First dog advice

D

dunnin21

Active Member
Morning all, getting my first pup this weekend. He’s a lab just after a little advice for do and don’ts. He’s going to be a family pet but also trained for rough shooting flushing and retrieving birds and retrieving rabbits.

Don’t want him to pick up hard to brake habits by giving him the wrong toys or make training harder when he’s older

Like I said first dog of my own and first time trainer

Thanks for any input
 
dunnin21 said:
Morning all, getting my first pup this weekend. He’s a lab just after a little advice for do and don’ts. He’s going to be a family pet but also trained for rough shooting flushing and retrieving birds and retrieving rabbits.

Don’t want him to pick up hard to brake habits by giving him the wrong toys or make training harder when he’s older

Like I said first dog of my own and first time trainer

Thanks for any input
Click to expand...
He will get commands from all in the family so when your voice is used out in the field it will be one out of how many are in the house.
Just me at home here so they know one voice also how the whistle is blown.
No good 2/3 saying "sit" and you using "hup"
I use leads around the neck then a short tug will bring the neck around, If you use a harness they seem very fashionable these days, but a big dog will need good contact. I know the tracking people use a harness but that is not what you are doing.
Any advice is not doing things to early in the field, let their bones grow and make sure the dog knows who is boss...
 
I suspect there will be lots of advice incoming, some contradictory, some sound and concise.
However, you could do worse than take a look at 'The Roughshooter's Dog' by Michael Brander.
I have trained my dogs following much of the advice contained within.
Enjoy the 'journey'. You will find it sometimes frustrating but ultimately rewarding.
 
Do not buy a toy with a squeak in it unless you want any retrieved birds macerated!
Do not let it have any food near your table - train it to go to a designated spot and stay there until the meal is finished.
Do not try any training if YOU are in bad form - obviously this won’t apply if you live alone.
As above baby steps in training - 10 mins a day and try to finish each on a good note where praise for what it does is what it remembers.
🦊🦊
PS
Labs are chewers - of everything from Kenwood Chefs through carpets (incl. underfelt) to 36 inch wooden caroenter’s rules (incl all the brass hinges). If you can endure this for 18-24 months you will have a best friend for life. There will also be lots of little … err… incidents throughout this period usually resulting in long silences and eating out a lot….
 
Last edited:
All of the above, but keep them away from socks. We have a FCR who will pick them from the washing line and chew / swallow them.
3 years lucky and all came back out one end or the other.
Just back home after emergency surgery, 40cm of small intestine removed.

Still touch and go but he's home.
 
Primarily a pet - then the training should be geared to being a pet.
Kindness, reward the behaviour you want, ignore the behaviour you don't. No physical punishment - the pup will have no idea why - the understanding of dog behaviour has changed a lot in recent years. It's likely your vet practice nurses will be well placed to help.
Train to the lead early - walk around the house.
Train to be stock safe early (if you have farming contacts, expose the pup to scary sheep while small for instance)
Let it be a pup - great advice from Quixote
Let it sleep - really important, they need sleep, hours of it. They need it to process the training and as foxyboy says, small training sessions and let it sink in. If it isn't working, do a play then leave it for a bit
Enjoy the pup, it doesn't last long!!
 
Crate train the pup, it provides a safe space that free from harassment by children and adults and really helps with house/toilet training.
Consistency in commands is vital, as is lead training. Keep training fun and short, ending on a high, it should be enjoyable for you and the pup.
Don't forget to train the wife and kids to follow low the same rules and commands as you.
Stock training is very important, teach it right and it will last a lifetime.
 
I was taught to get the dog to focus on me, as a pup playing ball with the dog for five to 10 mins a day, every day once their old enough.

At feeding time use the same command/voice and only you to feed it (at least at first), usually a command to get the dog to come to you.

As others have said, train the dog in small bites, if the dog is doing something you don't want it to do, use your voice and growl at it.

Have a place for play (could be just your land or a local park), everywhere is a 'work environment'.

When giving a command the aim is for the dog to do what you want it to do until you tell it otherwise. This is relatively easily enforced in a training environment, much harder to din the field.

Have fun and enjoy the pup, you wil become best friends, everyone/anything else will not matter to the dog as you become its focus in life.

JMHO
 
Trickyd66 said:
All of the above, but keep them away from socks. We have a FCR who will pick them from the washing line and chew / swallow them.
3 years lucky and all came back out one end or the other.
Just back home after emergency surgery, 40cm of small intestine removed.

Still touch and go but he's home.
Click to expand...
Is that related to eating socks?
Ken.
 
Trickyd66 said:
Yep. Stuck in small intestine and cut off blood supply. Less than 18 hrs from showing signs of illness.
Click to expand...
We lsot a GHPR who, whils tin keneles, was given towelling bedding. He ripped it up and swallowed a large length, resulted in the dog having put down as he never recovered properly.
 
Just a bit of reassurance for you after reading all of the very useful but perhaps a little daunting advice on this thread - make friends with your new dog - the love you will receive in return cannot be bought.
My new rehomed lass Rua is doing great at basic training though still quite nervous. It took about two days before we fell in love….
🦊🦊
IMG_6116.webp
 
Foxyboy43 said:
Just a bit of reassurance for you after reading all of the very useful but perhaps a little daunting advice on this thread - make friends with your new dog - the love you will receive in return cannot be bought.
My new rehomed lass Rua is doing great at basic training though still quite nervous. It took about two days before we fell in love….
🦊🦊
View attachment 398162
Click to expand...
That's a contented pooch!
 
All training in short bursts a couple of times a day.
Differentiate between play and training times.
Stick to a few specific commands.
Heel,Stop, start, come, no.
Add one or two of your own personal ideas.
Don’t play ball as it will quickly learn to retrieve and spit the object out for you to throw again.
If an instruction seems to go wrong, go back to a previous instruction for awhile and start again.
Don’t rush things and don’t take it shooting until you are happy that it will fulfill your needs.
Probably take 18 months before it is ready - you will have 12 years to repent for haste.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Free: Tough Decision. I need to re-home my dog.
Replies
13
Views
2K
pointador
P
Introducing my pup to a dominant dog.
Replies
9
Views
1K
nun_hunter
nun_hunter
Wanted: Dog wanted
Replies
0
Views
406
nic531
nic531
Advice please – 18 month old part trained GSP
2
Replies
22
Views
982
Mickeydredd
Mickeydredd
HPR trainer near Aldershot (1:1)
Replies
8
Views
548
wag
W
Shooting Supplies : Ammo - Reloading - Firearms - Optics - Accessories
Back
Top