Looking for Info/Advice on Dog Training

[Slug870]

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone out there could offer some advice on getting my Lab ready to start training to be a duck dog. He is four months old right now, and I am unsure of when I should start introducing him to gunfire etc in order to properly ready him for the task. I would appreciate any suggestions and/or guidance. Thanks in advance.

Here is the beast!

 

[DBeato]

I got my brit at 4 months and started conditioning her to gunshots right away. I first started banging a pot with a wooden spoon, then went to a dollar store cap gun while she was eating, then went to a starter pistol while on walks and she was away from me. It was aound this time that I got her interest in birds going with pigeons and slowly taught her that a bang = bird. it was a few months after that when I went with a shotgun. start slow watch the reaction and try to act like nothing is wrong, show your dog no reaction when you fire the gun.

 

[Crashman]

Handsome pup! I would start right now, but start easy. I use a 22 acorn cap starter pistol, but you can also use a 209 primer starter pistol. Start at a distance though, have a buddy go with you on a walk with the dog, have your dog off leash and let your buddy wander away about 100 yards. Tell him to shoot one shot when the dog is not looking at him and watch for the dogs reaction. If he is okay with it, VERY gradually move in a few yards at a time. This might take several days or even a few weeks. If he comes from good hunting stock, he should not be bothered at all, and with in an hour you may be standing right next to him shooting the blanks. If he is retrieving already, start to incorporate the shooting with the retrieving, but only once he is 100% okay with the shooting.

This will get you started, but I would highly recommend you get hooked up with an experienced retriever trainer. Maybe a hunting buddy, or even a good book on the subject. What ever you do, take your time, and right now he is a puppy so everything he does is wonderful. Let him have fun and make mistakes. Work on obedience too, and once he has some experience, start working him harder for more serious stuff.

Good luck!

 

[Jay]

Every Day... Patience is key! 9 parts love/encouragement, 1 part (measured) discipline.

Gunfire... Go slow! Better slow than screwing up! Banging pots & pans, cap gun, 22, introduction to birds so he's birdy, then you can shoot a bird over him with a light field load & he won't pay any attention to the shot as he is intent on the bird.

Commandment #1, PASS UP BIRDS! Work with a buddy, you work the dog, your buddy shoots the birds ONLY if the dog is obediant! Your dog has to understand that he will ONLY ever get a bird IF he does it right!!! NO EXCEPTIONS. Do this for awhile & you will have a dog that is a pleasure to hunt with & be in the blind with!

DON'T expect your dog to be a field champion the first year, they are learning & you're there to foster that learning. Be realistic about goals! If you have not force fetch trained your dog, you can't expect them to know what it is!

Patience! Job #1!!!

Cheers
Jay
P.S. I'll be posting pics of Nos with is first bird next fall, I look forward to seeing a pic of your dog with his first bird! GOOD LUCK!
P.P.S. NEVER give commands that (1) you have not trained & (2) are not in a position to enforce! ie you would not say fetch to a pup & allow them to ignore the COMMAND! So, like I said, be realistic about timelines, train & work with your dog & you will see results. @ 16 weeks, he's a kid, have fun with him!

 

[Mudpuppy]

Oh no another killer attack lab!!!!

You should get some training books to help you along with your pup. Bill Tarrant and Richard Wolters are the two authors I recommend, most public libraries have their books if you don't want to buy them.

As it has been said patience is the key to dog training, remember your pup has a short attention span and almost everything is new and facinating to him. Keep your initial training confined to an area he has already explored and has few distractions. Taking him to an off-leash dog park to train is a disaster waiting to happen.

Some days he may just soak up the training and you will be advancing faster than you expected and then all of a sudden everything falls apart. At that point go back to something that he was solid on and work on that before moving foreward again. Always end the training on something positive.

With some dogs you may also experience the "teenager" moment anywhere between 7-13 months old, where he just decides he is not going to listen to anything you have to say. Watch for it and be ready to enforce dicipline to get him back on track.

 

[TheTooner]

Slug870, there are lots of books and videos out there for all the training advice you could want. You just asked so you could post a picture of your pup and show off that you got a new dog.

It's o.k., we understand. He's a great-looking dog. Hope you have many years of happy hunting with him.

 

[Cinch]

If you want your dog to handle and do blind retrieves invest in a formal training program (books/dvds) such as Mike Lardy (Total Retriever), Evan Graham (Smartwork), or Rick Stawski (Fowl Dawg). But if all you want your dog to do is pick up the odd bird that splashes in the middle of a pond, just take him/her hunting and their instinct will kick in.

Good looking boy, too bad about his colour

 

[the spank]

Start the day you bring him home! Just remember this is a fun game. If you make it not fun he wont want to do it. When I had pups to train I would start slow and build the desire. 2- 3 times per week, 2 or 3 easy short retrieves and when he has picked up the bumper at this stage, make him chase you and encourage him lots. When he catches up to you take it from him right away and praise him lots. The guys here have given you lots of good advice, 1 more thing to add, see if there is a retriever club in your area and join up. Nothing like going out with experienced guys to learn how to train your dog.If you arent intersted in trialing look for an HRC club. It will be the kind of training you want. Here are two of mine from the past, I no longer own a dog but man they can be a hoot to train and hunt with. PLease excuse me I am not trying to steal your thread but hoping to point out that if anybody tells you that he is too young to start training they are sadly mistaken.

BTW That is one nice pup you have there! Congratulations. Love the colour too!!

Luther's Nitro Magnum Express 6 mos.old Second place finish in puppy class in his first field trial outing..... June 1990 Nanaimo B.C

First hunting season for Nitro...9 mos old Oct 1990

This was Swanson's Gunner at 7 months....hunting in early Nov.1994 I never trialed this dog at all, he was sired by the one above, Nitro. He sure was one birdy dog. And not that I count how many birds I kill as a rule but for the heck of it I kept a record that fall of hunts with this pup. I shot 155 ducks over him beginning at 5 mos old and we only lost one! He brought back 154 of them, many in thick hard to hunt cover, not just open water divers.

 

[Grouse Man]

Work on all the basic obedience commands - come, sit, lie down, stay, etc. with POSITIVE reinforcement as much as possible. Show him what you want them to do.

Make playtime noisy, make playing fetch noisy, make mealtime noisy. Slowly introduce gunfire later.

When playing fetch, DON'T play tug of war. Teach the 'give' command as the way to get the ball/duck from the dog, with lots of treats and hugs in exchange.

Introduce swimming now as well, again making it so much fun the dog won't want to do anything but jump into the water because he knows he'll get treats and praise.

Think about what a retriever needs to do. He must sit or lay quietly at your side, stay put during the shots until you tell him to go get the downed bird, bring the bird to your hand/feet and then hopefully get two more birds out of the water for you.

Also, I've thrown three toys for my dog while she sits at my side; she goes out three times to bring each one back (sometimes she'll carry TWO). She did learn to watch me where I'm pointing, and goes in that direction. It's paid off as I've several times shot three birds in a pass, and she knows what to do.

Make training fun, short sessions but LOTS of them, and make EVERYTHING a training session. Before he can eat, make him sit, 'leave it', and then 'take it' to give permission that he can eat. Same for going outside. You need to imprint to the dog that YOU are the boss over EVERYTHING in the dog's life. And that you are loving, kind, and fun. The dog will want to please you.

 

[Slug870]

Thanks for all the great advice. I look forward to posting pics of his first ducks!