Trained Labrador retrievers are conservation in motion.
Trained Labrador retrievers are the answer to the waterfowl and upland game bird hunter's dilemma of losing birds. If you hunt, then you already know there is nothing worse than knocking down your bird and then not being able to find it.
Basic Obedience
Trained Labrador Retrievers MUST have basic obedience as the foundation of their hunting skills. Traditional basics include "Heel, Sit, Stay and Come." To this we add "Down," "Kennel" and "Place" which is the command for the dog to assume a remote position. Also, the "Trained Retrieve" which ensures your pup will deliver your bird gently to hand.
Hunting dogs need more advanced skills due to the "extreme" retrieves that are part of any normal hunting day afield. Our pups will learn triple marked retrieves on land and water as well as the hand signals and whistle commands necessary to run blind retrieves.
Gundog vs. Field Trial Dog
There are a lot of really good dogs that enter the realm of "Field trial dogs" at an early age. If they can handle the pressure of the grueling training, they compete at very long distances on multiple retrieves. There is no doubt that watching a good field trial dog will make you stand and shake your head and wish you had a dog just like that. Think about it for a minute: A DOG THAT MINDS YOU!
Our dogs really turn heads.
A GOOD STARTED GUNDOG is the dog that would wash out of the field trial training because they cannot become the automaton trainers want, but still will do the things we as hunters dream about. They are housebroken, obedience trained, force fetched, collar conditioned and steady to shot. They will do double retrieves on land and water and are accustomed to working from a boat, an ATV, and a Final Approach dog blind, through large decoy spreads and in heavy cover. They will work from your side or from a remote position 10 yards away.
Now on the other end of the spectrum is the average hunting dog. Every hunter in the field knows this dog by name. You hear its master calling it constantly and they all have a name that starts with "SON OF A " .
Well come on, do you really want to hunt all day and the only thing you shoot is your dog?
In the picture above you see my retriever ROSE, "Burns Purple Rose". She is 7 now and we have done guided hunts in California. Rose had 4 months of formal field trial training and started to lose hair because she couldn't handle the pressure of the training. She would have washed out as a field trial dog.
I pulled her from training and started hunting her at 10 months. Continuing her training myself allowed her to enjoy her time in the field and she continued to grow and learn. Today, Rose would would cost $5000 to get her from a retriever trainer with her level of expertise.
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