help training a lab

[BIGINNER]

can anybody give me some pointers, or point me to a good training book or dvd that I can use.  sort of like perfect start perfect finish, except for retrievers.  I have plenty of experience training pointing dogs, but none with retrievers.

basicly I need pointers for hand commands, steadiness,...  and whatever else you need for retrievers.  obviously I will start with obedience, but just dunno where to go from there.  duke had retrieving down, and delivers to my hand,...  he even dives down 6+ feet under water to retrieve rocks that my kid throws 

anyways,.. I just want to get him a bit more steady and possibly teach him hand commands, so he would a good hunting partner in the blind with me.

thanks in advance

[Don Fischer]

Evan Gramm seem to be the last word in retriever's. He's over on Gundogforum I think. I've trained a couple labs but just to hunt with. That was before my son was born, he's gonna be 41 in Dec!

[WRL]

The Ten Minute Retriever is a book I highly recommend.

If you can afford them, Total Retriever Training by Mike Lardy.

If your dog is a pup, Sound Beginnings is a great dvd.

WRL

[ducksdogsdownriggers]

The Ten Minute Retriever is a book I highly recommend.

If you can afford them, Total Retriever Training by Mike Lardy.

If your dog is a pup, Sound Beginnings is a great dvd.

WRL

If you can't afford Lard DVD's he has a compilation of articles in a couple volumes that is an inexpensive way to go. 
If you want your dog to be really steady, work him with other dogs, ie honoring.

[JJD]

I have most of'em.
The most complete works I have ever seen is;
Retrievers- from the inside , out   by Butch Goodwin.
Great system for a hunting retriever.

If you are gonna dabble in the retriever games, Lardy and Graham might also be a good choice.
 

[BIGINNER]

No games or trials.  Just want a good duck dog that is not a pain to have in the blind

[Stilly bay]

  Just want a good duck dog that is not a pain to have in the blind

Then focus on obedience, and focus some more on obedience, and then when you are sick and tired of doing obedience and more than ready to set up some hunting simulations ... Do more obedience!

Its not as much fun as throwing bumpers in the creek but it will pay off big time down the road and it will be the foundation for every thing else you teach your dog.

[wildweeds]

Sit,sit sit sit sit,get that 100% then move on to stay stay stay stay stay and your dialed in.Use a whoa post( a steel stake with a large loop welded on the end,pound it in the ground behind where you want the dog to work from,run the checkcord through the loop and use it to restrain the dog from jumping the gun to break,toss a bumper,if the dog breaks it will pinch itself down,when the dog sits again and is still for a moment ,release the cord and send the dog for the mark.Repetion is the best training,conditioning for the desired response. You can implement the same thing in the field come hunting season, run a short cord around something in the blind,or a fencepost in a ditch,or a tree trunk.Set your dog up to succeed rather than fail.

  Just want a good duck dog that is not a pain to have in the blind

Then focus on obedience, and focus some more on obedience, and then when you are sick and tired of doing obedience and more than ready to set up some hunting simulations ... Do more obedience!

Its not as much fun as throwing bumpers in the creek but it will pay off big time down the road and it will be the foundation for every thing else you teach your dog.

[bone collector 12]

Water dog is a great video!!!,trained 2 labs off it and they are still going strong 8 years later

[Stilly bay]

Sit,sit sit sit sit,get that 100% then move on to stay stay stay stay stay and your dialed in.Use a whoa post( a steel stake with a large loop welded on the end,pound it in the ground behind where you want the dog to work from,run the checkcord through the loop and use it to restrain the dog from jumping the gun to break,toss a bumper,if the dog breaks it will pinch itself down,when the dog sits again and is still for a moment ,release the cord and send the dog for the mark.Repetion is the best training,conditioning for the desired response. You can implement the same thing in the field come hunting season, run a short cord around something in the blind,or a fencepost in a ditch,or a tree trunk.Set your dog up to succeed rather than fail.

  Just want a good duck dog that is not a pain to have in the blind

Then focus on obedience, and focus some more on obedience, and then when you are sick and tired of doing obedience and more than ready to set up some hunting simulations ... Do more obedience!

Its not as much fun as throwing bumpers in the creek but it will pay off big time down the road and it will be the foundation for every thing else you teach your dog.

IMO "Sit" should mean sit down, and don't move until I say its ok. I never understood teaching them "SIT" and "STAY" because the command "SIT" should cover both. Otherwise you say "sit" then the dog just has to sit for as long as he feels like it unless you follow with the command "STAY" - which way too complicated for my pea sized brain.

Instead of a whoa post I really like having a length of rope tied to my belt. the rope is just long enough to go from my belt, under the dogs collar and back up to my hand. If he bolts he gets yanked back, but if he stays put I just drop the loose end of the rope and it slides through his collar with very little resistance as he goes for the retrieve.
this accomplishes several things:
Keeps him steady
keeps him at your side with very minimal equipment.
and when its time to release him you don't have to fumble with the clip on the collar, which many dogs get wise to quickly. When using a rope like this its almost like your using no rope at all unless they break in which case you can stop them.

[wildweeds]

You let them drag the cord along  for the ride Stilly,You drop the rope(no stop knot on the end) and it unthreads itself,when the dog returns and sits,you rethread and go again,with the post you can start right next to the dog and slowly increase your distance and have control to keep them back while you are out front or askew to the side some,same goes for hunting,but the rope is only 5 foot long,just long enough for you to hold on to.I wouldn't use it in deep water but for a flooded corn/grass field it works just fine.My buddy who got a dog from the Corrals used the method I've described and actually performed better than quite a few pro trained dogs at tests.

[BIGINNER]

    are all labs this smart?  I've worked with pointing dogs quite a bit (german shorthairs and weimaraners).  I've never seen a dog catch on so quick like this guy.   

i'm super excited for duck season now.

so far,..

he is doing great on the sit command.  he sits and stays on the sit command.  he does not move until I release him on command.  he has heal down pretty much 100%
he does not break on the sit command even with dummies thrown out.  my son helps me out,.. sometime my son will throw the dummy, sometimes I will.  duke stays until I release him to retrieve. sometimes i'll just have my son retrieve the dummy, (working on honoring without another dog  )

I've been working on obedience with duke for quite some time. I've just never worked with him in these type of scenarios.

quick question though.

should I introduce him to a wistle? or should I just stick to the commands he knows.  also.  if I was ever interested in teaching him hand commands from a distance, where would be the best place to start? 

[JJD]

I'm with stilly on the sit stay issue.

IMHO, a pup should rarely be off a lead, long or short depending on situation, until after they have been through formal hold training.
Gives you the ability to control the pup and provides a means of correction when not obedient.

Warning!!  There will be training days when you will believe your dog will be a national field trial champ by 9 mo. and others you will have you crawling around on your hands and knees looking for its brains as you will be certain that they have fallen out.  Build on the positive.

[JODakota]

I'm with stilly on the sit stay issue.

IMHO, a pup should rarely be off a lead, long or short depending on situation, until after they have been through formal hold training.
Gives you the ability to control the pup and provides a means of correction when not obedient.

Warning!!  There will be training days when you will believe your dog will be a national field trial champ by 9 mo. and others you will have you crawling around on your hands and knees looking for its brains as you will be certain that they have fallen out.  Build on the positive.

This is so true. Lol