# Dog training for starters



## Duramax920 (Sep 18, 2007)

hey yall...
Im new to this thing and also to the whole trainin thing. Im a huge hunter and enjoy pretty much everything there is but decided awhile ago that instead of huntin with people who have dogs this duck/goose season...I would like to have my own. And after a couple months of lookin I ended up gettin one last night. Saved him from a homeless shelter...they were gonna have to kill him and some other dogs because they didnt have room at the shelter. Hes a 6 month old yellow lab. Hes a really sweet dog but a little shy. Ive never trained a dog myself and was wondering what my first steps would be. Ive got farms and places to train I just need some guidance. any help?


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## Fosse (Jan 5, 2007)

Congrats on the new pup. You will find plenty of info here.

Good luck!!


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## HarryWilliams (Nov 2, 2005)

Find a retriever club and see if you can join and get some help from folks with experience. There's lots of information out there. The most common mistake made by new trainers is they expect too little. If you can go see a Field Trial or a Hunt Test then you can at least see what some of the retrievers can do. Then you can go about your business and train the dog to do what you need.

On another note, if a retriever has adequate drive, intelligence and birdiness you can do the following:

Teach it the basic commands. Take it with you everywhere. Bond with the dog so it knows what you want. Teach it to retrieve. Introduce it to birds and gunfire. Then take it hunting and it can most likely do an adequate job of hunting.

If you want the dog to perform as a finished gun dog then you need to put it through a training program which will take time, patience, expense and a plan. Good luck. HPW


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## Goosehunterdog (Jun 12, 2005)

Congrats!!! I would highly recommend that you invest in training material!! I would start with one or more of the following 
The 10 Minute Retriever Book
Fowldawgs 1
Smartwork Vol. 1
Smartwork obedience

I have them all in stock..Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions..


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

:withstupid: All great sources of training info.

The process might be a little different with a dog that is already 6 months old. Make sure to start from the beginning with basic OB (sit, here, heel) and get that solid right away. Make sure to teach everything thoroughly to be fair to the dog expecially if she seems a little shy or nervous.

Good luck, and congrats. Thank god we have people like you saving some of these dogs and giving them a purpose!


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## hunter9494 (Jan 21, 2007)

shelter or rescue dogs can be a little different. i wouldn't push her along too fast just yet. make sure you have her trust and expose her to as many different things as you can, not just in the field.

as anxious as you are to get this dog started and hunting asap, be careful and watch her reactions to yourself and others in the home environment first, then ease her into the field and see if her natural instincts take over.

good luck with her and you can be proud that you saved her and gave her a chance to do what she was bred to do.


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## DOA Waterfowl (Jul 18, 2006)

Congrats on the new dog. Once your dog gets settled in I would play with him by throwing a dummy or ball to see if he has the natural retrieving instinct. If he is enthusiastic about retrieving the rest can bet taught. Have u thrown anything for the dog yet?


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

For your first dog, you've bitten off a chunk. When you get a rescue dog, it's usually been put in the pound for a reason. This one sounds "kennel shy". If I were to venture a guess, I'd say someone had a litter of labs, managed to unload all but one or two, and just left him locked away with no social involvement. Decided he'd never sell and dumped him.

The first thing is, as the other guys have said, socialize, socialize, socialize. A lab is a very social animal and they thrive on human contact. Make sure it get's a lot of it. Second thing is, I would purposely not get real attached to this dog. His breeding may be horrible, his disposition, he may be gunshy, etc. Give him lot's of attention, expose him to pigeons, and if he doesn't have it, get rid of him. Sounds hard hearted, but you say you're a big-time hunter so you need a big-time dog, not a slug that sits and watches you retrieve the birds. Just work with your dog and keep and open and subjective mind. Bet Bobman disagress with this.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

GH, I bet your wrong :lol: and surprised.

Thats sound advice but a 6 month old could be in rescue because of the usaul reason also, which is people buy high energy hunting dogs for pets and then when they start destroying stuff in the house they throw them away or lock them in the back yard or kennel so they get kennel blind.

A six month old is usaully fixable from the social side of it.

MY advice would be do as GH recommends socialize and obedience train the dog to a high level doing so with gentle methods, then if hes not got any real hunting drive then you have a dog that is a pleasant pet and can be given to a home with confidence he will do well.

Or you can do like me and just enjoy him as a pet, my favorite lab of the many I owned would rather play with kids than hunt, he didn't have a lick of prey drive just a lovable lout. I have three other labs at the time so I had plenty of hunting dog power. :wink:

Good luck and dont give up I have had several rescue dogs that were very very good hunting dogs as well. If you have access to a college and can walk him there and let him experience lots of people its a excellent way to bring them out of their shell. Make sure you tell people hes a rescue dog and that you are trying to make him over come his shyness so they should go slow and easy with him.

Its very common for a rescue dog just out of that situation to act shy after he gets some confidence you may find out hes not shy at all , just been through a lot for a pup.


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## Duramax920 (Sep 18, 2007)

Thanks for all the help...
Well from what I am told...the reason he was at the pound was because his family didnt have room for him and moved away...leavin him to wonder around town...He got beat up on a little. Because of this he was a little jumpy. Hes come along way the last couple days though. I decided to take him out to a public lake yesterday to see if he would like the water. I didnt have any expectations and thought it would take 4 or 5 trips to get him to venture out into the water...bein as how shy he is. Surprisingly when I waded out into the water, he followed right behind me...swimmin the whole way. Once he got out, Id never seen him so happy. I think the key to this dog is to get him to start associating water and everything involved with hunting with fun...since his life aint been too great...hes probably never experienced fun. Im gonna take him out swimmin every day to have some fun. I may be wrong with this idea but i thought it made sense...I havent made a huge atempt to get him to fetch yet. He wasnt much interested in the tennis ball.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

Just spend alot of fun time with him for the next couple months get his confidence up.

Once that happens if you have frineds with dogs find one that loves to retrieve and gets along well with your dog, tie your dog up and let him watch you play with the other dog and throw some dummies then when he acts like he wants to "get in the game" tie the other dog and try some throws, jealously is a powerful motivator with dogs.

Keep it light and fun for the next 8 weeks until hes totally adjusted to his new situation bonded to you and trusts you.


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## Duramax920 (Sep 18, 2007)

thanks...
thats what i was told by a couple other people. I know a couple people with older labs. Im plannin on takin mine on a couple sessions with the other dogs hopefully.


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Now Duramax, if you take him to these training session make sure there's not gunfire involved. Let me say that in a different way:*DON'T LET ANYONE TALK YOU INTO SEEING IF HE'S SHY OF A GUN". If guys want to throw him birds, fine. If you want him to watch the other dog's retrieve with not gunfire involved, fine. Don't let anyone show you how to pinch his ear, use a heeling stick, or anything else with him. First you have to bond, next you have to evaluate, last you have to train.*


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## jkolson (Mar 22, 2006)

I recommend Mike Gould's "The Labrador Shooting Dog" and Bill Tarrant's " Tarrant Trains Gun Dogs", by far the best lab books. As long as it's field bred and not show bred you'll be fine.


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## Duramax920 (Sep 18, 2007)

Yea even though hes gotten a lot better...hes still jumpy. Things not even as close to as loud as gun scare the heck out of him. He is improving though. I did manage to get him to dive off the dock today at the lake. The only problem is I have to be in the water first before he will go in. He has to follow me. Another off topic question...hes bein kept outside at night but he wont be alone. I can stand right next to him and he will go to sleep but once I walk away, he gets up and starts whining and barking. He always has to have someone there. Other than repeating no and a slight smack on the nose how can I get this to stop? Hes probably gonna end up sleepin out at the barn. But on a brighter note he DID manage to rip up my upholstery on both doors in my truck today! Dont we all LOVE pups


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

if you bought a big crate and kept him in it in your house you wll have a much better dog all around and more success fixing his shyness.

Wether you do that or not do not hit him on the nose ever just let him whine and get over it. Never hit a dog hitting them only teaches them on thing , not to trust you.

If you feel you need to hit one leave the dog alone and go get control of your emotions.

DOgs like yours are going to have some seperation anxiety for a while the fastest way to cure it is to put them in a crate in your house at night next to your bed. After they get over that and are adjusting to staying in the crate in your room quietly, you can then move it to your kitchen or whatever.

Keep the dog in the crate or in a kennel if you can't be supervising it.


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