Choosing to get a puppy is a big step. Knowing the right time to bring a pup into your life, and your family’s life, an even bigger one. When it’s time to bringing a gun dog into your life, plan on 10-13 years of commitment. Such a decision of when to get a hunting dog will impact you and your family every single day of that dog’s life.
At Cabin Creek Gun Dogs, we breed some of the most elite bloodlines of pudelpointers in the North America. While we wish every gun dog owner could experience the thrill of having a pudelpointer, the truth is, not every owner would be a good fit for a pudelpointer, or any hunting dog for that matter.
When the time comes for you to bring a dog into your life, be honest with yourself in knowing what your needs and interests are. Be aware of how much time you can realistically give to your dog each day and how the family may be involved or impacted by having a dog in their daily lives.
Do you want a dog that stays outside in a kennel at night or one that sleeps on your bed? One that sheds or not? One that responds well to other members of the family or just you? One that’s of average intelligence that you plane to hunt a few weekends a year, or one so smart it can read your mind and wants to be hunting every possible moment? These are just some of the questions that need answering before deciding what kind of dog you want to bring home.
If you work long hours and have little time to devote to raising a gun dog puppy, now may not be the best time to invest in one. If you live in the city where you can’t get your dog out multiple times each day, then now’s likely not the time for a gun dog.
This biggest disservice you can do to a hunting dog is not hunting it very often, or worse, failing to get it outside every day during the first year in order to develop its instincts and properly train it. If you can’t get the dog out regularly or don’t intend on hunting it more than a few weekends a season, then consider a lap dog ore house dog, not a hunting dog. Gun dogs are bred to hunt, and some will go crazy if they can’t.
At Cabin Creek Gun Dogs we often hear from dog owners how their dogs are overweight, don’t listen when in the field and are always in the house. The dog’s misbehavior and lifestyle isn’t their fault, rather, most typically, that of the owner. A good gun dog will be a better hunter than any human, and if they’re not given the chance to develop their skills and regularly put them to use, they won’t be happy.
Training a puppy is easy; the hard part is consistently devoting 30 minutes a day to that puppy so it’s properly taught. Split into three short sessions–morning, mid-day, evening–you’ll be amazed at how simple the actual training process can be. In fact, once your pup catches on, six minutes of training per day during the puppy stage can produce impressive results.
If you don’t have a puppy in your life, and now’s not the right time to get one, then plan ahead for when that special day comes. Getting a pup is a life-changing experience, and a big commitment, but be aware that to get the most of your relationship with a dog, and vise versa, the timing of when that dog comes into your life is everything.