New Puppy Training!

[Bganz]

Hey everyone!

Well after years of watching puppy posts, and breeders websites, we've finally got our life settled and I've got my first hunting partner! Her name is Stella and she's a beautiful, and smart black lab. She's 14 weeks old tomorrow and training has been going really well, but I feel like I'm falling behind.

There are SO MANY different techniques and tools, I'm wondering what everyone suggests. We are located in SW Calgary, and I've emailed WRHRC a little while ago, but haven't heard back yet as I'm assuming they're not running until spring.

I've got some bird wings and have been exposing her to those and have been out looking for grouse a few times this last week but no luck. I also called Wessex Game Birds to buy a bird or two off of them to introduce her but they said they don't do that so I'm wondering if anyone has a lead on getting a whole bird, dead or alive?

I've got a bunch of books, Game Dog, Sporting Dog and Retriever Training the Wildrose Way,.. etc but have struggled to fully grasp the concepts and timelines. Does anyone have any suggestions on other material or DVD's that could lead me in the right direction?

I would love to train with someone, but I've only found places that will train your hunting dog and I really want to be a part of it and learn myself so I could continue to build on our skills and hopefully compete one day with her.

Anyways thanks in advance for any advice you can give to me as it is all appreciated!

And if course I cannot post this without some pictures of her so far!

[jetta5678]

Hello Bganz
I would recommend you join a club. You don't list your location, if it is Calgary checkout Wildrose Hunting Retriever Club.

[threeforthree]

What a cutie,,,,,have fun and bond.

[Pixel Shooter]

Buy Bill Hillmann DVD how to raise a retriever puppy. Big congrats. Nothing better then puppy breath!

[densa44]

There are a number in Calgary and you will find people to train with.

What are you trying to accomplish, just a hunting dog, show dog, field trail dog, hunt test dog? The clubs usually specialize.

There is lots of time, if you don't start until she is 6 months old it won't make any difference by the time she is 9 months old. Once she gets to grow a bit not only will she learn faster but will have the body to do what you are teaching her.

She looks great.

[sns2]

Beauty!!!

[DireWolf]

I'd just be happy to have a lab. Low-income housing sucks...

[Bganz]

Originally Posted by jetta5678

Hello Bganz
I would recommend you join a club. You don't list your location, if it is Calgary checkout Wildrose Hunting Retriever Club.

Hey Jetta5678! Thanks, I am actually in Calgary and have tried joining but haven't heard back yet. Any chance you're a member?

Originally Posted by threeforthree

What a cutie,,,,,have fun and bond.

Thanks threefourthree, shes definitely won me over haha. My first Lab and has already blown me away!

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

Buy Bill Hillmann DVD how to raise a retriever puppy. Big congrats. Nothing better then puppy breath!

Thanks Pixel Shooter! I was actually looking at that program. Great to hear you recommend it. Any idea if there's somewhere in Canada's I can buy it? I've only found his website but have already signed up for his email list.

Originally Posted by densa44

There are a number in Calgary and you will find people to train with.

What are you trying to accomplish, just a hunting dog, show dog, field trail dog, hunt test dog? The clubs usually specialize.

There is lots of time, if you don't start until she is 6 months old it won't make any difference by the time she is 9 months old. Once she gets to grow a bit not only will she learn faster but will have the body to do what you are teaching her.

She looks great.

Thanks so much Densa, and great question. My hopes are to get into hunt testing. I'm planning on joining the Wildrose Hunting Retriever Club, but would you suggest any other clubs around the Calgary area? And thanks for the advice on training timeline. In some of the books I've read they make it sound like the world will end if the dog hasn't obtained a certain skill set by 12 weeks haha.

[Pixel Shooter]

Easiest to just buy online. Our club up here in edmonton has Bill coming up to do a seminar this summer. Should be on the ACHRA website. I have got to train with him and attend his seminar. Highly recommend. Even seasoned field trialers had nothing but great feedback. Been training labs 30 plus yrs and i always pock up new things. Life long learning lol.

We typically don’t start officially training as mentioned til a pup is 6 months old but there is lots you can do to make life way easier when it comes time and form great habits. Hunt tests are a ton of fun. Enjoy participating and judging. Nahra if your a bird hunter is allot of fun. More realistic to hunting situations you will find out in the field. Hope to see u at a test or two. Any questions shoot me a pm. Happy to help

One thing i will guarantee is your pup will teach you more in a lifetime then u will ever teach her 😛

[brslk]

What a gorgeous little girl. She looks like she makes good eye contact, eager to please.

[Newf]

PM Sent.

[pikergolf]

She's a beauty, congrats!

[dodger]

This gave me a smile. Nice pup.

Dodger

[Diesel_wiesel]

X2 on the Bill Hillmann retriever puppy training
and obedience obedience obedience
as well X2 join a retriever club
you don't have to compete , but if you train with the people that do
you will have an exceptional hunting partner

[Albertadiver]

An exciting time!

Enjoy your pup, and you'll never regret the friendship you are making.

[chauncy]

I see Mike sent you a pm. He'll be able to help.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[Bganz]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

X2 on the Bill Hillmann retriever puppy training
and obedience obedience obedience
as well X2 join a retriever club
you don't have to compete , but if you train with the people that do
you will have an exceptional hunting partner

Thanks! On everyone’s advice, I’ve ordered Bill Hillmanns program and already received an email form his wife saying it’s being mailed out today from Texas!

Originally Posted by chauncy

I see Mike sent you a pm. He'll be able to help.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

You know it!He’s given me some great advice and invited me to tag along so I’m feeling pretty fortunate today for his, and everyone on AO advice and for the kind words of encouragement!

[owlhoot]

I Like Stella, She looks focused. Just had to say

[32-40win]

Pretty tough not to fall for that face. Looks like wayyy too much fun.

[Bigwoodsman]

Your new pup is gorgeous. You can tell she is really smart just from her facial expressions and that she wants you to teach her everything. She will be a loyal friend to you for many years. Enjoy!

BW

[oilngas]

Cute little Lab, it looks like she has started to train you already!!

[silverdoctor]

She's a beauty.

[FCLightning]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

X2 on the Bill Hillmann retriever puppy training
and obedience obedience obedience
as well X2 join a retriever club
you don't have to compete , but if you train with the people that do
you will have an exceptional hunting partner

Is Evan Graham's Smart Fetch out of vogue?

[Howard Hutchinson]

Love it, love it, LOVE IT!! What a little beauty. Good luck with that little devil..She's going to be a handful and so much fun.

Merry Christmas to you and your Family..

[Pixel Shooter]

not at all. he does a great job, reason being he is not always working with perfect dogs unlike many of the other dvds out there including Lardy. He does a good job of teaching you how to over come challenges and barriers to better communicate to help the dog better understand what is being asked. This process can be very taxing on dog and owner with little experience, so he adds value this way.

I am personally not a fan on the level of pressure he uses to transition dogs to more advanced training but the smart works force fetch is good and more helpful then most dvds on it.

Originally Posted by FCLightning

Is Evan Graham's Smart Fetch out of vogue?

[denied access]

Gun Dog and Water Dog by Wolters. Old school but pretty step by step and easy to follow and results in an excellant dog. Join a club but remember that a lot of the advice might be wrong or from someone who spent a lot to have someone else do the work that they are pretending to know about.

Also for birds just do a kijiji search for pigeons. No end of them and they are pretty cheap. Also the one best piece of advice is obedience classes and socialization. Obedience makes the dog. An obediant dog has more freedom than a dog that must stay on a leash. And love. Lots of love. And patience. The dog is never wrong. And as long as you dont get too rough there is nothing that cant be fixed.

Also either a starter pistol or shotshells with just the primer shot above the pup at feeding time. I prefer shotshells cause then they also associate the gun with good things. Might wanna warn the neibhors if you are close to them.

Your pup is a heartbreaker thats for sure.

I had to put my lab down in September. He could retrieve apples withpout leaving a mark and I retrieved geese and beavers with him. He was a bruiser but thats the trouble is that they are hard working self sacrificing dogs. Not the years but the mileage. After 6 labs I couldnt fall in love with one again so I just picked up an English Springer puppy so we will see how that goes. Not as tough for sure but thats OK.

Here is my old fella Hershey that is gone and my new pup Vic

[Pixel Shooter]

Would love to understand your thoughts on shooting blanks at dinner time?
Wolters is dated. Having said that was the very first reading in training my dog many many many years ago. Lots have changed but basics are basics i guess.

Congrats on your new pup. Can’t see myself wavering from buying another lab but i get it. Sorry to hear u had to put your boy down. New pup, what a cutie and good luck with your pup. That’s awesome!!

[denied access]

Thanks pixel. I think that was the worst day ever. I could get the best Lab ever invented and he would never measure up so I decided against getting another. We will see how the ESS works. i hunt more upland than waterfowel now anyway and I can still do water retrieves with him just need a towel and a sleeping bag

The shooting at meal time was a thing I probably picked up from my Dad but not sure and cant remember. We just always did it. Yep Wolters is dated but his ways still work great and are not mean like some of the other new methods out there. i think he was probably the first reading of every trainer worth his salt.

I bought a DVD a couple years ago on modern force retrieval work and it was dam near abuse what they were teaching people to do. There comes a time to get a dogs attention but this was over the top.

Respectfully basics are really all that matters and they have not really changed much at all. Also a newer owner needs to learn the basics before he moves on as well. For the more advanced stuff his ways still work just fine especially for a newer trainer but probably require more time with the dog.

I don't like the whole Smart Fetch system. i find it a bit cruel. If your dog is hard mouthed you shoulda looked at bloodlines a bit more, not played tug o war with the pup and not introduced it to live ducks before it was trained with pigeons. I quite liked Tom Dokkens book. I have not read the Wildrose stuff but would like to. I just read Hupp and re read Gun Dog (not super lab related but I have hunted a tonne of upland over a lab just fine) because of the new pup. Hupp was good and gun dog was too. I guess the best thing would be to read a tonne of different books and pick out the things that work and get rid of the things that dont.

I think books are better than DVDs as I have a hard time watching something on TV and remembering it but thats me.

Anyway by popping primers (or starter pistol) while a lab is doing what a lab does best (eats) it not only eliminates any fear or uneasiness at gun shots but initiates a pavlovian response that gun equals pleasure. You will eventually get the same response by letting him retrieve after gunshots or bang from a dummy launcher but this speeds it up and is one less thing to work on while training. I have always done this and the reaction at seeing / hearing the gun and shots has ranged from at least drooling and much tail wagging to a somewhat disturbing viagra like response from the chocolate pictured until I had him neutered.

The reason i recomended Wolters is that almost everything "new" is a slightly different tweak on what he was doing so not so new at all. The only new stuff I see is intimidating the dog into performing which i dont go for but kinda seems to be in fashion now as it gets results in less time. I find Woltors easy and entertaining to read and easy to understand. There for sure are new improved methods and variations and also it depends on the end use as well but Gun Dog and Especially Water Dog are easy starting points anyway and will build the dog into a base to expand on.

[Coiloil37]

Nice looking pup. When she's older if you want some live pheasants let me know. I know a guy who sells them.

[Dave P]

How is Stella doing these days?