Training Help
 

I have a golden retriever who's just over 5 months and I need a good obedience and waterfowl training regiment.

Here's some info that might help,

Good stock... parents both reg. and well bread
He naturally loves water and retrieves easily
Can get him to sit
Fights the lease
He's hyper as heck.... especially around other dogs
I have never trained a dog before

Any help is appreciated

Establish the basics, sit, down, come, stay, etc. and then work on things like his retrieve and bird finding ability. He is a puppy, keep this in mind any more than 15 minutes training at a shot is going to leave you frustrated and the dog confused about what you want. Always make training fun for him in the beginning, I have always had great success with treats to get the dog to want to do things for you, especially as a puppy. Always end a training session positive and upbeat. When the dog does something on his own whether in the house or yard such as fetching reinforce the action with the command word. Good Fetch, Good Stay, Good Whoa, whatever the action he has done that you desire him to do say the command word while he is doing the action and praise him. As far as bird training it depends on what type of hunting you want to do. I have GSP's trained for upland game but they will also retrieve ducks in water. I created the rigid structure for his pointing training (such as- Whoa breaking) first and then everything else seemed to fall in place. If you want your dog to have increased bird drive buy a couple quail or any other game bird, put them in a pen where the dog can see and smell them yet not get at them. Everytime he goes to the pen praise him with something like- Good Birds! or Hunt Birds! As far as in the field, I uses a wire cage and place a quail inside it and hide it in the high grass so the dog has to use his nose to find it and when he does he gets a treat and lots of praise and petting. Keep changing the location. While I praise the dogs I will pick the cage up with one hand and place it behind my back out of the dogs sight and then put some place else. Put the cage in other places as well such as in a small bush or a brush pile so the dog doesn''t learn birds are only in the grass, they can be anywhere. Be excited about your dog's accomplishments and he will be excited to make you happy.

birds
 

I start my pups out with a wing on a fishing pole. You would be surprise how much prey drive that will build.

On the problem with him fighting the leash, just steak him out everyday for 10 or 15 minutes. Dont use something that he can chew in half though.

Thanks for the tips... I'll implement them today! I know he's young but I figure if I start now it'll be a lot easier down the road. I want to use him primarily for waterfowl but with some research and time I'd like to get him involved in some upland game as well.

If I can get him calmed down first! lol... neutering him this week and obedience training daily will help.

Can you suggest a good training program to buy or am I better off finding a qualified trainer in my area?

training
 

If you have the money id take the pup to a trainer uless you are just wanting to do it yourself. Cost is probably going to be $300 a month or higher for basic obiedience and more for retrieving training.

If you dont have the money there are several books and videos available at cabelas and other places. Most are going to all be similar. Some people will swear by certain ones. 10 minute retriever is ok, wolters books are good also.

George Hickox makes a good birddog video covering introduction to birds, to gunshots to conditioned retrieves, covers most problem areas.

birds
 

I also have the George Hickox video, it is pretty good.

I sell a real good video for the novice trainer that is really good. It's by pro trainer and 2 time SRS champion Chris Akin, it will teach you everything you need to know from pup to a started dog (with force fetch). Pm me if you would like one.
I train semi-professionally and use this video to refer to many times.
What everyone has posted for you is real good advice, your dog is ready to start obedience training and some retrieving with a long rope attached to him so you can get to him if he wants to run off.

Good Luck

Downriveroutdoors, you seem like a nice enough guy and I will risk getting bashed for this but you have me wondering..... why did you join this site? This isn't the first time you tried to sell your dvd here and you have less than a dozen posts.

I have to ask.... What does your video offer that the other well known videos don't? Why would I spend $20 for a video I know nothing about other than it contains training by "another" professional. Does he have new methods not shown before? I am not opposed to your video, I am opposed to your marketing technique. You'll have to show me a link to soemthing where I can see a preview or something that would make me inclined to buy another training video. No hard feelings, like I said you seem nice enough, you just have me wondering....Why?

I joined here because I like the site and has alot of great topics.I have a outdoor radio show every Saturday morning and I'm just wanting to get more people to listen.
As for the video, I've trained dogs for the past 30 years and I have shelves full of video's and they are all good. I'm a dealer for a company which I won't say because I'm not an advertiser. I'm not saying anyone has to purchase the video, but I'm only trying to help those that may want to see something alittle different from the rest of the video's out there. I don't have a link for the video right now but it is called "Duck Dog Basics", and when I watched it I seen a few things different Chris did than other trainers did in their video's.
If you would like to see my show website go to www.downriveroutdoors.net and no hard feelings, just try'n to help a novice trainer better his dog.