Ollie Black Lab at 5 months

[Nik_B 3,790]

My Black Labrador has been fantastic, I don't have any previous experience with dogs so I don't really know how well he is doing compared to other dogs destined for gun dog work but I get alot of good comments from normal dog walkers. Rickyspringer asked in one of my threads how life had changed since I had Ollie and I never got round to answering so in short he's changed my life and that is no word of a lie. He's given me a purpose in life when I am on leave, before I used to just sit around the house getting bored or reading the internet. Since I got Ollie we've spent so much time together and he's honestly become like a best freind. I take him out all the time and we go walking in the peak district together, he wears me out so I don't have to drink at night to fall asleep which has really improved my own quality of life especially as I'm going through alot of problems with my wife.

 

As far as training he sits, stays and lies down. I can put food in his bowl and tell him to stay, then go up stairs to brush my teeth etc and he'll be waiting still when I come back down. I have trained him to recall 100% of the time to two pips of a whistle even when he is playing with other dogs. He is quite good at walking to heel even off the lead but is harder work when he first goes out, i find it best to wait till he's had a bit of a run before I get more adventurous. He will retrieve on command but bolts early even when i tell him to stay so I need to work on this and he will drop on command. I think he's doing quite well concidering he's my first dog and I never went to any classes or anything.

 

I want to start on a stop whistle in a few months and take him to gun dog training when he gets a little older and steadier.

 

Here's some pics and yes I know it looks like I am strangling him in the first pic.

 

 

 

[danielt 1]

Thats what its all about. One man and his dog. A dog is more than just a tool, its a friend and companion.

 

Good luck with the training.

 

Dan

[samearl14 11]

Well done mate. And nice looking lab

ATB Sam

[Lab 10,979]

Nice looking dog mate! Just a thought for you..........how much "gun" work were you thinking of doing with him mate? I am just asking as you say he 'drops on command' but for a gun dog you really want to retrieve to hand just incase its a running bird and he will drop it and it will leg it.

Only you will know what work you expect to do with him

[ruthi 0]

He's a bonny dog mate! Can I be nosy and ask where you got him as a friend of mine's after a really easy lab, he's down near Cheshire...

 

Good luck with him.

 

Ruth.

[Nik_B 3,790]

Nice looking dog mate! Just a thought for you..........how much "gun" work were you thinking of doing with him mate? I am just asking as you say he 'drops on command' but for a gun dog you really want to retrieve to hand just incase its a running bird and he will drop it and it will leg it.

Only you will know what work you expect to do with him

 

Yep good point. I was just happy that he brings things back to me when I tell him but I do need to change that. I guess I can use 'Give' instead of 'Drop' command.

 

As I'm doing this on my own I can use any advice I can get cheers!

[Dave C 63]

Pups looking good Nik and sounds like his training is coming on well.

I would start him on the whistle as soon as he is steady with all his basic training and hand signals.

Good luck with him mate.

 

Dave.

[Nik_B 3,790]

Here's a summary of the commands I am teaching him. Please let me know what else I should be doing.

 

Sit - Will also do this when I put my finger up (i do this to make him sit at my side otherwise he had tendency to try and sit in front of me)

Up - Stand up after he has been sat, use this when I want to cross road for example and I have told him to sit

Stay - Will do it when I hold my hand up

Down - Lie down - will sometimes do it by hand signal

Look - Looks at me when he is walking to heel so I can give him commands by hand I use a hand signal also, to teach him this i have a treat in my hand

Fetch - throw a ball I tell him to stay repeatedly when the ball lands I say fetch (sometimes goes before I say it)

Bring it back (yes I know it is a long winded command but i say it when he picks up a ball/stick) Probably this is wrong

Drop - Drop ball/stick/toy

Give - New when I want him to deliver to my hand

 

Whistle - Two pips he comes straight back to me almost 100% of the time

 

All of these are done outside where there are plenty of distractions, in the house he is better.

 

Anything else?

[druimmuir 1]

To be honesy I don't think there are more commands to add, probably less but it all depends what yo want him to do when he's a gundog. I would use a hand signal , full hand for the sit rather than a finger so this can be used to sit him at a distance in further training, as he won't see your finger at 100 yards.

 

For my dogs :-

 

Hup - sit and stay until told to do something else. They also stop to whistle and look for command.

 

Heel - Exactly what it says on the tin

 

Get Out - along with hand signal means a straight run back from where they are pointing.

 

Go back - once stopped on whistle at distance, go further back in straight line.

 

Thats pretty much the only commands my dogs get, oh and gom play for when they get time off to charge round the field.

 

 

 

Nicola

[Nik_B 3,790]

Thanks

 

I am going to have to change some of the hand signals I use as they are obviously wrong. Hopefully he'll adapt.

 

I try to give him directions as much as possible so he gets used to them for example when he fetches i will point my arm out in the direction where the retrieve is, if I tell him "Out" to go out of the house (in to the garden) I also do that and when he's sat in front of his food and waited I also do the same to let him know he can go and get his food. Is this ok?

 

I need to refine and correct my signals and commands. I'm learning as much as he is and lucky for me he is dead keen to learn and is very well behaved.

 

One thing I have noticed is that he very cleaverly reads my body language and can peform a task before I tell him to so I need to work on my own posture.

[rickyspringer 15]

Nik it sounds like you and the dog are having a great time, I would personally cut down on the commands, if the dog picks anything up its not drop imo its come,dead/for the release and the lots of fuss... picking anything up is a good behaviour.. you just have to ensure there isn't stuff left lying around.

 

Regarding the retrieving, i would definitely not be interrupting the retrieve, or telling him to stay, steadiness comes later, you want him to have a real passion for retrieving. Don't do to many retrieves either.

 

You won't go wrong with the commands Nic "Drummuir" has given.

 

someone might recommend a good book for you to read, on advice for commands hand signals, Joe Irving Training Spaniels is a cracker, and alot is generalised for any gundog.

 

Well done anyway mate

[Nik_B 3,790]

Nik it sounds like you and the dog are having a great time, I would personally cut down on the commands, if the dog picks anything up its not drop imo its come,dead/for the release and the lots of fuss... picking anything up is a good behaviour.. you just have to ensure there isn't stuff left lying around.

 

Regarding the retrieving, i would definitely not be interrupting the retrieve, or telling him to stay, steadiness comes later, you want him to have a real passion for retrieving. Don't do to many retrieves either.

 

You won't go wrong with the commands Nic "Drummuir" has given.

 

someone might recommend a good book for you to read, on advice for commands hand signals, Joe Irving Training Spaniels is a cracker, and alot is generalised for any gundog.

 

Well done anyway mate

 

Cheers

 

One thing we did from the beginning is to never tell him off for picking things up even shoes. He has a soft mouth and has mostly stopped chewing things like that so we let him bring them to us, tell him good boy and then put them out of reach. I really should take a photo of our dining/front room, you'd all probably laugh. The floors are empty and all of our posetions are on side boards/bookshelves. He's calmed down round the house and I like to let him roam more now where before he was in his crate unless we were playing with him.

 

I'll take on board what you said about the retrieve and keep him occupied with balls, sticks etc. Lucky for me I've been off work for such a long time we've really bonded and I've had loads of time to take him out. I mix up going to the park where he can socialise with taking him for longer walks in the peak district where it is just me and him so we can do plenty of training.

 

When should I intruduce him to shot bird? I could use a shot pigeon to let him know the smell and try him retrieving it?

 

p.s

Now I've said all that to make him sound great he just stole one of my daughters iced buns of the kitchen counter