Water dog pup - Montana

Doing it myself, I am joining a retriever club and I do have a good mentor trainer who I can train with. She will definitely help me force fetch him. I have a gun dog now who I trained and she turned good even despite me :D I am following the Bill Hillman puppy dvds now.

Good luck on Friday. It will be such a great day for your family. Enjoy the ride and post pics of her.
 
She is so cute. Hope you get some sleep the first night. Our little guy gets walks and swimming in the evening to wear him down. He makes it till six each morning now. Have fun and keep us posted.
 
About 15 weeks. Training is coming along.
 

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Great looking dog! Good luck it is a fun ride.

My first dog is 12 but you wouldn't know it. Best advice I can give is keep them skinny, like skinny to the point that people question whether you feed them or not. This has worked with us. My 12 year will probably still see a day or two in the field for a short time this year.

The other pup is 4. She is so different than the first. She has so much drive yet isn't as smart as the older one, she doesn't process data at the same rate as the older one. The other problem is I have three kids, 10, 8, 5 so my time spent with her wasn't what it was with the older dog.









This last is one of my favorites. It was my older dog when she was young on a Mississippi duck hunt. My dad and I each shot limits over her the next day. Teal, Greenheads and woodies!
 
Best advice I can give is keep them skinny, like skinny to the point that people question whether you feed them or not.

This is so absolutely true! Fat dogs are like fat people, they are subject to a whole host of issues, including predisposition to disease, joint/arthritis, and so on. My hunting buddy lets his labs get way too fat. You should be able to feel ribs right behind the elbow and shoulder. If you can't, cut back the food.

I see so many fat hunting dogs and it makes me sad to see them that way.
 
This is so absolutely true! Fat dogs are like fat people, they are subject to a whole host of issues, including predisposition to disease, joint/arthritis, and so on. My hunting buddy lets his labs get way too fat. You should be able to feel ribs right behind the elbow and shoulder. If you can't, cut back the food.

I see so many fat hunting dogs and it makes me sad to see them that way.
Can I stay fat if I keep my dog skinny? ;) :D
 
This is so absolutely true! Fat dogs are like fat people, they are subject to a whole host of issues, including predisposition to disease, joint/arthritis, and so on. My hunting buddy lets his labs get way too fat. You should be able to feel ribs right behind the elbow and shoulder. If you can't, cut back the food.

I see so many fat hunting dogs and it makes me sad to see them that way.
]

One of my biggest pet peeves is fat dogs. It is so easy to keep them skinny and this is coming from a guy that has to work/struggle to keep my own weight down.

With dogs we the owners control there activity level and food level. I will typically feed more during season when they are running a bunch and cut down during the summer when it is hot.
 
Thanks for the tip guys. Our last two dogs were non hunting golden retrievers. We controlled their diets to keep them slim and will do the same with this one. I have a strict no human food policy as well. She is my 17 year old sons dog for the most part and he is doing an excellent job of training her. My wife spoils the heck out of her though so we are dealing with that. :?)
 
I should be good then. Now if the damn breeders would just call me. I think I'm 3 different lists. Tough finding the breed I want around here. Hopefully by this time next year...

What breed are you looking for? I'm partial to the bearded ones.
 
Thanks for the tip guys. Our last two dogs were non hunting golden retrievers. We controlled their diets to keep them slim and will do the same with this one. I have a strict no human food policy as well. She is my 17 year old sons dog for the most part and he is doing an excellent job of training her. My wife spoils the heck out of her though so we are dealing with that. :?)

What are you using for training material?

I would suggest Evan Graham's smartworks series. Affordable and easy to follow. I trained my older girl to Master Level work but I only tested her through SH. We had her fixed young so I was just running test to prove to myself we could do it.
 
What breed are you looking for? I'm partial to the bearded ones.
It's bearded and much more common where you are than I! Gonna try out a pudelpointer for my first ever hunting dog. I've contacted every breeder within 5 hrs of here and on the list at 3. All sold out until the spring litters.

Grew up with beagles, but they were always "Dad's". Never had a hunting dog of my own. That and I have two boys (8 and 5) that need something to keep them busy. :D
 
Mostly Wolters Maxx but also 10 minute retriever. I will look into Graham's material as well. Thanks.
 
It's bearded and much more common where you are than I! Gonna try out a pudelpointer for my first ever hunting dog. I've contacted every breeder within 5 hrs of here and on the list at 3. All sold out until the spring litters.

Grew up with beagles, but they were always "Dad's". Never had a hunting dog of my own. That and I have two boys (8 and 5) that need something to keep them busy. :D

I've talked to a few guys that hunt Pudelpointers. Nice looking dogs. In fact, they aren't ugly enough to hunt with me. :)

Edit: When you get your pup, I highly recommend this book. I used it almost exclusively for training Henry. The only time I had to find more information was in the force fetch section, he's a little brief on problem solving there.

http://www.gundogsupply.com/trainin...-HUNTING-DOG&gclid=COvB6OmqlccCFUWRfgodueIMHw
 
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