A question we get asked all the time is when do I need to start training my puppy. That is an easy answer - as soon as you get home! As soon as you get home, your retriever’s career begins, and they don't even know it yet. You have to teach them their purpose in life and groom them into the dog of your dreams. Many do not understand the immense importance of socialization and drive development in this stage of the dog's life. These are the building blocks of the retriever that you want.
Now, you may be asking several questions. What about breeding, and how much should I spend on the dog? Yes, breeding does matter; you are paying for intelligence, and personality traits can be guessed and predicted through the pairing of the mother and father. That is why breeding selection is significant. However, it is not foolproof.
I will give you a fair ratio of 75% of a potentially great dog is in the breeding selection, but 25% is how that dog is raised. I have seen some very expensive litter mates become duds at the expense of their owner's laziness to socialize and develop their young pup. That is what this course is for.
So, if you have a puppy or are thinking about getting one but don't have the time or experience to socialize the puppy properly, don't sweat it! We can do it for you. We have raised several puppies from our breedings and developed them into finished retrievers. How will we socialize your dog? The simple answer is to take them anywhere and everywhere.
We want to develop a confident puppy. A pup that has no fear, is comfortable with new experiences, and is unbothered by new experiences and smells. But, it's not just a, go to the store one time in a month deal. That pup has to go EVERYWHERE. ATV rides, truck rides, sleeping in the office, going on dog food runs, playing with other dogs, watching other dogs train, visiting with many of our clients as they train with their dog, and many different experiences.
The next thing to think about is prey-driven development. Too many people believe that just because you bought a retriever, they are supposed to wake up retrieving, and in a sense, some dogs do display that natural ability. But, for the most part, you must introduce it. First, we’ve got to find something that entices the dog to bite and grab at it. Something soft or that makes noise will be suitable to begin the process. The pup needs to be enticed to bite it by rubbing or aggravating it in the face, gently. Eventually, the dog will snap at it, and then it is time for tug of war. Only a few minutes of success begins the flame.
Through the process of attrition, the dog will start jumping for the object and trying to grab it from your hand; now is the time to throw it. Only a few feet will do. Keeping the reps to as little as 2 or 3 will keep the dog hungry for more every day. Each week, distance will be added, as well as an extra rep or two. The dog will begin to grow hungrier every day until you can no longer satisfy them with retrieves. As the weeks progress, so will the distance of the retrieves.
The dog will also be slowly introduced to water, and over a few days, I want the dog to enter the water of his own volition. Swimming becomes an everyday treat once the dog is comfortable in chest-high water. Let us not forget the gun introduction. Up to this point, the dog has been around numerous loud sounds of kennel life, so the sounds of a gun popper shell in the distance are nothing to the young pup. That distance from the pup to the popper shell is increased slowly every day until we are firing guns while a pup lays below our feet chewing on a toy.
Now is the time to introduce the pup to potty training, leash work, duck wings, sit/here commands, and the list goes on and on until we have a young dog ready to begin formal training.
Gundog training is not only an investment in your dog but also an investment in your everyday life and future hunts with your dog. Whether you have more questions on our gundog finished program or are ready to get started, we would love to hear from you!
