training a dog

john clem

Well-Known Member
Hi guys I have a black lab he is eight months old. I am doing obediance work with him and retriving dumy's. I am just wondering what the next stage is in trainning him to be a deer dog any info would be greatfull.

Thanks john
 
dog training

keith I will be using him for stalking and picking up. he is retriving dummies quite well

John
 
Try and keep him on game for a full season after he is trained then switch him to deer if you want to talk PM me with your phone number and I will run you through the way I do it it may not be correct but it works.
Keith
 
What's your priority, Deer or game? I would do deer work first. This should ensure a steady dog. If the dog is of good breeding it will easily switch to game.

My 2 pence worth! ;)
 
I'm will be in much the same position as John once we acquire our new lab in 2 weeks. It's a way off but I want to get it right from the start. Is the consensus shared by the last 2 posts...deer first and then on to picking up game?
 
for what its worth, my last two labs have done there first year on blood tracking and now working on dummies and game, one is very keen on dummie work and the other does not wont to know, if i had done it the other way round would the out come have been different, i dont know ?

CF
 
You're going too fast with an 8 month old puppy.
You'll end up with a jack of all trades and master of none.
Let it have it's childhood (puppyhood) up to a year old just making sure you keep up with the manners.
Give it the odd dummy retrieve but just once.
Personally I wouldn't blood trail it untill it's around 2 years
 
Every dog is different,some can be fully trained by a year others 3 years old,depends on dog.As for training on deer,do it first much much steadier to everything else then,as for not giving it blood till 2 years old,i personally would not wait that long,i give them. easy trails at 4 months old,progressively getting harder and not sickening the pup,1 a month plenty,plenty of time play with him/her an enjoy it as a pup.my 1st dog fully trained on deer at 12 months,wounded ones too,exception rather than rule,2nd dog took 2 years an my pup of 6 months has done a blood trail on a proper stalk,son of no. 1 dog,they are all different,no hard and fast rules.I would also say if you put them onto wounded ones they can get a bit hard mouthed on game,sometimes not all,like i say they are all different
 
You can start the pup on a blood trail at 4-5 months. Once a week is plenty and don't rush it. Remember you are training the dog to follow a trail. The deer part of it do's not come into it till you think the dog is ready.
Think of it like training a pup to retrieve dummies. You start of with easy dummies and work up to hidden dummies et. Then you wrap wings on the dummy then its cold game then the real thing.
Training a tracking dog is about getting the dog to get its nose to the ground and following a scent in a easy and unstressed manner.



www.prokennel.se
 
View attachment 2093
Training a tracking dog is about getting the dog to get its nose to the ground and following a scent in a easy and unstressed manner.

Mine's the opposite - trying to get his nose up off the ground, even at 4 months!

He got a shock last night though. Walking down a ride in mixed woodland he was about 10m in front of me slowly hoovering when he came to a dead stop and swivelled right. I edged forward and as a cleared a large oak a doe bolted up from the stream bed about 20m down from us. With her eye on me she bounded straight up the bank towards Max and took off just before reaching the path - only to realise in mid-air that she was about to land on something furry. Luckily, she sideslipped before landing, missed him by about 500mm, and after recovering her stride bounced off in the opposite direction.

I'm not sure which of the three of us was the more surprised!
 
You're going too fast with an 8 month old puppy.
You'll end up with a jack of all trades and master of none.
Let it have it's childhood (puppyhood) up to a year old just making sure you keep up with the manners.
Give it the odd dummy retrieve but just once.
Personally I wouldn't blood trail it untill it's around 2 years

I'm not sure About how Les trains his Labs , but his methods must work for him
but I personally feel you can't start early enough on blood trailing, as blood trailing is just a discipline just like walking to heel or dummy work
just by getting the basics installed in an early age makes things a darn site easier to carry on with once the adolesences stage hits
most gundogs don't actually start their field trainning till 12-14 months of age depending on what part of the year they were born others are atleast 2 till they are out in the field in a real situation
where as you could easily hav a fully trained deer dogs ready to go out into the field by 12 months of age already finding deer for you
once that is installed into them by 2 years
you can then concentrate on introducing them to cold game in with the retrieves that you already hav been doing since a pup
by the age of 3 then you can start on using them in the field on game, with the knowledge that they already hav deer on the brain and been atleast 2 seasons on deer already
As your dog should already be quite steady to your commands and shot
If you teach your dog to work on a long leash just for blood trailing and deer , that is what will help seperate in your mind if your dog is actually working a deer or game
in time you will soon learn the difference by the way your dog reacts and then you and dog can work as a team
but as said previosly all dogs are different and training methods can differ from dog to dog or the stalking/shooting situation you are in
Just hav an idea of what you want from your dog , then take a good look at the dog to make sure it will be of the temprement and ability to be able to deliver those goods , if not
then try and develope the areas that are good and work to those strengths
Luv your dog and Luv training it that itself will reap the rewards
ATB
 
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