Dirty Trucks + Lonely Wives = Happy Springers!

The first thing that you must learn is that a dog is a pack animal.  There is always a pack leader, and your pup must know that you are that pack leader.  You (and other family members) are in command not the other way around.  Sometimes it is harder to train the family members than the dog.  It is very important that everybody in the family uses the same command words so the dog will know what it is being asked to do.  

Nothing but positive words, actions, & praise.  Never hit your dog for any reason.  If your dog is not listening to you or doing the command properly, then take a break and come back later.  A dog's attention span is just like a child's, short.  A training session for a young pup will only be a few minutes.  Always end your session on a positive note.  End with a command the pup a ready knows and not the one you are working on.

There is nothing more rewarding than watching your dog's training advances and then put them to use in the field.  Nothing will make you more proud than watching your dog bring you his or her's first bird.  Even if you are not going to hunt your dog, it's just as important.  A dog that will do as commanded will make for both a happier dog and owner.

There are many different ways to train a dog.  None of them are wrong as long as the dog will do what it is ask to do.  And do it the first time it is told.  If you let your dog get by with doing the command whenever it feels like it, you will have trouble.  An example is if your dog is running toward the street chasing something and a car is coming, the fifth time you tell the dog to "Come" or "Stop" it will be to late.  They must do it the first time, every time.
 

The down side of the reward system is your pup may stop doing the commands if they know that the treats have stopped.  I prefer the lots of praise system myself.  That never stops.

The potty training will go faster if you kennel your pup when no one is around to watch the pup.  Buy what ever size of kennel that your dog will need when it is an adult.  Until the pup is house broken completely, only give your pup enough room in the kennel to lay down and that is it.  No water or food inside.  This is because the pup will not want to soil his/her sleeping area.  This small area will help your new pup to strengthen and control it bladder muscles.  Some wire cages come with a movable divider that works great for this.  You can just keep moving it back as the pup grows.  If you prefer to use a plastic pet porter, then a plastic cooler works well to take up space.  You can use anything that the pup can not chew.

Your pup should go outside every couple of hours the first few days.  It should also go outside when ever it gets done drinking, eating, & wakes up.  Always take take the pup outside using the same door so it gets used to going potty through that door.  When the pup gets a little bit older teach the dog to bark once when at the door before it goes out & back in.

It can be important to use the phrase "Good Potty" instead of "Good Boy/Girl".  Some dogs will associate the the words "Good Boy/Girl" when they are in the house and go potty on the rug.  This can also help train your pup to go potty on command instead of waiting for it to decide to go when ever it is done smelling everything.  I've been there, done that.

You can also set up an area in your yard using 2" x 6" x 8' boards to make a special spot for your dog to go.  Just fill it half full of pea rock or just leave it grass.  Then take your pup directly to the boarded in area, your pup will soon learn what this area is for.  It also helps keep yours and your neighbor's yard free of dog waste.  Of course if you have kids that need lawn chores...
 

The pigeons are very hardy.  You can lock there wings together without hurting the bird so he cannot fly.  However he can run.  Your pup will love this.  Or pulling out the flight feathers will also work.  However then the bird will be able flap it's wings, which might be to much action to start with.  You may want to lock the wings to start with, then go to  pulling feathers for more action later in the training process.   The feathers will grow back and pigeons are easy to keep alive for future training sessions.

After your pup is loving the pigeons, you can hide them in some weeds and then let your pup find the bird.  You can shoot the pigeon so your pup can find and retrieve it for you.  As your pup gets older you can get some pheasants from a game farm to plant in the weeds.  Some game farms will allow you to take a young dog out on their land with only buying a few birds for training.   The more birds you can put your new dog on the better it will be in the field.  There is no substitute for live birds when training for the field.