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Old 07-15-2010, 10:32 AM   #5
ishoot308
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I have trained three labs (all yellows) thus far for both upland game and water retrieval (ducks , geese etc.) All three turned out to be excellent hunters. My current and recent lab enjoys water retrieval more than anything. She is a little too laid back for pheasant, woodcock, grouse, upland type hunting believe it or not, but is still quite capable and does enjoy it.

Jmen has given you some good information above and one of the points he brings up will be your biggest hurdle to find out and get over and that is whether or not your dogs are gun shy.

One of the best ways to train your dog not to be gun shy is with a starter pistol. While your dog is feeding, stand in a far away room with a starter pistol and fire it a couple times only while they are eating. Over the course of a few weeks gradually get closer to their feeding station until eventually your are right next to them and able to fire the pistol without them running away. They will then always attribute the sound of gun fire to something they enjoy, eating. Then always try and train with gun fire whenever possible. Starter pistols are cheap and invaluable during training.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Dan
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