Versatile Lab

[Evol]

My wife and I just put a deposit down for a lab puppy (female, black). Good hunting lines, health tests are good, etc. They'll expose her to loud noises, water (weather permitting), and seem like good and solid breeders/people.

I've hunted with other peoples dogs before (doves, ducks, etc.) but never trained my own to hunt. Besides books, etc. does anyone have any high level tips for training? Should I do 1 on 1 lessons, drop her off somewhere (not preferable), join a training group, etc.

My goals would be a versatile dog, some upland and some waterfowl. How realistic is that and for all those who train their own dogs, what kind of weekly training time commitment should I expect?

We have a Border Collie that I've done herding/obedience with as a hobby so I'm good on pet training.

 

[TSAMP]

Look into Navhda in your area. They are a great resource. You need to show your face at an event and join to get much feedback but its well worth it. Dont feel rushed. You have plenty of time. Im a firm believer of letting a pup be a pup that first year. Handle your obedience and house stuff and learn your dogs potential. Then you will know what the correct next step is for training.

Www.versatiledog.com is also a good resource. Its a less flashy rokslide for dogs

 

[TSAMP]

Welcome to VersatileDogs.Com, Home of the Sporting Dog Website

10 Years of providing hunting dog owners with advice, forums, classifieds, breed information, directories, and photos.

versatiledogs.com

 

[Wassid82]

I think bird dogs do best with their trainers not owners. labs are smart enough and loyal to a fault. I would definitely train the dog yourself. I have done it a couple of times and my daughter who is 12 just picked up a puppy and I'm having her train it. Its not hard. Its just time consuming.....but the dividends are way better in the end. We have pointing labs. we use a training book https://www.amazon.com/Pointing-Labrador-Julie-Knutson/dp/1893740048. There are many more good books on training and on hunting dogs

 

[cacklercrazy]

My wife and I just put a deposit down for a lab puppy (female, black). Good hunting lines, health tests are good, etc. They'll expose her to loud noises, water (weather permitting), and seem like good and solid breeders/people.

I've hunted with other peoples dogs before (doves, ducks, etc.) but never trained my own to hunt. Besides books, etc. does anyone have any high level tips for training? Should I do 1 on 1 lessons, drop her off somewhere (not preferable), join a training group, etc.

My goals would be a versatile dog, some upland and some waterfowl. How realistic is that and for all those who train their own dogs, what kind of weekly training time commitment should I expect?

We have a Border Collie that I've done herding/obedience with as a hobby so I'm good on pet training.

I have train all of my dogs. I love doing it myself because I feel like it's me and the dog. I learn what they like and they learn what to expect from me. Also that bond is greater that way. Yes if you do the training it does mean you will have to be the bad guy sometimes. Force fetch isn't easy on you or your furry friend, but it will make for a great retriever. My current dog i used Chris Akin's Duck Dog Basics video series. Better than a book. You see then go do it. Also I called him a couple of times on question i had. He picked up and was great to talk to. I put in 15 to 30 minutes a day with her every day. But I love spending time with her. She going on 3 years now and by far the best dog I've ever had. Biggest mistake people make is forgetting to love them when their good. Good luck with the new puppy.

 

[Evol]

Thank you very much for all the info. VersatileDogs.com is just what I was looking for along with all the other info.

For those that have trained male vs female, do you notice many differences? I've only ever had male dogs and they've all been a little goofy, very affectionate and slow to mature. It seems females are quicker to mature and a little more aloof.

 

[Billy Goat]

Came from Border Collies, have my first lab now that is pretty versatile. I don't have much upland, however hunted him one day last year behind a pointer simply to retrieve and by the end of the day he seemed to have figured it out. He isn't a trial dog, he is a meat dog. Much like my Border Collies, they work everyday, never trialed except I rented sheep to do trials and would of course work the field to handle the sheep. My lab is a duck dog, that's what he primarily trained for and also will dove hunt. Ended up learning to blood trail and he recovers 6-8 deer a year when I get a phone call and also shed hunts. Labs are super easy to train, I also believe a dog is going to work better for the person who trained him than anyone, however mine will retrieve for a 6 year old.

I'd take the dive, read as much as possible. If you have trained a border collie I think a lab will be easy. Just decide on a training style. I think mostly I did training sessions of 15-20 minutes a day. Doesn't need to be every day but probably 4 times a week. That's specific retriever training of course. I also never let him fetch even from a pup, I can't stand a dog that breaks on the shot. A retriever has the drive to fetch, just need to control it. Just like you can't train an outrun into a herding dog, they have the instinct you just modify it to work for you.

 

[KNASH]

The most important training tool you can have is a mentor. You certainly can train the dog yourself following a proven program. BUT, the difference between doing it right and almost right is like lightening vs a lightening bug. An experienced mentor you can work with 1-2 times per week will keep you on the road and out of the ditches. The first year or so of training, you'll be working on obedience, focus, cooperation with you, prey drive, and that can be accomplished with any training group. Most easily accessed would be a hunt test oriented club or amateur training group. You can easily add upland skills once basics are in place. Go to entryexpress.net, search for hunt tests, and find one close to you. Go, watch, listen, help out, connect with experienced trainers. People who can set up, throw, shoot, and only have one dog are often welcome additions to a club or group.

 

[KurtR]

join a retriever club. go to some hunt test and watch. I like Tom Dokkens book. I am on my third lab and this is the first one i will run tests with and it is a blast and meets lots of good people

 

[cacklercrazy]

Thank you very much for all the info. VersatileDogs.com is just what I was looking for along with all the other info.

For those that have trained male vs female, do you notice many differences? I've only ever had male dogs and they've all been a little goofy, very affectionate and slow to mature. It seems females are quicker to mature and a little more aloof.

I like female, but does matter if your going to breed or fix. But with that said 3 male and two females. One of each being the best so far. Males can be hard heads some times and female can be sensitive to punishment. My BLF now is by far my best. She's not sold lab , she 25 percent chessie. Incredible drive out in the field. Not sure if it’s the chessie, but she sounds like a bear when she get aggressive with playing .I'm hooked on female now after this girl. I only hope I can get a good 10 to 12 years out of her. She's a special one.

 

[gwl79902]

Go slow if you feel like your training is going to slow then slow down more. It is natural to have this pup and work with it everyday and see it progress. Your natural instinct is to progressively make things harder and raise your expectations. All of a sudden you are at 8 or 9 months and you are expecting your pup to do hand signals, double blinds, cook dinner and vacuumed the house.

It is a puppy till at least a year and a half. Do work with it, do train it, do challenge it, but remember its a puppy and most of all have fun.

You see these people who are hard on the pup and you can tell its not having fun and it will comply but not happily. THen you see the guy who is having fun and allowing the pup time to be a pup and that pup will comply because it wants to. WHen you do that (in my opinion) you do not have to do much harsh training like force fetch.

Again in my opinion only based on growing up with labs and having 4 of my own and doing hunt tests with one. I do not like force fetch. I did it once and will not do it again. I made the dog do what it was told to do because if it did not there were going to be reprocussions. My other dogs were just natural and they loved it.

I did the force fetch with her because I failed her and did not play fetch with her enough when she was young. Start in the hallway and make it fun. Move to the living room and make it fun. Move to the backyard make it fun. Move to the park but make it fun. MAke the pup crazy about it. THe dog is a reteriver so it had the DNA. If you get that down then everything else can work from that base.

You will see people who are at the akc master level with 18 month old dogs. These are not the average joe and they know how to train quickly. Most people do not have that base to draw from and most of us are training a pet (companion) to compete. The pros are not always training the dog as a companion that hunts. I have heard more than one trainer say beware of the man with only one dog. That is said because you can put you heart and soul into your best friend and the dog will be working for because it wants to.

I like the old books try Walters Game Dog. Just good old fashion common dog work.

 

[Evol]

Thanks everyone. I'll start looking for retriever clubs and see if I can come before I have the pup to learn.

All the other advice is great and appreciated too. I'm sure I'll have more questions when she comes and there's a lot of good knowledge here. I bought some books as well.

Do most guys use an ecollar? I used one on my first dog (boxer) and he had the most rock solid recall ever. Just low level 12/100 escape training after he knew the commands.

 

[KurtR]

Thanks everyone. I'll start looking for retriever clubs and see if I can come before I have the pup to learn.

All the other advice is great and appreciated too. I'm sure I'll have more questions when she comes and there's a lot of good knowledge here. I bought some books as well.

Do most guys use an ecollar? I used one on my first dog (boxer) and he had the most rock solid recall ever. Just low level 12/100 escape training after he knew the commands.

I do its just another tool when used correctly. Your doing it wrong if there is a difference when the dog has it on and off. They cant wear them during any tests or trials .

 

[WCB]

read or watch information on training.... I agree with the suggestion above to get involved with Navhda. IMO and experience with pointing dogs, Springers, and Labs any dog can be versatile...we snow goose hunt and generally waterfowl hunt with our French Britts and they hunt the hell out of Rough Grouse, woodcock, Pheasants and any other upland you can name.

Get the basic obedience down and solid and if your dog has the desire it just depends on how far you want to push the training. I would look at training yourself with guidance from a professional or at least connecting with one for ideas or suggestions. IMO you will learn a lot about your dog and yourself. Nothing wrong with sending to a trainer but just not for me. We have sent our dogs for minor corrections that we just didn't have experience with but just a couple weeks at a time.

 

[Evol]

Thanks, the breeder we're going with offers training sessions and they're pretty close so I think I'll do a few with them as well.

 

[Billy Goat]

Few further comments, pros force fetch because it's quicker, I agree with the previous poster on not doing it. You have a retriever, it has the instinct to do it just encourage that. Force fetch was developed by an upland pointer trainer, they don't have much of a retrieve instinct.

Use an e-collar but don't rely on it. It's a hearing aid. If the dog a tag different with it you aren't using it correctly. My dog gets excited when it comes out because he knows he is going hunting, but he listens just the same with or without it. I use the tone sound as a good sound not a warning. Means good boy, I would signal it when I was rewarding him. Vibrate is all I usually really use and it's just to break his concentration, hence the hearing aid.