Hi all, I’ve recently had the pleasure of adopting a 3 year old “lab mix” from the humane society (they say mix because no papers but he looks all lab). I want to train him to be a gun dog (waterfowl and upland). So far I have been reading “Total Recall” as he has gotten loose four times and I’ve had to run him down... Once I get that down how do I start an older dog on gun dog training? Any advice appreciated!
Hi and welcome from Finn and I from the Netherlands! I went with Finn who is four to gundogtraining a couple of weeks ago. I contacted a gundog trainer by email and asked if it was possible.
Hi Eric, you might find resourced on the Gun Dog Trust page of use. http://www.thegundogclub.co.uk/ The problem in the US is finding positive trainers who don't use techniques such as force fetch to achieve results. It's perfectly possible to train any dog, gun dogs included, using positive reinforcement training, though I believe may trainers (in the UK included) are scathing of this way and would rather train using punishment ( ) jac
Hi there and welcome! From Poppy, Merlin and me in Germany. I am sure you will enjoy gundog training, but I would encourage you to make sure you find a positive only trainer, as some trainers in the US use extremely harsh methods of training.