New to me dog- any resources?

[Texaszach]

Well we have a new member at our home.

She definitely has some black lab but possibly something mixed. Though I can't tell for sure... Just see lab when I see her. Vet guessed she's about 1.5 to 2 years old. She's sweet but still has some areas to work on.

She seems to have some potential, likes water too.

I'm mostly curious if you guys know any resources for me to start learning about training. I'd like to get her into hunting, but should I be focused on "the basics" for now?

She also is showing ZERO interest in fetching if you guys have any ideas. I want to keep her fit but long walks everyday isn't quite practical for me due to my schedule.

Any advice is appreciated as always!

 

[conw]

I found leerburg.com useful. #1 advice for your good as well as the dog: CRATE TRAIN. Trust me on this.

 

[shiftyer1]

HEY my lab is supposed to be the only one in Texas who wont fetch! Labs are generally very trainable and eager to please. Google will dig up lots of info...........and be patient and consistant. How bout a picture?

I haven't used a crate with mine, although I think he spent his first 2 years in a crate in a garage before I got him. He is however truck trained, if I don't drop the tailgate i'm fairly sure he'd die back there before jumping out.

 

[Patocazador]

The trouble with labs is they're the most popular dog in America and have been for quite a while. This leads to indiscriminate breeding by puppy mills. They breed for quantity not quality. There are many labs now that have no retrieving desire or have a dislike for water. If you do a positive intro to water (you go in first and coax her in) and force-fetch train her, she could turn out OK. Trouble is she's already grown so it will be much harder than starting out a puppy.
Teach sit, come and heel first.

 

[MtnCreek]

No training for the first 2 or 3 weeks. Obedience training should be first; just make sure to make it a fun game. Just like a kid, she's likely to burn out quick, so don't make training sessions too long.

You can work on her drive, that will help with retrieving. Introduce the ball or bumper into play.

 

[Texaszach]

What do you mean by work on her drive? And work in the ball or bumper?

I throw the ball and try to get her to focus on it but she just shows zero interest.
Even if she doesn't turn out to be a hunting dog, I at least want her to mind well enough to trust her being with me in the woods

 

[MtnCreek]

Dogs have drives. Example: Prey Drive (wants to stalk / chase / eat rabbit), Ball Drive (wants to chase ball or just basically get whatever object is the toy).

When she's fresh, get her excited. Make funny noises, use you hands to touch her nose/ when she reacts, quickly move that hand and do it with the other. Basically get her all revved up. Incorporate the ball into this. Keep it in your hand and use it to touch her nose or hip or whatever to get her excited. With a little work, she will want that ball. Than maybe try throwing it short distance or even add a rope to the ball (when she goes for the ball, give it a little yank).

You can work on her drives and use that as play time between obedience training. Once basic obedience is up to speed, you can start to refine the ball games to make them useful training.

 

[pitime]

For basic "non hunting" training this guy on youtube is phenomenal. If you watch several of his videos you will get an understanding of his basic principles.

 

[Ruezim]

One thing no one ever mentions is the wonderful landmines they leave in the yard. What my clinic recommends is even with an older dog when training them to defecate and urinate. Walk them out of each door in the house to where you want them to go on a leash. When they do they are done bring them back in the house. Now you will hopefully step in less of them and have an easier time picking them up or not at all if lucky.

And remember a trained dog is a happy dog and happy family.

Also in any kind of dog training the basic commands of sit, stay, come, and heel make everything easier.

 

[MtnCreek]

Also in any kind of dog training the basic commands of sit, stay, come, and heel make everything easier.

Good point. Without basic commands, advanced training is impossible. Also add hand signals for each command. IMHO, that's very important for a working dog.

Talking commands; if you wanted to have commands that you could give the dog w/o anyone else knowing what you're telling the dog, you can make up a word or use a different / uncommon language. Example: If you wanted her to bark on command, but w/o you having to say 'bark'. This could be useful if a stranger came to your door and you wanted her to start barking to let them know there's a (possibly vicious) dog inside.

 

[Patocazador]

My dog's command to lay flat is "abajo", the Spanish word for it I think. "Lay" sounds too much like "stay."

 

[Texaszach]

Thanks guys I will keep working on it. She's a sweet dog, I can just tell she hasn't been worked with.

I will definitely work on trying to get her excited with the ball