Training a Lab
 

Well I have a 1-1.5 year old 80lb male black lab that showed up at my house 3 weeks ago. Tried to find his owner or a new owner with no luck and now my wife fell in love with him so we are keeping him. I've got him to sit and stay about 2 weeks in but every time I throw something he just wants to play but when I put a 40' rope on him he thinks he's punished. Also he wont jump in the back of the truck and just puts his front paws up and then just looks at me. Every time he is in the back of my truck he will get so excited he'll piss and ***** in the back. Now I would like any advice on whether I should send him off or if anyone has a way for me to train him to retrieve. He will hunt some but will be a house dog first so I don't want to break the bank on him. All I would like for him to do is retrieve and bring it back to me. If he would be to far gone to train I will just put more effort into finding him a new home. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Also forgot so say that I live in Rayne but I have no problem traveling if I end up sending him off.

I have a friend that lives in mire that trains. Pm if you're interested and I'll give u his number. He may be able to help

Pm'd

Bump

First comment, I advise to not let your dog ride in the back of the truck. I've known 2 great hunting dogs lose thier lives because of this. Always kennel your dog if you want them for a while.

Other than that, unless you want to spend 4-500 month on having someone train your dog then I would recommend doing it yourself. They have some great material out there that can get you to the level of a solid gun dog.

Most important part, have fun!

Bonin Boarding Kennels
 

Hey Man,
There is a guy in the Judice area that lives on LeBlanc Rd that is really good.
I will be bringing my yellow to him in a couple of months after he is neutered.I know a few guys that have labs that he has trained and they were very pleased !!!! Good Luck !!!

Why would you D-Nut your dog?:rolleyes:

Yeah I'll check him out. He is real good dog and if there is any recommended material if I decided to do this my self would be appreciated. Going back an forth on whether I want to spend the $1000+ and send him off.

No blood line??:shaking:

Smartworks by Evan Graham, Total Retriever Training by Mike Lardy, Fowl Dawgs by Rick Stawski, and Training a Retriever Puppy by Bill Hillman are the most popular. You will get some sticker shock when you price em. But they are invaluable, trust me.


And if you really wanna flame this forum, Water Dog by Richard Wolters. :D

Dang he went there, what about gun dog Spunt?

I used water dog for a good foundation and just talked to other trainers about other techniques to use for certain tasks. If you have the time and dedication it's not too bad to train a dog yourself

Anything by Wolters is pure D gold.

Besides his ridiculous fast timeline and no force fetch, it ain't too damn bad.

Other than lack of foundation? Neighbor is building a pudding dog, his problem will be implementing the pudding program in the Reel world. Very few dogs can be trained Amish today. Even common dogs are smarter than the good dogs from 20 yrs ago. It will be difficult to make anything happen with a 1-1/2 ur old dog without some talent,a trainer with lots of talent and $$$$$$.

Is 6 months the age to start force training?

How long do you think it would take you to train a dog just basic force fetch and some obedience that is a couple years old?

Must have reel teefs usually 6 mos but sometimes earlier.
Bob, that's a loaded ?. Some you can't FF or you can and they will stop retrieving all together. It boils down to paying ya money and taking ya chances. Have finished the basics with several over 1 yo and washed out or broken several others. Some just do t have the heart or talent to finish but are no less useful as buddies. There is never a substitute for starting with a good horse.