Dog trainer question (a little different from prior threads)

[courtstamper]

I hope everyone's season is off to a good start!

I have searched the prior posts but wanted to see if there was some newer suggestions out there.

My wife and I have an adopted puppy, just about a year old. Some low life dumped a pregnant dog, and a good Samaritan took her in. From there he found people to adopt the puppies, and my wife shows up one day with a little bundle of goodness.

We have enjoyed her and she is a great dog. We have no reliable information on what she is.

We do know that she seems smart in that she has learned well in puppy training (non professional), crate trained well, and knows a few tricks.

I also know that she appears to have a really strong scent-following instinct. She has taken to "hunting" squirrels and when they get away (they always do!) she will follow their trail around the yard, nose down with great intensity.

For all I know, there is nothing special about the way she is acting but it is remarkable enough to me that I would like to explore scent training with her.

My wife and I both work and have struggled to find time to keep a consistent, daily training schedule. We have decided that we want to send her off for some professional obedience training.

I would like to see if she has any scent tracking abilities.

Does anyone have recommendations on general dog training or scent tracking training as opposed to retriever training?

Or, as I have heard, can any dog breed (or mix) be trained to retrieve, and therefore any suitable retriever trainer would be a good fit for general obedience training, and exploration of whether she might be good at retrieving (even though I don't bird hunt much)?

Thoughts?

I've posted one of my favorite pics of her... she's not nearly as goofy as she looks in this photo but I thinks it's a pretty funny shot - all she needs is a beer!

Courtney

[bbuck8]

Good job rescuing that gorgeous girl!

No help w your question but bump for ya.

[bowmansdad]

Great job on the rescue. Will she fetch a dummy, that will help get her started. If you have friends that hunt, have them save you a couple of bird. Let her smell the bird and then go hid it and let her retrieve it, finding it by scent. This is a real short guideline but you get the idea. I’d recommend you buy “Gun Dog” by Richard Wolters, it has all the info you need to train her. Good luck!

[sweetinlow660]

I hope everyone's season is off to a good start!

I have searched the prior posts but wanted to see if there was some newer suggestions out there.

My wife and I have an adopted puppy, just about a year old. Some low life dumped a pregnant dog, and a good Samaritan took her in. From there he found people to adopt the puppies, and my wife shows up one day with a little bundle of goodness.

We have enjoyed her and she is a great dog. We have no reliable information on what she is.

We do know that she seems smart in that she has learned well in puppy training (non professional), crate trained well, and knows a few tricks.

I also know that she appears to have a really strong scent-following instinct. She has taken to "hunting" squirrels and when they get away (they always do!) she will follow their trail around the yard, nose down with great intensity.

For all I know, there is nothing special about the way she is acting but it is remarkable enough to me that I would like to explore scent training with her.

My wife and I both work and have struggled to find time to keep a consistent, daily training schedule. We have decided that we want to send her off for some professional obedience training.

I would like to see if she has any scent tracking abilities.

Does anyone have recommendations on general dog training or scent tracking training as opposed to retriever training?

Or, as I have heard, can any dog breed (or mix) be trained to retrieve, and therefore any suitable retriever trainer would be a good fit for general obedience training, and exploration of whether she might be good at retrieving (even though I don't bird hunt much)?

Thoughts?

I've posted one of my favorite pics of her... she's not nearly as goofy as she looks in this photo but I thinks it's a pretty funny shot - all she needs is a beer!

Courtney

One of the easiest way to check for tracking ability is to mix a little milk or blood if you have it into her food a few times. Let her smell it and get real excited before you give it to her. After about 4 or five times / days of that take her milk:blood/food juice and pour a small trail 5-10 feet and hide her food at the end of the trail. Lead her to the start of the trail. Tell her to check as you guide her nose down to the “blood”. She should pick up on it pretty quick. All dogs can hunt with their nose just some have better noses and some just have better drive.