So...here forth lies my dilemma: I have hunted with a dog r two with them being the pets of friends of mine, and always wanted to get one of my own. Not soo much to force them to get my birds. I have a motor, I could get my own! But watching friends and their dogs work together, and how priceless it seems, and how proud they r of each other when it sucessfully retrieves seems priceless. It seems as a special bond that I haven't ever experienced, and I felt as I'm missing out since I witnessed the first retrieve. Not sure as to which dog to get. I really would like a louisiana catahoula, but I'm not sure if it would make a good retriever as I don't know r haven't heard of anyone usin them. Any opinions on a breed? I guess it would b between a catahoula, r a lab. But...everyone has a fucking lab. I guess for a reason right? My worry comes here..not only have I never worked a dog, I don't have 400 dollars a month to set aside for training. So..without crossing my fingers I ask u..have any of u trained ur own dog? How hard is it? I'm sure I can train it with treats and eventually make the dog sit. But how do I get it to bring the bumper back? To stay while it actually watches me throw the bumper. How do I actually introduce it to guns, and real birds n the field? Any advice would be appreciated?

I used to have a catahoula. he wouldnt retrieve a steak if you wanted him to. But he would work cows just fine. I know everyone has a lab, hell i got 2 and dont have time to work either one of them. WHy dont you look at a chessie or a Boykins?

X2 on the chessie I just picked up mine from training this friday she will make her first hunt this weekend on a youth hunt!!!!! I'm pumped. BTW I can give you the number of the breeder where I bought mine and you could talk to him and see if he has any more puppies. He lives in Thibodeaux

Anyone with some intelligence and patience can train a dog. Instead of throwing money at a trainer just get you some dvd's or books of guys who know what they are doing. They don't all agree with each other but if you get a few you will get the idea. Also there is a wealth of training info on the web. From my experience, a chessie will be a lot harder to find and more expensive. I have one and he's awesome, but my lab does a great job too. Chessies can be a little more hard headed and sensitive but they have unbelievable drive. Also if you do get a Chessie, a lot of people say they take to training better from their owner anyway.

find and join a local retriever club in your area. they usually have a few pro trainers and they will be willing to help you in training your dog

Training the dog yourself is more satisfying although it is a lot of work. Do yourself a favor and buy the best puppy you can afford. Find a pro or successful amateur and you can train a competent gun dog.

Get a female lab they are generally less hard headed and easier to train. Also, buy da book "water dog".
This is da best advice I can give for sumone training der first lab.

Sex makes no difference in trainability or working ability. You just have to decide whether or not you want to deal with heat cycles or a dog who marks everything in the yard.

The book Water Dog is also outdated and there are much better programs out there now. The only problem with any book or video is it doesn't show or tell you about the 10,000 other problems that might occur. Where are you located? I may know someone good in your area that you can train with.

i live in houma louisiana. i have been trying to train my poodle for 4 days now just to see if i can accomplish it. i show him a treat, tell him to sit about 6 times, he doesnt. i force is back end down and he will stay, i pet him, tell him good boy a couple times and give him the treat. he takes it, walks away and eats it, and comes straight back. i tell him to sit a few times, of course he doesnt. i force him and so on. all he learned is that i have more treats if he keeps comming back. have to force him every time. so ill sit on the floor, put the treat down tell him to sit and i tell my self if he doesnt do it on his own i aint giving it to him. he will literally get soo tired of me just lookin at him tellin him to sit 1000 times hell say fuck the treat and go lay down lol. u would think 4 days and 100 treats later he would understand if he sits he gets a damn treat right?

maybe he's playin you.

so any suggestion? the worst part is, when he walks away i give him the treat anyways so i dont have to go pick the fucking treat up so my daughter wont eat it

It's extremely hard to obedience train a dog that has already developed it's own personality. That's why you train them young so you can mold the personality. Good luck with the poodle.

Seriously though, I can help you. I've done it several times and have been pretty succesful at it. First step- buy the water dog book and read it twice, three times if necessary. He goes over a lot of scientific information about a dogs brain that can help you understand your compainion a little better and gives you a heads up on what to expect.

That's a dumb fukkn dog. Or maybe pretty damn smart actually. Sounds like he's got you trained.

Another good instructional is called "Retrievers...from the inside, out" by Butch Goodwin. You can get it in a book or CDROM. I recommend the CDROM. It's around $60 I think. More expensive than Water Dog but more in-depth. If you're gonna get a dog, get one at 7 weeks old and not some 1 year old that you'll have to train all the bad habits out of. I learned the hard way with my first one. A good HUNTING blood-line will also make the training go a lot smoother.

Yeah, Chessies are a special breed. Boykins are the other end of that spectrum. Both great dogs but not for DIY first timers. Seriously, I'd look into a started dog. Yes you will pay more than an 8wk old puppy but a lot of the foundation is there.
If you go the puppy route spend the money on good breeding. Drive is hard to teach.

Some good advice posted above. Here is my take. I have hunted and trained dogs for over 20 yrs. I've owned both Lab and Chessie. I currently run Chessie's. I like each breed for different reasons. Since this is your first dog, I would also recommend a Lab. They are much more forgiving, and can handle a lot more pressure (discipline) than a CBR. A CBR is a thinking dog, you need to be creative when training, and make the dog think it was his idea to do what you wanted him to. Not so with a Lab, they just want to please and will do what you ask out of sheer love for you.
A book I would highly encourage you to read is 10 Minute Retriever by John and Amy Dahl. They run Oakwood Kennels in Pinehurst NC. EXCELLENT read on training, from pup thru finished dog. They work with both Lab and CBR's.
A comment on older dogs...I have been involved with Chesapeake Rescue for many years. I have fostered and trained dogs of all ages. One of my last females came into rescue at age 6, within a year she became one of the best duck dogs I have ever owned. Sadly, I had to put her down last year as she had developed serious arthritis in her legs and hips. Thru rescue I have seen some fine animals with great breeding lines come into the system. There are many reasons why owners need to give up a dog, not all are due to abuse or neglect. I would contact Lab rescue in your area, talk to them about your needs in a dog and your reservations about training. You will find that 2 to 3 year old dog with a hunting background is easily found and adoptable.
If you have more interest in rescue dogs, shoot me a PM. I'll be glad to share more info about the adoptive process and what you need to look for in a rescue dog. Good luck as you move forward, You're already on the right path to being a responsible dog owner. You are questioning whether you have the ability to give the dog what it needs and wants to be a good hunting companion. I've met many people who had no business owning a goldfish, not to mention a fine retriever breed such as a Lab or CBR.

Thanx for all of ur advise, I def will be buyin a book or two and I'm currently lookn for a good lab. If u hear of one shout. Also ill currently continue to work with the dumbass poodle. Also, when I was reading on catahoulas I read that different colors r usually associated with different characteristics or traits. I guess personalities if u will, so I ask u is this true for a lab as well?

I believe so but I'm sure someone else can tell you what the differences are better than me. I've only owned black labs and now a chessie. One more thing though and very important... A lot of guys (including me) with their first dog have a tendency to train too much. Keep the sessions short (10 or 20 minutes) 3 or 4 times a week can give you a very well trained dog. Just pay attention to his attitude and always leave him wanting more. If you overdo it you can burn him out and he could potentially lose a lot of drive.

I train for a living and have trained about every type of waterdog out there. There is a reason why people stick with a lab. Buy you a nicely bred lab. Don't skip out on this part. The puppy price is the least amount your gonna spend on the dog over it's lifetime so buy a good one.

As for training the dog yourself. As long as you are patient and dedicated you should have no problem. I would second finding a local retriever club to join and seek advice from those guys. If your from south LA you should have no problem finding an HRC club in your area.

I owned and trained my own lab. Train your lab yourself, there is nothing better than a dog working and knowing that you trained it. I suggest it cause the dog will learn to appreciate you and understand you and listen to you because you will have been the one that has spent more time with it. I suggest a book called "10 Minute Retreiver" i bought it and love it, it is good for the working man that doesn't have alot of time to mess with his dog. By you messing with your dog it will learn to please you and by it pleasing you it will understand that you are happy with its performance by you giving it love and affection after he\she does what you want. You will form a closer bond with your dog if you do it yourself. I had a Yellow lab named zee for 5 years and i lost her this past 4th of july and it killed me but i will have another one by the beginning of next year and i'll work with it myself. Good luck and remember if you have any questions to just ask, there are plenty of people on here like myself that will be willing to help you further your experience.

I don't mind doing some of the training myself, but it takes a special kind of person to train dogs. I run out of patience too easy, and believe me, no matter how well bred your dog is, they will not always cooperate.

In my opinion force fetch is the most important part of training a quality dog! It is the ground work for advanced training! If you do not know how to do it have it done by a pro. I know you said you did not have the money for a pro but ff can be difficult and technical process. Good Luck!

Keep in mind that fetching has to be an important part at a young age. If a dog wants to fetch you can overcome just about anything. Start fast and make it the dogs fun time but focused. Took me about 10 hours to break a gunshy dog but he was instilled early that fetching was his duty.