# training lab to hunt question



## bigbrad123 (Dec 22, 2005)

I have a 10 month old lab who its his first season pheasant hunting. I started him by hunting in crp without a gun for the first two times. I then hunted him alone twice with a gun and now I have broken a few of the "rules" people on this site suggest already by having him hunt with smaller groups of people and more than one dog. However, I can say that he has done well for the most part: he has not been afraid of multiple gun shots, he has chased downed birds, put downed birds in his mouth, etc. I have also usually put him on a check cord when hunting which he does fine with. He did excellent quartering in a shelter belt when he was by himself with one hunter on each side. The only struggle I have had is when he is hunting with other dogs. He doesn't want to listen and mostly chases the other dogs around. I know this is somewhat normal for a first year dog (especially a very social lab such as mine) and it goes back to basic obedience, but my struggle is whether I allow him to chase to keep the hunt fun.....or always keep him in close via check cord? My concern with not allowing him to chase a little is it won't keep it fun for him which is really my main goal this year. What does everyone think? Keep him close? Or allow him to run and have fun for the first year? (By the way, I do have an e-collar on the way which I plan to start slowly incorporating and using sparingly).


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

sounds like everything is going along fine to me. As you stated its normal puppy behavior.

The problem with hunting with other dogs is hes playing with the other dogs, not hunting and its hunting season which is the very best time you have to let him learn to hunt for you.

I would try to not take him with anyone else or rotate dogs each field.

Theres other reasons besides gunshy problems you want to hunt him alone. This is a big one. he needs to learn that hunting is his job and find his satisfaction pleaseing you and getting lots of praise for it. That wont happen if hes chasing some older dog around, plus hes distracting your friends dog to some extent.

Its kind of the same reason school teachers don't allow distractions in class


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

As usual, Bobm is right on. Allow the dog to hunt alone and in doing so he'll learn that's his job in the field. Adding multiple dogs to the equation just adds confusion for the pup. I took this approach with my 3 yr old male black lab when he was young. I'd rotate him with my female (same age). They've both learned to pretty much ignore each other in the field because they want to hunt.

In fact, my friend is watching my male. He took him to SD this past weekend and he couldn't believe how he worked so close and ignored other dogs. I know it was because of how I introduced him to the field/other dogs.

Remember this about pups: keep it simple and set them up for success.

Good luck...

Mike


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## kevin.k (Dec 31, 2005)

on opener day my pup did the same thing, what we did was split up into groups of 3 or 4 and i took my dog with 2 other guys and worked down a lil ways away, just keep space between them :beer:


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Bobm's advice. As he gets older he'll become more independent and ignore the other dogs. He's doing great, just have fun with him. I would also mainly hunt him alone.


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## bigbrad123 (Dec 22, 2005)

Thanks for the advice guys. Its my first time training a dog and I am trying to follow other's advice for the most part. I have really tried to focus on it being fun for him, but I know that too much fun with other dogs could lead to lots of bad habits I will have to break in the future.


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