Age to begin duck training?
 

I have a black lab and she's going on about 12months of age. I am stuck between duck training. Or upland hunting. She loves to fetch dummy's in our pond. So I'm thinking about duck for her.

When's a good age? She sits and stuff. But doesn't know much duck commands. Is her age now a good time to start?

Are you following any kind of training program ? ? ?
It doesn't sound like you are, or you would have started this kind of training 6 or 7 months ago.



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I started basic training already. Sit. Stay. Heel. Lay. When she was 3 months old.

need to get a "pop duck"....the duck ya put on a 22 charge and stomp it launch the decoy..gets her used to looking in the air when the guns go off...great tool.
if you want her to do tv stuff, send her off to school lol
it is way cheaper than doing it yerself....if time is money

My luck with waiting until a dog was 12 months old to get into serious training was not a good one and I will never do it again. Pro trainers for trials pretty much let a dog go for up to a year and then diver right in. I guess the theory is that they do not waste a whole lot of time on a dog that will not measure up to their standard.

That dummy tossing thing is great and will help. You do not say but if your dog will fetch something on command and then brings it right back to you, well it is going to be OK with ducks as long as you initiate him to the sound of guns going off.

I used to use a starters pistol and at first shoot it just as the dog got to what ever it was going out to retrieve. Then I would shoot it when it was a bit farther away from the bumper and so on until it was used to the sound of a shot and was associating a shot with something to retrieve.

My experience with that has always been good and if the dog loves to retrieve well the shot is not going to register as a bad thing at all.

You have a long way to go if you are thinking about going out and in on a line and hand signals but if the dog has a strong retrieving instinct and will come back on command you should have no problems with using a lab for ducks. Oh I assume you have the lab out in water enough were the swimming part is no issue either. My labs always were right in the water if any were around so I think the instinct should make that part pretty easy too.

I think getting the dog where it will be capable for ducks is a lot easier than training for upland. My experience was that once they see a few ducks that you shoot and they get to retrieve they will start picking up their ears when they hear a duck in the area and you will know they are coming before you see them.

If you have the dog trained so that it reliably fetches what you send it for and comes right back to you and does not play with what it retrieves you will have a dog that if just fine for duck hunting. Some of the added bits take some time and make your dog even better for the purpose but they are by no means required to have a dog that does its job when you go for ducks.

I didn't ask what you had done in training so far................
I asked if you were on a training program (ie Books - DVDs - etc).



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I have started basic training for her. But only she knows to do Sit, Lay and jump.

If you folks can't answer my questions, I certainly can't help you.

I DID NOT ask what you have already taught the dog.....
I asked What Training Program are you following.



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What is the purpose of the "jump" command ?
I don't teach parlor tricks to working dogs.:sad0064:



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Most likely refers to jumping fences, or into the truck bed. Still waiting to hear why a beginner shouldn't own a Drahthaar.:confused2:

ATB

Some breeds are easy to train and very 'forgiving' of trainer/handler errors...... A DD isn't one of those breeds.
The only time i would recommend a DD for a 'newbie' would be if they have training partners who are very experienced with DDs or a Pro trainer.



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Doc, I would recommend help for any first time dog handler. Though I wouldn't recommend a professional trainer for one. You might end up with a dog that knows what it's doing, and a handler that doesn't.;)

The advantages in inherited traits, makes a DD an excellent choice for any hunter. I'm not sure what errors you are referring to. But DDs are a pretty forgiving breed. As far as pressure, and workload. Most pass their HZP at around 18mos.

ATB

I have a chocolate lab and she is my first bird dog and my first foray into canine training. A friend recommended the tri-tronics retriever training manual and its been great. I'm no expert but I believe in getting in the field and exposing a young dog to as much actual hunting as possible. Her first hunt was a dove hunt and after about my 5th dove she started looking up and it just clicked. She retrieved over 100 doves during dove season and she has made about 30 retrieves this waterfowl season. I'll never hunt without a dog again.

Good for you SoTex. I've always been one to get them started young. In my experience, some dogs progress quickly and others not so much. I suspect it has as much to do with the owner as well.
Trust your gut and don't get too caught up in the hype. Sounds like you're off to a good start.

Ive never heard of trainers starting them at 1 year of age. All the hunter breeds ive looked at and books ive read start with the loud noise integration at 6 weeks, then really start training at 6 months. 1 year is a bit old to start but probably not too late.