I'm in the market for a new dog and was wondering if it's better to purchase a dog that's already trained or train it yourself.

I don't have a lot of experience training, I've worked with my golden retriever but he already had a good base to start with.

I'm really trying to determine if the cost is really worth it to buy a trained dog.

I think it depends on what you want out of your dog. I am going to train my next lab myself, but then again, I have a lot of time to do so since I have flex hours at my job. If you have the time and patience, I'd say go for it. Smartworks is a book I'd recommend.

Thanks coolbrze.

I have a video series to help me as well but I want to make sure the dog develops the right habits from the beginning. It's harder than heck to change them once you've screwed them up!!!!!

I trained mine......if you choose to, go out and buy you some extra patience.....your gonna need all you can get.

There is nothing like the bond between a duck hunter and his dog. There are number of good retriever clubs around. You can usually find someone to train with. Don't take everything as the best method but use your head and read different books.

If your just looking for a good retriever, there are a number of good hunting dogs that just don't make it in the field trial game. Normally you can pick them up for a good price. If your looking goto a local field trial and just start asking some of the pros and I'm sure they will help you.