[Schobs]

Good morning all! I wanted to take the chance to introduce myself here after lurking around and finally registering over the last couple weeks. My name is Mike and I live in northern Wisconsin. I'm just a pup myself, 23 years old and all alone in my house. Until next weekend that is when I pick up my first lab and first dog, Honey B., a YLF. I've grown up around dogs and absolutely love them, but it never worked out to have one when I was younger. Now that I've got a house and a flexible job only 5 minutes from home, I just couldn't wait any longer. I plan on training Honey to hunt mainly grouse and ducks; no plans on any hunt/field trials yet, but that may change. I've read a bunch of threads on here about training programs and have decided to go with Sound Beginnings off the bat then moving on to the Smartworks Basics package. Any concerns with a first-time trainer with either of these programs? I did a quick search for training clubs in my area with little luck, but I don't mind tackling the training myself. That being said I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions and from what I've read so far it seems I've stumbled on quite the cornucopia of knowledge here at RTF. The litter was born 2/25, so I've got an anxious week or so before I can bring her home. I'll post some pictures after I go see her again on Friday. Questions to come soon as I get more and more excited about my first puppy!

 

[Daniel J Simoens]

Welcome!! That's a nice little area of the state you got up there Mike, God's Country. I make at least two trips a year up to Eagle River to do some musky fishing, mainly on Kentuck.

Best of luck to you and your pup. This is a great site with a ton of useful information/members.

 

[chessiedog]

Welcome Mike! You will find training your pup both frustrating and rewarding. My favorite saying is:

Hunting Duck is fun!
Hunting with a dog is more fun!
Hunting with a dog you trained yourself is priceless!

As far as training goes, you have picked some good programs. The best advice I was ever given was to join a Hunt Club! You will find other people that actually know what they are doing and you can bounce ideas and questions off of them. You will find that most people are willing to help each other in this field. You can do this whether you plan to run test/trials or not. The programs on the market are very good but every dog is different. They dont always tell you the little things that make a difference.


Good Luck!!!

 

[Kenneth Niles Bora]

Welcome to RTF Mike!


.

 

[SeanQuinn]

Mike, WELCOME! I’m only 9 months into this dawg world myself and really enjoying every minute of it! This is a great site with some really great people who are always willing to help. A few things I’ve learned in the last 9 months:
1- NO TIMELINES! Train your dawg, who cares how far anyone else is with theirs, take your time and have fun.
2- The first few weeks, just focus on bonding with your new pup, everything should be fun for her, there is plenty of time for formal training later. Everything should be fun and positive for your new pup.
3- If you have questions, ask away, these folks are full of experience and knowledge, but if you’re gonna ask a question, take the advice that is given to you, if you argue,…… you’re on your own;-)
Good luck and enjoy the ride!
Sean

 

[Schobs]

Daniel, I fished Kentuck a couple times last year, after the algae bloom it was like pea soup out there! I see you're from DePere; my dad and a few other family members work at the Thilmany paper mill there, and I'm originally from the Suamico area. Small world.

 

[hughest]

Welcome and good luck! Enjoy the first few weeks. They fly by.

 

[Hambone]

Welcome to RTF. I remember getting my first dog at about the same age you are now back in 1975. You have some good resources to help you train including RTF that we did not have availble back in the day. Good luck. Just remember that your dog wants to please you (most of the time anyway) so it is up to you to make it clear to the dog what you want. I have seen a lot of inexperienced trainers come down on their dogs way to hard when it was not the dog's fault but the trainers'. Teach the dog well and you will enjoy the results. Teach yourself, by reading all you can get your hands on, watching videos and get with experienced, excellent, trainers to help you. Just a word on clubs. Not all trainers in a local club are necessarily ones you want to learn from. Watch their dogs and how they interact with them. You will see which ones know what they are doing and who just likes to talk a good game. If you are not comfortable in how somebody treats their dog look for advice elsewhere. Enjoy your new pup!

 

[Vammy]

Welcome to RTF Mike! Some good advice in the above posts, and you've picked 2 very good programs to follow. I have Sound Beginnings myself, and use several aspects of it.

As others have said, enjoy that pup while she's a pup...this period goes by way too fast. My new boy is already 12 weeks old, and he's grown like a weed...hard to believe he was once 9 lbs of fur bumbling around!

Good luck!

 

[Bud]

Welcome to the RTF and enjoy the ride with that new pup!

 

[Centerfield Retrievers]

Welcome and congratulations on your new pup! Enjoy the journey and wherever it takes you