How early is TOO Early?

[MuleShack]

My Chocolate lab is going to be 5 months at the end of the month. We have been working on obedience commands and having her find things in the weeds using scent etc. Have not done any formal "hunting" training yet. She is going thru the whole loosing the teeth thing now so I have to wait with the force fetch. She is not timid and I would go as far to say that she is pretty bold, so I was thinking of taking her to a hunt club this weekend just to have her around some gun fire to get her used to it from a distance and then get closer.

So the question is with pheasant coming up next month do you take the pup out with you and just let her run or do you wait until next year with formal training under her belt?

Will she pick up bad habits just trotting along not knowing what the expectation is? I suppose I could use the actual hunting time as training time and not focus on the birds....

I think she is a natural with the nose because I put my hunting vest on a hook in the garage and she wanted to pull it down cause she was smellin' rooster on it.

[311Hemi]

She is not timid and I would go as far to say that she is pretty bold, so I was thinking of taking her to a hunt club this weekend just to have her around some gun fire to get her used to it from a distance and then get closer.

Please do your dog a favor and do a proper gun intro before doing anything around a hunt club or hunting. Introduce gunfire in a controlled environment where you can make is a positive experience (retrieving) for the dog.

Personally, I think 5 months is pretty young especially if your ob is not solid. You may create some bad habits in doing so. With that said I did bring my 5 month old pup with me to SD last year twice. However, I did not hunt the dog. I did take the dog out for some walks in the fields to try to get up some birds though and did some gun work with retrieving between hunts. Overall I think it was a good experience for him and I did manage to get him on a few pheasants.

[lenny7]

I highly recommend that you take her to one of the local trainers for a 2 week intro to birds & guns (about $400 to $500, including birds). A program like that will train her not just to tolerate gunfire, but to get very excited when she hears it. It will also help develop her desire for live birds. With the old gun club routine there's no positive aspect of the gunfire...you're just building up tolerance. I took my lab in for the intro class at 5.5 months and the results were amazing.

I took my lab out to SoDak when he was just under 7 months and again at 8 months and he did great. Yes, he did chase a hen or two across the field and over the hill a couple times, and he did get a little too far out sometimes, but I still got plenty of complements on how well he did.

I will note that I worked with him on retrieving in our backyard nearly every day before going out. His recall wasn't 100%, but he retrieving was.

Also, after I got him back from bird & gun intro and before going to SoDak, I took him to a game farm, set birds out one at a time, and then in a controlled "hunt", with him on a check cord and my buddy behind the shotgun, I'd guide him in quartering to the bird. It didn't take long for him to figure it all out and he was ready to for SoDak.

So I'd say, yes, you could bring her IF you put in the work before hand to make sure she's successful. If you just bring her out because she knows "sit", "come" and "stay", you might get lucky or you might have to go back and unteach the bad habits she picks up. Don't take her out hoping she'll do well, take her out because you've worked with her enough and given her the the training so that you know she'll do well.

[MuleShack]

I highly recommend that you take her to one of the local trainers for a 2 week intro to birds & guns (about $400 to $500, including birds).

[lenny7]

Lenny, i'm in Prior Lake do you have anyone you recommend for the intro to birds and guns? What age is recommended before their sent there? you said 5.5 months for yours, would it be better to send a little later so she might retain more?

[GotOne]

I also brought my dog to CRK for bird and gun intro, they did a good job. I recently took her to Tailgunner Kennels for the next level of training. It is between St. Peter and Mankato. Roger, is the only person that trains the dogs. He has been doing it for just under 20 years. I knew him when he was training dogs and managing Traxlers Hunting Preserve in LeCenter. He did a great job with my dog. Everyone that I checked with had a set fee for the course (all fairly similar), plus around 200.00 for birds for the 4 weeks course. This is my second dog that I have had trained and they all have charged me the max of 200.00 for the birds. Roger, at Tailgunner only charged me for actual birds he used, which was a lot less than the 200.00. This saved me a pretty decent amount of money for the overall training. He will work with you at his kennel and bring you to Traxlers at the end of the course and have you shoot a few birds over your dog. At this time, he will also go over everything that that he did during the training. I can't say enough good things about his style of training and his honesty.

[MuleShack]

Thanks for the information guys. Sounds like I need to get her into the intro class pretty soon. I'll check in on the places recommended.

[strait-meat]

I trained my springer and had her hunting when she was 4 months old -- just make sure you get your dog conditioned to the gun so you don't make your dog gun-shy. Good luck

[scsavre]

I think the biggest prep for my lab was taking our walk every morning through the woods and grass. It prepted her for so much. It was fun for her, taught her to use her nose, and taught her good dicipline.

I got my pup last sept and brought her with on every hunt. I did not hunt her, but got her aquinted with all the smells, the ride, the grass and everything else. She never had any issues with the gun. I kept her 50-60yds away on the my first gun shot, and she just ran at me excited as can be. That was it, shot the next one right next to her while giving her treats. She loved it. So after that i would walk a quick ditch or other small spots. I am not sure if i have just gotten lucky with all my dogs or what, but i would never even think of paying and sending any of them away. But hey that is the best option for some people.

One last thing i did that really helped, was taking my dog through that long grass as a pup. She went from on my heels the first couple times to slowly venturing out. It was great that she was alittle scared because she wouldnt run out far. NOw she has the best distance dicipline i have ever seen on a lab. I never used a check cord or ecolar or anything. I just slowly brought her out to a distance, and then made sure she new that was the max. She was just a fast learner.

Remember it all starts with dicipline. Your dog must listen to you before you try hunting. Sit, stay, heal etc. Afterall we dont teach a dog to hunt, they are born with that. We just teach them to work with us as a team.

Good luck,

[SledNeck]

I had the dog (choc lab) retrieving dummies and duck dummies all summer, Id throw em until she was too tired to go and get them anymore. Shes over 7 months old now and Ive taken her grouse hunting everyday but one since season has started and shes a pro now. I seriously cant believe how well the dog does. She goes in and out on both sides, waits for me when she pops back up on the trail. Catches a scent and then stops when she hears one flush or run.

[gspman]

Hunt that pup. Just do it for short periods of time and preferrably where you know it will get into birds. Also make sure it has been properly introduced to gunfire. I'd hunt alone with it the first year. That way you have more control and something bad won't happen if one of your hunting buddies does something stupid. Keep your expectations in line with the pups abilities too. And most importantly make sure you and the pup have fun!!!

[chocolab]

i used the video "game dog" and "water dog" to train my lab. it is very informative as long as stick with it. this is my first dog ever, and i am impressed with how well he's taken too it. i started with cap guns when he was playing with his toys then eventually moved up to bigger guns. you wanna be careful with trying to let him run in fields as some dogs would get scared by the flush of a rooster and become bird shy. i introduced mine to dead pigeons at bout 4 months. but be careful so it doesn't try to tear em up and eat em. had my boy hunting ducks and pheasants at nine months. just remember, repetition and always end training sessions on a good note, lots of praise. sending to a trainer is a very effective way and i totally recommend it if your not comfortable with doing it yourself. there will be ups and downs but remember to have fun with it. and eventually a light go on and they'll catch on.

[BLACKJACK]

Its actually kind of fun hunting behind a pup, the first year they haven't figured out how to trail a bird, it gets to be nice leisurely hunt.

Unless you've got the money to burn, do the gun tuneup yourself. Pick up one of Walters books, he explains how to do it, its not that tough.

Pigeons!!! Get your pup on live pigeons!!! Clip a wing, turn it loose to walk around, then turn the pup loose - he'll become a bird demon!!

Lastly, don't let him get in the bad habit of wanting to follow you thru the tough stuff, make him be out front at all times!!! When he gets tired kennel him.

Have fun, pups are great!!