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Old 02-07-2002 | 12:44 AM
  #6  
amitydeerslayer
 
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 30
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From: Long Beach CA USA
Default RE: Retrieving to Hand.

>>The dog is about 13 weeks now, and retrieves enthusiastically<<>> so is it nessicary to force train her yet?<<

Force trainging should not be even attempted until the dog has all its adult teeth in.
At 13 weeks your dog is not even a dog yet, lol, he is just a puppy, somewhat equivalent to a 2 yr old human. You can teach 2 yr old babies a lot but don't expect much until their older!

>>I'm still working on getting the commands down pat. I'm trying to get the 'come' command perfect, because I'm scared she'll run off in the woods,<<

Puppy/dog training is mostly about repetition. Don't expect perfectiion at this young an age. Just keep repeating the obedience drills daily for about 10-15 minutes max a day. Most important though have fun with him, they'll never be this age again. You have his whole life to enforce obedience, let the pup be a pup for a while.

Once he is older if you train right you won't have to worry about a dog running off in the woods. My first dog was a golden retriever we just trained him with basic obedience, sit, stay, heel and come. One day while we were deer hunting we drove up next to a doe and fawn about 30 yards from our jeep. Rusty, who was 9 months at the time, jumped out of the jeep and took off after the fawn. It happened so quickly we didn't even see him until he had almost caught the fawn, we yelled "Rusty come!" He stopped dead in his tracks and came running back to the jeep. Obedience probably saved his life because I think the doe would have got him if he hadn't turned around.

Your pup will get there too, but give him time to just be a pup. Work with him 10-15 minutes a day maximum and spend the rest of the day watching him enertain himself! (I'm saying this as my 14 week old lab is squeaking his stuffed possum as he runs under my computer desk!)
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