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lab training #2203404 03/24/11 11:54 PM
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tailchaser Offline OP
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Just wandering if anybody that has experiance training labs for bird hunting, can give me some info on good reading material,good training collers,etc....and what is a good age to start training?....just got my pup she is 8 weeks old,and i want to try my hand at training her for dove hunting.


Last edited by tailchaser; 03/25/11 02:15 AM.
Re: lab training [Re: tailchaser] #2203632 03/25/11 01:45 AM
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tailchaser Offline OP
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okay someone told me that /water dog by richard wolters, Is a great book for lab training, so I am going to try that.


Re: lab training [Re: tailchaser] #2203634 03/25/11 01:45 AM
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Originally Posted By: tailchaser
okay someone told me that /water dog by richard wolters, Is a great book for lab training, so I am going to try that.


Yes. That's a great start.



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Re: lab training [Re: Gumbeaux] #2203647 03/25/11 01:49 AM
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Join a local HRC chapter.

What is a good age to start training? NOW!

Have Fun!



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Re: lab training [Re: Wildphilhickup] #2203708 03/25/11 02:13 AM
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tailchaser Offline OP
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Thanks for the help guy's, Ive allready ordered the book on ebay, I cant wait till it get's here.....Im ready to get this show on the road...Fill free to give any advice


Re: lab training [Re: tailchaser] #2203763 03/25/11 02:38 AM
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Originally Posted By: tailchaser
Thanks for the help guy's, Ive allready ordered the book on ebay, I cant wait till it get's here.....Im ready to get this show on the road...Fill free to give any advice


best advice I could give is DONT TAKE ANY ADVICE FROM ANYONE ON HERE smile



Re: lab training [Re: nogeese] #2203820 03/25/11 02:56 AM
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jackie mertens sound beginnings.... great start for a young pup...


Re: lab training [Re: whby05] #2203887 03/25/11 03:30 AM
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I was directed to water dog as well and read the book I am not understanding the hype of the book honestly, TO ME its more of his opinion on what the dogs metal state is and not a true blue training step by step guide. I also bought Gun Dog which i will begin reading Monday. Now the Hillman DVD is a step by step illustration of what to do and finish with Smartworks.

Oh i also got a book "training your retriever puppy" I think but it is illustrated well an give the OB aspect and technics to teach em.

People swear by Water Dog , so i may reread the book to see if i just over looked the meat and potatoes.


Re: lab training [Re: Skybuster05] #2203965 03/25/11 04:30 AM
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Smartworks or Gun Dog Essentials by Graham
Total Retriever Training by Lardy
Akins' Duck Dog Basics
Fowl Dawgs

Take a look at these


Re: lab training [Re: duckhacker] #2204040 03/25/11 06:49 AM
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I always recommend Water Dog because it comes from the perspective of understanding canine mentality. If you understand WHY dogs do the things they do, you can customize training methods and steps to the dog. Of course, if you don't have a 'sense' about dogs, it might be better to get a step-by-step, but that doesn't really speak to the unique individual temperaments of various dogs.




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Re: lab training [Re: IronSpikeLabs] #2204508 03/25/11 04:10 PM
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Game Dog!! It is by Richard Waltors the same author of Gun Dog and Water Dog but more complete. Game Dog is the best all around Lab book you will find. It covers basic training. Retriever training as well as upland flushing work. IMO it is the Lab Bible!


Re: lab training [Re: huck18] #2204629 03/25/11 05:24 PM
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Originally Posted By: huck18
Game Dog!! It is by Richard Waltors the same author of Gun Dog and Water Dog but more complete. Game Dog is the best all around Lab book you will find. It covers basic training. Retriever training as well as upland flushing work. IMO it is the Lab Bible!


I agree, but I usually send first time trainers/handlers to Water Dog for it's simplicity. I recommend the book AND the video - with follow up to the other Wolter's materials as the handler progresses.




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Re: lab training [Re: Wildphilhickup] #2204676 03/25/11 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted By: Wildphilhickup
Join a local HRC chapter.


Great advice here. You'll learn a great deal from training with others that have already been down this road. Each dog is different. Being able to read the dog's mentality as Iron stated goes a long way in knowing how to adjust your training methods to teach your dog the skill level you desire.



Re: lab training [Re: BarneyWho] #2204699 03/25/11 06:12 PM
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Everyone on here has given you great info. Read everything by Richard Wolters and take from it what you can. I have had two labs one that died of cancer before he ever got a chance to hunt and my lab now that has flushed and retrieved probably 100 birds to my hand. I have never used a professional trainer or had any advice from professional trainers. I just used the Richard Wolters books "Water Dog" and "Game Dog". Both my labs learned everything in the books very quickly. The main thing is do not push the dog faster than he wants to learn and always know when to stop. You should pay close attention to how your dog is responding...(is he happy, sad, not interested, etc...) With these books and the help from others here on THF you should have no problem with your pup if he is from good stock and has the desire to hunt and retrieve. Also I have never used an e-collar. As my dogs didnt need it. My dog now is pretty close to being steady to flush and shot without ever using the e-collar. They are great dogs and with the right care you will have a great hunting dog.


Re: lab training [Re: huck18] #2204750 03/25/11 06:36 PM
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I ment Game dog as well not gun dog. I have'nt started it yet, I will monday but i skimmed through it and liek what I see. Waltors writings are easy to follow as well.


Re: lab training [Re: Skybuster05] #2205624 03/26/11 03:38 AM
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Thank's for all the good info guy's, I am still waiting on the water dog book to arrive, I have also ordered a e-coller allthough I might not need it, She is only 8 week's old and allready will retrieve anthing i throw, This is my first lab and my first attempt at training, so believe me when I say all imput is helpful.....One more question, whistle or clicker?...Im thinking a whistle wood be better in the field...Thanks again


Re: lab training [Re: tailchaser] #2205660 03/26/11 04:02 AM
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Whistle for sure...hard to hear a clicker in the wind at 100yds out on a retrieve. Also, do you and your dog a favor and don't use the ecollar until you have trained yourself how to condition the dog properly to it. You can put it on a drawer until the dog is about 8-10 months old.

The best value in my opinion is Chris Akin's Duck Dog Basics....at $20 you won't find a better deal out there. kbobbjr turned me onto it before I bought the Lardy stuff. Chris takes you all the way through force fetch (which you need to understand and educate yourself on and determine if you want to do that) and marking. If your dog will do his DVD 100% you will end up with a dog that is better than 75% of the dogs out there.

I doubt Wolter's has anything about ecollars in there mainly because it is older stuff. Not saying it isn't valuable and I would trust IronSpike's recommedation. But I wouldn't use it for 100% of your training.

I ended up deciding I wanted my dog to handle so I bought Mike Lardy's stuff after going through Chris' stuff. I wish I would've started with Lardy but at the time Chris' stuff was what I wanted to spend and thought I wanted from my dog. I hunted over a dog that would handle and that did it, I wanted my dog to be able to do that.

This whole post is based upon a duck dog so I am not real sure if that is what you meant by bird hunting or not??? I would still put the collar up and make sure you know how to use it before you train the dog to it.



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Re: lab training [Re: Judd] #2205929 03/26/11 02:03 PM
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Thanks for the info, also when I said "birdhunting" I was talking about dove hunting,But I would like my dog to be able to retrieve dove and duck, just in case I get a chance to go bag some ducks. But I mainly hunt dove, There like flying little steak's, and there really fun to hunt.....thanks again for the info


Re: lab training [Re: Judd] #2208235 03/27/11 09:47 PM
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Originally Posted By: Judd
Whistle for sure...hard to hear a clicker in the wind at 100yds out on a retrieve. Also, do you and your dog a favor and don't use the ecollar until you have trained yourself how to condition the dog properly to it. You can put it on a drawer until the dog is about 8-10 months old.

This whole post is based upon a duck dog so I am not real sure if that is what you meant by bird hunting or not??? I would still put the collar up and make sure you know how to use it before you train the dog to it.


Great advice right there. BTW, even our dogs that are going to be hunting dove start out with water retrieving and ducks - for a variety of reasons. In the end, you'll have the option, which is nice!




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Re: lab training [Re: IronSpikeLabs] #2208982 03/28/11 03:50 AM
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I wish she could go to work with me..........I might sneek her in tomorrow LOL.....I dont know who like's to play with her more me or my 10 year old son LOL.....Thanks again for all the info


Re: lab training [Re: Judd] #2209881 03/28/11 06:36 PM
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[quote=Judd]You can put it on a drawer until the dog is about 8-10 months old.quote]

Absolutly



Re: lab training [Re: Duck25] #2211491 03/29/11 12:23 PM
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I read water dog and the 10 minute retriever. I want to read the tritronics book because I have been told by the trainers from deep fork retrievers that it is the "bible". Also I have heard positive things about duck dog basics, but have not read it. Good luck.


Re: lab training [Re: tailchaser] #2213207 03/30/11 12:44 AM
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I know and recommend George Hickox Great Beginnings DVD. www.georgehickox.com

We also recommend the products by Rick and Ronnie Smith. www.huntsmith.com We will be scheduling a training seminar this fall for both pointing and retrieving breeds. Our retriever clinician at the last clinic was John Amico, Deepfork Retrievers - Cabela's Pro Staff.


Re: lab training [Re: tailchaser] #2214003 03/30/11 12:49 PM
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Chris Akin's video is a good one and he's supposed to release a second one later this year. Another great video to purchase is Bill Hillman's and he's got another one coming out in the next few weeks. Bill is an amazing young dog trainer. Bill's videos are on the pricey side but worth the money IMHO. I also agree that you should join a local HRC. The knowledge that can be gained is invaluable. As for collars, I recommend Tri-Tronics or Dogtra. They are more expensive than other brands but they will last you a lifetime (if properly cared for). Like Judd stated, you can buy one now but leave it on the shelf until the dog is ready.



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Re: lab training [Re: kbobbjr] #2214040 03/30/11 01:07 PM
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I used this one on my first dog Miley and had good results.....I want to start my new pup with this, but will be looking for something to get into more advanced training after her first season......
http://www.basspro.com/White-Dog-Productions-Training-Your-Retriever-Video-DVD/product/63486/-985450



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