# "Making" a pointing lab



## WIbirdhunter (Feb 4, 2007)

Hi guys,

I have been told my some hunters that labs that don't have the pointing behavior in their bloodlines will pick up the point after a few seasons working with other pointers. In my case, I usually don't hunt with any other pointers. I had talked to an experienced breeder & trainer who said that it's possible to teach labs the ability to point. There's where I'm stuck. I was trying to find tips on how to teach a dog to point that doesn't point instinctually. Any tips or leads would be much appreciated. Wild flushes are fun, but birds under point sure help the knock down percentage. Thanks for the wisdom!!


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Teach your dog "whoa" = stop and stand there

Do this in the yard like other OB commands. Then get some pigeons, quail, chukar or phez and buy a bird launcher.

Take the dog out on a check cord and have quarter the field until you get close to the launcher, put him on whoa and pop the bird. Shoot it if he behaves properly for the reward.

That is the short version. I would get a book on training pointing dogs, I think there may even be a couple specifically on pointing labs.

The main thing is you're going to need lots of live bird training.


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## theplain (Aug 6, 2006)

Buy a genetically prone pup from a reputable pointing lab breeder and save yourself alot of aggravation and bird expense!!!!


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Wonderfully helpful advice, theplain.

It isn't hard to teach most dogs to point. It just takes a little time/effort.

WI hunter- where are you from? I went to UW-Platteville, grew up just west of there, then worked in Burlington/Lake Geneva for a while.

Brian


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

I have to agree with good breeding....buy a good pointing lab and hope you get one that points....some of the pointing labs don't point either.

or...try to make a flusher into a pointer and not only confuse the dog but frustrate yourself in the process.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

Its real easy to train a dog to "point" hes not really pointing hes "standing game" technically speaking. Pointing is instinctive.

You teach the dog to stop and stay when he enters the scent cone ( you must be able to tell when he acts "birdy")

To do this you set a bird in launcher or just dizzy a bird pigeons are a good bird for this and walk across the wind down wind of the bird with the dog on a check cord when he enters the scent cone and gets a wiff of bird scent he will act birdy immediatley stop him and tell him to stay and thats hes a good dog then leave him in that spot and you go flush the bird.

Its your dog train it anyway you wish.

I personnally would rather have a hard flush if pheasants are your game, most people that have brought me dogs for this purpose seem to want their lab to point are not training it to quarter within shotgun range. And have not trained "hup".

BUt like I said if thats what you want go for it, I let my dogs do what I want and convention be damned. After all I'm the one supporting them


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## Waterspaniel (Oct 10, 2005)

Its bad enough that some of these labs actually point, kinda, sorta. THEN somebody decides to breed two of the genetic mistakes and make more of the freaks, and even cross em with shorthairs to reinforce the "point" in em. If you have a lab that wont point, thank your lucky stars and leave him that way! There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR A LAB TO POINT. They cant run like a a pointer or a settter. It would kill them to work with that kind of speed and range. So keep him in gun range, and let him FLUSH. Hundreds of years of breeding made labs solid retrievers capable of doing passable flushing work. Hundreds of years of breeding made pointers big ranging, fast, dogs with a solid pointing instinct. If you are gong to have a pointing lab, why not have a flushing Visla, and a Peekineese for your waterfowl work?

Pointing labs are a gimmick designed to make big bucks for breeders. Dont buy the hype.


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## jkolson (Mar 22, 2006)

Bobm said:


> Its real easy to train a dog to "point" hes not really pointing hes "standing game" technically speaking. Pointing is instinctive.
> 
> Does that mean pointing dogs don't retrieve, they "pick up and bring back downed game" since retrieving is instinctive? oke:


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

retrieveing is instinctive in all dogs to different degrees, most pointing breeds have a strong natural retrieve.

I've been running my shorthairs since the early 70's and never trained or FF'ed one to retrieve yet. They want to get the bird.

Some pointers don't have a strong natural retrieve, same is true of some labs although its rare when I used to train other peoples dogs I had to FF a few labs and they never really wanted to retrieve. If they were mine I would of given them to a person wanting a pet after they were neutered and started over.

You don't train real pointers to point, they do it because some inner voice makes them, first each other then bugs and butterflies then birds rabbits ect. They come out of their mommas doing it.

If I'm going to pick a pup out of a litter of pointers I throw Jacks balls (the little red rubber ones) around and watch which pups like to carry them, they will be the ones that will instinctively retrieve later.

I could train a gunshy spitz/chow/fox terrier cross to point( stand game), in fact I did it once because a friend of mine bet I couldn't.

He was one heck of a pheasant dog and apet of mine that would out hunt many fine hunting breeds. He was my best friend and I would really enjoy the expression on peoples faces that saw him in the field "pointing" :lol: :lol:

He was also a killer duck retriever, and would bite anyone I told him to on command. That came in handy once but thats another story.


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Ok ....How about a Great Dane? I'd pay to see one of those out in the fields on pheasants. :lol:


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

We used to use one when we were in college, his name was shango, about 150 lbs brindle in color and one thing you wanted to be sure of was not to be on a trail in the cattails when he came flying by. He knocked me down more than once. He was my girlfriends dog.

The funny thing about him is she would chain him with a plastic link chain he could of walked right thru it but in his eyes it was a chain so he never did.


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## mburgess (Aug 11, 2003)

If your dog doesn't point instinctively, save yourself a lot of work, headache, stress, and pressure on your dog and let him do what he was bred to do and flush. To train a dog to "stand game" is very time consuming and if you don't have the resources it will be very difficult. It can be difficult enough to get a dog steady that has been bred for it let alone a dog that hasn't. With that being said, the pointing lab craze is fairly over rated in my opinion. I have not seen one in person, but I have seen two on hunting programs on TV and to me it truly looked like the dog was standing game and not pointing. Someone not familiar with pointing breeds could easily be fooled by the way it looked. A real pointing breed sticks his points and trembles with intensity with their eyes fixed where the scent cone is coming from and tunes everything else out in the world. These dogs I've seen on TV caught a wiff of scent, slowed down and stood there with no style or intensity. I would guess many of them show real intensity, but after seeing this it really turned me off to the idea of a pointing lab. If you want a dog to point and retrieve naturally get one of the continental breeds. If you want an absolute olympian athlete to gobble up ground get a field bred setter or pointer, but be prepared to force train to retrieve. Get the appropriate dog for your style of hunting, don't try to change the dogs instinct that was bred into him. I got to rambling, but in the end it is your dog and you can do what you want. The good thing you have going for you, is labs in general tend to be one of the smarter breeds and the training to stand game may go easier than I expect. Good luck!


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## kgpcr (Sep 2, 2006)

Waterspaniel
I have a pointing lab that was 5 months old when i took her to ND to hunt pheasant and she did OUTSTANDING. She not only points well but retrieves well too. I started her at a game farm and got her used to a gun then on to hunting farm birds. She points on her own and if the bird moves she will as well. Sorry you dont like that but i love it. So did the guys i hunt with. When she points if the bird moves so does she untill the bird stops again then she stops. When i get up to her and she is pointing there is a bird there. Just the way i like it!


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