Hunting dogs

[lilith_rizel]

How do you train a hunting dog? My husband wants to train our dog to go hunting with him. He is great at fetching toys, and dropping them at your feet. Will it be easy to train him to do the same with the ducks, or whatever my husband is hunting? Or will it be really hard, being that it is meat?

[tenderfoot]

It depends on the dog - the breed, temperament, age and drive. Some dogs are born to it while others are not. I would advise him to find a reputable club or trainer and have the dog evaluated. Retreiving "meat" is really not the issue. He needs to think about what it is he really wants from the dog. To go all day in search of birds? or to hang out as a hunting buddy and occassionally retreive something. Does he needs the dog to drive the prey? or to gather it? As you can see it isn't always a simple answer and he would do well to spend time with people who are passionate about hunting dogs. Then he might even decide that your dog is not best suited for his needs and get one that is and yeah, now we have two dogs in the family!

[lilith_rizel]

Thanks tenderfoot, James wants our dog, Cano, to be able to retrieve the prey. He is a 9 month old yellow lab. I will have James read all posts that are posted.

[goldenblaze]

I believe that is a little young to start with a Lab, they should be 2 yrs for training. Here is some info from Ducks Unlimited you can learn about hunting on there.
Ducks Unlimited

[GsdDiamond]

I saw, on a show on TV, that when the dog brings you the bird, if it won't let go, to lean down and give a grab (without hurting) to the skin just in front of the back leg (you know...the little part between the tummy and the back legs). Say "drop it" or "give" or whatever you want to use. When the dog drops it (because he's wondering why you're grabbing him there) to praise him like crazy! I don't know if it works, but I tried it on Diamond, on a whim. Well, she figured what I was doing after the second grab. Now she stays at arms length chewing away at what I'm waiting for her to drop.

Good luck!

[lilith_rizel]

Goldenblaze,
It will be atleast 3 or 4 years before my husband actually starts hunting. He has to get out to the military first, so we can move back home, to the country. It is just that he has been talking about it for a month now, and I wanted to get some info for him, and was wondering when the best time to start training him was.

Thanks

[TalonsMa]

Originally Posted by lilith_rizel

Goldenblaze,
It will be atleast 3 or 4 years before my husband actually starts hunting. He has to get out to the military first, so we can move back home, to the country. It is just that he has been talking about it for a month now, and I wanted to get some info for him, and was wondering when the best time to start training him was.

Thanks

I was wondering about this myself! Solara is a 17 week old choclate lab

[lilith_rizel]

Talonsma,

Goldenblaze said to wait until they are 2 years before training.
A chocolate lab, must be beautiful. They are actually my favorite lab, I just love the color. I love labs in general. Their temperment is really good. I will probably end up with 3 or 4 labs one day.

[TalonsMa]

Lilith!

I agree, labs are so beautiful, I love their temperment. Solara is 17 weeks today, and such a good puppy. I am already talking about getting another one, of course my husband said 2 cats and 1 dog is enough!!

[goldenblaze]

Labs are sweet but sure need time to grow out of the puppy stage. here is my Black Lab, Kaiger he was our pride and joy but we lost him in April of this yr. Seems like yesterday, we miss him daily. Many people would say he is so so black he is blue. He was beautiful