howdy to all you fellow lab lovers and outdoorsmen. my name is jim and i am from just outside birmingham, al. my fiance got me an 7 week old chocolate male for my birthday. he is 9 weeks now and i want to begin training him. i have never done much duck hunting, but i dao a great deal of dove hunting on small private fields throughou the season. any tips, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

One place to go is to gundogsupply.com They have lots of informational books and supplies for upland game retrieving.

The guys at The Refuge (www.duckhunter.net) are very helpful. Check out the gundog forum, upland forum, and your state forum. If your pup is anything like mine, you'll be stunned at how quick they learn. I'm a first time trainer too. I've found, much like working with my horse, there's only room for two emotions, a sense of humor & patience. Take it slow, 5-10 minutes of training twice a day. You'll be amazed at the progress...

Jim ... you have several Hunting Retriever Clubs in AL to choose from. Contact the closest one (or more) ASAP to join and get involved, have other more experienced trainers teach you how to properly train your pup.

Bay Area HRC
Mobile, AL
Brian Schaffer
brianschaffer@allsouthsub.com

Cahaba Valley HRC
Pelham, AL
Alden Little
(334)366-4732 5

Central Alabama HRC
Greensboro, AL
Chad Wilson
(205)242-7460
chadwilsonc@aol.com

Southeast Alabama HRC
Enterprise, AL
Bobby Hancock
(334)393-9894
bobh@entercomp.com