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Post by timfran87 on Jun 29, 2012 22:10:29 GMT -5
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Post by Woody Williams on Jun 30, 2012 6:58:19 GMT -5
I'm not a dog trainer but it sure looks like you've got her started right. Great looking dog. Thanks for sharing
Welcome to Hunting Indiana!!
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Post by duff on Jun 30, 2012 7:27:24 GMT -5
Nice pics. Sounds like the basics are down, very important to have strong obedience in your hunting dog so keep working on those skills. Then get her exposed to it all, best teacher is experience. There are several clubs around the state that do mock hunting or field trials. Find a local group and get involved with them if you want to get more training for your dog. Lots of good amature trainers out there more than willing to help out and even the pro trainers I am sure would be very helpful to you if you hang around.
I never took it to that level and although I could improve my dogs abilities significantly I am fine with where he is at this stage. He retrieves most of what I shoot and really the best thing for your dog once you get the basics down is to log a lot of field time. You might have to make some of the hunts more training than hunting but it will pay off.
Enjoy.
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Post by featherduster on Jul 2, 2012 15:17:00 GMT -5
Try putting out a couple of decoys in the pond so she learns to avoid them.
Save some wings from birds you harvest this fall,attach them to your training dummy's.
Let her learn to hunt with her nose, hide some dummy's in tall grass and give her a mark.
PRAISE AND UNDERSTANDING.
Sounds like your on the way to owning a good retriever.
The first few hunting trips this year keep it simple you and the dog and one other person to do the shooting or you alone with the dog.
Don't get excited when a bird is killed make her retrieve it just like you do in the training drills.
What's her name?
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Post by timfran87 on Jul 2, 2012 20:34:21 GMT -5
My pups name is Maggie. I am actually a little sad after today. She usually does awesome so I thought I wouldnt have to force fetch her, but when I got the goose dummy out today she dropped it and the other dummies multiple times. I am going to try it a few more times before I finally decide to do it, but I was hoping to not have to FF her.
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Post by HighCotton on Jul 2, 2012 21:14:02 GMT -5
Beautiful dog ya have there! Don't get discouraged. It is so easy to second guess yourself-especially after such successful training sessions.
How old is she? Some of the best advice I've received through the years comes from better trainers that I consider the "Masters."
Their advice: "Don't get in too much of a hurry!" and "Let the pup be a pup!" If you have to force fetch her, that's ok too.
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Post by featherduster on Jul 3, 2012 4:55:38 GMT -5
She is not use to the heavier weight of the goose dummy, throw her duck several times quickly and get her pumped up then suddenly throw the goose dummy she will be so pumped she won't even notice the bigger bird.
Like Cotton said don't get in a hurry she will learn some things
quicker than others.
Remember she is going to be a member of your family so treat her like a member of your family.
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Post by duff on Jul 3, 2012 5:05:40 GMT -5
Noting to be sad about! Force fetch sounds a lot worse then it really is. I did a modified version on my chessy and my good friend did his own version on his lab. Both greatly benefited from the drill. However do what you feel is best. I know I would not hesitate to do it again on a new dog but the dog does have to be old enough.
Good luck
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Post by timfran87 on Jul 3, 2012 18:34:00 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the tips. Right now she is 9 months old, ad I am hoping to have her ready to at least retrieve an easily visible dropped bird this season. I was kind of upset after she dropped the goose yesterday, but I probably did not help by freaking out when she dropped it. It was the first time she had seen it so I plan on having a more enjoyable training session today.
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Post by DUCKMASTER1 on Jul 4, 2012 20:04:12 GMT -5
Well, your headed in the right direction. I trained my lab to a hrch level , a couple of things , decoys on ground first, like was mentioned, teach to avoid, and on water, land is easy for the beginner. Do a blind retrieve, si a bird out about 20 yds to start, and teach the maggie to take a mark, which means, sit her to your heal side, and send her straight out, looks like your doing that, and then increase the distance up to 100 yds. that way she will go for a downed bird that she did not see drop, then also use a diversion bird on her. when she is on her way back in, throw a dummy in front of her, maybe off to the side, and teach her to not go after that bird, that is a big distraction for a dog to see a bird drop in front of them when they are returning with a bird. Also work on a walk up, when you get her ready for guns, have someone be up ahead of you, and while she is at heal, walk up and have them throw a bird out and you shoot at it, but not let her go after it, teaches her for jumping and flushing birds and not breaking on her.
email me if you would like more info , hand signals etc.
Join a local hunting retriever club in your area, and you will learn a ton, and they all are more than help each members out with their dogs, lot of great trainers in those clubs all over the state.
Good luck.
Brian
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Post by esshup on Jul 4, 2012 23:20:24 GMT -5
Great advice so far! The only thing that I can add is that on land, you might be able to get some pigeons so she's used to feathers and blood. You could pull wing feathers on one wing so they don't fly, or tape the wings to the body so she grabs a live bird. They aren't good for more than 1 or 2 retrieves in the water per bird, a duck with it's water repellent feathers are better for more water retrieves.
Stop the training session when she's still amped up, that'll make her want even more the next time. Before you know it you'll have a retrieving machine.
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Post by duff on Jul 5, 2012 8:08:39 GMT -5
Yea and the days you are discouraged and in a bad mood just walk away for a day. Just try to end on a good note. You can do more harm in a few minutes if you use the negative energy in the wrong way.
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Post by mossberg500 on Aug 4, 2012 22:07:57 GMT -5
There are a lot of great video's on youtube on dog training and there seems to be more hunting dog shows on TV now then ever before , i think the one i watch most is called working Lab ( i could be wrong on the name of the show ) but in the one show the trainer talked about and showed on how to fix the problem you had with the dog dropping the goose dummy , we do alot of preserve shoots ( hunts ) with our 2 Labs to help keep them trained and the club owner gives us helpful tips on training as well .
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