New pup waterfowl training

[Netminder01]

Hi all,

I'm putting my 9 year old chocolate lab down soon (probably this weekend) right on the heels of picking up a new pup from her grandfather (same genetic line). 

It's been about 10 years since I deeply looked into local trainers and methods so would appreciate any recommendations. Primarily, I'm looking for basic obedience and waterfowl retrieves w/ an outside chance of field training. My lab was trained at Canine Country Club (CCC) by Jim Cochrane so his place is an obvious option but would like to hear any recommendations on other places or good/bad experiences at CCC.

Thanks!

[Carl]

Tagging along.

[ducksdogsdownriggers]

Very sorry to hear about your dog. 
I'd pick up a few DVDs for the the early stages, approx 2-6 months:
Jackie Mertens:  Sound Beginnings
Bill Hillmann:  Training a Retriever Puppy

From there, I'd either go with Mike Lardy's TRT materials or Evan Graham Smart Works.
As far as recommendations for a pro, I'd check out Retriever Training Forum and ask for recommendations on there.  Way more experienced/knowledgeable folks over there.  I don't feel comfortable recommending a trainer unless I have personally had a dog trained by him/her.

[constructeur]

Andy Fontenot is the only guy I'd have train my lab/retriever if that was the route I was going.

 http://www.waterdogkennel.com/

The local HRC club is a pretty awesome resource as well: http://www.whistlingwingshrc.com/

[Goldeneye]

You might give Brooke Jr a look at Conway Kennels.  He is a very good trainer and they have a good facility up near Conway to train for both upland and waterfowl.  I know there are others on this sight who have experience with them as well.

http://www.conwaykennels.com/ck/default.asp

[freberd]

Sorry about your lab too young

[BD1]

Here is a different angle.  I have enjoyed training my pups myself.  No they are not field trial champions...but they have always worked hard to find every bird I put in the water, marsh, upland field.  The work can be frustrating but I think the time and process builds a unique bond.  I have a 1st grader and a 6th grader and work full time...so finding the time proved difficult sometimes, but no impossible.  The wife and kids were part of the training and has made a difference I think.  Even if I could afford it, I personally wouldn't send my dog to a trainer.  That is nothing against trainers...just my preference. With that said I have hunted with dogs that have been trained at various places around the U.S. and have enjoyed their work too. Whatever you choose enjoy your new buddy and sorry about you having to say goodbye to another.
Best of luck,
Mike BD1

[Netminder01]

Sorry about your lab too young

Yeah, thanks. F**k Cancer.     Absolutely great dog too and sleeping at my feet right now in the office.

[Netminder01]

Here is a different angle.  I have enjoyed training my pups myself.  No they are not field trial champions...but they have always worked hard to find every bird I put in the water, marsh, upland field.  The work can be frustrating but I think the time and process builds a unique bond.  I have a 1st grader and a 6th grader and work full time...so finding the time proved difficult sometimes, but no impossible.  The wife and kids were part of the training and has made a difference I think.  Even if I could afford it, I personally wouldn't send my dog to a trainer.  That is nothing against trainers...just my preference. With that said I have hunted with dogs that have been trained at various places around the U.S. and have enjoyed their work too. Whatever you choose enjoy your new buddy and sorry about you having to say goodbye to another.
Best of luck,
Mike BD1

Thanks Mike.

I've considered this but don't have the confidence in my own abilities as much as others who've done it successfully for years. I purchased a few really good books prior to getting Moxie and had the luxury of spending an enormous amount of time with her as a pup. I was coaching at the time so religiously I spend daily time with her at least for 20 min - every day and it payed off in spades. Now, running 2 companies I know I won't have the same amount of time and I really feel the time between 6 months & 18 months will be critical in her development.

Maybe my next pooch I'll do it myself but I learned plenty from CCC and would expect the outfit I go with this year to get the same benefit.

[Revwrangler]

Here is a different angle.  I have enjoyed training my pups myself.  No they are not field trial champions...but they have always worked hard to find every bird I put in the water, marsh, upland field.  The work can be frustrating but I think the time and process builds a unique bond.  I have a 1st grader and a 6th grader and work full time...so finding the time proved difficult sometimes, but no impossible.  The wife and kids were part of the training and has made a difference I think.  Even if I could afford it, I personally wouldn't send my dog to a trainer.  That is nothing against trainers...just my preference. With that said I have hunted with dogs that have been trained at various places around the U.S. and have enjoyed their work too. Whatever you choose enjoy your new buddy and sorry about you having to say goodbye to another.
Best of luck,
Mike BD1

I agree, I have worked with dogs "professionally trained" and have worked with my own dog which I have trained. I will be the first to admit my dog is far from perfect and has more training that needs to be done but the time training together I think has been really great. And I too have a wife young kids (9,6,3) and have involved them in the process. It's been great. My abilities have not been perfect, and I've made mistakes along the way, but couldn't be happier with the way she has turned out.



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[Netminder01]

Great post & pics Rev,

Let me clarify a bit. I worked with my dog regularly and often; especially in her early years. The area I'm less confident in my own abilities is the foundational stuff both in obedience and waterfowl in general. Reinforcing and expanding upon the basic training is no problem.

Thanks for all the posts and PM's; keep them coming. I have a while before I pick up the pup.

[Revwrangler]

Great post & pics Rev,

Let me clarify a bit. I worked with my dog regularly and often; especially in her early years. The area I'm less confident in my own abilities is the foundational stuff both in obedience and waterfowl in general. Reinforcing and expanding upon the basic training is no problem.

Thanks for all the posts and PM's; keep them coming. I have a while before I pick up the pup.

I don't disagree with that. I personally love doing it all myself, but can't totally understand wanting to make sure that the foundational stuff is some right. I considered doing that with my dog, but the cost halted that idea before it gained much steam.


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[Waldo84]

First of all I'm sorry to hear about your dog. It's never easy saying goodbye.

Can you tell us a little bit about the pup that you are getting? Like what type of bloodlines it comes from (Field bred or Bench bred). Different trainers may be a better fit or have more of less success with certain characteristics. .

If the pup comes from a high powered breeding with ancestors that may be on the "Hotter" side of the equation, a pro who has success managing and training those types of dogs may be a better route than doing it yourself. On the other side, if it comes from parents or ancestors that are on the calmer, bench style of breeding, then doing it yourself  may be easier and less stressful for you.

I personally go the route of training primarily on my own, but then take my dogs to professionals on weekends and run their training set ups and get advice on what I might want to focus on with the pup. These are just suggestions. Hope you enjoy the new journey with your puppy. 

[Netminder01]

First of all I'm sorry to hear about your dog. It's never easy saying goodbye.

Can you tell us a little bit about the pup that you are getting? Like what type of bloodlines it comes from (Field bred or Bench bred). Different trainers may be a better fit or have more of less success with certain characteristics. .

If the pup comes from a high powered breeding with ancestors that may be on the "Hotter" side of the equation, a pro who has success managing and training those types of dogs may be a better route than doing it yourself. On the other side, if it comes from parents or ancestors that are on the calmer, bench style of breeding, then doing it yourself  may be easier and less stressful for you.

I personally go the route of training primarily on my own, but then take my dogs to professionals on weekends and run their training set ups and get advice on what I might want to focus on with the pup. These are just suggestions. Hope you enjoy the new journey with your puppy.

Good question Waldo!

I'm torn a bit right now on how hard charging of a dog I want to get. The breeder is fairly well known and focuses on chocolate labs for hunting, field trials and lastly pets.

The way she distributes pets is first come, first serve based on the order deposits are made in order to create a picking order. Then from there she marks each dog and begins regular notes on personality, tendencies, characteristics and so on. Then a few weeks from now (on my liter) she puts the dogs 1:1 with a bird often times the birds are as big or bigger than the pups themselves. This determines if a dog is hard charging, more curious and timid, athletic, etc. The culmination of notes over 10-12 weeks provides the beginning profile of the dog (hunter, field, pet) that prospective pet owners choose from during the pick up day. As I visit and spend time with the pups, I'll be making my own notes as well to be as informed as possible the type of pups I'll have to choose.

Now, to answer your question... my dog now is female and part of the reason I chose a female is no longer true. Although I've been leaning towards a female the gender and how "birdy" the dog I choose is absolutely part of my deliberation. One one hand, I really enjoy the balance of my dog now which is probably 60/40 pet vs hunting dog.

I'm curious about field trials as Moxie's father was a many times over grand national champion. My hesitations is that it's way too much of a time commitment for me given my businesses and other hobbies.

Does this help Waldo?

[Waldo84]

That's really good that the breeder takes the time to get to know the puppies and keeps notes on each one's personalities. There is always the chance that the most laid back puppy in the bunch turns out to be a fireball down the road and visa versa. But for the most part I would guess all of the puppies out of a good breeding if given the chance will turn out to be great hunting and gun dogs. Some may even be able to make it to the MH level with good training. Most well bred dogs can, with good training, make it to a great duck dog level which sounds like what you are looking for.

I'm interested to see the pedigree of the puppy as i'm a chocolate lover myself. I have 3 labs, two chocolates but the black one is also out of a chocolate Field Trial champ.