Bleeding pads on Herman Short Haired

[bitterrootbullies]

Here is some general info on puppies and this goes for all puppies, purebreds or mutts. As a general rule, puppies can only hold their bladder and bowels for 2 hours more than their age in months. I know that doesn't make sense so here is an example. An 8 week old puppy is 2 months old so 2 (months old) plus 2 hours is a total of 4 hours. Therefore an 8 week old puppy must go potty every 4 hours. A 16 week old puppy (4 months) can go approximately 6 hours (4 months + 2hours) between trips outside. These are general rules. Smaller breeds have smaller bladders so they may not be able to hold it as long. GSPs are not small dogs and so as long as there are no medical problems they should fit this general rule.
Housebreaking is much simpler if you have a very consistent routine. Crate training helps tremendously. Feed the puppy on a schedule, they should be getting 3 meals a day until they are about 6 months old and then can go to 2 meals per day. Do not give them free access to food if you can avoid it. Cat food is not the same as dog food and puppies should not have access to it. Do not put water in the crate with the puppy, but they should have free access to water any other time.

When the puppy cannot be supervised, it should be in its crate. This avoids accidents from happening when you are not watching. If an accident does happen, do not punish the dog. They don't know what you are mad about and will only learn not to pee/poo when you are around them. Simply clean it up very well using an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle to get all the smell.

Each time your puppy comes out of the crate, take them outside immediately. Go outside with the puppy so that you know if they have gone potty. As soon as they are finished heap on the praise, tell them what good little puppies they are for going outside. If they go poo and pee when outside, then they can come in for some play time out of their crate. If they don't potty outside then they come in the house and go back into their crate. Try again in about 5 minutes. Puppies shouldn't have free play time until they have pottied outside. Play time can be outside as well, but its better if they go potty first so if your puppy tends to go outside and play and forgets to go potty, try putting them on leash when you first take them outside and only allow them off leash to play, after they have gone potty.
If you are consistent with this routine, the puppy will learn very quickly that they are supposed to go potty outside.
When the puppy is playing in the house, make sure your are supervising closely. If they start sniffing around, get them back outside.

Crate training:
The puppy that is sleeping all day and then staying up all night simply has a messed up routine. You can change this with a little persistance. First of all don't allow the pup to sleep all day, get her out for walks, play time etc. several times during the day. The more exercise she gets, the more tired she will be during the evening and the better chance for a good nites sleep.
I can't remember how old you said she was now so refer to the above housebreaking time table to see if she is ready to sleep through the whole night or if she still needs to potty during the night. If she is old enough that she should be able to hold it the whole night, take her outside for one last potty break just before you go to bed. Put her in her crate and leave her there. Do not let her out if she cries!!! This may take a few nights and you may have to listen to her cry for a while, but if you are persistant she will eventually give up. Even if she does still need to go out during the night, do not open up that crate door if she is crying! Wait till she stops before you let her out. At first this may mean you have to quickly open up the door the instant she stops to take a breath! Each time you open the door when she is crying, teaches her that crying makes you open the door and she will keep doing it. However, if you wait till she is quiet (even for a second) you will teach her that being quiet gets you to open the door.
Another thing is make the crate a good place to be, feed them their meals in there and give them special treats only in their crate.

Obedience/training:
Positive/reward based training works on all dogs and is much better, faster and more humane than punishment based training methods that use choke chains and leash corrections or even worse methods. Try to find a good "clicker" trainer in your area to help you get started training your pup. Puppies can start learning at just a couple weeks old so your pups are definitely old enough to start training. A good puppy socialization class is a great way to start out.

Any other questions or details you want please ask!
amanda (me) samantha (9.5 yo pitador) sydney (10yo pit bull) murphy (2.5yo pit bull) and foster (8 month old pit bull) and kipling (13yo feline pit bull wannabe)

[MJDCMAKI]

What's a clicker trainer?

[Tucker'sMom]

It's a little device that is supposed to serve as reward/praise for the dog when it does well.

bitterrootbullies, I appreciate the time you took on your post, however, I was looking for more breed specific info. I think I just had an exceptionally good dog(s) in the past, or this one is exceptionally bad (I mean that in a loving way). I needed some insight on the German Shorthaired Pointer, which is difficult to find even in "GSP" books, because they are all pretty much the same with the breed names changed in the appropriate places. But thanks...

[MJDCMAKI]

I will get you some web sites today that i will post on here for you for the GSP. These are some of the web sites that we have gotten our training techniques from and they seem to work well for us. And it is ment for this breed particularily. We have a neighbor that has a GSP 1 month older then our oldest and they sent her to training school. This GSP now is trained very well to take the owner for the walk. It drags her all over town when on walks. I myslef would not take my dog unless i could be part of the training process with the dog. My husband uses a stimulation collar (it may sound cruel but when used properly) it works very well. After using this collar on both these GSP dogs. It took approx 2 hrs. to have these dogs walk and heel at his side with minimum usage of the collar.

[MJDCMAKI]

Section: Breed Profile




Zoom The German shorthaired pointer is an excellent hunting dog with many loyal fans. A truly man-made breed, this dog it thought to have assisted hunters since the 17th century.

History and Origin

As the name implies, the German shorthaired pointer originated in Germany and may have been around since the 1600s. German hunters were longing for a highly intelligent hunting dog with excellent scenting powers. To achieve the perfect hunting companion, German hunters crossed the old Spanish pointer with bloodhounds, resulting in the German shorthaired pointer we know today. By 1872, the breed was registered in the German Kennel Club Stud Book.

Since his development, the German shorthaired pointer has been used as a bird dog and retriever. This breed is one of the best hunting dogs around and over the years has been used to hunt rabbits, birds, duck and even larger game. The popularity of the breed continued to grow and eventually, the German shorthaired pointer was imported to other countries. By the 1920s, a significant number of German shorthaired pointers had arrived in the United States. By 1930, the German shorthaired pointer was accepted in the sporting group of the American Kennel Club.

Today, the German shorthaired pointer is more popular in the United States and Great Britain than he is in his home country. In Germany, the German wirehaired pointer, a separate breed from the shorthaired pointer, is more popular.

Appearance and Size

The German shorthaired pointer is a medium-sized dog with webbed feet and a water repellant coat. The breed has a long muzzle and clean cut head. The ears are wide, set high on the head and lie flat. The ears should never hang away from the head. The shoulders are sloped and well muscled. The thighs are also well muscled. The back is short and firm, and the tail is usually docked to 40 percent of its natural length.

The coat of the German shorthaired pointer is short and thick. The color is often solid brown, liver or white. It can also be patches of liver and white or ticked (small flecking with a white background). Although they look similar, the wirehaired pointer and the shorthaired pointer are two separate breeds.

An adult German shorthaired pointer stands about 20 to 27 inches at the shoulder and weighs 50 to 80 pounds.

Personality

The German shorthaired pointer is an active and energetic breed that thrives on activity. Loyal and affectionate, the German shorthaired pointer is eager to please. This breed tends to become hopelessly devoted to his family and has a potential to become overly attached.

Home and Family Relations

This dog is a great companion and good family pet for the active family. This is not the dog for a couch potato. The German shorthaired pointer craves exercise and activity. In fact, this dog is a great companion for the jogging enthusiast in the family. An affectionate and generally even-tempered dog, he can do well with children if exposed to them early in life. This pointer loves nothing better than participating in fun games or hunting through the day and then curling up on the sofa at night. One important aspect of the German shorthaired pointer is that he must be made part of the family. He has to feel part of the group and many do not do well in kennels.

Due to their need for exercise and activity, the German shorthaired pointer does not do well when confined in an apartment. The breed needs space and must have a fenced yard in which to play.

Grooming

The German shorthaired pointer has a short hair coat and requires little grooming. Weekly wiping with a wet towel will keep this breed clean and shiny.

Training

The German shorthaired pointer is an intelligent dog and is highly trainable but can be stubborn. Firm, fair and consistent training is required. If trained properly, this pointer can excel in obedience and hunting. This breed has a natural guarding instinct and must have at least basic obedience training.

Special Care

This breed is relatively easy to care for but absolutely must have daily exercise. If left to his own devices, the German shorthaired pointer will find something to do and it is usually destructive.

Common Diseases and Disorders

In general, the German shorthaired pointer is a healthy dog with few medical concerns. However, the following diseases or disorders have been reported:

Gastric torsion (bloat) is a life-threatening sudden illness associated with the stomach filling with air and twisting.

Hip dysplasia is a malformation of the hip joint that results in pain, lameness and arthritis.

Hot spots are areas of itchy moist skin irritation.

Hypothyroidism results when the thyroid gland does not function adequately. Without enough thyroid hormone, illness can occur.

Otitis externa is an infection of the ears.

Lick granuloma is considered a behavioral disorder and can occur in response to a variety of stressors.

In addition, although these occur infrequently, the following disorders have also been reported:

Cataracts cause a loss of the normal transparency of the lens of the eye. The problem can occur in one or both eyes and can lead to blindness.

Von Willebrand's Disease is a disorder that results in the inability to clot blood. Affected animals will bleed extensively following trauma or surgery.

Entropion is a problem with the eyelid that causes inward rolling. Lashes on the edge of the eyelid irritate the surface of the eyeball and may lead to more serious problems.

Melanoma is a specific type of cancer that is often malignant.

The average life span of the German shorthaired pointer is 12 to 14 years.


We realize that each dog is unique and may display other characteristics. This profile provides generally accepted breed information only.

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[MJDCMAKI]

Housebreaking Your Dog

German Shorthaired Pointer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here are a couple for now. I am finally able to do this for you now. I will still send you more if you would like me too. I did forget to mention that our last GSP we bought from a dog breeder and trainer so also obtained alot of our information from the trainer.

[Tucker'sMom]

Thank you for the info. I have managed to hold my husband off on the stimulation collar, but I don't know how much longer I am going to be able to hold him off. Thanks for the info...any info on training these little buggars is greatly appreciated.

[MJDCMAKI]

We to held off as long as we could. This collar has several settings and a beeper on it. In general if the dog does not obey when we are training it something new all we have to use is the beeper part of the collar. They hear the beep and they know what it means. We only used ours on a very low setting when we had to. They are very exceptionally smart dogs so it don't take long for them to get the hang of things. Some people tend to think these collars are inhumane but if they were, there would be none on the market. Actually they are a god send when used correctly and for the right reasons. We also have a video made by a professional trainer and in this video the trainer makes the comment (by using one of these collars you may be saving the dogs life) (example: hit by a car, accidently being shot by another hunters gun while hunting)

[Tucker'sMom]

I totally agree with you on that one. I don't think they are inhumane, but I would like to try all other options first...just a matter of personal preference I suppose.