Getting a new retriever for christmas

[Marc]

I prefer to get the basic obedience down first: sit,come, stay, down, heal. That being said I'm kind of playing fetch with him now in the living room using duck wings. Trying to get him excited when it comes to feathers and getting him used to the feel and smell of it in his mouth. The actual fetch and retrieve to hand will come later.

[Jimbo]

At first I thought that wiinter would be a tough time to train a pup what with short daylight hours and crummy weather, but the upside is that fresh killed birds are available until late Jan.
Then you can stock up the freezer for the spring and summer training. Lots of fun ahead.

[bruin]

I have a question for you Marc (or anyone). I have only trained one retriever so far and he turned out pretty good in my opinion. From the books I read about the topic some recommended using treats as a reward for good work and some recommended praise from the handler as the reward. I personally believe, and have applied, the first of the two as I thought it would create a stronger bond and an unspoiled dog. What is your opinion?

[Marc]

I use both treats and praise. When I'm teaching my pup a new command (sit for example) I'll use treats as I know he wants it and he'll do just about anything to get it. Then when I know he knows what I want I'll get him to do the same thing a half dozen times a day and then praise him and no treat. If you give him a treat every time then he'll expect it every time.

He's so cute, their food is in the bathroom in my basement. So if I go for a pee or it's feeding time he goes to the door opening and sits hoping for food or a treat. He doesn't get it every time and I try not to make it a habit of giving them a treat at the door or every time I go the washroom I'll have 3 dogs sitting there waiting.

[bruin]

That might make it tough to get the job done, being watched I mean. Thats a good point giving him a treat to show him what you want the first time, its tough to hold their attention at that age and I guess thats where the treat comes in.

[Marc]

Hey Bruin, I picked up a book called the 10 minute retriever. It's based on that a dog's attention span as a pup is only 10 minutes max. Lots of good information in there and they've trained Chessies as well.

Here is a picture of Marshall at 11 weeks. He's doing a sit and stay for me. I've noticed a big difference in him in just a week. I had him doing some duck wing retrieves in the house tonight as it's not fit to go outside. I had a tough time holding him back when I tossed the wing. This guy is one birdy dog.

[Marc]

Marshall is now 12 weeks. He now knows Sit, Stay, Down, and Come. I just taught him the down today. That one needs a bit of work but I wouldn't expect anything different from a 3 month old dog.

[bsa30-06]

any new pictures? Training seems to be going well.

[bruin]

Sounds like progress is good. Is retrieving going to start pretty soon?

[Marc]

I've got him doing a bit of retrieving in the house with wings while I wait for my fetch dummies to show up. He'll be doing a bit of retrieving to keep his intrest while he's working on his obedience.