Retreiver training

[Whosure]

I have never owned a retriever or trained a dog before. I have a hard enough time training my wife's chihuahua to sit when we put the leash on for a walk.

Is it really that beneficial to have a new pup go to a trainer and get the basic and advanced training courses done or is it okay to do it yourself in the backyard? How long does the basic and advanced courses last and what are the costs associated with them?

I hear about the time and work you must do with the dog every month. What are some of the training items that everyone does? How often do you train each week and what is the duration? Is it about bonding or is there fine tuning that is ironed out during these sessions?

[Aggiestad]

Tuned in for responses


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[DapperDan]

I have never owned a retriever or trained a dog before. I have a hard enough time training my wife's chihuahua to sit when we put the leash on for a walk.



Is it really that beneficial to have a new pup go to a trainer and get the basic and advanced training courses done or is it okay to do it yourself in the backyard? How long does the basic and advanced courses last and what are the costs associated with them?



I hear about the time and work you must do with the dog every month. What are some of the training items that everyone does? How often do you train each week and what is the duration? Is it about bonding or is there fine tuning that is ironed out during these sessions?

I have a two and a half year old lab that I trained. She's a gem! Hunts harder than me and loves to retrieve. I taught her everything she knows. She's not a national hunt test champion but she has all the potential to be. When I picked her up at 7 weeks she was already retrieving live shackled pigeons.

What I can tell you is that you need to start as soon as possible. And it needs to be every day. EVERY DAY! 2-3 times a day for max 20 mins when they are young. They have a short attention span. Obedience is the most important aspect. If you can't control your dog next to you, you won't be able to control them when hunting or at distance on a blind retrieve. Much less when they are running a double or triple mark retrieve.

I'm no professional but I've read a lot of books, watched hours of videos, and asked a lot of questions. And the last guided hunt I went on mine impressed the guide, a lot. Mainly bc of her obedience and quick snappy response to commands.


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[Pushbutton2]

I prefer to do my own training.

[DapperDan]

This was two firsts. Her first goose retrieve and first waterfowl retrieve. Oh, and my fiancés first goose!

This was cinco de mayo down at the local watering hole that was pet friendly!


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[DapperDan]

I have some videos of me training her but they are on the book of faces and I can't get them on here.


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[Sleepy]

Like DapperDan said, you can do it yourself and save a lot of money and end up with a great retriever. They may or may not end up field trials quality, but in my opinion, you don't need a field champion to have a great hunting partner.

I picked my dog up at 12 weeks old and started with him right off the bat. I did all the training myself from reading books and watching videos. The end result was a 2 yr old dog that was force fetched, could run 100-150 yard blinds, mark triples, hold steady, and release by his name only. I could call out several names and he would not leave until I called his name.

After that, I ended up traveling a lot so he stayed with a trainer full time for pretty much 3 years since I had nowhere else to keep him. Needless to say, the trainer didn't have to hardly teach him a thing.

When I worked with him from the time he was a pup till the time he was 2, I usually worked him at least twice a day for a 15-20 minute session. After he was a "finished" dog to my standards, I generally cut it back to once a day or every other day and would just have him run 2 or 3 blinds and call it good.

Bottom line, yes, you can make a great retriever by training them yourself IF, you have time, patience, and persistence.

If you don't have time and patience, you will not enjoy it and neither will your dog.

[Gclyde12]

I trained my chocolate myself and like other have already stated, keep it short and sweet but often. Hammer home the basic commands as everythjng builds off of these. If the can't do basic commands right they won't be able to build off them. Also if you plan on getting him/her to know hand signs I would intraduce a whistle as soon as possible.

[DapperDan]

Like DapperDan said, you can do it yourself and save a lot of money and end up with a great retriever. They may or may not end up field trials quality, but in my opinion, you don't need a field champion to have a great hunting partner.

I picked my dog up at 12 weeks old and started with him right off the bat. I did all the training myself from reading books and watching videos. The end result was a 2 yr old dog that was force fetched, could run 100-150 yard blinds, mark triples, hold steady, and release by his name only. I could call out several names and he would not leave until I called his name.

After that, I ended up traveling a lot so he stayed with a trainer full time for pretty much 3 years since I had nowhere else to keep him. Needless to say, the trainer didn't have to hardly teach him a thing.

When I worked with him from the time he was a pup till the time he was 2, I usually worked him at least twice a day for a 15-20 minute session. After he was a "finished" dog to my standards, I generally cut it back to once a day or every other day and would just have him run 2 or 3 blinds and call it good.

Bottom line, yes, you can make a great retriever by training them yourself IF, you have time, patience, and persistence.

If you don't have time and patience, you will not enjoy it and neither will your dog.

I never got a chance to force fetch mine. Wish I would have. Not sure if it's too late now..... she runs great blinds and never misses a mark. There are just a few small things that I think force fetch would clean up a bit. Like her not dropping a bird at my feet when she heels. But it's small in the big picture I guess.


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[Sleepy]

I never got a chance to force fetch mine. Wish I would have. Not sure if it's too late now..... she runs great blinds and never misses a mark. There are just a few small things that I think force fetch would clean up a bit. Like her not dropping a bird at my feet when she heels. But it's small in the big picture I guess.


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Force fetch in my opinion is simlar to heated leather seats in your vehicle. It's a luxury. It makes it nice and all, but it should t affect your dog bringing you the bird. He/she just may not deliver to hand or he/she may not pick up up on your command.

I can point at a brick and tell mine to fetch, and he will tear his teeth out trying to get it lol.

[texan16]

All good adavice in the previous posts. IF you want to spend the time learning how to train your dog, you can save a boat load of money, do it yourself and have a solid hunting dog. Read, google, and talk to folks in the know and learn different methods to train and get after it. No reason to pay someone else, unless you just dont have the time to work with the dog. If thats the case, you should probably pay to have her sent off and trained.

[DapperDan]

Force fetch in my opinion is simlar to heated leather seats in your vehicle. It's a luxury. It makes it nice and all, but it should t affect your dog bringing you the bird. He/she just may not deliver to hand or he/she may not pick up up on your command.



I can point at a brick and tell mine to fetch, and he will tear his teeth out trying to get it lol.

Well if that's the case then guess mine doesnt need force fetch. She brings it back every time 100% of the time. She just may not hold it for more than 10-15 seconds when she gets back and heels. And if you say fetch, she will kill herself to pick up what you point at especially if it's a bird or bumper. I wish I had somewhere to run her more besides living right in town. I'm very confident if I could work her a bit more she'd get titled as a master hunter. I know she can run a Se test. I've just never did it but I use to train with guys that had all the gear and would set up hunt test training days for the retriever club I was in. And she handled the sr hunt tests pretty much every time.


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[Sleepy]

Well if that's the case then guess mine doesnt need force fetch. She brings it back every time 100% of the time. She just may not hold it for more than 10-15 seconds when she gets back and heels. And if you say fetch, she will kill herself to pick up what you point at especially if it's a bird or bumper. I wish I had somewhere to run her more besides living right in town. I'm very confident if I could work her a bit more she'd get titled as a master hunter. I know she can run a Se test. I've just never did it but I use to train with guys that had all the gear and would set up hunt test training days for the retriever club I was in. And she handled the sr hunt tests pretty much every time.


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Sounds like she's doing fine. A true force fetched dog will hold until told to drop/release/give whether it be 10 seconds or 2 minutes. It's not that necessary, although I prefer a deliver to hand while at heel. It also comes in handy if birds are flying and you're trying to reload or grab your call, sometimes the dog may need to hold longer because you can't reach down to pick the bird.

I always wanted to put mine in hunt tests. I figured in his prime, he would make MH, but I never made the time for it. He's now 9 years old and is a back yard pet more than a hunter now, which is a shame on my part. With a growing family and living in a neighborhood, there's just not much time to train and not enough time to hunt like I did in my single days.

[Dirt_Dance]

I've had a guy train two Labs for me now and it has been the best money I ever spent. 4 weeks and I can take him to work and put him on the first tee and tell him to "stay" and he will not move until I come back and release him. Dropping off my 7month old choch female Saturday for a month. Sure I've worked on the basic stuff, but not enough time to do it everyday to enforce through repetition. Nothing better than a well behaved dog. Especially when I see how many children run around out there with absolutely ZERO manners or respect. No way I'm letting my dog out in public acting like some of them heathens.

[Aqckdude]

Force fetch in my opinion is simlar to heated leather seats in your vehicle. It's a luxury. It makes it nice and all, but it should t affect your dog bringing you the bird. He/she just may not deliver to hand or he/she may not pick up up on your command.

I can point at a brick and tell mine to fetch, and he will tear his teeth out trying to get it lol.

^^^^^ x infinity