[dixie]

i have a 12 week old lab and wanted to know when i should start throughing a dead bird for her to go get.were can i get a dove or a quil or duck from to start her on.is there a place i can order some. thanks

 

[SCoutdoorsman]

Are you following some kind of guide for training, I assume not. You need to get some training tool to help you out like Water Dog.

Here is a link to some ducks but there are plenty out there you just need to do the research.
http://duckhunt.com/ducks.htm

 

[dixie]

i have the movie water dog just wanted to now yall's opinion.those ducks look pretty price and you have to order a bunch not just one or two

 

[gsphunter]

Main thing to remember is the dog needs to learn obedience before hunting. Hunting is instinct, but obedience isn't. Birds are important, but believe me when the time comes for birds in your training your dog will still be fired up about them.

If you are around MO, I have some frozen quail I could set you up with when you are ready for them.

 

[dixie]

i have taught her how to sit ,how to sit on one whistle ,and im working on teaching her how to heal.

thanks gsphunter-but i live down here in florida .

 

[duckbum13]

i would just fallow the water dog book or video thats what my uncle did and it worked fine adn thats what i would do if i were to get a new pup

 

[Greg Wile]

I agree with the rest of them first and foremost obedience. Instinct will kick in when it comes to finding the birds. Feild dog / water dog are both good learning tools for you and your dog. Walters goes step by step and it works.

Keep takin those shooting lessons,I think they're working cause your starting to get some tail feathers.

Keep the sport alive take a kid hunting / fishing.

 

[dixie]

thanks everbody.today my dog got her leg broke and we have to take her in to get a x ray.

 

[Greg Wile]

Hope it mends and doesn't affect your dogs performance.

Keep the sport alive take a kid hunting / fishing.

 

[gsphunter]

How'd it happen Dixie. I hate to hear things like this. You get a puppy and you're all excited, and then something like this happens. Sorry to hear it.

 

[dixie]

our other dog he is about 100 pounds and my puppy dixe were playing and i guess some how jr our big dog broke her leg there
was a loud pop and she started wyning.we take her in tommorow morning to see if it is broke .

 

[1okieducker]

I used the book waterdog to get my lab started and still going by it today my pup was 6 mos. old when I took him on his first duck hunt. I think the book watyerdog is the bible when training a dog.

 

[dixie]

we just got back from the vet it is broke but not all the way through she will have to be in a cage for 3 weeks till it heels .

 

[shrpshtr]

sorry to hear about her leg. it's a heart breaker with a promising dog. maybe this will help you be optimistic about it. i had a chocolate female that broke her hind leg. it was pretty severe and i didn't think she would be able to hunt/work at all again. she was less than 2 years old. the vet fixed her right up though and in about 6 weeks things were fine. my wife used to joke that the vet put in a bionic hip because that gal could jump into the back on my z-71 with the tailgate closed.

good luck to her and you...

 

[dixie]

thanks guys .doc said she should heel up fine because she is a puppy and her bones are growing.

 

[terryg]

waterdog is fine but it is very dated training methods. 1962 .still better than nothing.

the simplest and cheapest is to get a 3 dvd set called retriever fever. http://www.dustinretrievers.com/

up to date and will take you to whatever you will need in your retrievers life.

many other books and tapes far suprior to waterdog.

lardy , graham are two of the best but will require a greater investment and much is more detailed than the average hunter needs.

dog does not need to be on dead birds too soon but retrieveing of dokens, bumpers, and live birds is great to build prey and retrieve drive

don't suppose i have to tell you about little and big dogs "playing togeher" anymore. it can cause this problem as well as your pup wanting to bond with the other dog when it needs to be bonding with you.

my pup at 7 weeks

my pup at 9 weeks

 

[dixie]

terryg was that a live bird in the pic at 9 weeks old that you shoot?

should i buy a quail wing or should i just teach her right to a live bird ?

is it ok if i buy quail to train her if im going to use her for duck huntnig?

man i want to get back to training her but not for 3 more weeks

 

[terryg]

that was a pheasant wing, but we only used it for a couple of days when she was 7 weeks. we then went to dokken and live birds.

i kept a couple of chukker in a cage in the back yard. i clipped the flight feathers and let her chase, catch and carry. after a few retrieves i put the bird back up and went back to the dokkens. the birds willlast for a few weeks before they die. then you can freeze them and use them later.

quail are just as good but are more fragile. they are cheaper though. pigeons work pretty good too.

the point right now is just to let her be a pup and learn to play.

don't spend too much time on obed but by all means do some simple stuff.

at this stage you wnat to teach her to go after the prey, pick it up, bring it back and hold it.

give her a few throws and then put it up, do it again later. keep her interested and excited by not wearing her out. many times of only a few is better than a few times of many.

as she gets older and the drive gets stronger you can put more obed on her then.

she's just a baby. have fun and let her have fun. if you do it right you can have her setting up at a very early age.

this was her at 13 weeks