Dog Training Program

[Cwaysvt]

Lost both of our dogs at 13 and 12 in the past year and are picking up a puppy next month. We just kind of winged it with the first two when it came to training and while they turned out to be great dogs I’d like a more structured training program with this one.

Any books/videos/ programs that you’d recommend?

[Hoggin]

https://www.gundogsupply.com/tom-dok...iABEgLuEPD_BwE

[Hoggin]

I found it to be straight forward and easy to follow. He has another book for more advanced training. It’s also very good. But not needed for a year or so.

[Cwaysvt]

I will check that out thanks.

[bigtimeduckhunter]

I did Retriever Roadmap with my English lab. The owner of Riverstone Kennels in Wisconsin has a subscription video program for training retrievers. The videos are set up chronologically based on when certain training should come into play. The videos are 5-20 minutes long and are self paced. You can cancel the subscription at any time.

It had been 30 years since the last time I trained a puppy. On one of his podcasts, he discussed training a retriever that will also be a house dog and how to overcome the inherent bad habits that come from kids playing with the pups.

It worked well for me, but isn’t necessary everyone.

[FULLCHOKE]

Training one to hunt and be a good house dog or chase ribbons?

[Buckin Bronco]

What kind of dog?

I used Dokkens Retriever Training for basic obedience with my first/previous lab. I found it very easy to follow and my dog kept right on pace with it. With my current 19 week old lab I’ve found it to not be as detailed as I needed. She is mentally maturing slower so the age time frames they put in the book caused me to move quicker than I should have.

A friend recommended I check out Dog Bone Collector. He has a website with a ton of great information and video series documenting taking a puppy from 10 weeks old to finished. I also listen to a lot of his podcasts and they have been great. I wish I had found this guy a few months before I got the puppy so I could watch all of his videos before the puppy came home.

[Quack07]

Training one to hunt and be a good house dog or chase ribbons?

Whats the difference?

[Sasha and Abby]

Smartworks by Evan Graham

[FULLCHOKE]

Whats the difference?

Cmon now, you of all people know.
Not all house dogs can chase ribbons, not all ribbon chasers can be good house dogs, not all meat dogs can chase ribbons.

But to answer the question, I personally like Mike Lardy's stuff a little better than smartworks if you want to go that route.
Dog that hunts and is great around the house, use Wildrose, Milner, or Tom Dokken books.
Whichever route you go find one plan and stick to it.

[Cwaysvt]

It’s a Boykin. It will mostly be a family/boat dog. I’ve never trained a dog to hunt so I think I’d be in over my head on that. But I wouldn’t be opposed to trying. Really just want consistent structured training that I can get the wife and son on board with to ease the craziness. We’re used to old lazy dogs so I know we’re in for a shock and want to offset that some.

[theoldblackdog]

Since you clarified a boykin please use the following link

https://www.insinkerator.com/en-us/support

[Quack07]

Cmon now, you of all people know.
Not all house dogs can chase ribbons, not all ribbon chasers can be good house dogs, not all meat dogs can chase ribbons.

But to answer the question, I personally like Mike Lardy's stuff a little better than smartworks if you want to go that route.
Dog that hunts and is great around the house, use Wildrose, Milner, or Tom Dokken books.
Whichever route you go find one plan and stick to it.

The foundation and basics of training should be the same whether you want a hunting dog or a dog that is going to compete.

I'll agree that not all dogs do well in the house. In my experience those dogs come from crazy psycho breedings and have nothing to do with training.

I'll agree that not all dogs have the ability to compete at a high level. That's usually because they lack the drive or natural ability to do the work. That again comes from breeding and genetics and no amount or quality of training can fix that.


To the OP. I would recommend smartworks by Evan Graham. The book is easy to follow and well explained. Spend extra time on the basics, specifically obedience. Take your time and consult with a pro when you hit a bump in the road. There will be bumps in the road.

[Buckin Bronco]

Never mind. I don’t know anything about spaniels

[Cwaysvt]

The foundation and basics of training should be the same whether you want a hunting dog or a dog that is going to compete.

I'll agree that not all dogs do well in the house. In my experience those dogs come from crazy psycho breedings and have nothing to do with training.

I'll agree that not all dogs have the ability to compete at a high level. That's usually because they lack the drive or natural ability to do the work. That again comes from breeding and genetics and no amount or quality of training can fix that.


To the OP. I would recommend smartworks by Evan Graham. The book is easy to follow and well explained. Spend extra time on the basics, specifically obedience. Take your time and consult with a pro when you hit a bump in the road. There will be bumps in the road.

Thank you

[mjiorle]

The best thing you can do is to spend a little time with someone/people who train regularly. There is no internet, book or video program that can replace face to face first hand knowledge. The book/video/internet can give you a good framework of a plan, but in person help is best.

[mudminnow]

I am no dog trainer. you could look back on this forum 12-14 years ago and find posts where i had the confidence of one, but time has humbled me. I am on my fourth dog. and mine are hunting/house dogs. The goal for me is to be able to have a dog that is fun to hunt with and take hand signals out to 80-100yds on blinds.

-The first, a yellow lab from Milners kennel. He was extremely easy to train. He had drive, always brought everything back to hand, and made it seem easy. I trained him with milners books

-The second, a golden retriever was/is (he's 15 now) was somewhat easy to train, but i had to condition the hold with a collar. He took a while to mature(as goldens are known to do), but after 4 years old he hunted hard another 9 years. Mix of milner and hillman for the collar conditioning

- My third dog, yellow lab from sporting life, is a super smart dog but he showed me the most important thing you need to do to train spend consistent time with them. I thought he would just pick it up training with the older two, but he will not reach his potential for my lack of consistent one on one training during the first years of his life like i did with the older two. He is still coming along, but i kind of failed him. Great dog around the house though.

- My fourth dog is a golden retriever. He was more hard charging than my previous three and at six months i knew he was too much for me to do by myself with a wife, 2 middle schoolers, and a business to run. He got sent to boarding school and is doing great there. I should get him back in a month or so.

All that to say, ask your breeder what they suggest and how the dogs parents were trained. Most methods do similar things. But i know folks who have trained with every trainers book mentioned, and the ones that had the most success were the ones that were deliberate, intentional, and consistent with the training method used.

[WNM]

I followed Bill Hillman's training series per other Boykin trainers' recommendations at the time, and it worked very well for my dog.

[LabLuvR]

Smartworks by Evan Graham

Too damn technical there are better out there

[whistlinwingswilly]

Biggest thing to remember with a Boykin is that THEY ARE NOT A LAB. Trying to train one the same way you would a lab will frustrate you and the dog. There are a number of spaniel geared training books out there, but using a book meant for labs will do more harm than good in my experience.