Hunting Dogs

MINCColton

Guest
Hey all!

My wife and I have a 1.5yo Yellow Lab. She had the dog for 10mo before I moved in with them. Sailor (the dog) is AWESOME - she is SUPER friendly, a great trail dog (we hike in the mountains a lot and shes a TANK), and an all round pleasure to be around always.

Problem is she is not to keen for the water and will only fetch once or twice....Whats up with that?!?!? Has anyone else had this problem with labs? Any tips to get her to like the water and get after a good ol' game of fatch???

I was hoping to get her in the field but she shows little interest in it. I'm planning on practicing with some dove in the near future but we will see how that goes.
 

JD1107

Guest
Have you done any shooting around her? I'd be nervous taking my dog into the field with out knowing how she's gonna handle the sound of a 12 gauge going off.
 
bowhuntingrook

bowhuntingrook

Old Mossy Horns
No I have not had this problem with a lab. You need to figure out if its a water problem or a lack of drive to retrieve. How much drive does she have to retrieve on land?

My lab only refused a retrieve once in his life, and it was after a couple successful ones, it was in heavy current and waves in the Puget Sound of PNW at or around winter time. And it was for a bumper that he marked, not a bird.
 
bowhuntingrook

bowhuntingrook

Old Mossy Horns
What you do with a dog in the first 10 months of its life sets a standard for the potential of that dog. You start with great bloodlines to increase your odds of an excellent hunting dog, with natural instincts to hunt and retrieve and one that responds to your training well. But then its your job as a hunting dog owner to build a foundation in the dog early to allow for quicker and more complexed learning in the future. If its a newspaper dog from show dog lines then it may not be a great hunting companion for you at this stage in her life. She may not have the desire to retrieve thats necessary.
 
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labman63

Ten Pointer
You have to train the dog. Throwing stuff in the water and hoping it will do what you want will not work.
 

MINCColton

Guest
labman63 said:
You have to train the dog. Throwing stuff in the water and hoping it will do what you want will not work.
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Read my post again......."Any tips to get her to like the water". I didn't say i was just going to drag her to my next hunt and expect her to get after some ducks........
 
pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
JD1107 said:
Have you done any shooting around her? I'd be nervous taking my dog into the field with out knowing how she's gonna handle the sound of a 12 gauge going off.
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Haha. Mine is very predictable. The gun goes off and he lays down. It takes all kinds of coercion to get him to move after that.
 
Gadwall

Gadwall

Ten Pointer
Does she love birds? I've seen problems corrected with live birds before. A dog may not like bumpers but may go crazy over a bird. Do some live flyers on land then try some live flyers over water. Some dogs will go through a brick wall to get to a live bird. Maybe start with pigeons then pen raised quail or ducks (when and where legal).
 

JerryHarris13

Guest
Does anyone know where I can find some of the off color labs, specifically the "red fox" lab? I've been searching but only found one or two that are good 4 hour drive for me (I'm near the coast, near New Bern). Any help would be greatly appreciated guys. Also does anyone have any experience hunting hogs with dogs? I want to run my Cane Corso with my lab eventually as a team anyone with experience or insight I'd greatly appreciate.
 
MoBucks

MoBucks

Old Mossy Horns
Cane Corso.....the king of all dogs! Not sure about hunting with one....but if one could be trained for it....the hogs would be in trouble.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
JerryHarris13 said:
Does anyone know where I can find some of the off color labs, specifically the "red fox" lab? I've been searching but only found one or two that are good 4 hour drive for me (I'm near the coast, near New Bern). Any help would be greatly appreciated guys. Also does anyone have any experience hunting hogs with dogs? I want to run my Cane Corso with my lab eventually as a team anyone with experience or insight I'd greatly appreciate.
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I havent seen any lately. Make sure you get what you want. Many breeders with the "off colored" labs are breeding for pets and the hunting genes are long gone.
 
shadycove

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
I have a friend who has one and he is a big'un [150+lbs], very strong/mobile with alot of prey drive. He is a pet but I can see in him enough grit to hunt. If you had a pup and worked him from there, it could be a hog machine. Their downfall with a hog would be their size, they are big, giving a hog more to cut.
 
darkthirty

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
pattersonj11 said:
I havent seen any lately. Make sure you get what you want. Many breeders with the "off colored" labs are breeding for pets and the hunting genes are long gone.
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You are correct somewhat but the red fox color is a yellow. That color has been found in the pedigrees going back to some of the first yellows ever bred across the big pond. The "silver labs" are essentially mutts and it's a disgrace to the breed that so called "breeders" actually breed them.
There are tons of high bred, high quality red fox labs that are as pure as any lab out there.
 

labman63

Ten Pointer
Ok I read it again and have the same response. If the dog will only retrieve once or twice the dog is not trained. There is a process to get the dog to the point you will be able to hunt with it. The normal steps are
OB, FF, walking fetch, FTP, T, swimby, pattern blinds and so on. There are dogs out there that hunt and do a good job without all of the training but these dogs are few and far between. What matters is when the dog decides for himself to not go or go his own way do you have the tools to make him do it the right way.




MINCColton said:
Read my post again......."Any tips to get her to like the water". I didn't say i was just going to drag her to my next hunt and expect her to get after some ducks........
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labman63

Ten Pointer
There are several of us training early this Sunday morning just north of Mebane at the Yadkin River Retriever club grounds if you would like to join us. Give me a call if you like 919-928-4147

Dave
 

MINCColton

Guest
labman63 said:
Ok I read it again and have the same response. If the dog will only retrieve once or twice the dog is not trained. There is a process to get the dog to the point you will be able to hunt with it. The normal steps are
OB, FF, walking fetch, FTP, T, swimby, pattern blinds and so on. There are dogs out there that hunt and do a good job without all of the training but these dogs are few and far between. What matters is when the dog decides for himself to not go or go his own way do you have the tools to make him do it the right way.
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Thanks for expanding.

Can tou explain 'OB, FF, walking fetch, FTP, T, swimby, pattern blinds' a little more?
 

labman63

Ten Pointer
OB=obedience, FF= Force fetch, Walking fetch is just that, FTP = forcing to a pile of bumpers, T is going to the pile and learning to stop on whistle and cast left,right or back, Pattern blinds= long known piles of bumpers taught one leg at a time, the dog knows where they are after several day of running.
 

buckbuster04

Ten Pointer
Recommend on dropping the money on Mike Lardy TRT dvds, it's not an over night process it's long and tedious but it works
 

Jsmith62198

Guest
darkthirty said:
You are correct somewhat but the red fox color is a yellow. That color has been found in the pedigrees going back to some of the first yellows ever bred across the big pond. The "silver labs" are essentially mutts and it's a disgrace to the breed that so called "breeders" actually breed them.
There are tons of high bred, high quality red fox labs that are as pure as any lab out there.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%
 
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