# PUPPY TRAINING ADVICE WANTED



## dickera (Feb 24, 2012)

I have a lab puppy almost 4 months old. She does not have a very strong drive to retrieve yet or be in the water is this normal? Any advice to fix this? Thank you


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## dickera (Feb 24, 2012)

I have done obediance as far as sit stay come and heal. Shes retrieves but not very often and is nearly impossible to motivate her to retrieve when she is not in the mood for it.


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## Gunny (Aug 18, 2005)

Some dogs need a "trigger" to jumpstart their drive. Find a toy she loves and throw it only a couple of times, then put it away. If she is not retreiveing you need a different tactic. The "art" of training is really about making it fun for the dog and letting her be successful while training. Are there any retreiver clubs in your area? Do you have any friends that have retreivers that could help you with training? Has she seen live birds? If she is going to be your hunting buddy for years to come, I highly recomend spending the time and money on giving her every chance you can for her to succeed. If that means hireing a trainer, then I suggest you do that. Also 4mos is still early. There are some very good training DVD's and books on the market. Others on Nodak will have better advice than I have given. But do your part, and she will do her part.

Good luck,

Gunny


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## DUCKWHISPERER (Aug 20, 2009)

Wing A String...or get some Pigeons, break a wing a letler play/chase it around...Take her out on a hot day and play around in the water with it...it'll come natural be patient & positive. MAKE IT FUN & PLENTY OF PRAISE! GOOD LUCK..LET US KNOW HOW IT GOES!


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## dickera (Feb 24, 2012)

thank you for the advice


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## tilley (Jul 28, 2011)

I have a female yellow lab that is now 7 years old. She has just never had a desire to pick up birds...baseballs,tennis balls all day long ,but birds, not so much. Great nose,great girl and a beautiful dog but hunting is just something she could take or leave.You may have one that will be similar,hope not but maybe.Love and encourage her and she may surprise you. Best of Luck.


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## JDP (Aug 17, 2011)

Tilley, did you ever force fetch your dog? Just curious?


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## tilley (Jul 28, 2011)

I did not. Maybe should have but she just never really liked feathers in her mouth. Typical day afield,she will pick up and deliver the first bird or 2 to hand like a champion,next 1 or 2,maybe come halfway and then drop them,after that just stand there and bark at them. Quite frustrating,but like I said she is a very loving dog and a great family member just not the greatest hunting desire. She is hell on chipmunks however.


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## Gunny (Aug 18, 2005)

Force fetch...


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

As stated not to worrie YET, if the dog is around a year old and still has little desire to retrieve and work then you most likely have a nice pet on your hands. Some dogs mature at different stages, yes I like to see alot of desire at 8 weeks, and be fairly well along by the time there your pups age but that doesn't always happpen. Keep it fun, has the puppy been exposed to a live wing clipped pigion yet? If not I would try that. and when the puppy does finally start to retrieve stop while he/she still wants more. I would still be working on general OB at this time but not where it involves a retrieve, untill the puppy is wild about retrieving. And no the puppy is not ready to FF, we don't force fetch our dog to make them retrieve, we ff our dogs to accept pressure and learn how to deal with it, delivery to hand,and proper handling of birds, goes along with it, if I have to FF a dog to make it retrieve it's not worth the time. The time to FF a puppy is when there crazy about retrieving.

A very good ( the best) puppy program out there is by Bill Hillman " training a retriever puppy, best $100 you every will spend on a puppy.

Here's a link for a video of the last puppy I started, at the time Libby was 15 weeks old, this is a standard 15 min. puppy training session. Very little pressure, mixing OB with retrieves and introducing the "hold" command for the first time, this dog is 19 monthes old now, doing mutiple marks, poison bird blinds and pretty much ready to run a Derby. And this puppy didn't show alot of interest intill a week befor this video was taken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxajVasx ... ture=g-upl

Best of luck

Todd


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## dickera (Feb 24, 2012)

thanks everybody for the advice I have gotten her on live birds and she has the drive to chase them but wont pick them up. Once they are dead and i get her excited she retrieves them.


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## BigT (Feb 19, 2008)

Don't panic, she is a puppy. Let her be one. My newest girl went from wanting to retrieve to having nothing to do with anything from 3-6 months, now unstoppable. Could be anything, sometimes you have to remember they are just dogs. Whatever you do, DO NOT force fetch her yet. 4 months is way too soon. Just take her out and play, and you could have another dog with her that loves to retrieve and get into the water. Switch playing off and on with them, and give the other dog a ton of visual praise when they retrieve etc. Live birds, as mentioned, sometimes spark the instinct. If she picks it up, let her run around and play with it, get used to the feathers in her mouth. You can always formalize retrieving later. When she does retrieve, give lots of praise. After 3 or so retrieves, put it up, leave her wanting more. Huge mistakes are made having dogs retrieve until they decide they are done. Good luck with her, and let us know how she turns out. I think she will be fine.


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## dickera (Feb 24, 2012)

GREAT THANKS FOR THE UPLIFT IN HOPE


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