RetrieverTraining.Net - the RTF banner

For the Amateurs

7K views 37 replies 24 participants last post by  Lady Duck Hunter 
#1 ·
Just out of curiosity... How many dogs do all you amateurs on this site have? I have 2 black males and a JRT, but am considering getting another black female to strictly do hunt tests with. Right now we live in town with a big back yard, but will hopefully be buying a house on some acreage soon. How many do you have and is it too much to handle at times?
 
#3 ·
We currently have 7. One is 13 and he is on borrowed time, but I have not found it in me to put him down. We have 2 females 4 & 2 1/2. We then have a 2 year old male that we have decided that he is strictly pet. We then have a 1 1/2 male that my son just had to have and somehow he spent a weekend with us and never left. Nice dog with lots of go. We then have a 8 month and 6 month pair of males. Both nice pups and should make good hunt test dogs maybe more? I have at numerous times thought it to be too much, but really enjoy the lot when they work well. We have 120 acres and 3 ponds for the dogs and would not dream of having this many if I didnt have the farm.
 
#4 · (Edited)
3 generations of CBR males- 2 CH SHs with CDXs (both working at the utility level; the oldest has 1 utility leg) & the 6 mo. old baby. 10 yr old is retired from field work, his 5 yr old son is starting master level training. All 3 are house dogs, we have a small fenced back yard, but own the lot next door for training. 40 acres of woods behind us for walks, and other nearby areas to train. 3 dogs is not like one extra dog; more work, logistics, etc. I've had 3 for 10 yrs now, so when we do only have 2 in the house it seems pretty quiet!
 
#6 ·
I've kept my brother's BLM for him a few times, and when he leaves it is so quiet around the house. I am trying to picture having a 3rd full time... Plus I will have to invest in a dog box, as 3 kennels won't easily fit in the bed of my truck. We train about 10 minutes from the house and my yard is big enough for puppy yard work and drills, so I shouldn't have a problem there.
 
#5 ·
Barry,

I hear ya! I grew up on 1500 acres and people always ask why my JRT is so calm... I always tell them it is because he spent most of his life on the ranch with the freedom to roam as he pleased. I usually work the labs 4 days a week outside of hunting season and maybe once a week during, plus they hunt on the weekends. If I lived on some acreage with a pond or 2 I wouldn't be near as hesitant. I also worry about the expenses of an extra full sized lab... We go through so much dog food already!
 
#7 · (Edited)
I have 3 Golden's one 10 year old, who I had to retire this year from hunting, an 8 year old male who is a real good meat dog, and a 22 month old 'crackerjack' female....

She will be our last retriever, as we are getting older, but we are going all out on her, top pedigree, top trainer we could find, and I retired to have time to work with her.....taking her on her first real duck hunts this season, starting 11-1-14....course I will not get much shooting in, but fun getting her steady on hunts.....cannot wait to get started...
 
#8 ·
4 labs - 1 yeller male and 3 black females... i live in town but have a nice kennel built in my "Garage". 3 females are hunting/hunt test dogs and ol' yeller is the pet in house.....

my neighbors think im crazy, but they always come over and see the dogs when im messing with them in the back yard... i guess if they barked alot id have a problem but there quite so no one really cares...

I also have a 20 acre hayfield of family property i train on 10 min from my house and 200 acre DNR class A field trial grounds i can train on also 10 min from my house... so i guess im kinda lucky like that... if i didnt have that id probably only have 1 dog.
 
#10 ·
We live on a busy street and our fence isn't completely secure, so I leave mine inside and let them out at lunch every day. I do have a dog run, but only leave them in it during the winter months. My neighbor has around 10 rescue dogs that he keeps on chains in his back yard.. They bark constantly, so I know if I had a barker it wouldn't be much of a problem.. My training situation is similar to yours, so that is good to know.
 
#12 ·
Six ... 5 Tollers and 1 that I call either a Black Russel Terrorist or a Spare Parts Dog.

Lucy, Muse, Charlie, Jane, Daisy and ... Dixie.
 
#13 ·
2 black males, one 10yo and one 3.
 
#14 ·
2 chocos and 1 black! Here in Arizona where the weather is finally breaking for us to train! Hard to keep a 2yo , 7mo, and a 4mo entertained in the house without breaking anything! We made it to training season without getting kicked out the house! Happy training and testing!
 
#21 ·
Yellow male that will be 10 next month and 4.5 month choc male. Ym tried to kill the pup the 3rd day he was home and luckily I was a few steps away. Pup got a few stitches and ended up being ok. They're best friends now. My lifelong best friends have 2,000 plus acres of pasture, crop fields, and swamp 20 minutes from my house. Pretty easy for me to work dogs in all kinds of situations....and meeting Lanse Brown for some teaching next week
 
#29 ·
I remember when I thought 3 was a lot :cool: I have 6 Chesapeakes ranging in age from a year to 14+. We do have a farm, but no kennels so they're all house dogs. Obviously the old girl is retired but so is one of the 5 y.o. dogs (neurosurgery a year ago to repair two ruptured discs in her neck) and one is a dog of my breeding I bought back so she too isn't in active training. The youngest is with a trainer. Getting older means you'll never have all the dogs you wanted to own....
 
#31 ·
Just have the two that you see in my avatar, mother and son. Wouldn't want any more than that, already have to take turns laying on the couch.
 
#36 ·
My males aren't the fighting type... Especially not our 3 yr old male. They are father and son and more in love with each other than any female they have ever encountered, it's kind of disturbing actually!

I could see where that would be a problem for an aggressive or highly dominant dog (my dad's dog is that way and I could see him being like that), but I have had both of mine around a female in heat and they have acted completely fine. We have a dog run in the back yard and I think while she is in heat she'll mostly stay there during the day.

We'll see!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top