Unleashed—The Working Gundog
Why you should consider hiring the “Harvard” grad for your next blind partner instead of hedging your bets on a pre-schooler.
Most people don’t consider buying a hunting dog that’s not a puppy for one of two reasons: they think they need to bond with a pup, or they actually don’t know it’s possible to buy a dog any other way. We’ve already covered why bonding just ain’t so with dogs (“The Puppy vs. Started Dog Debate, Part I”), and with that excuse null and void, we can discuss the merits of choosing a started or finished dog.
The biggest advantage to beginning somewhere other than with a puppy is that the started dog has established skills. Depending on the price, this can be anywhere from having his basic yard work like whoa-breaking or simple line-of-sight retrieves completed, on up to a fully finished dog with field titles under his e-collar. The potential is limited only by your wallet, but don’t be surprised with the price tags you’ll likely encounter. Even a dog with only basic obedience can run you into the thousands. That shouldn’t let that dissuade you, though. Instead, take a moment to understand what’s behind the dollar sign.
Consider the acquisition of a dog that’s six months old. At that point the trainer has already invested six months of his own funds in food, vet bills, housing, and what his normal training fees would be for a dog sent to him for such education. These are all monies you would have shelled out had you gotten the dog as a puppy, plus the trainer’s profit margin, because he’s in it for the money. Yes, he probably loves what he does, but like anyone else with a job, it’s still a job, and he needs to be reimbursed appropriately for his time expended and expertise.
There’s a strong argument for doing just that. If you do your research on a pro trainer diligently—how long he’s been in business, how many titles he’s earned, you’ve watched him work a variety of dogs, and you know what his overall reputation locally and, perhaps, nationally, etc.—then why wouldn’t you pay for that kind of expertise? We hire experts to prep our taxes, train us at the gym, landscape our yards, and fix our automobiles. It doesn’t make any less sense to pay for the skills of a professional dog trainer when you want reliable results.
There are other reasons to go with a started or finished dog. Such an animal is ideal if you are limited in areas to train (a suburban backyard will only get you so far), or if your time to train is restricted. Make no mistake, getting a dog off on the right paw takes daily effort during that first year. You have a job, a family, and a host of other chores and hobbies that require your time and attention. Do you really have the time to get a gundog pup through his training?
You also need to consider whether you have the skills to train a dog properly. Can you teach a retriever a double blind? Do you know how to get your flushing dog to quarter? How about your pointer, can you get him to honor? Hand signals? Whistle signals? Heck, can you get him to sit each and every place you tell him to, let alone tackle something as complex as force-fetching? If you can’t answer “Yes” to these questions and a thousand more (next week’s section, “Training, Do You Really Get it?” will cover more on this), then you should seriously consider going the professional route.
Here’s another consideration. Lots of people buy pups anticipating they’ll send them off to a trainer for an extended stay. But when the time comes to do that, the kids are in tears, the wife’s giving you that “How could you?” stare, and suddenly your plan of sending off the dog for training has met the same fate as Titanic. That doesn’t mean anyone’s wimpy, it’s just fact that family life can get in the way of getting a dog trained properly. In that light, you must remember that, if you cave, you’ve just wasted hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a dog that you’ll probably never get to reach his full potential. Buy an educated dog, on the other hand, and you’d never have that problem—oh and you’d be hunting him now, rather than enduring a season of training only.
Need one more reason, maybe the best one? Puppies, no matter how diligent your research, are a gamble. You have potential with every one, but as with your own children, nature and nurture play their parts, there’s lots to go wrong along the way when you start from scratch, and you really don’t know whether you’re going to end up with the next Nobel prize winner or a schizophrenic street person. With an educated dog, you’ve done away with that gamble (depending, of course, on the degree of training he has when you acquire him). Before you take home a started or finished dog, you’ll be able to see the dog work through whatever level of expertise you’re willing to pay for, and the trainer will be able to discuss the highs and lows encountered along the way. You’ll know exactly what you’re buying, rather than just hoping you’re getting your money’s worth. And if your time in the field with a dog matters to you like it does to me, that’s piece of mind worth every penny.
You might also want to read:
Popularity: 7% [?]
