I got my first lab and am going to try my luck at training him myself. I got him at 7 weeks and he is now 12 weeks. I am reading the Water Dog book and have been working with him twice a day for about 10 minutes each time. He is a yellow male and I was just wondering if yall could give me some important tips and things to watch out for. I am not looking for a field trial champion, just want a hunting buddy that will bring the ducks back to me.

Theres a guy on here that goes by TENPOINT. He know alot about training labs. He once had one of the best Black Labs I've ever seen.. Just send him a PM, and ask him what all he did to make his Black Lab the dog it was. Males are a bit harder to train.

I'll give you one hint I have never seen in a training book, not that I read them all.

I taught my male to honor doorways, transitions on the ground (like grass to concrete or tile to carpet), porch edges, etc, when he was really young. I did it by telling him NO as he followed me thru the house and then sliding him back thru or across whatever it was. When he looked at me for approval I told him it was OK to cross. He got the point real quick.

Now at five years, you can tell him NO as you get out of the boat, go in your buddies camp and he will be waiting for you three beers later. Tell him no as you hit the "beach" in a pirogue and he does not jump out. You get the point. Real helpful in everyday household situation too.

Don't rush things let him be a puppy, around 6-8 mo. old you'll start formal training till then nothing but reward based training. Make learning fun take him for walks in the woods and the marsh and don't push things on him like swiming and retreiving a couple 2-3 bumpers a day is plenty keep him wanting more. Waterdog is ok but dated try Smartworks or Lardy. Find a HRC club and join you'll get lots of help there listen to people and take from them what works for you Follow a proven program, Lardy / Smartworks.
http://bestlabs.tumblr.com/

I have not been pushing hard we just do a little retrieving each day and working on the basic commands...I have a buddy that has trained a few dogs succesfully that is helping me but I figured I could never get too much help and information

like bestlabs said keep him wanting more. i take a pup out and throw three bumpers today and tomorrow i may get him out swind the bumper around and tease him with it and just put him up having never thrown it. stress obedience heeling drills etc. let him break all through the obedience and force fetch. steady him at the end. this will result in having a dog that runs back to you instead of walk. you can always hold your dog back but you cant always make him go.

Thanks for all the info guys. I had to back off on the training for the last week because he got a stomach virus got over that. Then he decided it would be fun to jump out the window while we were driving down the road. Luckily I had just left my parents driveway and he just got bruised up.

tenpoint dats why u aint supposed to have asholes fa padnas..

no offence nonc-j

feel free to give me a call or pm with questions if you have them.

If you were closer i'd have you come work dogs a few times. It really helps you pick up on a few tricks if you see it first hand. ..

Yea, I really wish we had a dog club in my area but there isn't one. I have a good friend that has been succesful at training a few dogs and he is helping me so that works out good. But I also like to have other people's point of view because I know there are many different tricks to training.

You must not be looking hard! They have the P.A. Retriever Club!!

Chris Akins Duck Dog Basics is a good training video. A buddy of mine is training with it and it looked good to me. I agree with alot of the post above. Patience and obedience are reel good things to remember. Good luck man and keep us updated.

Here are some pics

thats a good looking pup ya got yerself.

Thanks...He sure is alot of fun

Work on the basics. Sit, Stay, and Come. Without those three nothing else matters. Look for a book called "Retriever Training for the Duckhunter. It's pretty good. I liked it more than Water Dog or Gun Dog.

Um.....helloooooooo!!!!! You never got to hunt with Dart, did you? Rhett is hard headed, but this is only his second season, and I'm still fixing the mistakes someone else made with him. Even still, he'll bring back 2 ducks at a time. And what about Zee? She was a trooper!!!!!!
Ask us, we'll help you. Better yet, I'll hook you up with a champion trainer if you want. Dude, just let me know.

dont freak out Camo...I have been getting help from Turbo I am just trying to get as much info as possible. I never hunted with Dart but Tex is coming along good. Gonna bring him on his first hunt after the split is over.

Patience is the biggest thing, consistency too. Teach basic obedience first, sit, stay, heel. Try to keep it playful and always try to leave them wanting more. To this day I still treat my 11yoa that way and she does as well as her body will allow