Jim,

Uhhh .... Cappy "has gun will travel" ... Now don't tell me you know that old TV show.

That may be a little before my time as I will turn 40 next year. I am really new to the training aspect for my lab but I am in contact with the President of the local retriever club who has expressed interest in helping me. Also, a local pro has welcomed me to come out and talk to him with Annabelle. Looking at her 5 Generation pedigree there is a lot of bench champions and not a lot of field champs. I know a lot of people say not to bother with the JH test but I think for both of us that would be a great accomplishment. She is going thru her second round of obedience training with a CGC test at the end. My wife thinks that is important to her and I have to agree.

Next year I am looking at getting another lab(black) from twin lakes kennels in NC. I have already talked to the owner and he is going to train him for 3-5 months so he comes to me as a started dog. Then with the help of the trainer and the HRC I hope to be able to finish him myself. The breeders name is Woody Thurman. He is on ESPN with the K9 nation on Saturdays. Very down to earth and will answer every question, plus when I go pick him up I get to train with Woody for 3 days. I am really looking forward to it.

I really appreciate your comments and advice. As far as today with dove hunting, no worries didn't even see a bird. I still have 2 in the freezer and about 6 wings to train with.

Thanks
Lee
[QUOTE]

Uhhh .... Cappy "has gun will travel" ... Now don't tell me you know that old TV show."

Lee ... You betcha ... Paladin ... one of my favorites. http://www.hgwt.com/

Please don't get me started on old TV series! I can remember as a youngster sitting in front of a Crosley and watching the Indian (called a test pattern) until programming started! I'll be 62 next month (God willing) and most of my bodily functions are still fairly good, including my memory, hehe. :o

You said that you are "in contact with the President of the local retriever club who has expressed interest in helping me. Also, a local pro has welcomed me to come out and talk to him with Annabelle."

That's too passive! You and wife should both join and get actively involved in the Club. Learn training methods and techniques from fellow members who are always willing to help. If you have youngsters say age 7 or older ... they often get really hooked on dawgs, training and the sheer enjoyment of seeing them doing something that's quite different from parlor tricks.

"I know a lot of people say not to bother with the JH test but I think for both of us that would be a great accomplishment. She is going thru her second round of obedience training with a CGC test at the end. My wife thinks that is important to her and I have to agree."

Good for you guys. And just so that you know ... I've seen some absolutely terrific field performers that came from several generations of show dawgs that didn't hunt. IMO it takes quite a few generations to "thin out" the genetic instincts that have been in the breed for so long and therefore a dawg's performance is often more closely tied to the skills of the trainer than the breeding of the pup.

"Next year I am looking at getting another lab(black) from twin lakes kennels in NC. I have already talked to the owner and he is going to train him for 3-5 months so he comes to me as a started dog. Then with the help of the trainer and the HRC I hope to be able to finish him myself. The breeders name is Woody Thurman. He is on ESPN with the K9 nation on Saturdays. Very down to earth and will answer every question, plus when I go pick him up I get to train with Woody for 3 days. I am really looking forward to it."

My response to that comment is that what you are intending to do is fine IF you don't have the time or ability to train pup on your own. If you do ... then you are going to miss an extremely important period in the pup's life and at a time when bonding is very important, IMO. If there's any way of your doing it ... I would URGE you to train the pup on your own with local pro and/or HRC assistance.

Check with the Retriever Club folks for access to pigeons or live game birds for training purposes. Might also want to bookmark this website for future reference for year around sources for birds.

http://www.shotgunsports.com/breeders/btexas.htm

Shucks ... forgot to mention it ... There are a TON of Lab folk and Clubs in the Dallas area. Seems like a lot of them are very serious competition fans that frequent this website ...
http://www.virtualslr.com/forums/index.php

Stop in, sign up, post a hello and then hang onto your 10gal hat!

:D

Thanks for all the info. As far as the wife she is the one involved with the obedience training right now as Annabelle minds me pretty well. she also works nights shifts 7p-7a and it is hard for her to get to motivated on her days off.

As far as TV show go I grew up in Chicago and can remeber watching Lone Ranger and Bozo at my grandmothers. I also remember reading Hardy Boy books too.

Lee ... we probably ought to take this to e-mails. Mine is swfsinc@aol.com

I was born in Highland Park and grew up down state in Champaign.

Most of my relatives were in the Winnetka area or So side of Chicago from Taylor street all the way out to Elmhurst.

Ever heard of Sunset Food Stores? Owned by the Cortesi family. It was a neighbor, Willie Cortesi, who got me started with gun dawgs when I was 12 years old and "helped train" a wonderful Golden Retriever of his by the name of Coco. I was Willie's "bird boy" and got to tag along when he trained and hunted with my dad.

Ever heard of a fella by the name of Charlie Lubin? He started with a push cart on Maxwell street selling fresh bakery goods. He later moved that business to Deerfield and named it after his daughter who I dated as a freshman in high school. Sara Lee Lubin!

Early TV?

How about Kukla, Fran and Ollie?

Buster Brown and Froggy the Gremlin?

Oy ... I'm getting a headache. Hehe.