I just got a new black lab female puppy. She's 11 weeks old and I would like to train her to be a hunting dog and be obedient. Any tips for starting off? I've never trained a dog before so I don't really know where to start.

Start today. Gently and slowly teach manners, crate train, place train, etc.

Get a training book read it and stick to the plan. There are many good ones out there have been discussed on here before so do a search.

Don't teach the pup anything now you don't want to have to correct later. Like...chase is cute when they are puppies, not so much when they have a duck in the mouth. Tug of war with the kids is fun to watch but not so fun when she has your bird, and so on.

sound advise above . Like to add , find a retriever club . There is one in your area ( think they are AKC base ) . Get with a smaller training group where one guy knows what he's doing that will show you the ropes . The book or tapes don't show you how too read the dog and when it comes time for force fetching , you'll need a guy that's done it a few times that really knows how to walk you thru it . I don't recommend newbee's doing FF on their own the first time . Their are some really good dvd's out there now for very low cost that weren't there 20 years ago . Fowl dogs , Duck dog basics both can be gotten for less that 80 dollars . Follow your program to the tee and don't skipped or rush anything .

sound advise above . Like to add , find a retriever club . There is one in your area ( think they are AKC base ) . Get with a smaller training group where one guy knows what he's doing that will show you the ropes . The book or tapes don't show you how too read the dog and when it comes time for force fetching , you'll need a guy that's done it a few times that really knows how to walk you thru it . I don't recommend newbee's doing FF on their own the first time . Their are some really good dvd's out there now for very low cost that weren't there 20 years ago . Fowl dogs , Duck dog basics both can be gotten for less that 80 dollars . Follow your program to the tee and don't skipped or rush anything .

Good suggestions given - select one program and stick to it, join a training
club/group and find a teaching mentor. Focus on being a teacher.

Here's a link to free materials - concepts, teaching and training
techniques plus a pup's detailed/daily journal.

Another thing to remember is to always keep it fun and short training sessions.


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