Education

Early obedience first step to better hunting dog Labrador puppies start out sweet and innocent. You bring home the furry little bundle, and he/she is so unsure of their new surroundings. All you want to do is cuddle up with your pup and love them! And you should! But rest assured the innocence will not […]

Dog training terminology defined Those of us actively training hunting dogs day after day, often forget that not everyone understands the terminology we use. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and give some definition to terms, or at least put context around the terms we use so often. One set of terms that […]

Crate training your Lab puppy, why you should and a guide on how Labrador puppies are so cute and cuddly, it almost seems wrong to put them in a crate. But crate training is one of the best things you can do for your new puppy and for yourself. There are many benefits to crate […]

Potty train your puppy quickly Housebreaking is one of the least desirable tasks when adding a new puppy to your family. It is never fun but consider it a necessary task. You will never regret having a dog that knows your home is not a bathroom. When to start housebreaking Housebreaking should begin the day […]

Get your dog ready to hunt, without making him/her gun shy. As hunters, we ask a lot of our dogs. They must have a strong desire to retrieve and able to adjust quickly to changing situations. We expect them to want to please us, be patient, obedient and willing to work at a moment notice. […]

What many people fail to understand is that your retriever is learning every day, whether or not you are formally training him/her.

These obedience drills will help your retriever perform better both in the home and in the field.

If you aspire for your retriever to become an exceptional hunter or earn a Hunt Test title, it is vitally important that you plan and set some goals.

Leashes, leads, and check cords for training dogs If you plan to train your retriever, there are many tools you will need. But few are as important as a good leash or check cord. It doesn’t matter if your goal is an obedient family dog or a stellar hunting dog. It all starts with a […]

When a dog is not listening, most people think there is a failure in training. They rarely stop to think about why their dog is acting like he/she is.

As an owner of a hunting dog, you need to be on guard against problems as they develop, and you must also become skilled at solving these problems as they arise.

Patience and guidance key for first few hunts Maybe you purchased a retriever puppy and sent him off for months of training. Or, perhaps you did the training yourself. Either way Fall is approaching and you cannot wait to get your dog out in the field or in a blind and show him off to […]

The Wagon Wheel Lining Drill is a great drill to teach your retriever any time of year. It helps you, as handler, learn to read your dog better. It also helps you work with your dog as a team to improve your dog’s lines for marks and blind retrieves.

Older dogs can be taught to hunt. The question is often less about how old the dog is and more about the experiences of the dog up to his current age.

Get your retriever running longer marks without a training assistant If you only do hand-thrown marks for your retriever, you are going to have a problem. Dogs quickly learn how far you can throw and will start hunting only at that distance. Then if you shoot down a bird out of that range, they will […]

Solutions for where and how If you live in an area where winter means cold and snow, you know how hard it can be to keep your retriever in shape and learning throughout the winter season. What you might not realize, is that while it might not always be comfortable training your retriever in the […]

If your retriever is also your waterfowl hunting partner, you probably realize the importance of teaching your dog to be steady. A dog that jumps out of the boat or blind at the first sight of a bird is not going to be a great hunting partner. And if your dog takes off after your […]

You do not have to wait for your puppy to get older to start working on fetch. You can start working on it almost immediately after you bring him or her home

When dogs are young, they learn quickly and soak up lots of information about the world in which they live. If the owner chooses to not doing anything, the dog does not stop learning, he just learns wrongly.

Teach your dog to love your car or truck. If you have a retriever that doesn’t like to get into your vehicle, you are not alone. Many owners struggle with training their dog to get into their vehicle on command. Generally, the harder you force the issue, the worse it can get. Here are some […]