Adding a hunting dog to home with non hunting dog

[Mr. McQuack]

Hi Everyone,

I am coming into my third duck season this year and my second upland. I've been thinking about getting a duck dog, likly a pointing lab, and need some advice. We have a 7yo family dog in the house and I was wondering if having a non hunting dog will create challenges while training a working dog? This is all new territory for me and I'm sure there are unknowns that some of you may have gone through. I'd love to hear your experiences and any advice you guys might have.

[ohio mike]

Nope,as a matter of fact apply a lot of the training to the house dog. It will probably become a better citizen and you'll get some practice. Good luck and enjoy the ride!

[Mr. McQuack]

Nope,as a matter of fact apply a lot of the training to the house dog. It will probably become a better citizen and you'll get some practice. Good luck and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for the reply Ohio Mike! That's where I am with my plan. I certainly think he'll enjoy the refresher. The family dog is a good boy and I did some decent training work with him when he came home from the shelter all those years ago.I bought Tom Dokken's book Retriever Training and am looking forward to the adventure. Any words of advice?

[CatFan]

No problem, but when you are training the Lab, the other dog should be inside and out of sight to minimize distractions. At least until the Lab is reliable, then the distraction can become part of your training.

[Mr. McQuack]

No problem, but when you are training the Lab, the other dog should be inside and out of sight to minimize distractions. At least until the Lab is reliable, then the distraction can become part of your training.

Thanks for the replay CatFan. I had intended to do separate training for the new lab but hadent thought about using my other dog as a distraction when the time is right. I was also wondering about how they play togather. Should I be concerned about games between the two of them like tug-o-war? Or is it cool to just let them be dogs togather? As I said before this is my first hunting dog and as I'm writing this, I feel like first time parent again. Lol

[KingSize]

I have an 8 month old BLF I’m training for hunting and a 7 yr old male mutt from the shelter. Sounds like a similar situation to yours. They play pretty rough in the house when I allow it, but when I take her out for training she knows it’s game time and focuses.

The biggest advice I can give (I’m very much a beginner) is to develop the pups desire to retrieve. I followed Hillmanns puppy program and have moved onto smartworks. I’m happy with the results and have joined the local retriever club and am learning a lot from people who have been training dogs as long as I’ve been alive. Enjoy the ride

[CatFan]

No problem, but when you are training the Lab, the other dog should be inside and out of sight to minimize distractions. At least until the Lab is reliable, then the distraction can become part of your training.

Thanks for the replay CatFan. I had intended to do separate training for the new lab but hadent thought about using my other dog as a distraction when the time is right. I was also wondering about how they play togather. Should I be concerned about games between the two of them like tug-o-war? Or is it cool to just let them be dogs togather? As I said before this is my first hunting dog and as I'm writing this, I feel like first time parent again. Lol

I know this is old but I don’t come here often anymore. IMO, its fine. I let my dog play with a friends dog all the time. If trained, the are smart enough to know the difference between playing with dogs and working with you.