Gun Dog Forum

I have a four month old chocolate lab/ male... I've been doing a lot of basics with him and he retrieves well in backyard and in open field... He is just very slow to enter water.... He will go get bumper once he is in water, I just need help with getting him to run harder and be more aggressive and overall just excited about retrieving... Especially in water!! Any pointers?

Can't say for sure but you may be overdoing it. He's 16 weeks and his attention span is very short, don't overdo it. Keep things short and fun.

^^Yep.^^

"Overdoing it" doesn't have one iota to do with how a dog does or doesn't get into the water.

But your getting in with the pup might help get it more comfortable in H2O.

You also need to know not all Labs are created equal when it comes to their being waterdogs.

MG

It does if the dog is already bored with retrieving when you try and throw to water.......or if the dog is already becoming sour to bumpers and how the retrieving "game" is being played.

Id be keeping it light, introducing a clip winged bird to excite pup and build its prey drive...

No, Sean, it really doesn't - maybe in your former world of show Labs and wade-in/waddle-in client dogs. Not in performance Labs - they're born with it, kicking it down the runway for takeoff at 10-12 weeks old



often with their retrieving desire escalating in water over picking up something on land.

But to reiterate, not all Labs - not all retrieving gundogs - are created equal. And them that shy from or balk at water early on generally don't get over their apprehension of it later.

MG

Never owned or worked with show labs in my life....your self absorbed arrogance shines.

Of course if you reach the point of boredom with a 16 week old dog it isn't going to do anything with gusto.....not that hard to imagine.

This dog has never done flying leaps into water....I dare say he has retrieved more birds in harsh conditions than anything you own.

And doing so well into old age...I have photos too and flying leaps mean very little....

At 4 months old in the summer months you won't get a better chance to make that water the best place to be .
I have also had a few that require a bit more incentive to get passed the belly line Using a retrieve may not float the boat for every one?...
But I'm sure of one thing with them all! ..If you force it with a pup, it's like trying to push water up hill
A bit of patience and guidance gets them where it's fun. I have a video clip ,introducing a young pup to water ,rather than introducing a retrieve in water to a young pup somewhere if you are interested.

Does it really matter how hard the dog hits the water; as long as it goes in? I would think a dog that leaps into the water only benefits its owners ego... There are more positives to a controlled entry than a flying leap.

Once the pup is older, you can learn how to burn the dog to the water...

Jay

I think I'd go back a few stages ....back to run-in retrieves from very shallow water where the dog can gallop to the dummy. Only when the dog began to show great enthusiasm for that would I begin to use gradually deepening water again. I agree with Cracker ....not all labs are created equal when it comes to water work ....or anything else.

I've had two labs and a chessie for training that were not good water dogs. I did get them all to swim but they were not naturals ....not water babies. They never did develop into really keen water dogs, not even with game.

Bill T.

Thanks everyone for the tips!! I'm thinking I'm going to keep our routine the same right now just make retrieving way more fun and see how things go... Thanks again

Keep in mind your 16 week old pup still looks to you and your reactions to situations. If you anxiously wait for him to charge into the water, he knows you're anxious, but not why. Relax. Let him be a pup. If you are confident he'll see that and relax.

Chocolate Fitz wrote:I have a four month old chocolate lab/ male... I've been doing a lot of basics with him and he retrieves well in backyard and in open field... He is just very slow to enter water.... He will go get bumper once he is in water, I just need help with getting him to run harder and be more aggressive and overall just excited about retrieving... Especially in water!! Any pointers?

You can't be expecting a 4 month old pup to go hard and aggressive in water COL
Just keep on taking him to the water on your walks (ponds and lakes ) and where there is ducks swimming around and ill bet by the time he is 6 months old you'll be complaining that you can't get him out of the drink!!

After watching a dog get impaled on a beaver stick I tend to think a gingerly entrance into the water is of the most value and most desirable. I cringe when I see a dog blast into the water, there is no telling what lays under the surface.

I also tend to agree with the boredom theory. One good retrieve is better than a dozen sloppy ones.