Training In the winter

[redlabmaci]

I have a 4 month old yellow lab she is learning very nicely, My question is I live in a snow belt area in the winter months, how should I train? Should I just make shorter seasons when its cold, or just do the training indoors? I am new to the dog training scene.
Thanks

[fishvik]

I have a 4 month old yellow lab she is learning very nicely, My question is I live in a snow belt area in the winter months, how should I train? Should I just make shorter seasons when its cold, or just do the training indoors? I am new to the dog training scene.

My experience with Labs has been unless they are swimming almost constantly in ice water, you can't get them cold. I have a lab/gwp cross now that goes ice fishing with me and just sits there on the ice. I've had labs that got out of the water on late season hunts, shook and ice was forming on their coat and they didn't start shivering while sitting in an open blind. If you want get a neoprene vest for it but I wouldn't worry about a lab getting cold during winter training.

[bumper52]

there are a lot of things you can do in the winter.....I would walk the dog on a lead twice a day and work on heel, sit (with a whistle) and here. I would throw a few fun bumpers and encourage delivery to hand. there are many things you do indoors, such as teaching "place" or "down", teaching the dog to make eye contact with you, etc. In other words, I would really hammer home the obedience this winter and you will be more than good to go next spring.

[gonehuntin']

I lived in British Columbia for a few years. I had two things: Labs and long, long, winters.

I'd try to do my obedience work and ff in the winter.

With the older dog's, I'd showshoe patterns in fields and run T's and double T's. I'd get in parking lots and do multiple mark set up's to teach concepts. I'd work in frozen ponds with channels or islands, run tough blinds on the ice, then run the same blinds in summer and let them swim them.

I don't know if it did a "bleep" bit of good, but it kept me busy all winter!

[K9luke]

My labs deal with ice but they don't like it. Ice cold water does'nt bother them.
If you are going to hunt your dog over frozen water then you need to train your dog over frozen water. That takes time.
I hunt creeks and rivers in the winter when ponds and swamps are froze up solid. They have ice formed on the edges especially in slower moving pools. In early winter some swamps and ponds or slow moving water in creeks will be froze over until late morning and then thaw with ice remaining around the edges of open water during the day. some dogs deal with it very well and others are hesitant to cross ice to get to open water and back.
It takes time and experience for a dog to learn about ice and have the self confidence to make retrieves in and around it. Give the dog lots of motivation , opportunity and praise the heck out of it when hunting in harsh conditions.
Patience on our part is a huge necessity.