Training Question?

[live_2_fish]

I went to the humane society and they had a 1 year old black lab. I had been there for about 2 months and its time was running out. It had less than a week before it got put down. I had to get it. I wanted to know if he could still be trained for hunting. If so could you tell me some techniques or training procedures.

[Try Too Fish]

First off KUDOS to you for rescuing the dog. I think too many good dogs end up in a shelter because the owner did not know what he was getting in to with a pet.

Try to find out if the dog has had any training. He may know some of the basics!Sit,heel and come when you call his name are a start! Get a dog training book for labs and start as if he was a pup! You will soon find out what he knows and how willing he is to learn and please!

Play fetch and keep if fun for him!

Keep us posted on your progress and with any questions!

Fellow forum member LABSFORME is a great source of info

on labs and dog training!

Good luck!

[LABS4ME]

A dog can be trained at any age... the only difference is you have to undo any bad habits before you teach them what you want them to do.

One thing that is very important with training an 'older' dog is the introducting to gun. Take this very slow. There is one tendency I have found, that it is much easier to make a gunshy dog out of an older dog that has not been introduced to the gun than a pup who is going through gun introduction. Do not begin working on guns or birds until he has complete confidence in you and you are both comfortable with each other. This may take a couple weeks, you'll know when.

I know a couple of people who have done exactly what you did and ended up with admirable hunting partners.

Have fun with your new buddy!

Good luck!

Ken

[Powerstroke]

My family ahs always done rescue dogs from the pound or humane society. Some turn into hunters, some stay as family pets. The important thing is he's yours now.

Depending on hte previous situation this dog may thrive on your attention and be a perfect candidate for training if he proves very loyal to you. Take it slow and like Labs said, you may have to undo some bad habits before you can move forward.

[TRITC]

live,

We did the same thing when we got our 2nd britt. He was actually a stray so his history was unknown. We are coming up on the 2nd year of getting him and he has turned out to be a great dog, both in the house and in the field.

The main thing to do, as Labs stated, just start out as though he is a pup. You may quickly realize he is progressing faster than a pup; we did with ours.

I really believe that "hunting" is so deeply engrained in the dogs that we aren't training them to "hunt" but rather just kind of steering them and controlling them a bit. The "hunting" thing comes naturally. When talking to the person over the phone that was fostering our britt she said "I don't think he'll be much of a hunter". Every time I think of that statement I just laugh.

Good luck,

TRITC