Bird dog school

[frosso]

After much angst I've decided to send my 7 mo old Llew Izzy to "bird dog boarding school". We've done some basic obedience and a little training but I don't have a field close by or access to birds. I found two trainers within a 3 hr drive with good references and finally picked one that I think understands of what I am looking for with my gun dog and what she needs. I'm dropping her off Monday. I've had her with me since she was 6 weeks old.

Any words of wisdom on how to make it through while she is at school. I plan on going up once a week to work with the trainer work with me and Izzy but it's going to be awfully quiet without my little troublemaker around.

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[SpinoneIllinois]

Skype?

[RoostersMom]

I have a great idea....foster for a local birddog rescue (or other dog rescue). It will fill the space and won't be so quiet - you'll be saving a life as you do it as well. Many folks have misconceptions about fostering - you can choose when you foster and when you turn the dog back in, in most cases, you can choose the dog you want to foster, and lastly, many, many fosters are good dogs that just ended up with crappy owners (or good dogs whose owner died or couldn't afford them anymore). You have a lot of flexibility when you foster with a good group. Take a look around and see what options there are where you live. I've had litters I've fostered, pups, all the way up to 9 year old housetrained dog that owner had gone into nursing home. Everything from housetrained to just babies. If you choose to foster for a local shelter, you won't know as much about the dogs you get usually.

Good luck - if you take this route, you'll be engaged and won't miss your pup as much.

[frosso]

Great idea. I have a 6 year old rescue lab we just adopted and I think she may need the company too. She's used to a breeding kennel and multiple dogs in a shelter. She was dumped in a shelter by a breeder because she developed mammary tumors. Rescue folks got her before she was PTS and spayed her and the tumors were benign. She's the calmest sweetest lab I've ever seen but having just one dog and people in her life has been a strange transition for her.

[Cajun Casey]

Just a word of caution on fostering - make sure you have a reliable liason with a long standing reputable rescue organization or you could end up stuck with a dog.

[bossman]

How long do you plan to leave her with the trainer? Visiting once a week may actually be too often. Let the trainer make some significant progress with the dog. The temporary separation may actually be good for you both. jmo

[frosso]

Thanks for the advice. I'll suck it up and not go so often at first. Might have to take up drinking again. The trainer is going to work with her about a month and a half and then I will take her back in the early fall for a couple of weeks.