duck dog trainig?

[skimerhorn]

Sat I got a 9 week old choc lab female I'm gona try to make something out of. I've never done any king of retriever training before so I'm open to all suggestions, but like to try to do it myself. Some people have suggested to get the book "water dog" so I'm gonna try that. Any advice? All I want is a dog that will bring back 75% of what I shoot, not looking to go to field trials and bring home ribbons. Right now just been tossing a chew toy for her every now and then when she seems like she wants to play. Shell go to it but that's it, I guess that's a good start.

 

[TheJason]

I've never read Water Dog, so I can't comment on that. When I trained my lab, I used the book "How to Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves", written by a woman whose name escapes me. It worked just fine.

Here is my advice. Get a book or two and read them thoroughly, get DVDs if that is more your learning style. Make everything fun for the dog right now. Don't let bad habits start is the best way to break bad habits. Spend lots of time with your new partner and expose her to ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING you can in the first four months. Birds, cars, vets, kids, water, a leash, and so on.

Hunt her this fall with lowered expectations, and set her up to succeed. Don't hunt her with other dogs, and for a while other people. Let her bond with you. Then, introduce other stuff. You take her out in a pit blind with two other dogs and five guys and you are setting her up to fail.

Let her figure stuff out on her own. If she's looking for a dead bird, let her work without constantly giving her commands. Don't yell at her all the time while you are hunting. Be VERY judicious with the shock collar, it's a training tool not a punishment device.


I would very strongly consider training her to force fetch after she is a year old. I know many labs don't need it, and mine retrieved very well without it. However, it always irritated the hell out of me when he was retreiving a duck, with more circling, and he would drop it when he came out of the water to shake and it would take off on him and we would waste time jacking around with it.

Also, 75% is way too low for a good dog. Aim much higher. I expect my dogs to find every bird I shoot. Sure, there are flukes that will get away, but I think a well bred hunting dog should be in the high 90's IMO.

Good luck!

EDIT: The best thing you can do for both you and your dog is to be as consistent as humanly possible. If you give her a command, make sure she follows through on it.. Life will be easier for both of you.

 

[Foxtrot1]

http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Dokkens-R...1392084646&sr=1-1&keywords=retriever+training

Dokkens retriever training is an excellent book. It is laid out with really good photos to walk you through the training. It is one of my favorites for retriever training.

The other advice I have is use live birds if you hit any drive issues, they can really help keep a dogs enthusiasm up if you have issues.

 

[Hatchie Dawg]

Water Dog and Gun Dog are classics and good books as is the Dokken book. You can pick up different things from all of them. James Lamb Free has another classic.

Go slow and be patient. Remember right now you are dealing with a baby. Make retrieving FUN and the BEST part of the day. Build your foundation with LOVE, and I mean LOVE, of retrieving and you have some insurance when you mess up later down the line.

Basic obedience is a must to hunt safely with a retriever. Be firm but fair and consistent.

Retrievers need repetition, repetition, then some more repetition, but try to stop when you and the dog are still having fun. It won't always happen this way but needs to more often than not.

15 minutes a day will give you a serviceable gun dog.

Don't lose your temper.

Force fetch done correctly does more than make a dog retrieve. It makes them mentally tougher and less likely to break down during advanced work. It is very valuable. I have a pro do my force fetching.

Introduce them to caps or loud noises early. Feeding time is a great opportunity to do this.

Dogs are not intuitive. You have to teach the process step, by step, by step. Don't take a step for granted.

There are precious few things in this world better than a good retriever.

Good luck. It's a wonderful road.



HD

 

[jones39]

Water dog is a great book. My brother and I both used it with our labs.

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Water and gun dog are great books and I have to agree with dawg that obedience is paramount. You can also day train with a trainer for way less than a full training program. You pay for a lesson and then you go home and work with the dog....just another option. I know a really good trainer in your area if your interested.....

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Make retrieving FUN and the BEST part of the day. Build your foundation with LOVE, and I mean LOVE, of retrieving and you have some insurance when you mess up later down the line.

Force fetch done correctly does more than make a dog retrieve. It makes them mentally tougher and less likely to break down during advanced work. It is very valuable. I have a pro do my force fetching.

Introduce them to caps or loud noises early. Feeding time is a great opportunity to do this.

What Hatchie said is all great advice. I left three in the quote above that rung particularly true with me.

When I trained my dog, I got alot of great advice from a trainer near where I lived. When I got stuck on something he let me bring in the dog in the evening and would help me work him past it. Also, I did his force fetch, I am not sure I would do it myself again.

Probably the best advice he gave me was that, you can't just learn one methodology for training, because every dog learns different, so you need to observe the dog and then be adaptive.

A big factor will be how much pressure your dog will take, you need to figure this out early because it will dictate how you go forward. My lab was a high pressure dog, but that tends to also come wtih a stubborn streak.

This is a decent book too: http://www.gundogsupply.com/fidogcotrmaf.html

Here is my Lab "Jack". He is a great house dog as well.

 

[ZR1]

I read Retriever Training: A Back-to-Basics Approach by Robert Milner, and watched the DVD the Wild Rose way. I had my pup on hand signals by the time he was 4 months old. I never used a electronic collar nor did I force fetch. PM if you have any other questions. I hunt with the trainers from Wild Rose several times a year.

 

[smarandr]

I was in your shoes: I had a new pup, I was excited to train her myself, and I even bought "Water Dog." I haven't read the book in a while but as I recall Wolters made training sound a lot easier than it turned out to be. I wasn't seeing the progress that I thought I should be seeing and it was very tough to admit that the problem was very likely me. As much as I hated to "quit," I did, and sent her to a local professional that specializes waterfowl training. It was probably some of the best money I've ever spent.

So my advice really boils down to don't be to proud to admit it if you're in over your head. It will save you a lot of stress and get the dog on the correct path that much sooner.

 

[L. I. Yankee]

There is also a video series by Mike Lardy which is really good.....

 

[skimerhorn]

Thanks I'm gonna go out this weekend and try to pick up a couple of those books to check out

 

[putm2sleep]

water dog - start today.
do as hatchie stated above.
take the dog anywhere and everywhere you go!

 

[Frenchy]

When they are young (6 mo to 18 mo) its all about obedience. Be dilegent with your obedience work now, and you will be way ahead of the game. Younger than 6 mo, make things fun! Enjoy the puppy phase.

make retrieving fun for them at the beginning, but as the get older, and their obedience gets better, its their JOB! and you are the boss.

 

[jvanderlinde]

I used a bird wing and zipp tied it to a dummy. For the first few weeks I just let him do what he wanted/simple fetch. After a while I started tying the dummy onto a rope and dragging it through the yard and into the field. This I felt made him learn to use his nose. It worked well for me.

 

[Hatchie Dawg]

I might add one more comment, that being the electric collar is the best and the worst training tool ever invented. Used correctly it is a humane device that saves a lot of time and is actually easier on the dog. They need to know you can reach them at any time. Used incorrectly you will ruin a dog in a hurry. If you can't control yourself have someone put a collar on your neck and pop you every time you mess up. I bet you will figure it out pretty quick.

HD

 

[TheJason]

I might add one more comment, that being the electric collar is the best and the worst training tool ever invented. Used correctly it is a humane device that saves a lot of time and is actually easier on the dog. They need to know you can reach them at any time. Used incorrectly you will ruin a dog in a hurry. If you can't control yourself have someone put a collar on your neck and pop you every time you mess up. I bet you will figure it out pretty quick.

HD

Yes, a collar is not a substitute for piss poor training. Use it judiciously, and NEVER when you cannot see the dog to know what she is doing.

 

[skimerhorn]

When should I introduce her to a real bird and water? There's so much I want to show her but don't want to overwhelm the dog.

 

[putm2sleep]

When the water warms up so its a great experience. Get your waders out and get in too.
-Often going with an older dog, or dog that likes water helps.
If she loves the water, find a creek and get going. Good to get them going on creek crossing / marking. Build confidence, obedience, and have fun man.
No real rush with live birds yet imo - if your goal is just to have a great pooch, not field trialing.

 

[skimerhorn]

Yea thanks, the vet I go to has big pool just for dogs that's not deep and its inside and heated. Was thinking about taking her there first now to see if she will play in it where its nice and warm.

 

[TheJason]

Yea thanks, the vet I go to has big pool just for dogs that's not deep and its inside and heated. Was thinking about taking her there first now to see if she will play in it where its nice and warm.

Excellent idea. What you don't want to do is play fetch into cold water. You don't want your pup learning it's okay to not go in.

Depending on what you have available, you don't necessarily need live birds until you hunt her this fall. When I started doing blind retrieves at about 6-7 months of age with mine, I tied a pheasant wing to the dummy.