Dog Training Tips

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Donald
My pup Amber is 9 months old and she will not go out hunting with me until next season and by this time she will be 18 months old and ready to go with me, plus she will be fully trained and more mature, in the meantime its going to be nothing but training and I will know onething when the next season comes, she will be ready and has steady as a rock. Im a guy that does,nt believe in asking a pup to do a fully trained gundogs work.
If you want the best gundog be prepaired to train it and dont rush the training program.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Last year we had Sadie breaking ice at 6 months. I took Cindy our new Chessie out to the pit at 7 weeks. She'll be ready to go next year.
 
Capt jack
Im not having a go at you mate, but I sorry to say there are 2 things I will have to disagree with you mate.
1) Taking the pup out at seven weeks before it has had its full injections
2) And taking her to the pit, Its a whonder you did not scare the hell out of her at that age.
Also mate please dont let her eat any turds out of the toilet its vile.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Kodiak is my first dog. I took him out this Fall at 7 1/2 months (doves) and first duck/goose wasn't until almost 9 months. I made sure to get the first couple hunts as simple hunts. We sat in small pot holes where no one else would be anywhere near us. Walked into some spots so there would be no boat issues or took the boat and sat on the shore. I hunted by myself too, so that no one else would do something stupid. His first retrieve was a fat wood duck that was on a pond we jumped. It was actually a blind retrieve. I had him sit as I snuck the last 10yds to the pond. Dropped the duck with one shot and then called him to heel and then sent him. Luckily the duck was kicking a little so he could mark it. I trained all summer long, 2-3 times a day. I'm a teacher and this summer mainly mentored and did jobs so I had weird hours of frew time that we trained. I kept things short but often. I took things slow too. Made sure he knew the comand very well before we moved on to the next. We went to a retriever training club for a little while too until work got in the way. Watching them work their dogs and what was expected of them was very educational. I got him on piegons early. I took my pup every where with me. We have a very good bond. By the end of the season we were hunting from a boat blind out in lake Michigan and he was making close to 10 retrieves an hunt.

I believe it all depends on where your pup is in training. If I hadn't felt that Kodiak was ready I wouldn't have taken him. He could do the basics and thats all I was going to expect out of him. Don't push your dog to meet an age that they are "supposed" to be hunting.
 
The best time to take them is when there ready.
If you spend a lot of time training you get to know your dog well. I have Tollers and they tend to mature
slower than Labs. Having said that My Jeb was a hunting machine at 9 mos, while my other dogs were
rarely ready before 18-24 mos. That is one reason I prefer a winter pup. The pup's age and weather conditions
work best for early training. Start training as soon as possible but don't hunt too soon.
If you trained your dog you'll know when he's ready. DON'T Rush IT, John
 
there ya go. When they are ready. Be honest with yourself and your expectations. make the first hunts about your dog, and not you, and defiently not your ego. try for their to be nothing a dog expereinces on a hunt for the first time, they didnt expereince in training where you controlled everything ( except follwing the flight of birds.., that just takes ojt (on the job training). Lots of stuff can happen on a hunt that can set a youngest back, if it doubt wait. travis
 
I have to go with Eddie on this one. I am not an expert dog trainer, and that is why I waited until Rose was almost 2. She is going to be my hunting companion for many years, and having her work done in controlled circumstances while she was young where she was likely to be successful was more important to me than getting her picking up my birds as soon as possible. It is hard to keep things controlled when you are hunting vs. training. What I have heard over and over from several real dog trainers is-it's a lot easier to train them to do what you want then to train them to stop doing something you don't want that they have learned. Good luck!
 
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