Are GSP's reliable off leash w/o e-collar training?

[biblepeng]

I've been reading a lot of conflicting information about how reliable GSP's are in general off leash for hiking, (in legal off leash areas). I understand it can vary from dog to dog but looking for a general census. I'm not interested in doing any type of shock/vibrate, etc. collar use that seems to be so popular with the breed. Thanks.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@biblepeng We see a decent amount of GSPs off leash at parks and I’ve never seen an e-collar in use. I have a gundog and recall was easy to train with the right treat.

 

[silverthorne]

@biblepeng Finding the right bloodline that has been bred to be more bidable, higher handler focus/engagement will be key.

Don't go getting a field trial bred dog and expect recall training to be as easy as a blooding created for closer work, or a bloodline out of say Germany.

 

[eront]

@biblepeng I can't imagine any dog breed requires an ecollar for recall. I have a shiba with a pretty reliable recall without one.

There's a lot of force-free gun dog trainers out there. Perhaps looking in that area might help?

 

[jenliny]

@eront The principles of learning are true across all species (including humans) and no breed in particular has special requirements. What motivates them might appear different - say a toy vs treats - but agreed that you shouldn’t need X tool because you have X breed.

 

[eront]

@jenliny In some shibas there's no real ability to teach recall because their drives are too strong and they swing towards "I don't care what you have, I'm not doing it". Just, that's on an individual level. I personally just would keep a shiba like that on a leash.

But, a biddable breed who tends towards handler focus and drive? Oh, absolutely not.

 

[jordan1275]

@biblepeng It depends on the individual dog. Some dogs' natural range is farther than others, but it’s pretty easy to teach recall and check-ins.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@biblepeng They can absolutely recall without. If super birdy/high drive, it’s just more work. And they will tend to follow their nose, so it can take more time to build in a solid recall than with a more handler focused breed.

That said, you can absolutely use an ecollar non-aversively for long distance recall through the beep or vibrate function and slow, positive introduction and training.

I imagine anyone actually hunting with their GSP might appreciate being able to recall their dog with the push of a button and near silence of a vibrating collar, rather than shouting in the middle of the woods where they are trying to quietly hunt…

 

[meeksoul]

@biblepeng A long line and some high value treats will reliably teach recall. Some dogs don’t get it in which case you could keep them on a long line for longer walks so they can explore

 

[jesusfreakyl]

@biblepeng My old gsp would go adventure out in the woods while I was running trails and would mostly always come back and check in on me every few minutes. But if she ran into a critter or deer and either treed it or chased it then she could sometimes go missing for a while. Which was stressful. But she was a great trail
Buddy for many years. I now have 2 gsp. And I don’t live in the same place and mostly use a dog park as my exercise spot. And I also started using a gps collar. In case they bail on me. Fi collar. Connects to an app on your phone and you can track them.

 

[shenanigansandtoast]

@biblepeng They're gun dogs... they were literally created as a breed to walk around without a leash while staying close to the hunter. You can absolutely hike off leash with them provided you put in the recall training early.

 

[silverthorne]

@shenanigansandtoast This depends on the bloodline, American field trial lines are expected to be big running 500 yard dogs.