Dog training info
 

Ive never trained a dog before so i really have no idea where to start. I know nothing about the do's and dont's. Would really like to try my hand at it with the lab pup i have now. Im really looking forward to start duck hunting this year and figured that this could add a little motivation to that. Not too serious about it just yet, just juggling the idea around while she's still young.

For a pup, obedience, obedience, obedience.

Sit, stay, come.

The book Water Dog is still a good guide, but I am sure there are many others and you will hear about them.

I like Robert Milner's stuff too.
consistency and do not give a command you cannot enforce.
also, I like giving nothing but positive until they are around six months or you know for sure the pup is refusing a command he knows.........great stuff out there really.

Thanks. I will check these out.

The best thing u can do is purchase a proven program i.e. Smartworks by Evan Graham, Jackie Merten's Sound Beginnings, Mike Lardy's stuff, and stick to it. Evan Graham has plenty of his Smartworks material on YouTube, and I personally recommend it. Check it out and good luck with your dog.

I use Evan and mike on mine and he is progressing well kind of expensive but cheaper than sending off

I'll be totally honest with you. I used waterdog and only waterdog. People will tell you it is the biggest joke out there....they haven't seen my dog work. I used the book like a bible and picked up a few tricks from experience and seeing other handlers work. You won't be disappointed if you start early with obedience. Good luck, hope you have enough time to spend with your dog, the more time you spend the more you both with click.

Is he force fetched and will he run 300 yd blinds? Can you no him off a dead bird and pickup a cripple? WD was a scheme nothing more nothing less and written by a fruitcake. Training evolves like technology, evolve with it or get runover.

Yes, topped off at exactly 300 yards in field (water blinds not quite as far). Called her off of numerous dead birds to go after cripples. She chased a green wing for 20 mins this morning after passing up 2 dead ones. Want to be more of a smart ***?

She is strictly a hunting dog and pet. Spade, not full blooded, no HR championships, just a good dog trained by a college student who doesn't get paid for it. I used that book and only that book. Haters gonna Hate.

The guy never once said he was trying to train a champion. There is nothing wrong with someone simply wanting a dog to make a few simple retrieves and to be proud in the fact that he trained it himself. I have trained 4 dogs using waterdog and find it to be a useful tool if all you are looking for is a hunting dog/pet as I believe the original post was referring to.

Good training is good training, the methods are the same whether the destination is hunting or field trials. If you are going have standards you might as well shoot for the moon because it is the same amount of trouble. Would anyone on this site hook a zebco 33 on a falcon/Waterloo/crucial rod and not think they would catch grief? It has always amazed me the number of hardcore hunters that think halfway is good enough with their dogs. I will wager that the majority of the guides in Louisiana have plugs for their help. If you ever see what a trained dog can do you'll never hunt with an untrained dog again. If you don't want a trained dog that would be your prerogative but make an informed decision first.

I like my zebco/waterloo combo...great for soakin shrimps. Oh gettin the pup saturday mornin, thanks for all your help and help to come Raymond!

My next lab is getting sent to you. But I do love my zebco abd castaways

Get a shock caller and shock the pizz out of it everyday til it runs under the house when u walk outside. Then u will have obedience down.

Now we talkin

i agree with ramond once u had a good dog you cant go back.

Water dog is obsolete, no 2 ways about it. If your happy with your dog, then great, but for someone wanting to train their pup, no way I recommend Wolters stuff. He doesn't utilize (not until the end of his career) the E-Collar, but back then the collar had 2 settings, off and weld. But the collars today are light years away from the old types, and so are the programs. Like I said before, Evan Graham, Mike Lardy, Bill Hillman, Jackie Merten, etc. all have good, solid, proven programs. Water dog doesn't come close to em.

P.S. I'm not knockin your dog so don't take it personally.

Wolters also changed his tune on force fetch as well since waterdog.

Dog training tip #3:

Dog is only as good as the trainer not the books you read. I'd bet my tuition on it.

Tip# 3:

Just when you think you've shocked him enough. Shock him once more for good measure.

:rotfl: :rotfl:

thought we were on tip # 4?

Ok. It can be #4

If I remember right, he wasn't even a trainer. I think he was just a writer who trained as a hobby. Could be mistaken though.

Use an E-collar, or do like this guy.

Forget shocking, I'd choot that dog.

Yes, you are mistaken.

Looked like all the cars on the road stopped to watch.

He was an editor, and never a dog trainer. He was smart enough to get his hook in enough rubes to sell plenty books and make some chedda. Unfortunately, they are still buying his line of $hit and claiming It is the second coming of Jesus Christ. I have a crisp $100 bill for anyone who thinks his water dog can play with anything trained with today's methods. This is my last post on his thread, keep believing what you want to believe.

And is probably one of the better dogs I've been able to hunt with. How is he doing?

Evan Graham, Mike Lardy have some good training videos on You-Tube....if your just getting your feet wet in dog training, the best advice I can give you is be patient.....your both gonna be learning...and it's not gonna happen over night....Good Luck with your endeavors!!!

I reckon I was wrong den. I thought I read somewhere that he was an actual trainer and played the trial circuit. Then later in life switched to training upland dogs. I have been wrong before though. I think it was 1979.

Shock em

I thought I was wrong once...... But I was mistaken.

Had A blk female lab. Never had to use shock collar. Shw was an animal and she was trained using WD Only.

She was smarter than ME.

I trained my choclate by lettin him watch me work my uncles dog! Talk about a breeze! Thinkin of lettin my new pup watch some trainin videos now to make it easier later.

Let us know how that turns out.

Just tryin to get a rise out of Raymond but I guess he's sleepin. Ha

Would Tripp prefer buttered or non buttered popcorn for that movie?

He prefers cullens rubber boots and/or my hand.

Water Dog is a great book. What I see alot of is dogs that are scared ****less their owners are going to shock them or kick their ash. Don't kill the spirit and fun hunting should be for the dog.

Then you haven't seen too many dogs that were properly collar conditioned. When I take the E-Collar out my dog starts wagging his tail with excitement, because he knows its time to go do the funnest thing he knows, the thing that's been bred into him for 100's of years, Retrieve. The E-collar properly used won't break even a sensitive dogs hunting spirit. But a disobedient and wild dog will certainly break mine. I know your response will be your dog is obedience without the collar, and that's great, but it doesn't make the man who uses the E-Collar wrong either. To each his own.

Well you should read your pup waterdog every night like i do.

I'll have to do that after we finish gun dog., well said Spuntdrag