Posted: 9/23/2007 9:05:21 AM EDT
| Hi, can anyone reccomend a good program for training a bird dog. I have a 5 month old lab and would like to train him to be a bird dog for hunting duck's/geese, possibly pheasant/turkey down the road. He is my first dog, and I am just getting into hunting. I will probably go for the first time in about 3 weeks. Not sure how old the pup should be before I take him out to the field. We have halfway trained him to sit/stay/come. In my reading, I have already learned to change that to whoa and heel. |
|
Best book I ever read on the subject was called "Training the hunting retreiver". I would recomend picking it up and reading it a few times. Then put what it says into practice. Then read it a few more times when you have a question and can't wait to get a answer from here or other online sources. BTW: make sure you can control your dog with sit/stay/come commands before you take it out in public/ with you to a public boat launch or keep it on a leash. A lot of people will be out for opening day (whatever that is in your neck of the woods). There will be a lot of dogs around, most of them off leash, and there is nothing worse than a dog fight at o-dark hundred at the boat launch. I know one guy who got into a fist fight because the other dude would not control his dog and ruined the day of hunting for the first guy. Have fun and don't get mad at the dog when he does not do things just right the first couple of hundred times (there no bad dogs just bad owners). I lucked out on my lab and he took to hunting like ..... well a lab to water  . I am also assuming that you have had him out and taught him to swim, wich for most labs I have seen is nothing more than taking him out and letting him play in the water, most labs figure out pretty quick how much they like water but if you force him in you can actualy make him afraid of water. |
|
This One You're a little late, but that's OK....the basics will remain constant. The only challenge in being "late to the game" (as in a dog that's already a few months old) is that you may need to 'unlearn' some things in order to build a foundation for your expectations moving forward. This is a quick easy read, and great advice for the first time dog trainer. Read the book from start to finish, and then again "as you go" like an instruction manual. Every dog is different, they are not robots, and there is generally more than one right way to do something. This is a good place to start given what you have said youd like to end up with. I'd also reccomend finding a local chapter for the NAHRC. www.nahranews.com/html/index.shtml Don't take your dog hunting until he's completed basic training. Otherwise he'll just be learning to hunt according to his own rules, and you'll have more "unlearning" to do. In fact, there are times when it's best to leave your gun at home, let others concentrate on the shooting while you focus on the dog. Good luck, have fun. |
| Thanks for the advice. I just ordered both books from Amazon. I know that I am late in the game, but have just recently decided to switch from paper and clays to real critters. Getting the lab is what kind of pushed me in this direction. I had no idea they were hunting dogs until everyone we met asked if they were going to hunt. Also, we have flocks of geese/ducks fly over daily and my dog stops whatever he is doing and naturally points at them. I feel that taking him hunting will let him live his life to the fullest plus teach me some valuable skills. |
|
Two puppies?!?! Look up and get familiar with "chain gang" training. Using the competitive drive of multiple dogs 'on the line" can work for you, or just as easily work against you. You WILL need helpers!!! Also, those young dogs look to be carrying a few extra pounds in those pics. No such thing as baby fat in dogs. The reccomended feeding amoutn on the back of all bags is bullshit. That stuff is like rocket fuel. You should be able to see a definite waist line when viewd from the top, as well as see ribs under the skin from the side. Too much weight on young, growing skeletal systems will cause problems later in life. |