My lab is about to be 3! He knows a few commands but I never really worked with him... So my questions are is he to old to start working for bird hunting or shed hunting? What would be the easiest for him to learn? What is the best way to teach either option to him? I had a lab that bird hunted before but he was smart so it was easy. This one has the attention span of a gnat.
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15 min a day, work on obedience, get some feathered wings to tie on to a dummy and let him retrieve them, then some live birds.Keep in mind i never do more than 15 - 20 min. Rheir are several books and Videos out to use. I like to use info from Robert Milner, from Duck Hill Kennels, he raise's and trains to British standards -
In for this. My dog is about 3 as well, and although she will fetch most birds for me, she will not bring them all the way back nor sit anywhere near me while hunting. She wants to run around and chase all the birds flying, SHE REALLY LOVES CHASING BIRDS! lol.
Anyway, not to derail, i'm just interested in the responses.Comment
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Mine is about 5 now, and she can jump in our king bed really well.Comment
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Not too old, but it will take a little longer than a pup because the 3 year old will have 3 years worth of other ideas / disobedience issues / general hardheadedness. But labs are smart dogs and usually have a drive to learn at all ages. You work for 15 minutes a day 3-4 days a week and you will have a good dog in no time.Comment
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He will fetch! He just wants to play tug of war when he comes backComment
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Thats a Sign he has drive to play. Have him drop it and get this command down good. Keep with the fetch command and start to teach him "Hand" command. She when you say hand he knows to return to your hand and can hopefully get better about dropping it.Originally posted by GunnerHunter View PostComment
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mine is really good at that also and my bed is about 3' tallOriginally posted by shinerbock View PostComment
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Never play tug of war with a lab. They think it is a game and will not stop. Grab and twist your bumpers out of his mouth if you need to.Originally posted by GunnerHunter View PostComment
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THIS^^^^^Originally posted by Randy View Post
That is the worst thing you can teach a dog that you want to hunt with.
Also never teach a dog to catch a frisbee if you ever intend on playing disc golf...
kinda funny actually.Comment
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Lab questions
I didn't really train my lab when he was a pup. Just basic obedience. He was just supposed to be a pet. I had gotten out of duck hunting a couple years before I got him. Then I decided to get back into it and starting working with him. He was about 1.5yo when I started working with him. After seeing his drive and smarts, I wish I would have spent more time working with him. He could have been something really special. I still play tug of war with him, but if I say "drop" he will drop whatever he has in his mouth. He's 5 now, finally calmed down and is a really good all around dog. He sleeps on the bed, and brings my ducks and doves back to me. Lol.
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Lol. Mine is a frisbee catching fool. But I've never tried disc golf. It wouldn't turn out good. LolOriginally posted by hallp82 View PostComment
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To get him to drop wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.. What are some tips for training him to stay.Comment
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That's a good looking dog panhandlehunter!Comment
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I have trained in excess of 1500 Labradors to hunt. My advice to the guy who wants to train his own dog to hunt and be a companion is to buy the book WaterDog by Richard Wolters. It is a tried and true time tested classic that has been helping amateur trainers for decades.Comment
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