Training a 3 year old Lab

[Shannon]

Get some pigeons, plant them, and when the dog is chasing them fire off a .22 blank and work your way up to a 12 gauge slowly over several sessions. Not feeding your dog for several days and letting them chase chickens doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

[FALFire]

Well..... I'm not sure if I'll get the dog now. The owner was supposed to be heading over to Montana on a business trip and was going to drop the dog off on his way over, but he called yesterday and said he could not afford to go    So for now anyway's, it a waiting game and the way things are going, I will not be able to head west anytime soon to pick up the pup. Sounds as though he is having second thoughts about giving it away.

[huntingfool7]

For what it's worth, I would consider that a blessing in disguise.  Good dogs are not with us long enough as it is.

I would have serious reservations about starting off with a 3 year old that has had limited training, limited if any exposure to birds and is likely gun shy.  That's starting off with some pretty big hurdles.  If he hunts at all, you'd likely spend the next couple years getting him there and then you'd get maybe four good years in the field.

I've had hunting dogs that cost me from $50.00 to $1,000.00 The least expensive part of owning and working a dog is the purchase price. 

[FALFire]

Huntingfool, I agree, I know for a fact this dog never had any training and "may" only know the sit command. He has never had any bird training as he has been locked up in a small backyard all his life that is surrounded by a 6 foot cedar fence. I have very little confidence in this dog since he has lived in these conditions and will likely continue to do so. The newness wore off long ago for the family and now he just sits in a prison yard. Perhaps I'm more concerned about his welfare than anything. Unfortunately, the other dog they have is in the same boat, they never do anything with their dogs but feed them cheap dog food and allow them to play in all the dog crap all day long. Pretty sad for sure.

[huntingfool7]

Ah, pulls at the heart strings for sure.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that we can't save 'em all.

I feel a little compelled to mention the chicken cure.  I'm a guy that has had a dog crawl home with a belly full of lead for chicken killing.  It makes for strained neighborly relations on both sides.  Suffering losses from a livestock killer to cutting down the neighbors pet, there are no winners and lots of bad blood. 
Some cures are worse than the disease.

If you're thinking of a lab, a fresh upstart might be in the cards---???  I'm kind of a sucker for chocolate but they all worm their way in. 
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,104566.0.html

[Kola16]

Trust me. Blacks are the BEST!!!!!!   



I would NEVER get a 3 year old dog. My dog is three, and it feels like I have had her for a lifetime  (that's a good thing). You want every second that you can have with your dog 

[FALFire]

I spoke with the dogs current owner today, sounds like he will deliver the dog on Thursday. I am highly skeptical of this whole thing but my wife is looking forward to having him around and although he may turn out to be just another pet, I'm okay with that.

Actually, a bunch of years ago I got a Yellow Lab from another friend and he was about the same age 2 or 3 or so, turned out this guy was very birdie and somehow just worked out very well even though he never had any official training, his instincts powered through and he turned out to be a great hunter.  He's been gone now for 10 years and I sure miss him.

I picked up another Black Lab about 6 months later and he was a great pal but never showed any interest in hunting, I put him down last year suffering from cancer. So we'll see what happens, I've always wanted a good upland bird dog, hunted with some friends that had a great one years ago but could never really afford to pay for all the proper training and simply did not have the knowledge or time to do it myself.

[Huntbear]

Putting down one of my dogs has to rank right up there as the hardest thing I have ever done in my life....  I literally, held my St. Bernard as the vet injected him, to put him to sleep...  I buried my face in that big oafs fur and cried for 20 min. as I felt the life leave his body...  Even knowing that he would have never survived after having the stroke he had...


Only times I have cried harder... when I buried my dad, my sister and my mom....  over the years.

[FALFire]

Putting down one of my dogs has to rank right up there as the hardest thing I have ever done in my life....  I literally, held my St. Bernard as the vet injected him, to put him to sleep...  I buried my face in that big oafs fur and cried for 20 min. as I felt the life leave his body...  Even knowing that he would have never survived after having the stroke he had...


Only times I have cried harder... when I buried my dad, my sister and my mom....  over the years.

I hear ya Huntbear. I was holding each of my labs when they were put down, I cried for a good long while for each. Still today, I get teary eyed for them when I pray they are in a better place.

[FALFire]

Well.........Here he is.

His name is Hank
 

[ghosthunter]

"Trust me. Blacks are the BEST!!!!!!   "


Shhhhhh Dont get Stilly Bay started.


Nice Dog, my color

[Huntbear]

Good looking dog!!!

Just one question.. who names a dog Frank??   

[huntingfool7]

Looks like a big, happy guy. 

[FALFire]

Well, he is very strong, pulls me all over the place, trying to break him of that will be a chore in it's self.

I have yet had time to put together his kennel so I let him sleep in the garage, got up this morning and    OH MY GOD    I guess he didn't like being in there. So today I put his kennel together and hopefully it will be bomb proof!

[Curly]

Looks like a happy dog.  Congrats!