Tips on Dog Training.

[santaman2000]

TBH he probably isn't biting as hard as you think; he still has his puppy teeth and their SHARP!!! All puppies play bite. EVERY single one I've ever had regardless of breed and they ALL have sharp teeth. Mostly you just have to ignore them and wait for them to outgrow it. Putting him with grown dogs will have some effect; as had been said a grown dog will find a way to avoid being bitten (sometimes anyway but other times they'll just tolerate it in my experience) Putting him with a pack of other puppies will help to some degree. Not because they'll "put him in his place." In fact they'll simply join in. As I said, it's normal puppy behavior. BUT! the puppies playing together will take much of his energy and calm him down around people.

As for "not having this breed around kids" well they're one of the most popular breeds for kids as once they grow up, they tolerate the abuse that the kids can dish out. And TBH when I was a kid, that rough play from the puppies was exactly what we (the kids) all wanted. Who wants a sedate puppy!?

All that said, there is a way to get them to "mouth" with less force. Especially the retrieving breeds like Labs or other bird dogs. Just have him retrieve somthing that hurts if he bites too hard. I used to throw green pine cones for Daddy's bird dogs to retrieve when I was a kid. I really had no idea what I was doing (other than just having fun playing fetch with the dogs) but it definitely worked. Those dogs had the softest mouths in the state and never mangled a single bird.

But under NO CIRCUMSTANCES punish him by putting him into his crate! If you do, he'll come to think of the crate as a punishment in and of itself and you'll have a whole new set of problems with your crate training.

 

[Dave]

TBH he probably isn't biting as hard as you think...............

As for "not having this breed around kids" well they're one of the most popular breeds for kids as once they grow up, they tolerate the abuse that the kids can dish out. And TBH when I was a kid, that rough play from the puppies was exactly what we (the kids) all wanted. Who wants a sedate puppy!?......

Yes, that's a fair point. [Though he is biting hard enough to draw blood.]

This is a nice little vid of some retrievers at work. Im seriously thinking about taking him for game picking/field trial training as it's what he was bred for, and I reckon he'll love it. [As I will too ]

[video=youtube;fH03Z3wF7MA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH03Z3wF7MA[/video]

 

[santaman2000]

Yes, that's a fair point. [Though he is biting hard enough to draw blood.]

This is a nice little vid of some retrievers at work. Im seriously thinking about taking him for game picking/field trial training as it's what he was bred for, and I reckon he'll love it. [As I will too ]

[video=youtube;fH03Z3wF7MA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH03Z3wF7MA[/video]

That's a great idea! Especially if you can find events with water work.

 

[Macaroon]

Hey Dave - how's the little fella doing? Mellowing a little yet? Let us know, I'm sure a few people would like a catch-up.....................atb mac

 

[Dave]

Hey Dave - how's the little fella doing? Mellowing a little yet? Let us know, I'm sure a few people would like a catch-up.....................atb mac

He's doing well Mac, thanks. He's stopped biting hard, learned some basics. [He'll sit and wait, when I walk off then turn around and call him. Understands, leave,take it, sit, heel, settle down]
He wasnt badly behaved. He just didnt understand "NO!"
And "OUCH!" just encouraged him to bite harder. If you turned your back to him, he'd have your hems, teeth sinking into your leg.

We got some 'Pet Corrector spray' which is just compressed air, but makes a noise like a snake or a goose.
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-training-aids-dog-training-supplies-c-198_597/pet-corrector-spray-p-4116

You just tap it for less than a second. Dont have to show him the can, or point it at him, when he hears it, he immeadiately stops what hes doing and sits down. Ive only had to use it 4 or 5 times, and hes as good as gold now. Mouthing hands gently. Took him to a puppy socialisation class. There was another black lab there, a bitch, and they spent an hour scrapping with each other. It sounded like they were killing each other.........Yeh, he's doing really well. Sleeps in his crate every night. Doesnt whine in the car any more. The occasional puddle in the house, and hes destroyed a set of drawers, but thats it. Vet says hes gonna be a big boy!

He's good with toddlers too. Here he is learning the finer art of tracking.....

 

[Niels]

Good to hear he's doing well man. Enjoy your doggie

 

[Macaroon]

I'm very pleased to hear all that; I've thought about the little fella quite a bit...........he's lucky he went to someone with the intelligence and patience to work it out and stick with it; have you told him that?
It's great that things are working out, it's all good from here on in (or nearly all!).....................all the best, mac

 

[adriaticus]

Best suggestion: check for qualified puppy classes in your area. Ideal would be for retrievers/gundogs.
IMHO there is no freespirit desiderable on a dog and neither he desires it. He needs you to be a consistent point of reference for him. What you would like to achieve in terms of obedience and reliability, will take quite a long and constant training...for him but also for you. I am not trying to discourage you, gundog/dog training is fun, especially with retrievers. Labs are great dogs, but you have to do your part too. And set some rules which also the other family members must follow. Otherwise he will soon find the weak point and exploit it! Do not spook him for any reason, especially at his young age. Unless you want to later have much bigger problems and issues which are hard to fix.

 

[The Survivor]

Dont know if this has been said or not, but never ever get angry at the dog, only be firm. Being firm will show him that you are the pack leader, but being angry will only make him rebel.

 

[TeeDee]

Just come across this thread , so marking it for interest and to bump it as required.

Also to ask the question , are there any step-by-step courses out there for dog training? a sort of tick-a-long of exercises to train your dog? I don't have a dog ( yet ) but when I do I want to do it right for the Dog and my own benefit.

Cheers

 

[Dave]

Its all good advice above .Ive had mine out for a few gundog lessons, with a fellow who used to train Alsatians in the army. He has labs and spaniels.His gundogs are typical black labs, lythe, and smaller than my chocolate. They're kept in a kennel connected to the house and do absolutely everything they are told perfectly. Breeding is very important. Ours is a mixture of show, stormley, and fieldtrial, drakeshead. Hes got a number of FTC and a couple of SC in his recent lineage. But trainers looking for a perfect gundog for grouse wouldn't choose him.
Hes bigger than the black ones as well. The bigger ones, like the Chesapeake retriever are better for long retrieves on the foreshore. Carrying a heavy greylag for instance, through a muddy estuary is harder work. And that's what drakesheads were originally bred for.Different trainers all have different methods, and most think theirs is best.......I went to see a couple and talked to a few before I found one locally.
They all had different ways of doing it. Even the words used for commands are different, so its best to get one and stick with him. Plus, being around other gundogs is important. They have a pecking order, and an alpha bitch or dog, will soon put him in his place. The guy I go training with, has a couple of ex army pals as well, with their black labs, and they go with their dogs to attend shoots, where the guns may be paying a lot of money to shoot grouse, and therefore the dogs have to behave perfectly.
You cant have your dog pissing about when someone has paid a thousand quid to shoot some birds. Other shoots will be bit more relaxed, a lot less expensive, and they don't need a super wellbred gundog.
That's the type of shoot I'll end up taking mine on hopefully.
Mine will never be as perfect as theirs are. But that's fine. I dont want a little soldier/robot. I can send mine out in a field, then direct him left and right, with hand movements, I can have him stop and look back at me, wait for commands, go back, come in, wait, [same as sit] for a longish period, and when he is in an area, hunt around for the quarry. Hes still learning though. He'll do things like, sit next to me, whilst the other dogs go straight out and retrieve the dummy, then when its his turn, he'll go out, grab the dummy and then start sniffing around..I didnt know why, but the trainer told me, he saw the first dummies go out, and didnt realise that the other dogs had brought them back in, and so hes looking for them too.
Stuff like that you need a trainer for. Theres always gonna be problems.
For instance when mine realised that four legs were faster than two, Id throw the dummy out, and he'd go and collect it, but then run past me, like it was a game. Wouldnt come in.
So I had to buy one of those ground screws, attach a very long lead, and send him out left and right, and stand on the lead, if he tried to leg it.

Hes been trained to the whistle.But If he sees another dog hes off to play still...and then he gets a beasting.
Because we all play pretty rough with him, ive made the mistake, that I've erased the line between rough play and being told off. Hes pigheaded. Mine can also do stuff like canoeing, wear a pfd or a pack, without issue. In the end you've got to train him yourself. I only see my trainer for a couple of hours every few months, at £20 a lesson, which goes on for an hour or two, then its up to you to continue the training, even if its only for five minutes every few days. Theyre like kids. They each have their own personality. You just got to be patient, and you don't know what youll end up with, until he grows up.Initially, you've just got to socialise him, with other pups. Should be free at your vets. They just throw them in together, and it sounds like their killing each other. Potty training etc. I wouldnt bother trying to do too much too soon. If you get a retriever, then the main thing is to encourage him to really enjoy going after stuff. As I say some gundogs are kept outside in kennels, and they learn to associate getting out and seeing their master with the 'game' Which is, they only get out when they are taken to a field, and they only get to run out after a dummy then bring it back in.That's not right for my lifestyle. I like to let mine off the lead and take him for walks, in the woods which means hes not as focused on 'the game' as some perfect gundogs are. Mine now 16 months, I'll have him on a gundog scurry first before I take him on a shoot. But,even now I have doubts that he'll ever be good enough. Just have to wait and see. In theory I know and have seen how to train one up perfectly now, but life gets in the way.

Oh, definitely get a crate before you get the dog! We didn't have one of those for our first dog, and I was initially against it, but its a godsend!

 

[Bluebs4]

A chocolate lab is about the most bouncy dog you could have got lol , good luck .

 

[santaman2000]

By the comments, I take it y'all consider chocolate labs to be s separate breed from black labs? Or yellow Labs?

 

[Macaroon]

By the comments, I take it y'all consider chocolate labs to be s separate breed from black labs? Or yellow Labs?

Not a separate breed, but definitely a distinct strain, or line, as are the blacks from the yellow; that's the way the breed has gone over here, so it seems...................

 

[santaman2000]

Not a separate breed, but definitely a distinct strain, or line, as are the blacks from the yellow; that's the way the breed has gone over here, so it seems...................

Thanks. Similar to here then; at least as far as the buying public is concerned.

 

[ol smokey]

Hi there, Havn't read through all of the above, but the first few as far as I got were good. I am an ex-Police Dog
handler, long retired, but when I got or before I got my last dog a Border Collie, I bought a great book on dog training
and it worked very well. It is quite thin and not expensive. I would recommend it to you. It is called THE MODERN GENTLE
METHOD OF DOG TRAINING. I do not remember the auther's name but I am sure that a good book shop would get it for you. It was more effective than the Police methods, and while Collies are keen to learn, I could get it to go backwards and
sideways, like you see trained horses doing, I could do a sort of square tango with her, which was quite impressive.
I do not know if it has been mentioned above, but to stop your dog being dominant, always go out of the door before it
just like the dominant male in the wolf pack, would go out of the den to see that all was safe. As someone said do not
let it get ahead of you when it is young and you are taking it out, or it will thing it is the Alpha male in his 'Pack'
never be coarse with it, and do not try to take it out training if you are not in a good mood, In the Police, the trainer in
charge of the class would take one look at you, and say just you watch today, if you werenot in a good frame of mind.
One harsh word at the wrong time can undo hours of work, and may spoil your dog for good. It is far better to have a
dog that loves you and wants to please, than one that has been bullied into doing things , and is cowed, Make Training a game and fun to do and you will both look forward to it. Keep commands short, and always be consistent, use one word
where possible, SIT not SIT DOWN. And give plenty of praise when it does what is expected, but do not be too harsh if
he or she gets it wrong, rather ignore bad behaviour, I grew up with dogs, there were Labs in the family before me,and
later my Parents bred Boxers, it was one of them that I trained as a Police dog (stubborn bugger) but he ended up as good as the rest.. Going through Fiery Hoops etc., Best of luck, enjoy, and be patient.

 

[TeeDee]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=THE%20MODERN%20GENTLE%20METHOD%20OF%20DOG%20TRAINING


Book of the Above post.

Cheers - I'll be getting that.

 

[Steve27752]

After we bought our Brown Lab (Maysie), who is now three. I found out the following information.
Golden Labs, are the I.T. experts, great on computers, great guide dogs etc.
Black Labs are the chilled out surf dudes, with there baggy shorts and cool shades.
Then there are Brown Labs..............................................do what ever they want, even with constant training

 

[Bowlander]

Choc labs, after 20 years helping out on various shoots I've only ever seen one that was as good as an average black lab.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2

 

[Dave]

Comment after comment about chocolate labs, but are they just old fashioned prejudices?

I know that Chocolates used to be killed at birth before they became fashionable. But I dont understand how a chocolate lab can be a different strain or breed, just because they are a different colour, when they are born in the same litter as black and yellow pups, from the same parents?

If Im wrong, I'd like to know.

Because if my dog is genetically not cut out to be a gun dog, then I dont think its fair to keep pushing him to be something he should not or cannot be.

He is bloody wilful, compared to the blacks and goldens Ive seen....