Hello. I just purchased a lab puppy and he is 8 and 1/2 weeks old. I am looking for advice on how to train him to become a good family dog, retriever, and occasional duck hunter. What kind of training regimen is best. Are there any books or other references I can look into? This is my first lab puppy so any information you can give me is greatly appreciated.

Get " The 10 Minute Retriever" , by John and Amy Dahl. You can order it right from their website at www.oakhillkennel.com

For the BEST book on retriever training, pick up a copy of " Water Dog," by Richard Wolters...thousands of pups have been trained through Wolters sage advice and it worked wonders for me. I believe it is also out on video, but the book should be purchased firts.

Spend as much time as possible with the dog...any time you go for a ride, take him/her with you. Spend time DAILY working with the pup...a little time now will pay HUGE dividends in the future. Don' t force the dog to do anything it is not ready for or is hesitant to do...tomorrow is another day. Don' t loose your temper with the dog...chances are any mistakes are more your fault than the dogs...more flys with honey you know. Get the best quality food you can and keep the dog in shape. Introudce gunfire cautiously...no use making an otherwise fine dog gun shy. When trying to correct a problem, speak sternly....the dog wants/needs to know its place in the " pack" . Don' t put a shock collar on the dog...too many people today use them as a cop put while training. Shock collars, in my opinion, are for lazy people and can be harmful to the dog

Mostly, have fun with your new pup...they all grow up too fast and are only puppies for a short time.

I hope this helps...it is what I do and has worked FANTASTICALLY on my Lab!

I agree with yellowlabman. Richard Wolters is as good as they come.

I used waterdog also and it is a great book/video. Here is another place that has excellent instruction and it' s FREE!!!!!!!

www.dobbsdogs.com/library/retrievers/index.html

What book you want to follow kinda depends on what you want out of your dog. If you want a good ol' meat dog (purely a fairly decent hunting companion and your buddy), " Water Dog" is fine and dandy. If you want a superb hunting dog, that all your buddies will envy, Wolters just aint gonna cut it.
" Water Dog" was one of the finest books available 25 years ago, but training techniques have come a long way since then. Kinda like comparing a Model A with a car made in 2003.

Decent Hunting Dog = Water Dog (but you better not plan on ruinning in any Hunt Tests - you' ll fall flat on your face)------Kinda like Jr. High

Darn Good Hunting Dog (and one that will be trained to the point that it can run in Started and Intermediate levels of Hunt Tests) = " The 10 Minute Retriever" (by the Dahl' s)-----Kinda like a 4 year college degree

Superb Hunting Dog (and one that can run in Senior levels of Hunt Tests and possibly Field Trials) = " Smartworks I and Smartworks II, by Evan Graham. ----- Kinda like a PhD.

Another that is nearly equivalent to Smartworks is the " Lardy Articles" , by Mike Lardy.-----PhD here too.

My opinion is that you can take something from ervery book and video out there. I also believe that you cannot follow every bit of advice in any of them for your dog. I have read and watched many training aids and have come up with this hypothosis. My reasoning is that when I tried to follow Wolters exclusively, I got discouraged and so did " pup" . I found that taking what worked for my puppy worked best for me. Love is the most important thing at an early age. Good luck.

Bob

Amen!!!!