Gun Dog Forum

I have an 8 month old Lab, and we've been progressing fairly well on the retrieving front. She's gun broken and eagerly retrieves (so far we've only been working on grouse). On our last outing, I noticed she would run right by me with the bird and keep going. It takes some convincing to get her back. I haven't used an e-collar as of yet...is this a good time to start? Any other corrective strategies would be appreciated.

No, it means you haven't properly done formal obedience. It's time for that, getting and following a program, then learning to e collar condition.

"cart before the horse" mentality, the basics have been skipped and you need to build from a good foundation.
Here is a photo of a very strong presentation delivery. This was not developed over night, however it took thoughtful planning and sequential training program. I received a great deal of joy in helping this pup become all she could be!

Bluesky2012 wrote:No, it means you haven't properly done formal obedience. It's time for that, getting and following a program, then learning to e collar condition.

That is exactly right. A solid program will begin by formalizing obedience and then force fetch, then basic handling, and then water force & swim-by. All of that adds up to formal Basics. That is the foundation on which any working retriever or versatile gun dog should be build on. I strongly suggest not hunting this dog until formal obedience and force fetch are completed. He's young. He has many seasons in front of him. Give him good habits to guide him. Not doing so risks forming a lifetime set of bad habits. A trained dog is a joy for a lifetime!



EvanG

10-4. This is my first attempt at training a dog, so suspect I'll be the cause of most problems...all problems. Appreciate the advice. Back to obedience it is.

EvanG wrote:

Bluesky2012 wrote:No, it means you haven't properly done formal obedience. It's time for that, getting and following a program, then learning to e collar condition.

That is exactly right. A solid program will begin by formalizing obedience and then force fetch, then basic handling, and then water force & swim-by. All of that adds up to formal Basics. That is the foundation on which any working retriever or versatile gun dog should be build on. I strongly suggest not hunting this dog until formal obedience and force fetch are completed. He's young. He has many seasons in front of him. Give him good habits to guide him. Not doing so risks forming a lifetime set of bad habits. A trained dog is a joy for a lifetime!



EvanG

I agree...She is parading. As far as a retriever is concern...I agree with above.

Obedience. She should absolutely come when called... But I cannot fault you for hunting with your hunting dog, especially if all you want is a hunting partner.

Couch_NT wrote:10-4. This is my first attempt at training a dog, so suspect I'll be the cause of most problems...all problems. Appreciate the advice. Back to obedience it is.

Instead of "back to obedience", I'd recommend "on to a modern training program".

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It was only about 6 weeks ago I was asking the same question. I thought I was doing such a great job training my new little hunting dog and then I started seeing things that I needed to try to fix and realized that I had not come as far as I thought I had. I went to a pro who told me that I had did a great job with puppy work and that saved me about 6 weeks off the training process but she now had to be taken to the next level (I had foolishly thought she was almost trained..haha). These dogs do so many things naturally that it is easy to forget that formal training is such a important part in getting a finished dog. Formal obedience, collar conditioning and ff are all in my pups future now.

Couch_NT wrote:10-4. This is my first attempt at training a dog, so suspect I'll be the cause of most problems...all problems. Appreciate the advice. Back to obedience it is.

Get on a program, start formal obedience, then go see what a pros dog that is doing formal OB looks like so you can see what it should look like. I'd bet their standard and most every first time trainers standards are way different, for a reason.