First time out

[Blacktail]

Took my 9 month old lab pup out to Cowichan Bay yesterday
retrieved his first two ducks!!
I had to actually go out and point the first one out a little but he came through pretty good on the second one.
Hopefully he is not as stupid as I thought he was
and he will make something of him self
We both had a great time!

[Jetboater]

the dog will only be as smart as the trainer

[dave]

That's great blacktail! Make sure you keep the wings, they can be duct taped to the side of a retrieving dummy just to keep the scent in their mind. All it takes is a few good retrieves to get it set in their head. Once they get it you won't be able to slow them down.

dave

[Dano]

That's excellent! Pointed the first few out for my dog too. You won't believe the improvement the dog will make trip to trip and in particular, year to year.
The hardest part you'll experience will be getting out there doing the field training now that she's hunted (you'll feel like you're done but there's so much more to do).
Like Dave said, save the wings and use them on your retrieving dummies. Get out there as often as you can and keep training in the offseason.

[Blacktail]

I keep wings from ducks and geese from last year for that purpose and it has worked well up to this point as he doesnt have aproblem in picking up the dummy with feathers on it
I am keeping the teals I shot as trainers as well so I can go up to the local Fish and Game club and practice retrieving in the pond we have there.
I have trained a few dogs over the years now and they have worked really well but this one here is kinda slow in learning.He is a bit of a blockhead.
But patience is the key and all I can say is "I will persurvere

[Fred]

I have trained a few dogs over the years now and they have worked really well but this one here is kinda slow in learning.He is a bit of a blockhead.
But patience is the key and all I can say is "I will persurvere

Must have a bit of the German Pointer in him eh! Fred

[Blacktail]

the last 2 dogs I trained were german shorthairs and they certainly caught on a lot quicker than this one!!

[Dano]

the last 2 dogs I trained were german shorthairs and they certainly caught on a lot quicker than this one!!

Retrieving ducks at 9 months? Be happy so far as at 9 months, I spent many days just doing field training and wondered on the low days how Maddy would be on real birds and on good days, the fall season seemed so far away....
My Yellow lab "Teal" retrieved a few at 10 months (his first year). He was young, maybe too young but to wait another season is a tough thing to do (and not what I would do). He turned out excellent and if I had spent the time I did with my present dog, I'm sure he would have closed the gap between the two.
My dad had a black lab named Cindy when I was about 13. My buddy and I trained her all summer and by november she was about 10 months old so my dad took her on a trip to Pitt Lake (the marsh was private then). Dad and his buddy shot a few widgeon and mallards but when Dad's buddys dog went out to retrieve, Cindy would stop at the water and wait for the other dog to come up on shore and run along side her to us. I can't tell you how disappointed I was as this carried on a couple more trips.
But the next season dad and I went out the sunday of opening weekend to a pond in a field we leased for hunting. We got settled into the blind and Cindy burned out into the long grass and disappeared. My dad let loose with a string of curses that had me worried for the dogs life but when she came back into sight, Cindy had a widgeon in her mouth!
She was an excellent dog on both upland and waterfowl the rest of her life. We hunted her a lot until she came down with the Parvo virus in the late 70's and passed away. She had a bad back by then and outings were just a walk around one field and back home. My dog Teal was in the Vet. hospital at the same time but he survived (possibly because he was younger). I'm sure some of you remember that illness that was pretty much an epdemic back then
Another long post... Hope you get the message that you should have a lot to look forward to!
Dano

[Blacktail]

I have the same situation with Luke when we take both dogs out( my german shorthair and the lab pup)
He will wait to see if she goes for the dummy then when she gets 3/4 the way back he will go out to meet her and try to take it from her.
If I hold her back and tell him to "fetch it up" he will go out and get it no problem.

I remember the dreaded parvo scare too
Friends of mine lost dogs then too.Fortunately for me I wasnt unfortunate to have any of mine go that route.

[Islandeer]

Hey Bktl, nice to hear about your lab pup. Which kennel did he come from? Does he have a field or show background? I f you think you need to light a fire under him try kenneling him i full view of the german doing retrieves. then put the German away and let him rip. If you are interested Mike Lardy has some excellant training info on the net. I am waiting for a freeze before I try cowichan,glad you had some luck there already.