New to training gundogs...

[Dmiller28]

Hi All, I just got a Lab puppy he's 7 weeks old and want to trian him to retrieve..I have lots of questions about where to start..When should I introduce him to the wing when should I start training him to get him used to the gun..I am a beginner so any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks for looking Chris

[srs]

First of all I'm fairly new to training myself and Im sure some experts will post some very usefull info but I can pass on a few things that my 5 1/2 month lab has taught me. At that age I wouldn't worry much about the retreiving and certainly not the gun yet. At this point just have fun with the pup and gain his trust. Start on your basics like sit, here, stay and heel, but most of all start making a bond. Spend as much time with the pup and take him for rides and walks ect to get him use to different situations. I made the mistake of trying to expect to much from mine and had to learn to slow down and not expect so much. I wanted to jump right in and have a fully trained retriever as soon as I could. I backed off those first few months and just worked on basics and making her a good pet first. I also have started to learn to know when she is ready to move on to something else so Im not pushing her. As for the retreiving part, I just played with her and tossed a toy a couple of times aday. Usually she went right after it and brought it back to me. It was no where near perfect but she did it. I didnt make her stay, sit or bring it right back to my hand, just let her have fun. It seems to be working well for me and I can start to see things paying off. Anyways, I will stop rambling. I guess for me, being new also, is to be patient and take your time. Build the bond and trust first, you have time before you need to start worrying about some of those other thing. O yea...one simple thing I learned from someone on here is I used to use "come" as a command but switched to "here" and it made a difference for me. Dont remember who that was but Thanks. Anyways, again I will stop rambling, but that is my 2 cents. Hopefully someone on here wont say Im doing it all wrong. Good luck and have fun!

[Bandito]

I’m new also; I’ve been training a pointer for a few months now in basic obedience and I’m just starting the pointer training. My number 1 tip would be to be patient in training and try not to overdo it; make sure the pup fully understands one command before building on it.

Also what I wanted as a newbie but couldn’t find anywhere and finally have had to partially piece together from many different sources, was list of necessary commands, various ways to train them and a loose training schedule (i.e. by 8 months he should XYZ). Once I had a mental “blueprint” of how to accomplish my goal the task doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

Lastly I suggest just going through and reading many of the topic under the training forum as far back as you can make it; and try youtube for training tips.

[brad27]

i would start off by buying books, reading articles on the net, watching/buying dvd's on retriever training, checking out local events and clubs, anything you can to learn more about dog training. as far as what to do with your dog right now...................... just let him be a puppy.

[GUNDOGS]

I agree with the above..at 7 weeks that pup just needs to be played with, begin house training, crate training and build confidence.. socialization and havin fun is the key!! the more you expose your pup to the better it will handle situations..weve trained a few dogs but no where near the amount of some folks on here..one thing is dont visualize too hard what you want this pup to be as an adult dog because if you only concentrate on end results you will expect too much from him!! good luck....ruth

[srs]

.one thing is dont visualize too hard what you want this pup to be as an adult dog because if you only concentrate on end results you will expect too much from him!!

So true, I think that was my problem in the beginning. And also agree with the above posts.....read all you can and youtube is helpful.

[EvanG]

Hi All, I just got a Lab puppy he's 7 weeks old and want to trian him to retrieve..I have lots of questions about where to start..When should I introduce him to the wing when should I start training him to get him used to the gun..I am a beginner so any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks for looking Chris

This time is now for bird introduction, as well as for passive introduction to basic obedience commands via operant conditioning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bywrx4O9FeY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVbFKGrS5DE

There is much more.

EvanG

[Sprig]

you really cant start too early to introduce a young pup to birds. get him started on wings now and work him up to a live pigeon as soon as you can. be carefull as some pups get a bit frightened of a live flapping bird so dont rush the live bird too soon if that happens but get him on live birds as soon as he is ready. i have my pups on wings at 5 1/2 weeks old, still feeding on moma and getting them bird crazy with wings.