Beginning Bird Training For Puppies

Can anyone recommend bird training for puppies(lab) in the Kalamazoo/Portage area?. Knitrous is 16 weeks old ( A Lab), it seems his nose is a good one I have noticed. Whether it be from UKC or some other local organization, I would appreciate anyones advice.

There are many HRC clubs in Michigan, on the west side of the state, there is Great Lakes (www.glhrc.com) and a new club in the Kalamazoo area just formed, (www.kvhrc.com). There's at least some place to start. Contact the officers, go to one of the training days, etc., there are usually some good people to help you out.
Good luck,
Sarah

Well would you like to upland hunt with Knitrous, or are you looking to Waterfowl hunt with him?

Would you like to send him for training in the Hopkins area? (Means a minimum of 2 months for VERY basic bird work.)

Would you like to train him yourself?

Are you looking for a finished, seasoned, or started dog?

Most dogs that are DECENT upland (pheasant and upland bird dogs) dogs that are trained at a pro spend 2-3 months at the pro. We sent both of our dogs for 4-5 months of training a piece.

Field training is EXPENSIVE!!! How much would you like to spend on training? We spent about 650 a month.

Would you like the dog Force Fetched? (This is a Month long process in it self. But, if you are looking to do any hunting and testing Force Fetch is an essential.)

Birds are a bit costly. 8-12 dollars a piece.

These are all things to consider when you look at getting your pup trained.

Also if you get him birds or a bird wing do NOT let him start chewing it even as a pup.

Roger, I can recommend a great pup training video for you, if you're interested.

Right now, mainly concentrate on socializing the little guy. Expose him to all enviornments/terrain you can, noises - including gun shots. Introduce him to bird wings.. here's a recommendation (maggot free) http://www.gundogsupply.com/wild-pheasant-wings-6.html and pigeons with extreme supervision one on one.. using a 20' or 30' check cord to reel him in http://www.gundogsupply.com/k-9-komfort-biothane-check-cord.html .... that's just for starters.

And yes, if you are truly interested in getting started.... definitely a good idea to get with a club and/or local training group. Lucky for you with the new Kalamazoo HRC club. There's AKC clubs too, check their site.


Barb and Ten

Thanks everyone for the Information!! I am looking to upland hunt, since that is where most my experience is. We used a brittany/springer for our dog. I was not sure labs are used for upland. Thought it was waterfowl mainly with labs.

Thanks Sarah for the info on kvhrc, I think it would be a great place to start with him. I will check it out.

Barb, Thanks for the website links. What is the pup training video?

Intellabs wrote:I was not sure labs are used for upland.

Have you heard of a couple dogs by the name of Sky and Star?

I think just about everyone has heard of Sky & Star!! I thought they were Golden's and not Labs. I was mainly under the impression that labs were best used for duck hunting, which I have never hunted ducks. I have only hunted Grouse.

Labs are the dog of choice when it comes to duck hunting, but they can be great for upland as well. Personally, I prefer to stick with the pointing breeds for upland, but everyone has their preference.

I am planning on using Draken (Drake), our 6 month old GSP, for duck hunting.

I would rather use a pointing breed as well, when I was a kid we had a spinger/brittany. RD was good till you shot once and then you would find her back at the cabin.

Being that Knitrous is our new pup, I am learning about his likes and skills. His parents come from good hunting stock and from what I have seen from him so far it seems he has an exceptional nose. I think a dog with a good nose is more helpful in upland hunting as opposed to duck hunting for instance. Or am I wrong?

Our dogs are active upland and waterfowl hunters and hunt test/trial dogs. We have a GWP, a GSP and four curlies so we ride both sides of the fence. Use of nose, a good hunt pattern, and birdiness is a huge benefit no matter what type of hunting you plan to do. Upland is a bit easier than duck hunting to train for....and more fun(according to me....). Basically your pup just needs to know it is out there to find birds, have a good solid recall and retrieve and not be gun shy. Plus usually you don't have to get to get up as early and it doesn't involve cold water We do a lot of upland training on our young dogs to bring out their birdiness and persistence, I think it really helps them in the non-upland hunt tests. Keep the questions coming, I am happy to help young dogs develop their potential....you know how much they like the dock, they like the birds even better!

Just let me know when you want to see labs hunt in the upland. I guess the hundreds of people I took out this year can attest to the fact that labs can hunt just as well as pointers in the upland. (Sometimes even better. )

I have taken out many people who thought that labs couldn't compare to a pointing dog. I changed everyones opinion by the end of their trip.

Trained right a lab will hunt and do anything that you want. We hunt Woodcock, Grouse, Pheasant and Duck with our girls and I have even heard labs can run rabbits.

I think that 1500 birds in the upland this year for Sky and Star can attest to the fact that labs are GREAT upland dogs.

When you run your dog in the upland just remember.....
1. Keep him close.
2. Keep him close.
3. Keep him close.
4, Keep him close.
5. Hit the birds he puts up.

Just thought I would add.....

Many of my well traveled clients tell me that flushers make MUCH better pheasant dogs out west in the Dakotas.

For the record my yellow labs are and always have been yellow labs! Sky and Star do not even remotely resemble goldens! And I will second BT's comments ,labs will do just about anything that you ask them to do. Upland, water, pointing and retrieving! They are a phenomeal breed that are versatile and all round hunters in bith the upland field and the duck goose blind.

Another respource that you might want to check out is a book that can be purchased on Amazon.
Julie Knutson is a well known and established breeder trainer and handler for pointing labradors.
She runs her dogs in American Pointing Lab Association trials, AKC hunt test, and UKC hunt tests.
I have found her book on labrador retriever training to be an excellent resource on training both pointing
and nonpointing Labs for both upland and water work. Julie is truly a class act when it comes to trainers
and her book is a phenomenal resource.

The title of her book is "The Pointing Lab" by Julie Knutson and as I said it is available on Amazon.com.

Personally, unless you have the time to devote to training Knitrous, I would strongly recommend a trainer
for at least a couple fo months to get some beginning bird work done. I can very highly recommend a trainer
very close to you, near Gun Lake. This gentlemen is extremely soft spoken, but he will train your dog for basic
work, including all of the basic commands and beginning bird work. He will also force fetch if you request it, and
personally, I would not own a lab without force fetching them. I think it is absolutely an imperative for good handling of
birds, and phenomenal retrieving skills.

If you are interested in the trainers name, send me a PM and I will glady give you his name and number.
He has trained several labs for people that I know as well as both Sky and Star.

team sky wrote:When you run your dog in the upland just remember.....
1. Keep him close.
2. Keep him close.
3. Keep him close.
4, Keep him close.
5. Hit the birds he puts up.

Those are definitly words to live by with labs (or any other flushers). Nothing can ruin a good hunt more than a lab that runs too big and flushes up birds that are out of range.

Brian & Brian Sr.,thanks for all the good info. I think the book and a training club might be the way to go for me at this point. Hiring a professional trainer would be expensive. I may change my mind though!! I agree it's important to keep your dog close, as far as hitting what they put up? That could be a problem for me, I should bring you guys along for that part!!

Thanks for letting me know Sky & Star are labs, I don't know why I thought they were Goldens. You would think with all the labs I have that I would no one when I see one!! Again thanks guys for all the info.

Rajah wrote:

team sky wrote:When you run your dog in the upland just remember.....
1. Keep him close.
2. Keep him close.
3. Keep him close.
4, Keep him close.
5. Hit the birds he puts up.

Those are definitly words to live by with labs (or any other flushers). Nothing can ruin a good hunt more than a lab that runs too big and flushes up birds that are out of range.

Or Pointers that are to excitable!