Pup training

[snakerivercharlie]

Hello, my name is Josh and I am new to the forum.  I am an avid pheasant hunter and am originally from eastern washington now I am looking for help on the westside.  I have been bird hunting for many years by myself, but I have recently gotten a yellow lab pup.  I have put him through basic obedience training and have been working with a dummy to the point that I want him interacting with live birds in a controlled environment.  I was just wondering if there are any good trainers in the Seattle area that will work with me and my dog, instead of boarding him and just picking him up when he's "done?"

Also, I appreciate the hell you all give to the new people who come in just demanding to know where the birds are hunting spots.  Get out and do your own looking.

[gasman]

Welcome to the forum 

You should post up in the "introduction" thread, give us some more info on your self.


As for trainer in the seattle area, I can't help you. I do know a good one in the Spannaway/Eatonville area.

[Rowdy]

Why don't you do some research and find a trainer on your own?

Just kidding, There is a guy out in Carnation that will do one on one sessions with you and the pup but I can't think of his name at the moment.  When I get home I'll look it up and post it.  Note: I don't know him and have heard good and bad but I guess you could always talk to him and see what he's all about.

Jake

[TEX-X]

northwest performance dogs.... check out their site.... stand up guy who has trained thousands of dogs....

[snakerivercharlie]

I've looked into Northwest Performance, but I don't see that they do one-on-one with the dog owners, just boarding and training.  I guess they do bring you out for the last few weeks but I would like to train with my dog.  If anyone knows of anything like shoot it my way.

[SnowDog]

NW Performance Dogs does 1-1 sessions. I did a few with my pup this past fall. Give them a call and talk to Pat.

Cheers!
SD

[kbyers]

Specifically what kind of training are you looking to have done?  Is it something that you can do completely on your own with maybe the help of a training DVD.  My brother did that with his last lab and she has worked out pretty well for him.

[TEX-X]

yeah NW performance dogs does one on one training... give him a call and talk to him about it.... very nice guy... i honestly do all of my own training and am happy with my dogs... but if i was to take any one of my dogs to a trainer to prep for a field trial or something it would be pat.

[snakerivercharlie]

That's outstanding.  I hadn't seen anything about one-on-one from their web page.  Thank you all for that.  Yea, I'll give Pat a call and get my dog going.

I have been working with retrieving with a ball and dummy and he is doing good.  I want to get better with his quartering and thats something I know I can do on my own.  Gettin him in the water is something I can do on my own too, I just wanna let things warm up a bit before I toss him in the lake.

But I wanna start working with live birds and since I live in the city I don't have a lot of areas to let a live pheasant loose.  Does anyone have a go-to bird guy to get live birds?

[Birdguy]

Snakerivercharlie, welcome to the site  .  I am not really a go-to bird guy but I often do have birds. I live on the Kitsap Peninsula, when you are ready for a bird or two shoot me a PM and I will see what I can do. How old is your pup? You should post a pic or two. Good luck.

[snakerivercharlie]

Thanks birdguy!  I will definitely hit you up here soon.  My dog is just about 7 months and weighing in at 55 lbs.  I'm not sure if that is normal or big for a lab.  Can anyone tell me how my pup is doing for size?

[floatinghat]

I would say he is right there, my female chocolate at 7 months was about 48-49lbs and is 62lbs.  I wouldn't worry about size just keep him fit.

[Sportfury]

SRC,

From my research a fit dog will have a certain look. The rib cage should show, but not the individual ribs and the stomach should be nice and taught from the ribs back to the withers/hips. If the individual ribs are showing then you are not feeding the dog enough and if the stomach is out with the ribs/hips then you are feeding the dog to much. I also had a vet tell me the fleshy area just forward of the tail between the hips is a good indicator of how well a dog is being fed. She said if there is to much fat there then you are overfeeding your dog and if it is bony then you are not feeding your dog enough. Of course that last method never worked for me and I always go by how my dogs look from a side view. Just make sure you are feeding your pup according to weight and how much exercise they are getting. if you take them for a couple hour run and swim you might want to give them a little extra food at chow time. Your pup looks fine to me and welcome to the board.