Just got a new black Lab puppy - need some advice re order of training

Hi

we just got a new black lab male puppy (8 weeks old) to replace our wonderful lab that died suddenly from a burst tumour a couple of months back. Our last lab was a gentle soul but I didn't have time to do a lot of training with him as the kids were young. Before we had kids we bred Norwegian Elkhounds that we did tracking with. We lived in Edmonton and I very much involved in the local tracking club as well as being a police dog track layer.

Now with this new lab I want to do obedience, tracking and possibly retrieving. I am trying to determine if there is an order to the training I should follow? Does any one know? (Tracking requires the dog to pull on a lead so he will do obedience before tracking but am wondering when should I start field work-retrieving- with him - before tracking or after tracking?

thanks

Welcome to the forum. Nice to have another lady here. :)

Several lab experts on here whom I'm sure will be glad to help - I'm not one of them.

There is definately an order to training. If I had a lab pup I would use Evan Graham's Retriever programme.

Enjoy your pup.

PS Another forum to look into is " Canadian gun dog forum"- mostly lab folk there.

http://www.gundogsupply.com/evan-gra...martfetch.html

http://www.evan-graham.net/Flow-Chart.html

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Originally Posted by Sharon

PS Another forum to look into is " Canadian gun dog forum"- mostly lab folk there.

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To make it easier to find ..... Canadian Hunting Dog Forum ;-)

Sorry Sharon ... Could not resist!

:-)

Thanks. :)

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Originally Posted by Farmgirlwanabe

Hi

we just got a new black lab male puppy (8 weeks old) to replace our wonderful lab that died suddenly from a burst tumour a couple of months back. Our last lab was a gentle soul but I didn't have time to do a lot of training with him as the kids were young. Before we had kids we bred Norwegian Elkhounds that we did tracking with. We lived in Edmonton and I very much involved in the local tracking club as well as being a police dog track layer.

Now with this new lab I want to do obedience, tracking and possibly retrieving. I am trying to determine if there is an order to the training I should follow? Does any one know? (Tracking requires the dog to pull on a lead so he will do obedience before tracking but am wondering when should I start field work-retrieving- with him - before tracking or after tracking?

thanks

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Farmgirlwanabe,

Welcome to the awesome world of labs. While we all know working dogs are fantastic animals, labs are truly the cream of the crop (and chocolate labs are the pinnacle of the cream :), no doubt my biased opinion will start another spirited discussion here). While I don't do tracking or obedience, a couple of folks in my training group do all three and they train all three at once. There shouldn't be anything stopping you from doing the same. Good luck.

Thanks all for your responses. I am tempted to teach him to go duck hunting too but have no clue where to start - we live in western Ottawa but have no one we know here that duck hunts. I love eating duck and miss it from when we lived out in Alberta. I am looking forward to participating in this forum

Does anyone know of anyone teaching retrieving/ field work out in the Ottawa area ( west Of Ottawa)?

Contact Ross in Clayton - http://foxredlabs.ca/site/dog-training.cfm

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Originally Posted by Farmgirlwanabe

Thanks all for your responses. I am tempted to teach him to go duck hunting too but have no clue where to start - we live in western Ottawa but have no one we know here that duck hunts. I love eating duck and miss it from when we lived out in Alberta. I am looking forward to participating in this forum

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A good place to start was Sue's post but also check out local hunting retriever clubs (I think Ottawa Valley Hunting Retriever Club might be a good option for you). It would be a good opportunity to meet up with like minded folks who hunt and you just might gain some training buddies. Also check out any local hunt tests which are coming up in your area, you can introduce yourself and make contacts.

In my SAR group we focus on one discipline at a time, but some dogs are capable of multiple discipline. I realize the SAR world is different than hunting but we do lots of tracking so what we do could apply. I see you have previous experience in this regard, so take this with a grain of salt should you already know:

1. Start your training as early as possible, around 8 weeks old or after weening (as your dog is).
2. Only use rewards to create motivation; food treats (or a toy) combined with praise.
3. Train one discipline.
4. Join a group that trains the discipline you want to excel at, if your dog is capable of handling more then proceed as required.

There is a group on this board who may be able to help with tracking for hunting purposes that you could reach out to, they are good folks: http://biggamesearchon.com/

Visit NRCC web site(National Retriever Club of Canada) . You will find a listing of all field trials(Ottawa just last week end), results, and contacts for individual clubs by checking a given premium list. All Canadian results listed as well

Thank you all for your responses