dirtyd

sorry im full of questions but does anyone use a Golden as their retriever?

i have a 6th month old golden that im starting to get down. he actually is calm. I can kill a couple of birds every time i go its just that im afraid the gun might scare him, and so i dont take him. anyhow, i dont see many goldies out and about hunting so who knows. do u? [8D]

Muliefever

I train with a guy in Michigan and he has ran them his entire life. He has awesome dogs! Start doing some research and obedience training.. he'll be great before you know it!

bowhuntinlady

the best bird dog I ever owned was a golden. I trained him myself and that dog could sniff out a bird in any cover and would even dive underwater to catch the ones I would only wing. As far as fear of the gun, when my dog was young, every time I would feed him, I'd run the action on the shotgun so he would get used to the sound and associate it with good times. When it came down to firing the gun, I had a friend hold him a good distance away, when the gun would go off, the friend would throw a bumper or a wing out into the water or the grass, wherever we were practicing, and send the dog to fetch. Lots of praise, lots of petting. Over several months, I slowly brought him closer to the shotgun until he was sitting directly behind me when I shot. I always keep my dog behind me when I shoot so he doesn't jump too soon. I hunted over that dog for 11 years, had him for 13.
Goldens are very willing dogs and if you give them lots of love and praise they are the type of dog who will do anything you ask.

Cessna Flyer

Have you tried clapping your hands when he is eating? how about getting a cap gun? you try any of these, and your dog doesn't cower or runaway you are good to go.

wdog1

bowlady is right just dont rush is goldens are great dogs and great companions thats all we have owned...........good luck

subsonic

I have hunted birds over a Golden. Fantastic Dog! The guide informed me that it was imperative that you make sure and get the dog from hunting lines. Apparently, this is hard to do nowadays. I had no idea it was a Golden until he told me. Much shorter coat than the pet style Goldens I had seen.

SwampCollie

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Picked up over 100 birds a year in his first two years... done 20 so far in his third. He'll hit 3 years old on dec 31. Gets too excited sometimes and overruns his marks... big big baby.... just as sweet as you can imagine... always wants to sit on your feet and inyour lap. Drive to retreive to match any dog I've ever seen.Great nose overall... but Dutch doesn't slow down enough to use it.... very very very steady and patient. Very obedient. Just a great great dog. God grant me another one like him in my lifetime.