When to train?

[308]

So everyone knows I received a lab puppy recently. He is around 8-9 wks old now. He has no interest in retrieving. He rather chew or play with a ball two times his size. I know it will come in time but when should I start?

Also anyone know a respected trainer in my area (florence/darlington)?

[HuntinCosta]

start with easy stuff now. Sit, Here, Heel and make everything positive. Formal training should start after adult teeth are in. Build desire with anything he likes to chase: Ball, Kong, etc. Build desire now.

There's about 50 of us that train in and around hartsville, and many of us are on this board. I'm sure you could find some help if you are willing to put some time into training.

[QuackerSmacker75]

Congrats on your puppy, here are a few things I would recommend.
1. Take that pup everywhere you go, truck rides and boat rides. Indroduce it to as much as you can.
2. Let it enjoy being a pup, start with the basics Sit, Here, Stay etc. Lots of play toys., tennis ball in a sock works great.
3.Go buy you some dvds or a book and start getting ready for your journey.
4. Read some old posts in this forum, there is a huge library of information right here at your finger tips.
5. Take your time and don't expect to much to quick, your pup has a very short attention span.
6. Find a club in your area, most of us love to hunt and run tests.

Let me know if there is anything I can help you with, shoot me a pm.

[FEETDOWN]

Good advice above.

You should think about riding to Mullins this weekend to the CRC club trial. You'll meet a lot of really helpful folks there that love training and runnin dogs. The info is in the CRC Cub trial thread. Check it out.

[mudminnow]

i don't know if you have looked at the Robert Milner book on training. He has a good mentality about it and it makes sense. I am training a lab and a golden pup right now and they maybe get 3 retrieves a week,...maybe. I don't want them thinking that evereything that falls needs to be retrieved. They probably have 1 retrieve to every 5 non retrieves where they sit while i retrieve