New dog

[bowboy185]

I am 14 years old and big into upland game hunting and any bird hunting. And i have a 5 month old blacklab/german shepard pup and i need a few tips on some training. He loves to play fetch, gets down and really follows sents around in my pasture, and loves to chase birds. I dont have the money to pay to have him trained and just need a few pointers on getting him to listen better and to retrieve. im Going to start gun training here in about a month or so so if you have any suggestions please say something.

Thank you
Stetson

[beeell]

You need to interact with him every day, for at least 20 min. But don't over do it, otherwise he'll loose interest. Teach him your commands repetetively, eventually he will get the idea. Treats work good in the beginning to get them to do what you want, but I don't like to use them once the dog understands the command. The object is to get the dog to do what its told without expecting a treat. So with the treats come lots of praise, and eventually just praise. You can teach a dog alot with repetition, and praise, but not so much when either of you has a bad attitude. In other words don't smack the dog, just remind him. Teach him to Sit, Stay, Lay, Get the bird (Fetch), and keep working on him. He'll get it.

[Dclewis]

Bowboy,

I do not have any experience with dog training. I just want to say it's Great to have some young men like yourself involved with the shooting sports. My ten year old started hunting this year and its a year I will never forget. Sounds to me like you really care about what your doing, and im sure you and your new best-friend will make many life long memories together. Keep up the good work and best of luck with your training. Dave

P.S. Whats his name?

[pre6422hornet]

I recommend the books "Bird Dog", or "Game Dog" both by Richard Wolters. Bird dog specifically relates to pointers and game dog to retrievers. They are both very easy to read and his instruction is very easy to understand.

Look at the video and books in Cabela's. Wolters has both these books on video tape available in the catalog.

My eight year old pointing lab was trained by myself after reading these books. By the time he was 8 months old he was completely trained. Having a well trained dog is very satisfying, not to mention all your friends will beg you to go hunting with them.

I was only 23 when I trained my dog. BEEELL is absolutely correct. Don't overdo the training. 1/2 hour a day at the most. I used to take 15 minutes in the morning before work and 15 minutes after. If the dog is not listening..... stop training for the day. A puppies attention span is very short. Positive reinforcement is the best. It won't take long and you will see results.

If you need any help just post a question.

Pat

[bowboy185]

Bowboy,

I do not have any experience with dog training. I just want to say it's Great to have some young men like yourself involved with the shooting sports. My ten year old started hunting this year and its a year I will never forget. Sounds to me like you really care about what your doing, and im sure you and your new best-friend will make many life long memories together. Keep up the good work and best of luck with your training. Dave

P.S. Whats his name?
His name is Thunder he is solid black with a a white patch on his chest he is a great dog.

[tommy]

Bow boy: I think all that is good advice!

I just want to tell you I saw a full blooded german shepherd hunting last upland bird season and thought he was just there to keep his owner company, but that dog found the birds, flushed the birds and retieved the birds just like any other hunting dog. I was in awe of its talent!

Just in case anyone should tell you its gona be hard because he is not full blooded Lab, but that fact is in his favor. Good luck with him.

Good Duck
Boomer (Black Lab)and Tommy