Training A retriever Puppy - DVD

[Carl]

I've had this DVD recommended by a couple excellent breeders/trainers and I was wondering if anyone else has trained their pup following Bill Hillman's method?

Carl

[CoryTDF]

I have the Evan Graham DVD's and Mike Lardy's Total Retriever Training. Both are good. Never done the Hillman. I am sure it is good. Just take from it what you like and if things are not working don't be afraid to look for other ways. Generally I would say to pick a program and stick to it as close as you can. The problem is the at dogs, like people, are not all the same and sometimes you have to get creative. 

[Colin]

I used hillman from 10 weeks old till just before FF at 6 months. Worked wonders having guidance with a young pup. Particularly not teaching him bad habits at an early age and progressing too fast. It will put you to sleep watching it but it really is a great program for young pups. I would not be as far as I am in training if I didn't use hillman's dvd. Laid all the right ground work for teaching a pup to learn and communicate. Basically had a steady dog at 6 months old without taking any of the drive out of him. That alone allowed us to pregress after FF into Force to Pile, T, TT, de cheat etc that much faster. Hillman emphasizes having a balance of excitement and work that has paid dividends now that my pup is older. Drive to spare but not out of control. I have the lardy dvds but they don't give you much to work on for young pups. If you plan to take the time and train your pup a few days, like 4, a week then it's worth the money. If you only plan to train once in a while then save your money as you aren't going to get much taught regardless of the program.

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[Waldo84]

Like Colin I've used Hillmann's puppy program and then transitioned into Mike Lardy's program around 6 or 7 months old. The key is the balance part of it. My first pup needed less excitement and more work on sit/steady because he didn't care what we were doing, he had laser-like focus. My younger female needed more frequent bursts of excitement to keep her engaged during the work portion. Now she needs less excitement but the occasional fun bumper during yard work/TT is needed to keep her going. The best part of the puppy DVD is that each session builds on the last session, and they are typically short sessions that you can do before work or after work if you have a busy schedule.

Good luck !