Questions about first waterfowl dog.

[RDUB]

Hey everyone
I am looking into getting a started dog as a waterfowl hunting dog. What are some questions I should be asking the breeder/trainer?

 

[KurtR]

heath certs. The real question is what do you consider started? Through ff and cc and simple blinds. Is it a dog that is a hr or senior dog? What is the price range you are looking at I know of a bunch of dogs I would consider started and how far are you willing to travel

 

[molliesmaster]

What he said. "Started" is a variable term.

GO work the dogs and spend time with them. The benefits of getting an older/started dog is that you get to see the personality and behavior of the dog and determine if its a good fit.

 

[mountainman]

Health certs, temperaments, pedigrees. Visit the breeder if possible and see the parents in person. If you have a NAVHDA chapter local to you ask the members what breeders they have used In the past. They'll be a good source of info on breeders and info in general.

 

[Cant hit em]

Make sure the dog is not vocal. Nothing worse then a whiney dog

 

[johnnycake]

Health certs, temperaments, pedigrees. Visit the breeder if possible and see the parents in person. If you have a NAVHDA chapter local to you ask the members what breeders they have used In the past. They'll be a good source of info on breeders and info in general.

I love my versatile dogs, but if OP is really just planning on a waterfowl dog, he's better off finding a local retriever club to get info on breeders in that area.

 

[mountainman]

I love my versatile dogs, but if OP is really just planning on a waterfowl dog, he's better off finding a local retriever club to get info on breeders in that area.

Yeah, a retriever club would probably be a better source for the OP if he has one close by. I can’t speak to retriever clubs as I have no experience with one but my local NAVHDA chapter is full of experienced helpful people.

 

[KurtR]

Yep find a hrc or akc club and they can help out.

 

[djewell87]

Actual health certs. After spending a TON of time and money on an awesome dog and being attached to him, at around 3 years old he started collapsing and I could not hunt with him anymore because it got worse. He had a hip, eye, eic, etc guarantee from the breeder. I got him tested for EIC it came back as Affected. The breeder claimed that both parents were EIC clear, which would make him being Affected impossible because he had two copies of the gene. If either parent would have been clear then he could have been a carrier having one copy of the gene, but not affected. So either the dogs that were on his registration were not the actual parents or the breeder never tested them. The only thing breeder offered to refund my money that I payed for the puppy or give me a new puppy. Neither of which would be a drop in the bucket for the time and money that I spent on the dog. fast forward 5 years, my brother in-law buys a champion blood line retriever puppy for my nephews, I asked if he made sure the dog had all of its health certs after what I had happen and he said everything was good. The dog died a few days later, so I asked where he got the puppy. Turned out to be from the same guy. For whatever reason the outdoor industry has a ton of shady people in it. So make sure that you get all the health stuff figured out. I would go to some local HRC events and see dogs work and talk to people. You'll see what trainers you like and you can potentially see the dogs from that breeding work. The temperament of the dog can be massively different so I would find a dog that matches your hunting style and what you are looking for. A dog with a ton of drive is going to hunt very hard and may do great at hunt tests. But might not make the best pet. My dog had incredible drive and I loved that for hunting, but he was so high strung that when things are slow and nothing is going on he would get so anxious that he would drive himself crazy. Also at home he couldn't turn it off and just wanted to hunt or bring you a toy every second that he was awake. It got to the point that we had to give him anxiety medication at times. You can not train drive into a dog, but just need to figure out how much you want for your purposes especially if its going to be a pet also. The best way to do that would be to see the parents work.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

You want a dog with a good temperament. All the drive in the world doesn't matter if they are so high strung they are unbearable to live with and some breeders that want ribbons don't take care enough about an off switch.

There are some very successful breeders with plenty of titles on their labs by me that also are fantastic in the house. Very nice temperaments and high drive.

Visit the breeder, visit their house, see how they keep their dogs. If they don't live in the house, then they can't really tell you what they are like to live with.

 

[KurtR]

Would be alot easier to answer this question if we knew what expectations of started is

 

[Redwing]

You want a dog with a good temperament. All the drive in the world doesn't matter if they are so high strung they are unbearable to live with and some breeders that want ribbons don't take care enough about an off switch.

There are some very successful breeders with plenty of titles on their labs by me that also are fantastic in the house. Very nice temperaments and high drive.

Visit the breeder, visit their house, see how they keep their dogs. If they don't live in the house, then they can't really tell you what they are like to live with.

I'll echo this. I've hunted with dogs that were incredible once a bird was dropped, but they were antsy or whiny in the blind and so high strung that they weren't fun to be around or good in the house.

The dog I have now has as much prey drive as I've ever seen but he's able to shut if off at home and he doesn't make a peep in the blind. Hunting season is only 100 days a year if you're lucky, you have to live with that dog the rest of the time.

 

[MTPipeliner]

I read a training book that talked about the concept of a “gentleman’s gun dog” that has stuck with me- similar to some of the above comments he said a dog should add to the experience rather than take away or be a frustration. A well behaved dog that is only a mediocre hunter is more enjoyable to be around than an untrained, uncontrollable, dog.

When I trained my current dog I spent a lot of time on obedience, patience, good manners in the house, truck, blind. She’s better behaved than my previous dog and the last dog my dad had and much more enjoyable to be around because of it.

 

[KurtR]

Watching a piggy slow dog retrieve is as bad as listening to a dog whine. Neither are traits i would want.

 

[AK_Skeeter]

Sometimes patience is required. I started looking for a lab pup from a reputable breeder
in Sept. Put down $500 for a deposit and number 2 on the list. Failed breeding.
Found another good breeding from a reputable breeder, $500 for a deposit and number 1 on the list
for a female pup....no females in the littter. Finally third time was a charm.

A reputable breeder should document health clearances of parents before breeding.
These include
1) Exercised Induced Collapse (EIC),
2) Hip and Elbow Displasia
3) Centronuclear myopathies (CNM)

You can do your homework and see health clearances at https://www.huntinglabpedigree.com/

 

[KurtR]

Sometimes patience is required. I started looking for a lab pup from a reputable breeder
in Sept. Put down $500 for a deposit and number 2 on the list. Failed breeding.
Found another good breeding from a reputable breeder, $500 for a deposit and number 1 on the list
for a female pup....no females in the littter. Finally third time was a charm.
View attachment 660587
A reputable breeder should document health clearances of parents before breeding.
These include
1) Exercised Induced Collapse (EIC),
2) Hip and Elbow Displasia
3) Centronuclear myopathies (CNM)

You can do your homework and see health clearances at https://www.huntinglabpedigree.com/

I spend hours on hunting lab pedigree. You can trace dogs back to the early 1900’s. Mine has the white patches on the back of his paws which go all the way back to bolo. The first dual champion ever. I love the history of the dogs.

Bolos: Does Your Lab Have Them?

Behind the front feet (specifically, behind the metacarpal/metatarsal pads) of some Labrador Retrievers are white spots or “thumbprints” called “bolo marks.” They’re named after the English Dual Champion Banchory Bolo (1915 – 1927), the first dog to earn a dual championship by winning both a...

nationalpurebreddogday.com

HuntingLabPedigree

Online Labrador retriever pedigree database

www.huntinglabpedigree.com

 

[sconnieVLP]

You want a dog with a good temperament. All the drive in the world doesn't matter if they are so high strung they are unbearable to live with and some breeders that want ribbons don't take care enough about an off switch.

There are some very successful breeders with plenty of titles on their labs by me that also are fantastic in the house. Very nice temperaments and high drive.

Visit the breeder, visit their house, see how they keep their dogs. If they don't live in the house, then they can't really tell you what they are like to live with.

I think this goes for in the field too. If you’re an inexperienced handler, a super high drive dog is probably too much even if they have an “off switch” when they go inside the house.

Middle dog is an FC and is an absolute fire breather in the field. He’s a big dog and just wants to go, go, go. Get him in the house and now he thinks he’s a 15lb lap dog instead of an 85lb lab, it’s kind of wild to see the difference.

I struggle with handling him because he’s so intense and I don’t do it nearly as much as my old man does. The youngest is a field trial washout (liked to pop on blinds) and has probably 65-70% of the drive of the middle one, her I can handle far better.

 

[KurtR]

I think this goes for in the field too. If you’re an inexperienced handler, a super high drive dog is probably too much even if they have an “off switch” when they go inside the house.

Middle dog is an FC and is an absolute fire breather in the field. He’s a big dog and just wants to go, go, go. Get him in the house and now he thinks he’s a 15lb lap dog instead of an 85lb lab, it’s kind of wild to see the difference.

I struggle with handling him because he’s so intense and I don’t do it nearly as much as my old man does. The youngest is a field trial washout (liked to pop on blinds) and has probably 65-70% of the drive of the middle one, her I can handle far better.

Who is he out of ? Looking at the picture I have some guesses. What you described is what I’m looking for in my next puppy.

 

[sconnieVLP]

Who is he out of ? Looking at the picture I have some guesses. What you described is what I’m looking for in my next puppy.

Stinger pup.

 

[dtrkyman]

A long way from you but Dan Ihrke is a fantastic trainer and usually has some excellent access to good pups.