Training a chocolate

[at2smithjason]

I have a 2 year old Chocolate Lab that I would like to start training to be a gun dog.  Any pointers that I can get from the experts here would be great.  I was thinking that when I start feeding him that Id try and come up behind him and clap as hard as I can and see what he does.  And after a few times after that I'd get a cap gun and fire that off in the house to see how he would react.  But after that I am a little lost, as Ive never trained a gun dog before.  I have read that the "Stay" and "Heel" commands are a hunters best friends.  Again any tips would be more than welcome.  Thanks!

[rainshadow1]

@ 2yo you're a little behind. How is he at basic obedience? That's the place to start, you'll learn each other first. Is he ball crazy? Is he expected to follow rules? Etc?

[JKEEN33]

I don't like the "stay command". The dog should learn sit and stay sitting until released. You just cut two commands ( sit, stay) into one command. Agree two years is behind, but you  can still get a hunting buddy out of your dog.

I've been lucky enough that all of my labs have had the natural search desire when they here a gunshot. I have not dealt with gun shy yet.

[at2smithjason]

I know that I maybe a little behind, but when I got him I thought he was just going to be a family dog.  He was a little rough on his toys.  But when he's introduced to new things, he has a very sorry pallet.  So there's some instinct in there that he needs to be gentile with things.

[Dhoey07]

You have a .22 pistol?

[at2smithjason]

No I don't.  I was thinking that a cap gun would be a nice start to get him used to the loud noise before I took him out and let him watch a gun shoot.

[Dhoey07]

No I don't.  I was thinking that a cap gun would be a nice start to get him used to the loud noise before I took him out and let him watch a gun shoot.

I would buy a .22 blank dummy launcher.  That way when he hears a pop, there is something associated with it.  Start with just a dummy and get the retrieve, then use the launcher.  He might give one weird look at first but then he'll remember his job is to retrieve.  If you have a partner then the cap gun would be fine but a lot of the training I did was one on one, less distractions.

[Colin]

I wouldn't worry about intro to gun yet at all. Treat the dog like a puppy and start from the very beginning. You don't want a loud noise to be associated with food anyways. You want a gunshot to mean dead bird then a retrieve not meal time.

Bill hillman puppy video is worth every cent. You'd probably work through it pretty fast but at the end you'd have a 2 year old who is steady and loves to retrieve and gets how the game works. At that point you've got 90 percent of the hunting dogs I see surpassed in their training.

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[BD1]

I would steer clear of the 22 cal. Had a great gun dog that would hunt under a 12 gauge all day but dig a hole through concrete to get away from a 22. Tons of simple ways to get a dog introduced to a shotgun. As has been stated,find a method you can follow and start as if the dog was a new pup. It will be fine...Enjoy and good luck

[garrett89]

Firecracker and a frozen bird. Have your dog sit and light that fire cracker and throw the bird.

[mburrows]

Make sure the noise is associated with retrieving and fun. Start with the bang 100 yards away then progressively bring it closer. Dont rush the gun introduction step especially with a 2 year old.

But like has been said make sure all other obedience and basics have been taught.

[sliverthrower]

get the water dog. easy to read book lots of pics timeless info

[Alex4200]

FORGET ABOUT ALL NOISE RELATED TRAINING!!!!   

Work on obedience training, retrieving and tracking. Work on those building blocks.

PERIOD

The noise related stuff can happen later, slowly, especially when the dog is having fun retrieving.

[carvermoe]

I just took my 4month old lab to the range today.We stayed in the car and Started way back and moved
closer and closer all while keeping her interested in a toy. finally started rolling the window down.
She could have cared less about the boom booms. We spent an hour doing it.

[Happy Gilmore]

Always good to associate a shooting range is just like hunting ducks. Or, firecrackers and food is like hunting or, banging pots and pans when you eat is like hunting ducks. All that makes them real good hunting dogs..

[Clark33]

Always good to associate a shooting range is just like hunting ducks. Or, firecrackers and food is like hunting or, banging pots and pans when you eat is like hunting ducks. All that makes them real good hunting dogs..

Always good to have a sarcastic response to a thread without adding any useful information.


I have the .22 blank dummy launcher, I zip tie and duck wing to it so she gets the feel of feathers in her mouth.  I also introduced her to gun fire by standing about 200 yards behind my father who was shooting.  I kept her at heel and we slowly moved closer and closer until we were standing right behind my dad as he was shooting and she didn't even seem to care.  Gave me piece of mind she was not gun shy.

I read the water dog book and bought the DVD as a supplement, I'm a visual learner.  My dog turned out just fine, is she perfect NOPE, does she get the job done YEP, is it fun to watch her continue to learn YOU BET.  Will it test your patience.... ABSOLUTELY.  Have fun with the process, you'll both learn a lot.

[Ridgeratt]

Always good to associate a shooting range is just like hunting ducks. Or, firecrackers and food is like hunting or, banging pots and pans when you eat is like hunting ducks. All that makes them real good hunting dogs..

Perhaps another idea is to visit the local trap range and wander around with the dog on a leash at the far end of the line working closer each time.

I have never been refused on east side just remember to bring a bag with you and police the dog.

[Happy Gilmore]

Dogs need a bird in their mouth when a shot goes off. From the start.

[Clark33]

Dogs need a bird in their mouth when a shot goes off. From the start.

Now that's sound advice.  I always freeze a few birds through out the season for off season training.... the girlfriend hates it 

[Happy Gilmore]

Conditioning a dog to loud sounds is the most wasteful time event in a puppies life. I'm sorry, loud noises with no reference point for the dog is a man made waste of time.

Birds. Dogs need birds to be hunting dogs. Pigeons, ducks, sparrows.... Whatever. A loud noise at a tricking range will achieve NOTHiNG in a hunting dogs life.

[JDHasty]

I just took my 4month old lab to the range today.We stayed in the car and Started way back and moved
closer and closer all while keeping her interested in a toy. finally started rolling the window down.
She could have cared less about the boom booms. We spent an hour doing it.

And there ya' go.  That is how to get over gun shy concerns.  A lab will probably hunt, in time.  The big thing is to get them out with other GOOD dogs who hunt.  Obedience is paramount  though, nobody will tolerate a knot head around their bird dog for long.   

[Happy Gilmore]

I just took my 4month old lab to the range today.We stayed in the car and Started way back and moved
closer and closer all while keeping her interested in a toy. finally started rolling the window down.
She could have cared less about the boom booms. We spent an hour doing it.

And there ya' go.  That is how to get over gun shy concerns.  A lab will probably hunt, in time.  The big thing is to get them out with other GOOD dogs who hunt.  Obedience is paramount  though, nobody will tolerate a knot head around their bird dog for long.

The way folks describe how to get them around guns is probably why dogs are gunshy in the first place.