Training tools and tips for a new pup

[Clarence]

Got a new pup this past weekend, and it has been a long time since I have trained one. Looking for tips on making a great hiking partner. What resources have you guys found to be valuable in training your pups? Not looking to use her for hunting. ( Birds aren't my jam). She will be a family companion. We live a outdoor lifestyle and expect her to participate. Would love to hear your successes and failures. I know there are alot of folks on here with some great dogs!

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[Timbercruzer]

There is a book called “The Water Dog”. I can’t recall the others name. I used it to train my lab. Was a great resource. The book is intended for hunting dogs. But the first couple sections are for generalized training. I do not hunt with my lab. I was told the same author has written another book that is designed for generalized training. Good luck with the new pup.


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[Salmon River Solutions]

Lots of exposure to kids while the puppy is young. Otherwise they will end up skiddish around kids. I should know, almost lost my nose to the family dog when I was 2, still have the scars 27 years later.

 

[LaHunter]

Family Dog by Richard Wolters. Same author as Water Dog and Gun Dog. These are pretty practical approaches to training your puppy. All are based on basic fundamental discipline.

 

[Clarence]

I'll check out Richard Wolters for sure. Thanks for the direction!

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[Bearsears]

Congratulations! Great looking Pup! I have a Lab also and shes about to turn two so I just got done with her initial training. I did train mine for hunting and I followed the book for Pointing Labs by Julie Knutson. She also has a Podcast called "Training the Pointing Lab". Even though its geared towards hunting dogs, I think you could gain some really good knowledge about training your dog for hiking. She does this thing called "the walk" with all dogs no matter what they are being trained for. Basically when they are puppies you take them out to fields or hiking everyday and let them explore as you walk around and you give them no correction and no reaction to anything they do. This allows them to learn about the world and it teaches them to follow your lead from day one. As they grow you do all your other training like sit stay heel come etc. but you always do the walk daily. I followed this and it worked great. My dog now never even thinks about taking off in any situation and is always taking my lead on what to do. When Im working in the garage or yard I have her with me offleash and never worry about cars neighbors or other dogs. She isnt going to take off. When hiking she can either walk at heel or in front depending on what I want her to do. I sleep with her in a floorless shelter and never worry about her wondering off at night. I really believe all this behavior was less trained and more instilled by the daily walk when she was little. Anyway I highly suggest you listen to some of her puppy podcast episodes and if her style appeals to you get the book.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Congrats man! I’ve had chocolate labs now for almost 30 years and absolutely love them. They are great family dogs and companions for sure. Aside from just the general obedience training, I would say to get them out early and often on your excursions and get them used to gun fire while they are young, the sooner the better. I know you say you’re not a bird hunter, but if you think there is a possibility of the dog being around gunfire later in life, you’ll definitely want it to be used to it, not to mention other loud noises like fireworks, etc., I never like seeing dogs all freaked out every time they hear a loud bang.


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[Clarence]

Congrats man! I’ve had chocolate labs now for almost 30 years and absolutely love them. They are great family dogs and companions for sure. Aside from just the general obedience training, I would say to get them out early and often on your excursions and get them used to gun fire while they are young, the sooner the better. I know you say you’re not a bird hunter, but if you think there is a possibility of the dog being around gunfire later in life, you’ll definitely want it to be used to it, not to mention other loud noises like fireworks, etc., I never like seeing dogs all freaked out every time they hear a loud bang.


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Great point. Don't want shooting time to be a point of stress for her.

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[Clarence]

Congratulations! Great looking Pup! I have a Lab also and shes about to turn two so I just got done with her initial training. I did train mine for hunting and I followed the book for Pointing Labs by Julie Knutson. She also has a Podcast called "Training the Pointing Lab". Even though its geared towards hunting dogs, I think you could gain some really good knowledge about training your dog for hiking. She does this thing called "the walk" with all dogs no matter what they are being trained for. Basically when they are puppies you take them out to fields or hiking everyday and let them explore as you walk around and you give them no correction and no reaction to anything they do. This allows them to learn about the world and it teaches them to follow your lead from day one. As they grow you do all your other training like sit stay heel come etc. but you always do the walk daily. I followed this and it worked great. My dog now never even thinks about taking off in any situation and is always taking my lead on what to do. When Im working in the garage or yard I have her with me offleash and never worry about cars neighbors or other dogs. She isnt going to take off. When hiking she can either walk at heel or in front depending on what I want her to do. I sleep with her in a floorless shelter and never worry about her wondering off at night. I really believe all this behavior was less trained and more instilled by the daily walk when she was little. Anyway I highly suggest you listen to some of her puppy podcast episodes and if her style appeals to you get the book.

This is my goal. Congratulations on the successes of getting your pup to a great spot!

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[Bearsears]

Thanks Clarence

 

[Bearsears]

Congrats man! I’ve had chocolate labs now for almost 30 years and absolutely love them. They are great family dogs and companions for sure. Aside from just the general obedience training, I would say to get them out early and often on your excursions and get them used to gun fire while they are young, the sooner the better. I know you say you’re not a bird hunter, but if you think there is a possibility of the dog being around gunfire later in life, you’ll definitely want it to be used to it, not to mention other loud noises like fireworks, etc., I never like seeing dogs all freaked out every time they hear a loud bang.


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Thats a great point! I have one dog that we got as a rescue and he hates fireworks etc. My Lab on the other hand slept right through a horrible hailstorm last summer that trashed our roof and scared the hell out of all of us lol. I just started getting her used to loud noises by banging pots and pans over her while i was feeding her. When it came time to gun break her it was a total non issue.

 

[3forks]

Bearsears has some pretty good advice.

I’ve been a dedicated pointing dog guy for decades, but have been associated with a couple well regarded retriever and flushing dog trainers. The one constant I see most good trainers do is not to put too much pressure on a young dog. Teach them their name, “no”, and to come when called, and that’s about it the first year.

It‘s very easy to overwhelm a young dog or do damage to their confidence by trying to do too much the first year.

You want your puppy to be biddable, but inquisitive and not afraid of new situations and well socialized.

Also, I think it’s generally accepted that there have been quite a few improvements to the concepts of dog training since Richard Wolters wrote his books.

 

[Bearsears]

Bearsears has some pretty good advice.

I’ve been a dedicated pointing dog guy for decades, but have been associated with a couple well regarded retriever and flushing dog trainers. The one constant I see most good trainers do is not to put too much pressure on a young dog. Teach them their name, “no”, and to come when called, and that’s about it the first year.

It‘s very easy to overwhelm a young dog or do damage to their confidence by trying to do too much the first year.

You want your puppy to be biddable, but inquisitive and not afraid of new situations and well socialized.

Also, I think it’s generally accepted that there have been quite a few improvements to the concepts of dog training since Richard Wolters wrote his books.

Thank you and I completely agree. My buddy had a saying he kept telling me the first season I took my dog hunting. "She cant do anything wrong this year no matter what happens" I think with young puppies you need to teach them boundaries but not obedience. Obedience comes with maturity, if you are working with and challenging your dog daily with new experiences, it becomes very clear when they are ready for the next step.

 

[Clarence]

I see some training videos using food or treats as the reward. Is it practical for praise to be the reward? Just trying to avoid a pup that is indifferent to commands unless it feels there is a food treat attached. Labs can be eaters.

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[3forks]

To the OP, I know you’re not going to hunt your dog so this isn’t directed at you or anyone else who has mentioned introducing a dog to gunfire - but I’ve seen A LOT of gun shy dogs as a result of their owners not properly conditioning them to gunfire.

A dog needs to associate gun fire with something positive. Taking a dog to a rifle range or shooting a gun around an unconditioned dog is just about a guarantee to create a problem. Dogs should be intently focused on a task they like with a moderately loud noise in the background. If someone thinks they may want to hunt their dog, I’d recommending either finding pro to help introduce a dog to gunfire, or do a ton of research on what to do before attempting it yourself.

 

[AK Troutbum]

To the OP, I know you’re not going to hunt your dog so this isn’t directed at you or anyone else who has mentioned introducing a dog to gunfire - but I’ve seen A LOT of gun shy dogs as a result of their owners not properly conditioning them to gunfire.

A dog needs to associate gun fire with something positive. Taking a dog to a rifle range or shooting a gun around an unconditioned dog is just about a guarantee to create a problem. Dogs should be intently focused on a task they like with a moderately loud noise in the background. If someone thinks they may want to hunt their dog, I’d recommending either finding pro to help introduce a dog to gunfire, or do a ton of research on what to do before attempting it yourself.

Absolutely. We are fortunate enough to have a really nice shooting park about 2 miles from our house, so I started taking her down there when she was about four months old and would just hang out and play with her, about 100 yards or so behind the firing line. It only took a few, 30 to 45 minute sessions of doing this, and gradually working our way closer to the line of fire, and she was good to go. I’m also not a bird or duck hunter, but I do occasionally chase ptarmigan and grouse around with the shotgun, and she really enjoys that time as well. I made the mistake of not introducing my first lab to loud noises while she was young and, the first time she heard a gun go off (she was probably a couple years old or so), she absolutely flipped out. I tried multiple times with multiple things, to try and get her used to loud noises, but it was a no go, and she never got to the point where she would tolerate any kind of a gun fire or fire works. I made it a point to never allow that to happen again.


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[Bearsears]

I see some training videos using food or treats as the reward. Is it practical for praise to be the reward? Just trying to avoid a pup that is indifferent to commands unless it feels there is a food treat attached. Labs can be eaters.

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I have never once used food to train my dog. Again the book I referenced above is completely against that. Using treats implys that there is some sort of negotiation with the dog. In my opinion that is not what you want. You want to be the leader or alpha member of your dogs pack. Your dog needs to obey you because you told it to. Not because you asked it to and it will get a treat.

Yes it is absolutely possible for praise to be the reward. It is also harder to train that way but is much more worth it. Judging by how it sounds you want to train I cant recommend Julie Knutson to you enough. Also I think you have the advantage of having a lab. They are so forgiving in training mistakes and so eager to please. I could talk about labs all day.

 

[Marble]

The best training ihave done for my dogs is taking them on walks and making them sit everytime I stop. If I'm hunting and I stop, both of my short hairs keep an eye on me and will come to me with just a hand wave, whistle or an audible command.. One comes and sits next to me and heals, the other sits in front of me.

The lesson they learned was watching me and learning to listen. It taught them a huge amount of obedience. I rarely use or need a leash.

 

[30338]

Stonnie Dennis on youtube, highly recommend. Search for Stonnie Dennis Heel Training. His process is super easy and works well. I use treats early a lot and with great success. No issue weaning off the treats once the behavior is foolproof. Just taught my 3 year old draht to take bottles to the trash and drop them in for me. Once they learn to learn it is amazing what they can do.

 

[KurtR]

Just got a lab puppy two weeks ago and he will hunt as I guide pheasant hunts and waterfowl a lot but obedience is the most important. Tom dokkens retriever training book is what I am going off of. He will be 11 weeks old Saturday and we have come, sit and down learned. Sleeps through the night in his crate and potty training has been accomplished . Dokken has been one of the top dog guys and had a book on training the dog to find sheds also. I think we are going to do that just to increase the time in the field with the dog