Gun Dog Forum

My dog drake was doing great with retreving and comands but latley he hasnt been listning very well and today he would just sit there when i would give him any comand at all. I just dont know what to do can anyone give some helpful advice?

More information will be requested on this board like what breed, how old, what kind of training, etc. I don't have any advice, but others here will but will need more info.

Bill

Without knowing more, I'd say he's 1 1/2-2 years old, you haven't followed a known program, and you have no way now to enforce refused commands.

He is a 6 month old black lab. I m reading some books and training him from those. He is my first dog and im 13 so I really haveno idea what to do.

There is a book that i have recommended to every one I know with a dog. A friend of mine is a pro trainer , I told him about the book and he said he would be buying it because you never stop learning. The name of the book is culture clash by Gene Donaldson. The answer to your question is in this book along with a lot of others you will have. You can get it on amazon .com , they have used copies as well as new from 2 -8 dollars. Good luck with your new dog and remember to reward him/her as much as possible when he/she is good.

I think you have maybe tried to do too much, too soon. Go back to playing with the pup. If it was mine it would still be running in like stink for anything that was thrown.

Bill T.

drake handler wrote:He is a 6 month old black lab. I m reading some books and training him from those. He is my first dog and im 13 so I really haveno idea what to do.

Does you mom and dad want you to go to college? They prepare you for that in learning from a young age til you get alot older and smarter. This pup is the same way. He's young and wants to learn, so take it slow and easy. You can't take a dog, add water and expect him to be an adult. It takes time.

What training equipment do you have? What book(s) have you read? What are you willing to do to help your dog learn his job?

EvanG

I have a couple bumpers, check cord, leash, whistle,shock collar (im not using), upland bird scent(havent used),2 pigeons(If I need more I can get them pretty easy.). I reading (very very close to done) Tom Dokkens retriever training. Im am willing to do pretty much anything to train him.

DH,

That's great that you're coming here with your questions, and that you're willing to put so much time into training your dog! I got a lab when I was just a little bit younger than you, but the internet wasn't around back then (at least I didn't have access to it), so I didn't have resources like this at my disposal, and he didn't turn out to be a polished hunting dog. I'm guessing you'll have better success than I did. I'm going to reiterate what has already been said. Take it easy with Drake! 6 months is still a puppy, and he needs to be having a lot of fun right now. If you're giving him too many commands and not keeping it fun, he's going to start shutting down. If I were you, I'd slow WAY down on everything and get him back to the point where he's having fun. Maybe only 2 or 3 retrieves per day, and only a few "here" commands followed by a TON of praise. He's going to mess up right now, and there's nothing wrong with it. Just don't praise him for messing up. BUT, when he does something right, give him all the praise in the world. As he gets older and more mature, you can start to apply more pressure to your training and he should be able to handle it, but for now he can't, and that's why he is sitting down. Remember, patience is key in training dogs; I have to remind myself of that all the time. Good luck and have fun!

drake handler wrote:He is a 6 month old black lab. I m reading some books and training him from those. He is my first dog and im 13 so I really haveno idea what to do.

A 6 month old dog is a puppy. Do not work or train him more than 30 minutes a day. Right now, play and have fun with him. Work on the basics, "come", "sit", "stay", etc

ok thanks you guys for all your help

One or two sessions of 5-10 minutes each is ideal for a pup this age. Keep it fun and balanced.

EvanG