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Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
#7055286
01/27/18 11:02 PM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,287
scalebuster
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,287 |
I assume everyone prefers a middle of the road pup. Which would you rather train? I’ll take a hard head any day over a softie. I’m harder headed than any bird dog I’ve met yet. I’ve had them on both ends of the spectrum and ruined a nice little Brittany gyp 20 years ago before I developed patience. She was my second Brittany after a long string of pointers. My first Brit was tough as nails.
I have one little Brit right now that’s turned into a fine little dog but I think she’s been the softest I’ve ever trained, any kind of pressure shuts her down. She is pretty natural but didn’t want to back. She backs now but that little bit of training shut her down for two weeks. She’s back hunting now and pointed 2 covies and several singles last night. I just had to keep running by herself for a while until the bird lust took back over.
What makes me think about this is I had a Shorthair pup break point three times this morning (she’s been a pleasure to train.) I brought her home and put her on some pigeons and she did the same thing on the first pigeon that she was doing this morning when I walked in on the bird. I juiced her up, whoad her, and put her back in place. The next three pigeons she didn’t move a muscle for 5 minutes each of walking all around her, even after the flush. I’m thinking problem solved. We’ll see in the morning. That would have been traumatic for softie.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7055325
01/27/18 11:43 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 91,416
bill oxner
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 91,416 |
I'd take a hard headed one every time. I've had both.
Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7055340
01/28/18 12:00 AM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,365
kindall
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,365 |
I've had a hard headed, but soft on training dog. Some days I wanted to beat my head against a wall. Looking back, that dog probably taught me more on training, than any other dog.
Shopping with your husband is like hunting with the game warden. Experience is what you get, when you didn't get what you wanted.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: kindall]
#7055821
01/28/18 03:28 PM
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,285
bobcat1
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,285 |
Hard headed no doubt. Soft dogs can be trained but they usually are very smart, so you have to train with lots of repetition and praise. My hard head does it because she knows what happens when she don't. Buster is soft Missy is hard headed. Buster you show, Missy you force.
Bobby Barnett
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7055848
01/28/18 03:52 PM
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 277
Bud1Pointer
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 277 |
Easiest dog I ever trained was an Elhew English Pointer. I could hurt his feelings just by raising my voice. What made him easy though was his desire to hunt and make me happy. He was a very smart dog. He learned by watching me train other dogs and he never seemed to forget anything. I still miss him and he's been gone for 13 years.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7055858
01/28/18 04:09 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,758
cbump
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,758 |
My dog is too soft for my liking. I used to be way too impatient for him.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7055925
01/28/18 05:34 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,059
MS1454
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,059 |
I'll take a Black Female every time.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7056276
01/28/18 11:39 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,935
Sniper John
gumshoe
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gumshoe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,935 |
I think it is more complicated that "hard headed" and "soft", or "smart". Those terms seem to have several different meanings to different dog owner/trainers. We tend to put those terms for a dog as if comparing to a human characteristic. Guilty as charged, but in reality dogs brains just don't work in the same way ours do. Genetics of course play into things like temperament, drive, instincts, etc. Why as one explaining their dog, you can have a "hard headed" dog that requires "soft" training methods.
The way I last explained to a breeder what I was looking for.. I wanted the puppy that is like a race horse at the gate. Out of control ready to explode at any moment. One that is always wandering off by itself and getting lost. One that figures out how to open the gates, climb the fences, get into the pantry, etc. The one that is always in trouble. The one that no one else in their right mind would want. One might call that "hard headed", but I was looking for the king's heart I could turn, potential for endurance, and a strong foundation of self thinking or problem solving I could build on.
My two current dogs both had fit that description as pups. One required and excelled with "soft" training methods, the easiest dog I ever trained, my lifetime best dog overall. The other often benefited from very different more conventional training methods, could not be shut down, and was the most challenging dog I ever trained out of about a dozen various hunting dogs during my adult life. For hunting ability alone, the best dog I have ever owned.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7056384
01/29/18 01:09 AM
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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 332
Sweese
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 332 |
It does not matter much to me. I just adjust the training to fit the dog. Some you go slow with and some a bit faster. With that said, I would always prefer a dog with a big motor and a natural desire to hunt/retrieve than to a dog without.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7056794
01/29/18 02:10 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,485
CinchMan
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,485 |
Hard headed all day long.
Say When.....
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7056912
01/29/18 03:16 PM
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 105
SheCrappieKilla
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 105 |
All my labs since childhood have been male dogs. Don't think I have ever had a hard head, or had one as hard headed as I have seen others have.
I had plenty that were strong willed and very bold with independent thinking that were a challenge.
I now have my 1st female, wouldn't say she soft, I will say she is smart and has a prey drive that is crazy and that has been a big challenge. It is a totally different game with this female, very little pressure is needed as compared to all of my males in the past to get the same results.
I would say I prefer bold.
Another good question is Male or Female. I know nothing about females.
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7057088
01/29/18 05:21 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 91,416
bill oxner
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 91,416 |
The softest one I ever had would choke at the first grass burr, but wouldn't hunt wearing boots, or hunt in front of a vehicle. She was afraid if the flapping of the wing of a crippled bird. Her name was Peaches. She had the best nose of any bird dog I've ever seen. I remember picking the other dogs up after finding no birds. I'd put Peaches down and she would take a straight line to the nearest covey. This is Peaches. I broke her into the gun and hunted her with no problems her first year. She came back soft to the gun her second year and I had to start over. How do you guys who prefer soft dogs break them to the gun?
Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill
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Re: Which Would You Rather Train? Hard Head Or Soft Dog.
[Re: scalebuster]
#7062946
02/02/18 03:10 PM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 12,344
Duck_Hunter
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 12,344 |
I also wonder about softness and gun breaking. Good question, Bill.
I just turned it on . I was looking bird dogs in the butt this morning.
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