Thread: Lab Pup / Duck training pointers?

hey all,

Ive been getting into Duck shooting over the past couple of years and we have recently got a family dog which is a pure bred lab (bitch), which i want to take advantage of the breed for duck shooting season.
shes currently 6.5mths old and ive been taking her to the local beach / inlets etc and she absolutley loves the water which is a good start and
slowly working on her retrieving which is going okay with the likes of getting sticks and bringing then back (to the shore line) and sometimes if shes being good she'll
come back to me.
I wont be shooting this year, but I was thinking once the duck shooting period is on I would like to get my hands on some duck wings to attach to a peice of wood or something similar
for her to retreive to get used to it and the sent.?

any other early training pointers you can suggest or things i can assist to fast track her retrieval skills?

alway i was told the other day that its best to get her out with a trained duck dog to learn the ropes as its likely she'll copy, any use in this?

thanks in advance for any tips

cheers B

dogs are not monkeys........it's not a case of monkey see monkey do.
all the training you need prior to moving onto game is done with dummies, canvas or plastic...........no sticks.

best advise is find at least a retriever training book for beginners , or read some hunting magazines with a good gundog section or join a gundog club and get some valuable advise.

cheers Kawhia

i actually thought the same regarding putting her with another 'trained' dog , hence brining it up here.

i will look out for the book and give that a crack. i dont want to rush her but obvioulsy need to get it going now before she gets too much older.

softly softly catchy fox...she is six and a half months old...go easy there, Blablanz...there is heaps of time, in the meantime you will be rewarded if you train her, if you haven't already, in such basics as sit, come, to walk on the lead at heel...they may be the boring stuff but once she is working on the ducks you are going to need her to have a good level of control...the fundamental point of the retrieve is to return to you with the spoils...a retriever bogging off with the duck is going to mist your eyes a little...hope you do not mind my rant... wish you and your puppy a wonderful life together...by the way, we could do with a foto or two!!

Hi EeeBees, yes weve started the basic training in puppy class about a month ago, and shes responding like a trooper nailed Sit, lay down, shake hands, wait and doesnt eat her food until we tell her"okay"... which i pretty good for a lab

heres a couple of pics of our girl "Henna" waiting at puppy school last week & one in the water this weekend

Cool...go well, little one... neat fotos...

Nice dog,love labs,we have a 12year old lab,shes getting old ,hopefully she will be going duck shooting this year.

train for success no sticks no drooping anywhere but in your hands after you say so.
start with age appropriate things and always try to finish on a successful note.
lovely head and a nice looking bitch alround.

cheers gsp

Hi,keep your retrieves really short at arms length to stop her droping the retrieve reward with a big pat and make a fuss, control is every thing but can be the hardest thing to achieve, retrieving is what the dog was bred for how she retrieves is up to you, my lab was raised to pick pheasant up on a game preserve she didn't see a duck until she was four as soon as she realised what she had to find on opening morning we had no problems as for training with other dogs you have to be very careful of bad habits that the other dog might have