New lab pup!! training ??

[Al Bundy]

Got a new lab pup two weeks ago and am in process of training her. What a handful. She already does some retrieving of her toys. She does sit most times, stay when she is not wound up, and down when I give her food and once in a while without food. Not bad for two weeks I dont think. SHe is not coming to me consistently though yet.  She has master retriever titles in her parents/grandparents. Seems like great potential for a hunting dog. I am real happy. Plus she is just a fine little puppy.

 

Anyone have books or recomendations for training her??

 

Also.. when to teach her to swim? How many months old is recommended??

[Woodjr55]

Buy a kiddy pool in a few weeks when the weather is warmer she'll teach herself. Big thing start shooting around her. I have a lab that is a great retriever but just about has a heart attack when she sees a shotgun let alone hears one goes off

[jjb4900]

do not introduce her to gunfire by starting out with a shotgun, begin with a starter pistol or something much quieter.....a muzzeloader with just a percussion cap is a good start and don't discharge it right on top of her, you can even have someone else stand off a ways and shoot while you keep her occupied with retrieving.....if you scare the crap out of her in the beginning it may make her gun shy. 

[pistolp71]

How old is the pup? I've trained many retrievers for hunting and competetion, it just takes time and you have to be consistant. I recommend the smartworks series by Evan Graham. The 10 minute retriever or one of Dokkens books/vids is a good start. First work the pup on obedience, don't move foward to formal retrieving until that is 100%. You introduce her to water(you don't teach them to swim) in shallow water and I would wait till it warms up a bit. Also, dogs are not born gun shy, they are made that way. DO NOT shoot near the dog right now. You have to introduce gun fire the right way. When you start doing retrieving work, you have someone with a .22 blank pistol shoot far away from the dog, after that you can get closer and closer. Then shoot a shotgun far out there and move that closer and closer. It's a progression. You want the dog to associate gun fire with fun retrieving. Good luck with the pup. Any questions, just ask.

[Jeremy K]

I started shooting around my dog when he was still in the stage when he slept constantly , he slept in the truck while we did some shooting ,i had him at the motocross track around all the loud bikes . I always had him off leash as much as possible too when he was in the "follow mom and dad everywhere" stage. He goes for walks on leash but around the house with no fence he can roam and will report when called. He is my first dog that has been that good for me though,other dogs were'nt as smart as this one.
 

[mike rossi]

Someone asked the dog's age, that's important to know.

 

I see a problem though and you need to get a handle on it asap. If a dog or pup is responding to a food reward and giving you 'refusals' without the food reward you are heading down the wrong path. It might be the dog has not 'generalized' the response to scenarios without the treat; but if it is a mere refusal you can be letting the dog train you and/or developing a stubborn or even dog which is aggressive toward people. Without knowing you, the dog, or even the dog's age, I hesitate to tell you this, but generally if a dog is along enough to respond to a food reward, it is real close to being along enough to respond to some moderate force. If the dog is 6 weeks old I would assume she just doesn't 'get it'... But not much older, depending on the history, I would evaluate if the dog is 'playing me'.  I generally don't go off like a typical dog trainer by pulling the alarm, but the behavior you describe is something you need to pay attention to. The other side of the coin is that if you push a dog, especially a young dog or puppy too far too fast, other issues develop. You might consider getting some help, a book or internet advice might not cut it.

 

 

 

[Paula]

I seen on a hunting show this morning, Do Not Play Tug A War. Don't let the puppy do anything now that you will not want it to do when you have it in the field as it gets older

[Jeremy K]

Never played tug with my dog, as far as being treat driven, he is extremely treat driven, he listens to every command I give him, luckily I'm smart enough not to give him a treat every time he listens, he doesn't know whether he will get a treat or not, only I do.

[Bone Seeker]

Let her swim as soon a possible. But DONT force it on her. Play at the waters edge and let her explore the water. You don't want her to be afraid of it. My last pup actually fell into the pond the first time, went right under, came up shaking her head, and I couldn't keep her out of the water or a mud hole for the next 12 years.

[thphm]

Kiddy pool is a good idea, they love water, will jump in on there own ,it jumped in my neighbors pond at a very young age.Shooting does not bother it had it also at 3 months old,Just a common thing to it now.Loves to ride in the truck or Atv,Get's POed if I do not take it.Enjoy it they are a great companion.  

[Lawdwaz]

Ahh, fond memories. 

 

 

 

[crappyice]

Find a local NVHDA ...Nation versatile hunting dog association. Dog owners training their own dogs as a "community" I don't knw where you are located but the one I was with worked out of Stewart lands.

[mike rossi]

Regarding NAVHDA, although they do water work, they are a pointing dog organization. Another thing, which is bound to be an unpopular statement, is that I am not sure if the way they train water retrieves would be considered legal during actual hunting in the USA. Here is my explanation:

 

In the USA federal law states you must retrieve waterfowl immediately. The NAVHDA method, which purportedly originates from Europe, the dog is sent after the hunt and it searches for the dead or crippled birds. IMO, under the broadest interpretation of the law, that might be a violation. 

 

Americans do it different. A retriever is trained to 'mark' single and multiple birds and sent on command to fetch them. Occasionally, the dog will not mark a bird, but the hunter does. In that scenario the retriever has been trained to 'handle' or make 'blind retrieves' such that the hunter directs the dog to the area of the fall.

 

Granted, there are times when neither the dog nor the hunters mark the bird or the bird drifts or swims off the mark, which justifies a 'search'. Usually when that happens, dog and hunter(s) get out of the blind and sweep the area for the bird. A retriever trained American-style may or may not be trained to 'hunt dead' for this situation, either way most adapt quickly and learn what is going on.

 

If a dog owner undergoes the NAVHDA water training regime, it wont necessarily interfere with Americanized training methods, but I think the dog owner needs to be aware of the difference , that it may breach the law, and that other methods even exist. If a hunter does not develop his dogs marking ability, there will be more searching as well as more handling to blinds than should be. To my knowledge, NAVHDA does not do any training to enhance a dogs marking ability, as a matter of fact, I believe their water certification tests require a dog to start from behind a curtain which obstructs the dogs view.

[Doewhacker]

Find a local NVHDA ...Nation versatile hunting dog association. Dog owners training their own dogs as a "community" I don't knw where you are located but the one I was with worked out of Stewart lands.

No Labs allowed in NAVHDA. There are plenty of retriever clubs though and there will be some one there that can point you in the right direction.

Find someone that can teach you to train your dog, that's the best for you and the pup.

[Doewhacker]

Mike you are talking about the duck search, that differs from plain ole retrieving. DS is for when there is a wounded bird the dog needs to search out and bring back.

There are marked retrieves in Navhda, doubles even.

None of that matters to this fellow, pointers differ greatly from retrievers in how they are handled any way.

[mike rossi]

Mike you are talking about the duck search, that differs from plain ole retrieving. DS is for when there is a wounded bird the dog needs to search out and bring back.

There are marked retrieves in Navhda, doubles even.

None of that matters to this fellow, pointers differ greatly from retrievers in how they are handled any way.

Thanks, that is good to know. The DS would fill the same need covered by blind/handled retrieves, however, some will argue that a straight line out and back disturbs less cover than a dog sweeping the cover. In any event, the better the dog marks, the less often is the need for either a DS or a blind. Then again, one can debate the frequency that the hunter marks the bird and the dog does not, which bodes for the DS ala NAVHDA style....

[pistolp71]

UKC hunt tests are the most realistic scenarios for hunting retrievers.

[Al Bundy]

So.. dogs age right now is 9 weeks and 2 days.  I keep her off leash 90% of the time. SHe follows and stays close most times, but not 100%. This is normal for a 9 week old? Im going to get the 10 minute retriever here soon.

 

Ill have her at the water memorial day weekend and let her explore to her comfort level. I do have a .22 around somewhere and can shoot that a ways away from her.

 

Specific questions..

1) She does not come to me consistently when called. I think this is very important.

 

WHat types of exercises or training methods can I do to make her consistent? Thanks!

 

[Doewhacker]

Well its tough to give advice on this type of thing over the net but here goes...

 

Get a tangle free 30 foot lead, let her get to the end of it on her own and recall her. When she ignores give her a firm but not harsh tug and reward her for returning. I don't treat train a whole lot but it is effective. Be consistent in use of commands, and handleing of the pup. Don't over do it, a few minutes here and there at that age is fine and ratchet it up the older the dog gets.

 

Work on walking at heel on a leash too, do basically the same as above. Let her wander off to the end of the lead and then say her name as you give a firm tug on the lead. She will catch on quick and behave on lead for you. After that work on off lead work. You have to be able to command and correct consitantly or the dog will do as she wants.

[Doewhacker]

Most important is to let her be a pup by the way, she is still a baby at 9 weeks.

[Doewhacker]

UKC hunt tests are the most realistic scenarios for hunting retrievers.

 

I had never heard of UKC before your post, interesting.

 

I don't do AKC but have heard from a retriever buddy does it and tells me how some tests are over the top nowadays. I find that testing is political and frustraiting at times but still do it.

[pistolp71]

X2, to both of Doewhackers replies. Your going to have to let her be a pup and not do too much right now.

[pistolp71]

I had never heard of UKC before your post, interesting.

 

I don't do AKC but have heard from a retriever buddy does it and tells me how some tests are over the top nowadays. I find that testing is political and frustraiting at times but still do it.

UKC, is awesome.They are very popular down south, but there are tests here in the Northeast. The biggest difference is you are firing a gun from the line at the marks in the field like you would in real hunting, and you have to wear camo. They also use lots of decoys and realistic blinds. I ran a test a few years ago that had about a 100 goose decoys, you were in a layout blind and your dog was next to you laying down in a dog blind, goose calling, very realistic

 

. In AKC hunt tests, you just stand there at the line and they shoot very loud blanks by the marks as they are going down. AKC field trials are even less realistic to hunting. White coats are worn and that's just a different game all together.