Do you guys or gals allow your dogs indoors and overnight? I am contemplating getting my first Chessie and am looking for pros and cons of a full-time family pet that does live inside with the family. Does this have any ill effect on its ability afield? I figure I will use the dog for field work for around 4 months per year--the other 8 it would be our family dog. Can I reasonably expect no nonsense field work during hunting season and a docile family pet the rest of the year? Any input would be appreciated.
House/Hunting Dogs
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I can only tell you my experience. So far I have a 9mo old yellow lab and she is a full time family dog and a full time hunting dog when it is time. I by no means have a trial dog but I do have a very obidient hunting buddy as well as an awesome family dog. I suspect there will be alot of different views on this. So far I am very happy with my mixed choice.
ive heard it can ruin a dog having it inside all the time. but we have had my 8 year old lab as a house dog for 4 years now. hes a pretty good house dog and a great hunting dog. now we got a lab puppy last year. he has no desire to retrieve the birds. but i dont think having him in the house was the cause just got a bad dog. but anyway having a puppy in the house blows. he pees and craps in the house. we broke him of that. but he chewed everything up. remotes, furniture, clothes, etc. whining in the night to go outside. if you can get through the puppy stuff you should be fine. he is fine house dog now just no desire to get birds.
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Im with O_E_J my girl is a year old now and has been inside the whole time and is great inside and outside the house. And when it comes to training having them listen and follow certain commands that can be done inside helps with all the distractions, and heck its alot warmer during the cold months. :thumbsup:
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My 9 month old pup lives in the house too. She has done a great job hunting this year, both ducks and pheasants. She's crate trained, which gives her a space of her own and is where she spends the day when I'm at work. The crate was a great way to house break her and she hasn't had an accident inside since the first week we had her (even when she had giardia). I agree that it's nice to have her in the house when it comes time to introducing new things in her training, and then move to the back yard, and then the field.
Thanks for the input fellas, keep it comin. To further your view of my situation I will explain more. Whenever the pup cannot be supervised by my wife during the day it will be kept in a 10 x 10 room in the basement. Probably no longer than a few hours at a time. I plan on kenneling him during the night in our bedroom, providing the whining and what-not doesn't make me mental. My biggest concern, regarding training, is keeping my wife and 2 children(6 & 2) on the same page as I am. The last thing I need is my son rough-housing, my daughter playing tug-o-war, and my wife feeding it off the table all hours of the day during work. Again, keep the opinions coming and I will post further as events warrant.
Cort
Cort
You have to consider the hunting enviroment your lab is going to be exposed to. They aren't sent out to range wide and basically run their own hunt as a pointer would, a labs life in the field is destined to be in close quarters with their hunter until it is time for them to go to work even when hunting upland they should be working close to you and be ready to take directions. You also should remember that the whole breed was designed to work in close proximity to people. I mean they were bred to work off of small tender boats bringing in fishing nets in the north atlantic. That requires a very compliant dog, I'd think !
So, I guess what I'm saying is that you and your dog need to be able to read each other and have a connection.The easiest way for this to happen is by sharing living space. Yes,the puppy stage is a nightmare. But,the rewards are numerous.You'll be training your pup without either own of you being aware that it's a training session. For the record ,I have 3 labs. I tried the kennel thing and it was not benefical at all. So,now, all 3 labs are house dogs. :thumbsup:
So, I guess what I'm saying is that you and your dog need to be able to read each other and have a connection.The easiest way for this to happen is by sharing living space. Yes,the puppy stage is a nightmare. But,the rewards are numerous.You'll be training your pup without either own of you being aware that it's a training session. For the record ,I have 3 labs. I tried the kennel thing and it was not benefical at all. So,now, all 3 labs are house dogs. :thumbsup:
A couple things in general to your post that I would do different... Dont leave the dog in a 10x 10 room and dont crate him in your bedroom. I am a firm believer in crate training, it creates a domain for them. Plus it is better and easier to house train them. Another thing, my lab snores like a beast, plus I do not want the dog to associate their domain with my domain :smile: . I would crate and feed him in the 10x10 room and if possible make that room the dogs room.
Oh,I agree we crate . each dog has his own crate in our utility room which is also where their food/water are kept. The only dog not crated is the adult male(the other 2 are 7 mo. old pups). He has his own beds in the living room and in my daughters room. But you got the gist of what I meant.
My post was meant twards hvac, sorry for any confusion. I did get the gist of your post. We have a 4 year old blue heeler that sleeps on her dog bed in the den, no crate for that spoiled one. Although the heeler was, and still is, crate trained just not required to sleep in it.
During the day and when we are home we have left it an "open door" policy since she was about 6 months old. She always goes in it when it is bed time or we leave the house. I guess I should say it has always been open for her to use as her den, however when she was younger she spent more time in it after field work and playtime. It also depends on the dog and how much youwork and trust it to run around the house in the early years. It is also good as a potty training aid, well hell the only way in my opinion.
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Your gettin' lots of good advice here, especially that from aaron. The more time you spend with the dog the greater the bond. That is very important for most hunters and will make the partnership work better. If I can't hunt with my family, friends, or my dog, I won't hunt.
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I recently tried leaving my lab's kennel door open at night after 3 1/2 years of locking her in. Prior to this, I was always woken up between 7 and 8 am by her whimpering to be let out. When I tried a few nights of leaving the door open, I got to hear her claws on the hardwood floors all the way through the house at about 5:30am as she came to my bed to see if it was time to get up yet. I told her to go back to her cage, and she did, but she'd come back every half hour or so to double check if it was time to get up yet.
I'm locking the door again. :thumbsup:
I'm locking the door again. :thumbsup:
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My girl loves to stay right beside the bed all night. When I get up and out the door for work she is right up in my spot then, with the Mrs.
I have a 2 year old choc lab named Parker. He is definetly a house dog , but when it comes to hunting he " Has to get dem birds." I made the mistake of letting him sleep on my bed, and now he thinks its his bed. LOL ...Oh well a small sacrifice to make for my best buddy to be rested up for a days hard hunting on the chilly Niagara River ( yea thats right above Niagara Falls......WAY WAY WAY above the falls....Lol). Like a guy mentioned before ...I have no competition winner, but he'll bring back the bird for me. Good luck fells
I am a whole hearted believer in letting the dogs live indoors with the family. Face it, with a dog outside in a pen, how often will you really interact with it, and obedience is the threshold of any good hunting dog. So by having the dog indoors, you are able to inforce obedience all the time, not to mention the priceless amount of bonding you two will be doing. Just remember, crate train the dog. For no other reason than it is the safest place for it. When left out, or in a bath or laundry room, you never know what the dog may get ahold of and eat, that will make him sick, require surgery to remove, or God forbid may even kill him.
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