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Update on Tank


Liberty or death Jr.

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Well, he is really turning out well. He has kennel and heel down pat. I'm working on sitting right know and he is doing great. 2 days and he does it most of the time. He knows "leave it" too. Today I got him to retrieve a bumper 10 times, bring it all the way back to me, and leave it on command. I've only had him few weeks and I've been working him a little in the morning and a little at night. Heres a few of him, and one of me and him. IMG_1165.jpg

IMG_1164.jpg

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He looks good, keep up the good work. The paw size can be misleading, my lab has some pretty big hooks and in the end afte two years he only got up 60lbs. The lab in him might make him a big eater, so watch in intake then again with the Weimaraner in him who knows. Have fun.

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What do you think of training puppies? I got the Retriever Fever series of training videos which are really good, but he suggests not training your dog AT ALL until they are at least 6 months old. No basic obedience, just play fetch with them crate train them and potty train them and take them for walks, let them explore. I personally don't agree with that, and since Tank is doing so well at 12 weeks, I'm going to stick with what I'm doing.

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I am not a professional trainer but wouldnt wait until 6months of age, start now! I used Wolters game dog as a guide and it starts out right away, but its baby steps and you need to assess your dogs personal growth before you start doing more advaced things.

 

Your mantra: sit stay come, over and over and over again because without those fundamentals nothing else works, and I dont mean once in a while it must be all the time in any situation.

 

At six months of age my Lab was getting into hand signals working on blind retrieves, and 3 months later he was pretty decent. Depending on your diligence with the training and your dogs ability to learn you could probably hunt him this fall.

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While starting a dog early can be rewarding, it can also be easy to burn them out. I think a young dog also needs time to be a pup and to develop a bond with you beyond just training and making him work.

 

Simple OB and some retrieving work is great at this age just remember to make it fun. What you do now, good and bad, sets up the foundation for everything to come.

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My lab will be a year old April 22. I picked him up in June of last year and used Richard Wolter's book as well and followed it religiously. I was amazed at how quickly he picked things up. The basics sit, stay, come, and heel came pretty easy to him and I used the whistle as well as the verbal commands from almost the beginning. I let Bama (that's his name) tell me how much he could handle just as long as he seemed to have fun. I always quit before he wanted to. By late fall Bama was bird hunting with me. He quartered field's and flushed and retrieved birds the first time out. In addition to upland work we worked on water retrieves and at nine months he retrieved his first duck. Now having the patience to sit still for duck hunting was kind of hard for him so I only took him when I hunted with a buddy that had trained his dog and knew what he was in for. I'm looking forward to duck season next fall already.

 

I know how much fun you're having with Tank. It's amazing to see how much they can learn if you just spend a little time with them daily. Good luck!

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I spend all day with him, and he sleeps with me at night, we are bonding quite well, he listens to me very well, doesn't really listen to anyone else, which I like a lot.

 

He has been retrieving for the last few days just fine, brings it all the way back to me and leaves it on command. I got him neutered and dew claws removed the other day and that seemed to mess him up a little, today he didn't want to bring it to me, or leave it, but after his paws heal we will get back on it. I'm using Retriever fever series of dvd but I'm doing things a little different, its just a guide line.

 

He is a quick learner, yet a stubborn dog, its like he learns like a weimaraner but refuses to obey like a lab. Its kinda funny.

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Sounds like he is doing great. I started training mine at 6 weeks and had all 6 of the puppies retrieving before they went to their new homes. Keep your sessions to 10 minutes or less and your retrieves to no more than 3 at any session. This builds great desire to retrieve. It's hard to limit them like that as it's a blast to watch a puppy retrieve but I promise you it will be worth it later.

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Wow. Six weeks??

 

I don't know of any professional trainer that would start training that early.

 

Six weeks and less doesn't equate to unteachable. Should anyone expect much of a dog that young? No. Could they still learn something and have fun doing it? Yes.

 

Six months seems reasonable to me to start to teach them, but realize they are just babies. You wouldn't expect your 3 year old child to perform too well at that age, and at six months old that's what you've got with your dog.

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My uncle had a dog that he recently gave to a farmer, he waited to do training until that dog was 9 months old before training. You know what happened? That dog owned him, he was big, powerful, and the only way my uncle could get him to listen just a little bit, is he used one of the choke chains with the points that dig into the neck when you tug on it. He was never able to train that dog, so he gave it to a farmer who just wanted a dog to have in the back of the truck. (see it all the time here)

 

Tanks as I have mentioned is doing great, really picking up what I am teaching him, and I personally think the earlier the better. They aren't human kids, they are dogs. Wolves don't learn to hunt at a year old do they? They learn that pretty quick. I've noticed it is only hunting dogs they suggest to wait on training, all the ones for house dogs start right away, and that is how we have always done it. I'm doing that with tank, he's figured out how to sit, heel, partly stay, kennel, and come. Maybe I'm just lucky. :D

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I am by no means a professional trainer.I did no formal training at 6 weeks but did short retrieves in the yard as play time. I also introduced them to water at 6 weeks in the shallow end of a pond with their mother. They took to it like ducks. By the time they were 8 weeks old they all would do 20 yard retrieves with dead doves and the one I kept was doing 20 yard water retrieves by the time he was 10 weeks.All these puppies excelled as they grew. There was one who worked in a duck blind in Arkansas from the day he turned 4 months old until the end of season. The owner told me he was making 90 yards water retrieves on geese that were about as big as he was. Mine completed his SHR title the day he turned 7 months old. At 9 months he is not far from running the seasoned class. I think they did so well because of all the attention that was given them by my wife and I at such an early age and their breeding. As long as you make it fun and games and I don't think you can start to early. I plan on raising another litter this fall and plan on doing exactly as I did with the first one.The pictures are from the first hunt test my puppy passed at 6 months.

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Sweet, nice dogs. Tank isn't quite that far, but I'm gonna get some pigeons and see if the bird feel gets him more excited then the bumper. He'll retrieve it a few times but then he'll start playing keep away with it. Thats when I stop the session. He doesn't want to go into the water to retrieve the bumper, but it is really cold here so I can understand. I'm gonna try introducing him to the water when it warms up. My russel has no problem retrieving from the water though. I'll show you a pic once I get it off the camera at work.

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It's ok to use birds but only once every 2 or 3 weeks. If you use them anymore than that you run the risk of having their desire to retrieve bumpers diminish. It was the middle of summer when I introduced the puppies to water so it was very warm. I worried about the effect of cold water on Rascal at the first hunt test. When we ran the first water test it was 33 degrees but it never slowed him up. He made the first retrieve and then I had to hold him while they launched the second bird to keep him from breaking. Webfoot gives good advice about letting a puppy be a puppy and bond with you. As he said always make it fun.

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If I can get my gyps hips certified before she comes back in heat $750 ea. Vet said she will not have any hip problems ever because she is a smaller lab but puppies bring more if you have it done. If not $500 ea. I have 5 already spoken for. She and the sire both have an outstanding pedigree. They have something like 31 AFC,FC,HRCH champions in a 4 generations.Took these pictures yesterday at a fun day at my training ponds. The two dogs are mom and son. 100_0079.jpg[/img]

 

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