help with training my black lab

[langouroux 14]

Hi guys,

 

I have inherited a lab called Hurley just turned 2 years old. - a wonderful sweet dog who loves everybody, we have been together for about 5 months now and i think the bond is strong enough to start some gun dog training. he isn't scared of fire works or loud noises what so ever. I want to start doing more rough shooting on my ground and would love for Hurley to be my companion. He is a very sensitive dog and i have noticed that any harsh tone will make hit just lie down so i think he may have a sensitive / nervous disposition. He retrieves sticks, balls, or anything i make toy out of. we wont pout it in you hand ( although he has on the odd occasion) but will drop it at your feet (or at least very close) but i am worried about training him as i have never trained a gun dog before.

 

Can anyone give me any pointers with breaking him to the gun? or how i start to get him retrieving rabbits etc?

 

or is anyone in the area that might be able to give me some hands on help? i can return the favour with rough shooting / lamping

 

Cheers.

 

Langouroux

[waidmann 105]

just as with a pup(presuming basics are already in place) start him off with rabbit(fresh and if possible clean/not bloody) its all a game to him.

start off throwing the rabbit and he brings to hand.then drag the rabbit across the ground and put it behind cover and so on...

you do this with rabbit/pheasant etc.

don't rush him and lots of praise when its right.

 

as for the gun the biggest thing is don't shoot too close to him to begin with. get someone else to shoot a way off( start at 100m) while you are doing something the dog likes playing with a rabbit for example. keep on going closer as long as the dog shows no sighn of nervousness untill you can shoot next to him without him getting upset.

 

in short alone these two things may take weeks to get right in which time i would get a good training book( breed specific).

you will have some good fun learning together i'm sure.

atb and merry xmas.

[langouroux 14]

thank you mate, much appreciated. i was kinda expecting more reply's that that...so you must be spot on! i'll give it a go and let you know.

[PolarIce 0]

My daughter trains bird dogs and she uses a very simple method that even works with stubborn Chessapeaks.

 

She gets a couple of ducks and geese and clips off the wings to use for retrieving. The dogs seem to get quite excited about retrieving the wings and love the game.

 

Then she throws the wing and has someone stand a ways off and fire the gun before sending the dog, so the sound of the gun is distant.

 

Then she changes to the gun firing first then throw the wing and send the dog. They get gradually closer to the gun, but really by then whenever the dog hears a shot, it goes nuts to retrieve, even if the gun shot is from another hunter a ways off.

 

Then she switches to retrieving whole ducks and sorts that out.

 

Next she takes the dog out hunting and someone else stands a few metres away with the gun and shoots a few ducks and she sends the dog. It works like a charm. The dog associates the sound of the gun with the game and is never afraid of the noise.

 

I am sure that she could explain her method better than I, but I hope this is understandable.

[langouroux 14]

so took out my black lab "Hurley" today to "break" him to the shotgun....

 

the Mrs had him on a lead and went way over the other side of the field we were in. about 150 yards away. i let of a shot and he just wagged his tail, then a little closer and still no sign of nerves from him. after half hour i got really close and let off some more shots and he was absolutely fine. so we went for a walk through some rough to see if he would put anything up. a crow came over and he was down with the first barrel. Hurley didn't pay any attention to the bird that fell really but i was pleased with out progress so far.

[Quixote 9]

Interested to see how you progress!

 

I've got a 6 month old black lab' bitch that I've had for just over a month. So far I've just concentrated on the basics such as getting her settled into the household, 'sit', 'stay' & 'come here', etc (the 'coming here' of that particular command still needs some work though, I fear lol!) So far she's settled in very well. She's not shy of the gun as I've had her out already (she sat in the landy as I was shooting pigeons nearby.................she was fine with that, & even retrieved a thrown bird to hand once back in the garden!)

 

I don't intend to do anything really serious with her until she's matured a wee bit. Her head's still completely full of mince as she's still a daft pup, but she's shown some real promise so far & I don't want to over-face her. She's steady to game though, as I've had her in the hen-coop with me from day one, shows passing interest with the ferrets, & has her nose stuck in the gamebag the moment I'm out of the car!

 

Good luck with Hurley!