Looking for a Lab

[Dakota Creek]

There is currently a 6 month old black lab from FT stock sleeping at my feet. Around the corner is a 8 year old yellow from FT stock having a post breakfast nap too. Our house is not destroyed.Attachment 34817

Might that 6 month old be Pip with her buddy Ace??? :-)

[Ugo]

Terrym, while I have not had the pleasure of meeting your wife, I believe your comments are somewhat harsh and insensitive. I'm confident that given some time, she could learn to retrieve.
Also, I have to disagree with your cheaper to feed comment.

[GRAARG]

Might that 6 month old be Pip with her buddy Ace??? :-)

[Begin thread hijack] I've been meaning to update you. She's awesome. Really, really spectacular dog. To the point of the thread, last night I was lying on the couch reading and she hopped up on it (which we need to stop but she's still so darn cute) and fell asleep with her head nuzzled on my legs. She loves nuzzling and sleeping on a lap (still). On the flip side, I had her out at Tiny Marsh for some training with GBHRC last weekend and she was shaking like a leaf in the holding area - just amped up to go. Still working on singles and extending the range a bit - most of all making it fun at this stage. Need to work on delivering to hand - she still drops it at my feet. And while 'heel' and 'sit' work just fine in absence of distractions she's still 6 months and obedience deteriorates when she gets wound up. But she is super easy to train so far - smart and eager to please. Learning much faster that her yellow buddy did.

No problems with gunfire, which was introduced accidentally as the kids were using their .22 around the corner at the cabin at New Year. Based on that I took her on a pheasant hunt Jan 19 - she basically followed the two big dogs around and had fun, which I considered a win. Put a pheasant wing on the Dokken last Saturday and she definitely amped up (and wasn't as keen to give it back to me as a dummy without a wing).

Pics are her and Ace on her first pheasant hunt, sleeping with her buddy at the cabin, and - she believes she can drive a Jeep - she hopped up there herself at the end of the hunt. I'll update you more later - but suffice it to say we are in love. [end thread hijack]
FullSizeRender (2).jpgIMG_0023 (1).jpgIMG_0015 (3).jpg

[yellow dog]

The dog in my Avatar is out out UK. FT, CH bloodlines and an absolute pleasure to hunt with as well as a calm family companion. She is beautifully built, incredible nose for finding game and leaves me in awe every time I work her. I cannot imagine another dog that would compare to her temperament and working ability. I never had to use an e-collar on her. I attribute that to her breeding and of course her early obedience training.

[Dakota Creek]

[Begin thread hijack] I'll update you more later - but suffice it to say we are in love. [end thread hijack]

Thumbs up!! :-)

[jaycee]

UGO, we've never met, but I want to tell you that your post is one of the best I've read on this forum. When someone says, I don't need one of those FT bred dogs, I hear, I want a hunting dog that won't take up too much of my time. They need a cat.

A cat , as in "Jaguar " the ultimate retriever. noted for being a water lover, you will have no other hunters shooting over your decoys with one of these around, they will take off for the hills with theirs and the dogs tails between their legs.
Those long 300 PLUS yard retrieves would be a snap as they are extremely fast, no dog could keep up with them in speed.
Also would come in very handy in retrieving deer during the deer hunt as they can easily handle an animal that size.
Yes every one should have a cat , a "JAGUAR "

[terrym]

Terrym, while I have not had the pleasure of meeting your wife, I believe your comments are somewhat harsh and insensitive. I'm confident that given some time, she could learn to retrieve.
Also, I have to disagree with your cheaper to feed comment.

After that many years of marriage I'm done with training.

[quackaddict2]

The dog in my Avatar is out out UK. FT, CH bloodlines and an absolute pleasure to hunt with as well as a calm family companion. She is beautifully built, incredible nose for finding game and leaves me in awe every time I work her. I cannot imagine another dog that would compare to her temperament and working ability. I never had to use an e-collar on her. I attribute that to her breeding and of course her early obedience training.

well yellow dog sounds like your rightfully proud of your dog and you should be,i have learn that this is the case for most dog owners and is the way it should be

im just curious and putting this out there for discussion and by no means trying to run down anyones dog and/or their expectations of their performance in the field
.you trained with the collar in the past? what sort of distances have you got your dog handling to for falls she did not see,the collar for me is not just a tool to enforce obedience (which it does) but also makes my training easier when teaching what I expect from my dogs at greater distances like getting out past short falls to that one that sailed and is now swimming away
just saying for me properly collar conditioning my dogs makes my life a lot easier when I am transitioning from basic to some very complex work

it sounds like you have a very nice dog,please don't think I don't think other wise,im always curious about others training methods and know of just one other non collar trainer that has their dogs doing some of the advanced work that I like to take the time ( and a lot of time it is) to instill in mine.i know its not for everyone

[yellow dog]

well yellow dog sounds like your rightfully proud of your dog and you should be,i have learn that this is the case for most dog owners and is the way it should be

im just curious and putting this out there for discussion and by no means trying to run down anyones dog and/or their expectations of their performance in the field
.you trained with the collar in the past? what sort of distances have you got your dog handling to for falls she did not see,the collar for me is not just a tool to enforce obedience (which it does) but also makes my training easier when teaching what I expect from my dogs at greater distances like getting out past short falls to that one that sailed and is now swimming away
just saying for me properly collar conditioning my dogs makes my life a lot easier when I am transitioning from basic to some very complex work

it sounds like you have a very nice dog,please don't think I don't think other wise,im always curious about others training methods and know of just one other non collar trainer that has their dogs doing some of the advanced work that I like to take the time ( and a lot of time it is) to instill in mine.i know its not for everyone

No I am not really interested in having that discussion. Thanks for asking.

[krakadawn]

[QUOTE=quackaddict2;1021721]well yellow dog sounds like your rightfully proud of your dog and you should be,i have learn that this is the case for most dog owners and is the way it should be

im just curious and putting this out there for discussion and by no means trying to run down anyones dog and/or their expectations of their performance in the field
.you trained with the collar in the past? what sort of distances have you got your dog handling to for falls she did not see,the collar for me is not just a tool to enforce obedience (which it does) but also makes my training easier when teaching what I expect from my dogs at greater distances like getting out past short falls to that one that sailed and is now swimming away
just saying for me properly collar conditioning my dogs makes my life a lot easier when I am transitioning from basic to some very complex work

it sounds like you have a very nice dog,please don't think I don't think other wise,im always curious about others training methods and know of just one other non collar trainer that has their dogs doing some of the advanced work that I like to take the time ( and a lot of time it is) to instill in mine.i know its not for everyone[/QUOTE

Hey Quackaddict....I see you asked a very fair question about training without a collar, unfortunately that person chose not to want to discuss that question.....perhaps I can address some aspects of your question

A long time ago we all trained sans collar. We were younger and put more miles on our legs when we trained our dogs, water work demanded we get wet when helping our dogs understand the day's lesson. As you know there are almost no serious modern trainers NOT using a collar today. Unfortunately we still have many people apprehensive about collar training. As you know that is due to sheer ignorance and lack of experience. My collar trained dogs are far better behaved and certainly trained to a much higher degree than one not trained that way. If you were with me you probably wouldn't even know when my dog received a 'nick' for lack of effort for example. I think people have the opinion that ecollars will hurt/harm dogs....just is not so in fact I would argue that my dog receiving a 'nick' for something is far better than someone yanking or dragging on a lead.

I'm sure you are aware that there is a certain breeder that markets his dogs in a way to suggest they are 'naturals' and the ecollar is never used. He claims their breeding is responsible for such and they are the utmost gentleman's gun dog. Most north American trainers call this sheer bunk. An invitation has been given to said individual to bring his dogs out to any level of competition to demonstrate. He will not but continues to market that slant. This is very similar to the claims that breeders of 'silver' or 'champagne' labs make.....almost 100% of retriever trainers are not onside with either.

IS it possible to train a retriever sans collar? Sure it is depending on the skills of the trainer and more importantly his expectations but we're talking basics here. We're talking here, sit, heel etc. We are not talking the teachings of advanced retriever skills required by those who compete or those who wish to have a top gun dog. Don't think for a moment that because your dog will sit most of the time beside you that the same will be true at a distance or when involved in moving.

You asked the question about advanced handling. I don't think this is a fair question to ask as it is both not understood and seen to be not required by many. Better to just have a rock dog, eh Quack? You know throw the rock so the dog will go get bird. Most here would not understand the concept of diversions, poison birds, taking directions at long ranges etcc. Please feel free to correct me if those topics are well understood.

Many of the refined/advanced levels of training lend themselves to the use of the collar. So do the teaching/learning of basics certainly as it relates to keeping a standard, a high standard and one that is very observable.

I'd love to see a dog with transition/advanced or refined skills that was brought up without the use of a collar.I'm also equally convinced that most dog owners have no idea what 'advanced' skills even look like.

Hopefully some others will chime in with their experiences here after all it's really about having a well trained, well schooled and well behaved retriever to enjoy.