Everyone loves a puppy, even people who don’t really like dogs so it is no wonder that many people are interested in purchasing a puppy to start as a gundog than they are in purchasing an adult. While there are many advantages to purchasing an adult gundog as to purchasing a puppy, there are also several disadvantages.
Generally, many people feel that a good gundog will start training young and should be purchased as a puppy but I have seen many excellent gundogs come out of dogs purchased as adults. These are dogs, by the way, that have had no formal training in field work but they were still able to outshine the puppies that were bred and raised for field work only.
That being said, I want to look at the advantages and disadvantages of starting with an adult gundog. Like everything else to do with your dog, you will need to make the decision between whether you want to start with an adult dog or whether you want to start with a puppy. Believe it or not, this decision will greatly affect how you will approach gundog training and it may also affect the time it takes to get out for hunting, although this is not always the case.
Since I love to start on a positive note, I am going to start with the advantages of starting an adult gundog.
Advantages of Starting with an Adult Gundog:
• He may be trained completely. Depending on the dog you get, you may have a fully trained gundog on your hands which means that after a few months, until you have set up a bond with him, that you can start working him. Of course, the gundog might not be properly trained and then you will have to start at square one.
• You don’t have to housetrain. Usually this is a big bonus for starting with an adult dog. Most of them are house trained so you don’t have to deal with all the accidents in the house. If you have them outside, then you aren’t going to worry about this as much but it is still something to consider.
• Some of the potential health risks may be avoided. Since there are a number of health issues that occur before the dog reaches the age of two, purchasing an adult dog instead of a puppy may help you avoid some of the health risks. Of course, some do not appear until later in life so don’t expect to be free of all the risks.
• They can be fielded faster. Training a puppy can take a lot of time and is a lot of responsibility. Starting with a trained adult dog means that you can get out in the field much sooner than you could if you have start with a puppy.
• Basic training may be finished. If you are purchasing a dog that has not been trained for gundog training, you will probably be training a dog that has basic training. Since the building blocks are in place, you don’t really need to start with basic training and you can move on to the field training much faster.
• You avoid the puppy stage. While puppies can be very cute, they are also a lot of work and it just isn’t the housetraining that can be difficult. They are active, rambunctious and will constantly get into stuff. By purchasing an adult dog, you get to avoid that age and simply enjoy a steadier time with your dog, at least most of the time.
Disadvantages of Starting with an Adult Gundog:
• You may not bond with the dog. This can be one of the biggest disadvantages of starting with an adult dog since a lot of bonding takes place during the puppy stage. While you can still create a bond with an older dog, it may not be as strong as one that you have nurtured throughout your dog’s life.
• The dog may be improperly trained. Training is not always done correctly and when you purchase an older dog, you run the risk of all forms of training not being properly established. This is across the board with basic training, housetraining, and finally, field training.
• You might not know the pedigree. If you are purchasing a finished gundog, then chances are this won’t be a problem but if you are adopting a gundog breed from a shelter, there is no way to know the pedigree or if it came from field lines. This might not matter in the training, but then again, it may.
• You miss the puppy stage. Okay, I know I just cited this as an advantage but in some ways it is actually a disadvantage. There are many positives to starting with a puppy and while you avoid a lot of the cons if you start with an adult, you do miss all the positives.
• There may be several issues. Aggression, socialization problems, mouthing problems, and a variety of other issues can arise if you start with an adult gundog. It is not always easy to see these problems when you first purchase a gundog but they may be there and they may destroy any effort you make to work your adult gundog.
• You don’t know the dog’s history. The last disadvantage that I am going to mention is not knowing the dog’s history. Were there problems with the development? Did he receive all the proper vaccinations and medical treatments? Did he have any growing problems? Was he abused or neglected? Some things may be clear while others may not be evident until a major problem arises.
In the end, it is up to the individual to decide whether they want to purchase a puppy or start with an adult gundog. Both have their disadvantages and advantages but with a little work, you can have an excellent gundog no matter what age you purchase him at.