Lab training question???

[Benny]

Here is one I bet not to many people think of or have trained thier dog for.

I have a some what small back yard where the kids like to play ofter.My yard shed is located to one side with 5 ft spacing between the fence all the way around two sides.

My question is this; How can I train a puppy to only do his/her duty around the back of the shed.

2nd question is more simple, how would I train the puppy to shake off the water when exiting the lake after he/she gives up the bird.

I have seen to many birds take off when the dog stops to shake after exiting the water.
The earlier question is for sanitary reasons and I can be lazy once in the while

Benny

[Diezel350]

Benny
I am by no means a professional trainer but I have trained my 1 1/2 year old lab to do these exact things.

"My question is this; How can I train a puppy to only do his/her duty around the back of the shed."

Last winter every time my wife would let the dog out he would do his "duty" anywhere on the lawn. Whenever I let him out I was telling him to go to the back of the yard where we have some tall weeds by a pond. Here is where the training starts:
First I had to train my wife on what to do when she let the pup out.
Then keep a close eye on him/her and if they start the "process" in an unwanted area give a correction and direct to where you want them to be. It also helps to have an established "Potty" command so the pup knows what you want.

"2nd question is more simple, how would I train the puppy to shake off the water when exiting the lake after he/she gives up the bird."

Not necessarily the easier of the two questions.
Has the pup been force fetch (FF) trained? If not I would suggest it because the "hold" is part of the training in FF. By enforcing the hold command dropping the bird should never happen. The only drawback you will get wet when the dog shakes off the water at heel. lol

Hope this helps as I said I don't claim to be a pro just letting you know how I overcame the same situations.

[Rick]

I've trained and am still training my lab for both.

Right now, whenever he shakes, I say "shake". The correction of when to shake will come later.

Take him out to do his business and always steer him toward the preferred area. He'll develop the habit soon enough.

[Guest]

Benny give this a try for going where I want you to thing, I have had great sucess with over 20 dogs by using this.

In the dog run I put cedar shaving on the floor, when the dog goes on the shavings I take the used shavings and relocate them to the spot I want the dog to go. I will do this for a few weeks and then remove all the shavings from the run. During this time I wil take the pup to the area several times a day and if he/she goes here I give the pup a treat every time they go. I use cedar because of the aroma it holds. After a while you can clean up the shaving and the pup will just want to go to this area to do its buisness.

[Benny]

Thanks for the advice,I have not picked out a pup yet but getting very close now.
I finialy found my copy of "Game Dog" writen by a friend of Richard Walters.
It doesn't say to much about potty training so I will have to use your advice and is the reason I did ask here.
I have seen some great ideas for training dogs come from this forum.

My plan is for a Yellow lab or a traditional Black lab pup, pick it up at 12 weeks from the mother and start the socializing right away.Then I will follow the book to a T and see where I am twelve months from now.

If any one knows of a litter of labs I would be intrested, so long as they are not asking $700 for the pups.More like around $300 would do fine as I don't plan on a feild trials dog.Just a great hunting companion who will be happy to do a little work to get the ducks for me.

Benny