first time dog (duck hunting) trainer...few questions

[damian romero]

ok a little background first, i bought my lab (named him Lucky) when he was 5 months old..he comes from a good background and all...I have had him for a little over a week





in that week i work with him 15-30 min a day (depending on the things i have going on that day)



I pretty much got him to sit whenever he is actually paying attention to me, and i got him trained a little bit on stay...i can get to about 10 feet away before he wants to move...and of course, he retrieves his dummy like hes never going to see it again lol





ok now for my questions..

1) is he training fairly quick or slow?

2) any tips on how i can get him to stay past 10 feet or so

3) any tips or hints on how i can make him wait until I say go to get the dummy...right when i throw he takes off like a mad man after it

4) any other tips are greatly appreciated since I have never trained a dog to duck hunt before

[damian romero]

another question that just popped into my head....i finally taught him not to go crazy on the leash when i am walking him...but now he has the habbit of wanting to walk infront of me instead of just staying on one side in heel position....no matter what i am trying to do he wont stop...any tips?

[Scott Greenwood]

Damian,

First of a congrats on your new best friend, next I would go to your local bookstore or an online stre and get some training materials, i.e. books or movies. We all probably started the same way you are but it is not the best way to do things. There is a lot of info out there on training and it is easier to describe and understand if you can see it with your own eyes. Then when you get stuck you can describe and ask questions to help you out.

Have fun and enjoy the ride!!!

[damian romero]

Damian,

First of a congrats on your new best friend, next I would go to your local bookstore or an online stre and get some training materials, i.e. books or movies. We all probably started the same way you are but it is not the best way to do things. There is a lot of info out there on training and it is easier to describe and understand if you can see it with your own eyes. Then when you get stuck you can describe and ask questions to help you out.

Have fun and enjoy the ride!!!

I purchased the book "water dog" and have read it and been using that as an guideline...and i have read numerious amounts of information online...just seeing if yall had anything other to suggest

[Alastair]

grab the 10 minute retriever,and i orderd training retrievers for the marshes and meadows,and the people on this forum have taught me not to worrie if there fast learners just as long as they learn and you have a good time training.

[Devlin]

Water Dog is good, but limited in what it can ultimately accomplish (I originally started with it, too, along with Family Dog and Game Dog). I'd suggest instead the training methods provided in books and DVDs by either Evan Graham or Mike Lardy...they'll take you a lot further in a very carefully structured and logical progression of training techniques.

By the way, welcome to RTF...good luck, and enjoy the ride!

[damian romero]

ill have to look into this 10 minute retriever


i guess i am just nervious about ruining the dog and him becomming just a house dog instead of a gun dog...im pretty sure he will not bne ready for thsi duck season (beacuse I have never trained a dog to duck hunt..and he will still be a little bit young), but im hoping the next season he will be ok

[damian romero]

Water Dog is good, but limited in what it can ultimately accomplish (I originally started with it, too, along with Family Dog and Game Dog). I'd suggest instead the training methods provided in books and DVDs by either Evan Graham or Mike Lardy...they'll take you a lot further in a very carefully structured and logical progression of training techniques.

By the way, welcome to RTF...good luck, and enjoy the ride!

do you have a link to the dvds? I would LOVE a dvd that showed me what to do and in what order...that is my one main pet peeve with water dog..it jumps all over the place instead of laying out one path to go

[damian romero]

grab the 10 minute retriever,and i orderd training retrievers for the marshes and meadows,and the people on this forum have taught me not to worrie if there fast learners just as long as they learn and you have a good time training.

how old is a dog usually when it is first duck hunting


i figured if he is not ready for hunting this season..ill bring him on a few hunts towards the end of the season (after we have killed our birds so we wont be too upset if he messes up the hunt) to get him use to all the gunfire and everything

[Alastair]

ill have to look into this 10 minute retriever


i guess i am just nervious about ruining the dog and him becomming just a house dog instead of a gun dog...im pretty sure he will not bne ready for thsi duck season (beacuse I have never trained a dog to duck hunt..and he will still be a little bit young), but im hoping the next season he will be ok

same here man