when do I raise my standard on a puppy

[DH]

I'm training my first retriever puppy, he is just a little over 5 months old. He will sit on voice and whistle, come to here or whistle and return to heel on either side. He loves to retrieve and is birdy. I've done all the training up to this point with a combination of encouragement, praise and a few treats.

He is 100% on these commands if we are in the backyard or a couple other places I train, or if we are in a new place and he thinks he might get a treat.

At what point is it appropriate to start enforcing the commands? When should I start using a choke chain or pinch collar to start teaching him to walk at heel. He will walk by my side but is kind of all over the place in the general area, he does well on leash not a puller or anything.

I've read a bunch of books, including the Smartworks stuff, Lardy's stuff and a few others. I'm planning to follow the Lardy program. However, I feel like all the programs have a little bit of a blank spot in that they don't tell you when to start this stuff. They all say start the pup off right with encouragement and teaching games but then go straight into more advanced stuff that he isn't ready for. He is still teething so force fetch isn't here yet. In the Lardy video the dog they are using the choke collar on is clearly older than my pup and they said he was just entering that phase of training.

I certainly don't want to rush things and screw up but I feel like he understands these commands and isn't learning anything new and I don't want him to get bored. Should I ease into enforcing the commands by gradually tightening my standard with a choke or pinch collar? It seems unfair to suddenly start jerking him around demanding a perfect heel.

If I've screwed up tell me but any advice is appreciated.

Also, Lardy's puppy article talks about using treats to teach casting, any advice on how to do that?

Thanks,
DH

[Angie B]

Right now your sort of in a holding pattern before you move to ff. Totally normal.

You can do some of the more advanced drills in a fun format if you'd like. I do three hand casting using paint rollers and a long rope. No,No drill that I run between the side of my house and a fence, also running to all the 'back' piles on my pattern field and my FTP.

Just a few times is all it takes at each exercise. Some like to do these drills more than others. Don't forget to teach your simple doubles and delayed triples too when marking.

Angie

[DH]

Thanks Angie.

On the three handed casting, do you mean you put the dog on sit in front of you, toss the roller to the side or behind him and then give a cast? Just want to make sure I understand.

Also, the delayed triple, do you mean a double with a single as soon as he comes back with the second bird?

DH

[Steve Hester]

Whenever you do decide to tighten up heel, I would use the pinch collar, instead of the choke chain. Dogs respond to it better, and there is much less chance of damage to the dog than with the choke chain. The pinch collar takes less force to get a correction than the choke chain.

[DH]

Thanks Steve, I was leaning that way anyway.

My previous dog was a Brittany and when teaching heel he responded very well to the Rick Smith Wonder Lead. Have any of you used that on a retriever? I don't know why they would be any different but I've never heard of any retriever folks using one.

DH

[Angie B]

Thanks Angie.

On the three handed casting, do you mean you put the dog on sit in front of you, toss the roller to the side or behind him and then give a cast? Just want to make sure I understand.

Also, the delayed triple, do you mean a double with a single as soon as he comes back with the second bird?

DH

Affirmative on both counts. Also the "smith wonder lead" ain't all that wonderful. I use it to lasoooo dogs in the airing yard since it's so stiff, but to use it as a heeling tool forget it. A pinch is the way to go.....

Angie

[Stephen Whitley]

I'd like to include something...BIRDS and GUNS!!! Make that mutt crazy for feathers, and make him love to hear the gun go off!!!

[DH]

He's had lots of birds and gun. He gets pretty excited when he sees me loading the blank pistol.

That's funny Angie, my brittany didn't respond to the pinch collar at all. Literally a month of daily training had him sort of heeling. Went to a Rick Smith seminar and he showed me how to use the wonder lead and in a week my britt was heeling like a champ. Must just be different kinds of dogs.

So if it isn't time to start with that stuff yet, when is the right time? Around the time I start force fetch? Just trying to get an idea of when to start. Are there signs I should look for to know when the dog is mature enough to get more formal?

DH

[Steve Hester]

At 5 months old, there is no reason you couldn't put a pinch collar on the dog for heeling. I just wouldn't overdo it. Keep sessions short. A couple of 5 minute sessions of heeling a day is plenty. After the heeling sessions, throw the dog a couple of bumpers. The key to obedience stuff at his age is keep the sessions short.