Retriever Thread!!!

[Ilovemychicks08]

This is my Gertie View attachment 3590105View attachment 3590106View attachment 3590107View attachment 3590108View attachment 3590109View attachment 3590110View attachment 3590111

She is beautiful!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oops yeah i did.
https://www.gundogsupply.com/rrt-lucky-launcher-ii.html

They sell the actual one on GDS too, I saw it when I Googled. But it’s out of stock atm.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

She's an English golden. She's the most chill dog I've ever owned. She's fabulous with the kids, the cats, and even the chickens.

She looks like a American Golden. As English lines are completly white.

 

[MGG]

Strong drive to retrieve i dont know if thats the word. Maybe extreme drive to retrieve! I can throw a ball or bumper 30 times and he will bring it back every time!
Ive never read those books ill definitely look into them! And into the Retrieve R launcher! He gets super excited when he sees the bumper!
He is 9 months old. We started him on the gun at 4 months. Since he was 10 weeks when we brought him home.
The food thing we could try but we have to travel about 20 minutes away to let the starter gun off.
Im going to take him out there as soon as my foot is better(or within the next few days and just have someone else holds him) and try the gun noises again.
We have pheasant scent that what i scent train them on.
Denver has a ton of fur and takez about a hour to brush that not including a bath or trim.
Tucker takes 10 mintes he basically has a lab coat!(he is field line)
Thats funny yours think fireworks are gun noises. I dont know if maybe he associates the gun noise with fields. And when we are at our house he doesnt like it?
Thanks for all your information! You surely know more than me about hunting with dogs!

That's great. You should have no problem then.
This is basically what we use, you should be able to find one for not too much. You might even be able to find a used one in good condition. They do make fancier ones but this one does the job.

They make different loads that go in it, green is the weakest I believe and what you'd want to use just starting out to get him used to it. Yellow is next and that one is the most you'd probably ever need. They go pretty far. They do have purple but those go way out. You probably wouldn't ever need those unless you decide to train for field trials or something. I think they might have a couple other strength ones too but green and yellow are all we ever use. They look like a small .22 bullet, and you open the launcher up and put one inside. Then you pull back the metal back and let go and off it goes. You want to have the dog sitting at heel and don't let him break. Release him right away after shooting the bumper though. Once he catches on you shouldn't have any issue having him stay off leash and releasing him with a command. They love it. We use a small canvas bumper on the launcher (you have to get ones made for the launcher that have a hole for the rod in the middle) but you can rub pheasant scent on the canvas bumper and it holds the smell for a long time.

We do also use shock collars occasionally but only for really fine tuning an older dog. We use them for enforcing commands at long distances and sitting to shot. You don’t want to over use it though, they'll become wise to the collar or remote and think they only have to listen if it's on. We've never had an issue but I've seen it before. You wouldn't need it really though especially if he already listens reliably. For hunting you need him to listen to sit and come with no hesitation and under all circumstance. Hunting can be very dangerous for an out of control dog. Even if there's downed birds or he's in the middle of a retrieve you should be able to stop him and have him come all the way back if need be, or be directed to a different downed bird. You don't want him to just go for the one he sees or the last bird down, a lot of times the first downed bird will still be alive and start getting away while the dog thinks he should go after the second dead bird that isn't going anywhere.

Well if you have something at your house that makes a gun like noise that works great at meal time. If it's inside it shouldn't bother your neighbors too much, haha. And the launcher is awesome too. If there's anywhere at all you could work him near your house that's the best. I walk just down the street to a ditch or pasture to work ours. Ditches are great before they're mowed when they're full of thick cover.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Well the retriever training is a big deal for us since we actually use it a lot. We hunt pretty much all fall nonstop so the dogs get a major workout and lots of experience. It's pretty amazing to see all of the training click when they go hunting for the very first time. It's a good idea to try to take them hunting their first fall as long as they're old enough to have had at least some basic training and know to return with the bird. The more hunting they can get in young the more they crave it. It's basically just instilling and cultivating their natural instincts and harnessing their power.

You could never walk a retriever enough, but working them on bumpers and various drills for 15-20 minutes a day is all they need. It satisfies that urge to work and will tire them out. Physically they can keep going for quite while but it's really the brain you're working, and that's what wears them out. It's easy to tell when they're ready to be done, then you just want to end on a good note. How long it takes a dog to master a drill depends, but if you repeat it and set the dog up to succeed they catch on quickly. It usually only takes a few training sessions and then a review or two a few weeks later.
Most dogs should be able to be fully trained and hunting well by ten months old.
That's why I like the layout of Water Dog so much. He goes through week by week and if you follow along with him you'll have a finished dog by the end. 15-20 minutes a day is all it takes. Anyone can do it. Getting the dog at 7 weeks or close to it is a big part of it too, that's when a dog is mentally mature and ready to start training. It's also the stage where the dog will form a very strong bond with the owner. He's old enough to know he's a dog but young enough that he hasn't picked up any bad litter habits yet.

Thank you for all this info its super helpful!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

That's great. You should have no problem then.
This is basically what we use, you should be able to find one for not too much. You might even be able to find a used one in good condition. They do make fancier ones but this one does the job. View attachment 3590113

They make different loads that go in it, green is the weakest I believe and what you'd want to use just starting out to get him used to it. Yellow is next and that one is the most you'd probably ever need. They go pretty far. They do have purple but those go way out. You probably wouldn't ever need those unless you decide to train for field trials or something. I think they might have a couple other strength ones too but green and yellow are all we ever use. They look like a small .22 bullet, and you open the launcher up and put one inside. Then you pull back the metal back and let go and off it goes. You want to have the dog sitting at heel and don't let him break. Release him right away after shooting the bumper though. Once he catches on you shouldn't have any issue having him stay off leash and releasing him with a command. They love it. We use a small canvas bumper on the launcher (you have to get ones made for the launcher that have a hole for the rod in the middle) but you can rub pheasant scent on the canvas bumper and it holds the smell for a long time.

We do also use shock collars occasionally but only for really fine tuning an older dog. We use them for enforcing commands at long distances and sitting to shot. You don’t want to over use it though, they'll become wise to the collar or remote and think they only have to listen if it's on. We've never had an issue but I've seen it before. You wouldn't need it really though especially if he already listens reliably. For hunting you need him to listen to sit and come with no hesitation and under all circumstance. Hunting can be very dangerous for an out of control dog. Even if there's downed birds or he's in the middle of a retrieve you should be able to stop him and have him come all the way back if need be, or be directed to a different downed bird. You don't want him to just go for the one he sees or the last bird down, a lot of times the first downed bird will still be alive and start getting away while the dog thinks he should go after the second dead bird that isn't going anywhere.

Well if you have something at your house that makes a gun like noise that works great at meal time. If it's inside it shouldn't bother your neighbors too much, haha. And the launcher is awesome too. If there's anywhere at all you could work him near your house that's the best. I walk just down the street to a ditch or pasture to work ours. Ditches are great before they're mowed when they're full of thick cover.

We so use e collars for off leash training.
There is no possible way for me to shoot a starter pistol off near my house we can take him to my grandparents he is faidly familiar with there.

 

[MGG]

Yeah, I love it too but definitely don’t know nearly that much hah at least about retriever training. I know about other stuff but yeah.

And I love Labs too! They’re amazing. I really want a well bred purebred eventually. Yours would actually be amazing because I really want a field line or a mix of field and show hahah

Yeah the field/show mixes are great. I prefer the blocky look of the English labs but the drive of the American/field Labs is unmatched. British labs are the only labs I don't like. They fall short in all categories, lol. They're not as smart, too small to handle a goose or cold weather, not as attractive, and stubborn.
Not a fan of them, haha.
The father of mine is really English. He is two and weighs 90 lbs. super fit and muscular, and has a really attractive look.
Avery's only shortcoming is she just doesn't have as much of a English look. I don't mind it but I don't like it as much. Avery's mom was a fox red American lab and her dad was a snow white English lab. Some of the English and all of the white color pf Avery's dad carried over though haha. But paired with Cody she had some adorable pups.
I just took these of Avery last night. She's still missing some hair after blowing her whole coat from the puppies. But she's my pretty girl.

 

[MGG]

Oops yeah i did.
https://www.gundogsupply.com/rrt-lucky-launcher-ii.html

That's one of the kinds, the one I posted though is actually more manageable I think.

 

[ShrekDawg]

She looks like an American Golden. As English lines are completly white.

That’s English cream. Not all English are white. English is just another name for show line I think

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Yeah the field/show mixes are great. I prefer the blocky look of the English labs but the drive of the American/field Labs is unmatched. British labs are the only labs I don't like. They fall short in all categories, lol. They're not as smart, too small to handle a goose or cold weather, not as attractive, and stubborn.
Not a fan of them, haha.
The father of mine is really English. He is two and weighs 90 lbs. super fit and muscular, and has a really attractive look.
Avery's only shortcoming is she just doesn't have as much of a English look. I don't mind it but I don't like it as much. Avery's mom was a fox red American lab and her dad was a snow white English lab. Some of the English and all of the white color pf Avery's dad carried over though haha. But paired with Cody she had some adorable pups.
I just took these of Avery last night. She's still missing some hair after blowing her whole coat from the puppies. But she's my pretty girl. View attachment 3590127View attachment 3590128

She is beautiful!