Okay,

I am pondering Duck Hunt training now. I have heard that the book Waterdog is the foremost best book ever for training.

How will I know if my dog can duck hunt? Are all labs different in that respect or can they all do it? I want to start training Scout to fetch.

Also how soon should a puppy be in full response to his name being called?

Waterdog is an all right book. I certainly wouldn't go as far as saying its the best book for retriever training though. It was an awesome book back in its time, but there are better books out now. Sure if you read Waterdog it will provide you with some good advice. The thing is, you must read numerous books if you want the best advice. This way, you can pick and choose what you want to use to tailor the training to your dog. I've read uncountable number of books on training hunting dogs. Before I got my first retriever, I had read a large number of books of the subject then.

Does your dog have a good prey drive (likes to chase things)? As long as the dog has the drive to go after something and try to pick it up, you can mold the dogs behavior from there so he/she can be the best gun dog they can be. Personally, I've never had to train a retriever to fetch, I've only had to mold their behavior into brining an object to me, then from there you can build onto more advanced drills.

How old is scout?
Is he registered?
Do you know anything about his parents?
Are either one or their parents hunters?

Waterdog is still an excellent training guide except you should disregard the time lises set forth in Wolter's writings. I'd strongly suggest "The 10-Minute Retriever" by John and Amy Dahl. Here's a link to their website. Be sure to check out their free Library which is VERY informative. Incidentally, if you order a book from the Dahl's, ask Amy to autograph it personally to you or Scout ... she's always happy to do that. Mine is autographed ... "To our Friend Cappy"

http://www.oakhillkennel.com/library/ten_minute.html

Scout is now 4 months old. Yes he is registered and has papers. I don't think his momma or daddy were hunters but they were great breeds.

I have been trying to follow waterdog's recommendation but Waterdog is one of those book that you have to read about 20 times to really apply it like a recipe.

I plan on taking Scout to the lake this weekend to get him used to the water and a boat. I bought him a little dummy to play with and then later this summer I might make him start retrieving it.

OklaU
See if there is a retriever club in your area and join up. The folks in a hunt club can be a big help in training and a good source of information.

I have read waterdogs and ten min retriever is a much better book ! let your pup be a pup ypu pup will let you know when he or she is ready to start fetching just play with him have fun keep the play time short you dont want to burn him out 10-15 min a day is good . when he is about 4-5 months old your basic comands should be in place and well understood by then you shoud be getting him use to loun noises ! when my pup was 8 weeks old i was shooting a blank gun around him ! every day know at 8 months he never give it a thought he just get excited and ready to go !. just play with him and give it lots of love he will come around when he ready ! make every thing fun tease him with his toys dont try to make him stay just have lots of fun injoy him !

I'd strongly suggest "The 10-Minute Retriever" by John and Amy Dahl.

DITTO!

I'd also recommend smartworks/smartfetch series.
The DVD Sounds beginings is a GREAT starting point as well. It's from Jackie Mertan.

J

Waterdog is not bad book for it's time, but since then there has been vast a improvement in training techniques. It can still turn out a decent hunting dog but I wouldn't follow it, there are much better programs out there now such as Evan Graham's Smartworks or Lardy's program. Although whatever program you follow, it will not suit every single dog and you will have to modify the techniques somewhat. I would say join your local retriever club or hook up with a local pro. In every club there will be dogs at different levels in training and you will learn a great deal about how each level is achieved. Most people will be very experienced and there will also be beginners too and they are always looking for new members. Following tapes and books alone is kind of hard sometimes as the dogs you watch on the videos have already been through the ropes and you don't get to see how the trainer corrects or deals with certain problems that crop up. Good luck with your pup, keep us posted!!!

As I do believe in trainng your own dog. I certainly would rather send my dog for training to a near by recomended trainer and go there during the weekends for a formal training session. There is so much you can learn which in turn will educate you for your possible next pup!
Do join a club you will learn invaluable information and techniques there.
Right now is not a good time to rely on training sessions from a club because alot of poeple who hunt train are hunting thier dogs right now.
Personally I like the videos with the book. Much easier to follow.
Good luck with your pup!
And welcome to the board!

Instead of waterdog, I like the book game dog. It covers some good upland stuff. I also really like training you retriever for the marshes and meadows. do a search on this forum for similar subjects. lots of good info.

I like 10 Minute Retriever, but for me, nothing beats the help of a professional trainer.I belong to a Lab Club and I have a trainer and I am finally going to be able to run my stubborn bird-hating girl in Juniors this month. She's been miraculously transformed through hard work!

We are starting our 5 month old now. She can mark and retrieve on land and water quite well, though she doesn't have the birdiness yet. It's all fun for her right now, but we've already collar conditioned her. I am looking forward to seeing how far this little one can get.

Okay,

I am pondering Duck Hunt training now. I have heard that the book Waterdog is the foremost best book ever for training.

How will I know if my dog can duck hunt? Are all labs different in that respect or can they all do it? I want to start training Scout to fetch.

Also how soon should a puppy be in full response to his name being called?

IMO the best puppy training program out there is Jackie Mertens "Sound Beginnings". I have recommended it to countless folks and have never had one complaint yet. It will really help if you have never socialized or trained a gun dog before from 7 weeks to 7 months old.

Jackie Mertens Sound Beginning Video (http://www.coonriverkennels.com/pages/store_dvd.html)