HuntingEd

Hey all,
Well my buddy is shipping off w/ his armor unit for good now and cant take his dog w/ him, so I'm gonna get him. He is an awesome black lab (named patton) and will be 2 in nov.

The dog loves to retrieve but has had little to no training.

Im debating if i should train him myself, or send him away. I only need him to retrieve waterfowl, he doesnt need to be a field champion.

Looking for suggestions and/or resources for training.

Thanks,
Ed

Doc E

If you send the dog to a pro, you're looking at $400 to $700 a month -- and it's probably going to take 4 to 6 months for what you want. If you train yourself, you'll need training supplies, training programs (books, DVD's), transportation to different training locations, birdsand time to train. It'll probably takeyou a couple months longer than it would take the pro.



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camelcluch

I'm going to agree with Doc on this. A pro will get the job done faster and after you figure time and supplies, the cost is about the same. However, if you feel the need to try and the dogs is ready, go for it. The worst thing that could happen, you end up at the pro to fix your mistakes. Good luck.

HuntingEd

Thanks guys, Im thinking about trying it, I live on a farm w/ 2 ponds and plenty of room to play...

Its just a matter of which resources to use.

I have plenty of bumpers and dummies, just need to get some .22 short blanks for my old revolver..

Any good DVD's or Books????

Doc E

1. And someone to throw for you -- or a remote launcher(s). You gonna use an ecollar?

2. "Sound Beginnings" by Jackie Mertens, "Fowl Dawg" by Rick Stawski
"10 Minute Retriever" by John and Amy Dahl.



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HuntingEd

I have an Ecollar, but I want to make sure Im doing it right before I ruin the dog..

Just got him last night, hes a great dog, but im gonna start w/ the basic obedience stuff this week...

I need to teach him to heel and to walk at heel on a leash. He's ok after a bit of exercise but at first he jumps around, not pullin on the leash to much but just all over the place.

Any tips on teaching him the basics until my other supplies get here??

Doc E

Spend a couple weeks just bonding with the dog. No formal training yet.
Just pretend he's an 8 week old puppy, and train the same way.
Just train "page by page, chapter by chapter"..........Don't skip any steps.
Train in a sequential manner ("B" and "C" are learned properly because the
dog learned "A" first). Go slowly and thoroughly.


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