainer (do research, check your breed club for a start) is that they probably use e-collars and you would have some professional instruction on their use. Good, up to date on current practices bird dog trainers use the e-collar in a different way than it was once used. Both kinds of trainers still out there... Choose cautiously.

I would also try marker training inside with food. When the dog is not distracted or given a command will it take a treat? Does the dog eat at meal times?

Hope you get some ideas you can use and keep us up to date!

Here is a few pages from Amazon.com on GSP's.
German Shorthair Pointers

My friend has a GSP and he found a bird hunter/trainer that takes him when he goes out of town.

Honestly I think it will get better as she ages. My boxer was EXACTLY like this when she was young. She was too bright. Aced all obedience but still comes on her terms. She always jumped or tryed to grab my jeans when she was excited. Forget treats or toys once she was wound up.

One major help was the crate. When Ava got to the point of not listening I would put her in her crate for awhile. It seems counter intuitive because of all the energy but I think it taught her self control. When she got so hyper that all comands are hitting deaf ears then into the crate for about half an hour.

Today at 5 she still can get out of control, especially when she wants my German Shepherd pup to play. Now she has an excellent sit command so I will tell her to sit and praise. Trying to bring the excitement under control. Before the pup this always worked. Since the pup she has had to be crated several time. Just this morning in fact. Now all are quietly laying in my office.

I do have the HUGE advantage of working at home on a 20 acre horse farm so Ava is litterally moving from 6 in the morning to 9 at night. She naps betwwen 1-3 but that is it so I feel your pain but it does improve.

ACtually, I am going to start working with a friend of mine who owns a GSP shortly to get her into hunting. She is also about to kill herself trying to play with another dog, so we are going to set up a controlled play date I guess you would say.

I see some slight improvement everyday, it's just that she can be so damn stubborn and whiney at the same time. I love the energy though, we have a great time playing fetch, etc. She just has to learn a few things.

I am still having no luck on walks. She will not stop dragging me wether i give her steak, chicken, hot dogs, whatever. When she gets her mind set on something, she will not waiver from it. You can literally put a piece of steak in front of her and she will completely ignore it. I am going to keep trying, but to me, if there was ever a solid case for a prong collar, this is it. I never knew a dog existed that would ignore food so much. Now, on the otherhand if she is inside the house, in the kitchen, she is very responsive to food, but outside, not so much. Sure, she will take a treat playing fetch, but say a neighbors dog walks by the fence (which happened the other day), she could care less about food, about what I say, about anything, which is where the long line helps i guess.

She is digging holes over my entire backyard currently (i guess this is boredom). I am going to make her a sandbox this weekend with the hope she will at least use it on occasion.

I also believe that she will be an e-collar dog, I don't know of anyone who can train a bird dog without an e-collar. When they are in the field, it's a little tough to get them back to you unless you can get there attention.

She knows sit very well, but will not perform when distracted at all. You have to keep telling her a lot of times and finally when she wants to listen..she does. now, this isn't the same with playing inside the house. Inside, sit is immediate, down is immediate. Come is somewhat immediate but still working on that one. It's when we get outside that things tend to fall to pieces. She was taught sit, down, and come, using the methods on Ed's videos. And the methods work well it seems, but distractions with her just completely change things.

We play fetch and what i call 'soccer'. I will typically use a frisbee, jolly ball, tennis ball, or several toys in the back yard. I also play soccer with her where I tend to fake her out from side to side and then kick the ball for her to go get. she seems to enjoy this more than anything.

Her attention span is that of a gnat. it's funny. She will really do well for about 20 to 30 min, after that it's like she gets bored.

Here is my other dilemna. she cries constantly for me to come play as soon as i get home. She now knows the sound of my vehicle, etc. Typically, she is sitting at the fence waiting on me, and it's been about 30 deg outside. When i step out of the truck, it's like she is about to have a nervous breakdown wanting to play. What should i do in this case? ignore her? it's funny at times, but day after day after day after day of whining gets old.

I have pretty much faced the fact she will need a buddy at some point.

Mark, if your pup is only 5 1/2 mos old, her attention span is NOT that of a gnat if she does really well for 20-30 minutes. Be careful you're not expecting too much focus and concentration from a pup, and 20-30 minutes of training is IMO too much also.

The whining she does when you get home is natural - that's what dogs do. If not whining, they make some other display of happiness to see you. That's not something I would correct or attempt to correct. That's a reaction to your presence you WANT to see, versus hiding in the corner, right? It may get old, but it's part of having a dog. I would also not ignore it. Return the favor. Do a little happy dance or something.

 Quote: mark surgenor

Here is my other dilemna. she cries constantly for me to come play as soon as i get home. She now knows the sound of my vehicle, etc. Typically, she is sitting at the fence waiting on me, and it's been about 30 deg outside. When i step out of the truck, it's like she is about to have a nervous breakdown wanting to play. What should i do in this case? ignore her? it's funny at times, but day after day after day after day of whining gets old.

This is to be expected - she's been by herself ALL day, wanting to play, so the second you come home, she knows the fun will start soon. I wouldn't encourage her to rev up even MORE though, with lots of excited "I'm HOOOME!" energy (she's got enough of that for the both of you ). I'd do what Sandy suggested and ignore the whining, jumping up, calls for attention. Unload your truck, change your shoes, whatever, then ask her for a moment of calm. Project calm yourself, stand with her in the yard and ask her to sit - which you could turn into "settle" or "calm down" once she picks up what you ultimately want, which is just a calm break in the frenzy. You could use a treat for this, or not, and she WILL stop eventually (even if only for a nano second). The second she stops whining, looks you in the eye and gives you fleeting focus, reward her and start the play. THEN you can work her up and run her around till she's exhausted. As she gets better at this, extend the "quiet" time to 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, until she understands that being calm and quiet gets her what she wants, NOT being obnoxious.

I'd say 20-30 minutes of attention is DARN GOOD for a puppy too!! My pup got bored after about 3 minutes of training! Don't push her too hard - waiting for HER to end the training/game by getting bored means you've gone too far for that session... try breaking things up into shorter blocks of activity and you might see an increase in her enthusiasm.

Just my 2 cents.

~Natalya