hi everyone, I’m new here and need some advise. When I was a kid we raised hunting labs. I have trained a lot of labs as a kid but have had a 29 year absence from owning a dog I got my kids a akc lab puppy from guy with really unknown bloodlines 4 months ago. She is now 5 months. So far she has been exceptionally easy to train, calm, and intelligent. The last week, every morning we have watched her in the back yard going into a classic point every time robin lands in the yard. She held a point yesterday for over two minutes until the bird flushed. I have not trained her to point in any way. My question is, having never owning a pointing lab or a pointer of any kind should I reinforce this behavior ( I think I want her to point) and if so, how do I do it? Should I train her like she is a pointing breed? Thanks for any advise.
Are you looking to work her or do competitions with her? If so, you may want to break the habit as she may do this to a wounded bird instead of retrieving it promptly. If she's not going to work/compete then this is great and could be built on for various impuse control.
Hi @Patrick Hogle In comparison to real pointers, Labs don't point They retrieve. They watch where the game falls. I'd be inclined to think her behaviour is a manifestation of puppyhood. I wouldn't try to prevent her pointing, but I would not positively reinforce it.
If you want to raise and train her as a pointing lab, yes, this is definitely behaviour you can encourage - just as any other pointing breed would be encouraged to point. Ideally, the dog points on scent and not on sight though - but many puppies start by sight-pointing. It's not a behaviour you need to 'reinforce' with food, since it is a naturally occurring behaviour in response to prey - but you can gently stroke her and praise her whilst she points. How to train a dog to point is a bit beyond what it's possible to post in one of these replies, so it might be a good idea to find a trainer in your area who can help more. Be warned that a lot of the training and trainers out there are force-based when it comes to gundogs. If you want her to be a retriever (rather than a pointing lab), then you should not encourage pointing like this... And lastly, if you want a dog that does it all, your best bet (rather than a lab) is a versatile breed (HPR in the UK) and looking into NAVHDA training and testing... again, watch out for the force-based training...
There apparently are Lab Strains that do point, and some Labs in the US are sold as having a pointing gene. The breeders do not guarantee that the Labs will point, some/many? of this strain do. I believe they also retrieve, but I don't have personal knowledge.
I think I remember a suggestion that English Labs were crossed with Coon dogs to get the taller US Labs. Do coon dogs point?
