Starting with a brand new pup for deer

Paul at Fechan

Well-Known Member
right guys, my lad bitch just had a litter of 8 and we are going to keep another bitch and the wife's ok for me to work her so my priority will be getting her trained up as a deer dog.

I'm sure this is covered on here but just point me to the important bits and what you guys think is the priorities and key features to look out for in selecting the pup from our litter to keep for this.

cheers
p
 
right guys, my lad bitch just had a litter of 8 and we are going to keep another bitch and the wife's ok for me to work her so my priority will be getting her trained up as a deer dog.

I'm sure this is covered on here but just point me to the important bits and what you guys think is the priorities and key features to look out for in selecting the pup from our litter to keep for this.

cheers
p

Big and BOLD!

Thats what I look for, although I've generaly got head strong hard to control dogs!!!! [some would say, out of control!]

Go with your gut instinct, not sure whether it's nature or nurture , probably a bit of both.
 
Wait till the pups are 4+ weeks old and see what one is the most confident. Doesnt have to be the boldest pup in the pack but to be able to work on its own it will need confidence. I sold a pup to a friend one time and he picked the boldest & biggest one there. It turned out to be a small dog with no confidence and wouldnt leave his side. You dont want a head strong nutt case for tracking ;)
 
I steer clear of the ones that are big and bold but also the ones that are shy and quiet. I normally try to find one in between. I will usually try and assess this by holding the puppies down by the neck as you would see another dog do in a dominance display, the harder they fight the more strong willed they are and vice versa. Once I have found one in this middle ground I will usually try attempt to see how much it uses it nose by spreading a few puppy treats out and seeing how it goes about finding them. I dont thin this is by any means an exact science.
 
Big and BOLD!

Thats what I look for, although I've generaly got head strong hard to control dogs!!!! [some would say, out of control!]

Go with your gut instinct, not sure whether it's nature or nurture , probably a bit of both.

It's hard to tell at a young age what the dog will be like, I've had small labs that have been pretty aggressive, big ones that have been rather shy???

It depends on what you want the dog to do?

Personally, I think any dog has the nose power to track a deer, it's whether it has the brain power to work things out and know what to do whenit finds it. You will get 101 differing views, none that will be wrong, just different. I like the dog to get stuck in and either bay or if possible grab. others will want a more passive dog. Horses for courses.

Whatever one you pick [you see the litter everyday so will likely get attached to one or two] it's probably more important, what you do with it, training, socialisation etc.

Good luck, looking forward to hearing how you progress...
 
i would generally choose the one that's left after the rest are sold! they all have the same breeding and all have the same possibilities. I've not chosen a pup yet. I've only ever had the last one available or one that has been allocated and i've not had a particularly bad one yet.

only my opinion of course, just my (fairly limited) experience.
 
I've had the last lab in a litter twice, one was a fantastic dog and the other was just shite. I guess luck plays a big part in how a dog can turn out.

If I could clone my first lab then I would never need to worry about another dog!
 
My thoughts are to select a big bold pup, they have to be bold to want to grab a hold of a wounded beast. They are a bit more difficult to train but a shy timid type will be very reluctant to grab a wounded beast.
 
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