In the not too distant future (and for the fun of it rather than actually working) I'd like to do some gun dog training with our pup Jessie who's 6 months old (she's from working line) - and hope to find a local trainer that will help us. In the here and now, my older lab, Sasha, will retrieve all day long but my younger lab, Lucy, isn't interested at all!! Because of Lucy, I've been really cautious with Jessie and followed the guidelines of only giving her a couple of retrieves at a time, just a couple of times a week. I'd describe her as moderately interested - if I occasionally try more retrieves you can tell by number 4/5 she's losing enthusiasm. She's chasing the dummy (that's the only thing I've used) and more or less bringing it back to me. My question is - now she's 6 months old, should I be trying to move her training on? - but given her interest level, how should I do this? Any advice would be great - thank you!
If she is chasing the dummy that's very good. Without the desire to chase you would have nothing to build the retrieve on so nurter it. I use tennis balls much more than dummies in puppy training as they bounce and roll along and entice a puppy to chase after it much more than a dummy does. Tennis balls covered in rabbit fur are particularly attractive to most dogs. Watch her carefully and always stop before her enthusiasm starts to flag, when she is still keen for more.
