# Training video question



## bnew17 (Nov 27, 2011)

Im going to be getting a lab around april of next year. I want to try and train the dog to retreive. Is there a video or book that anybody can reccomend? I would prefer to have a video


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## UGA hunter (Nov 27, 2011)

Duck Dog Basics by Chris Akin is a good one!


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## bnew17 (Nov 28, 2011)

UGA hunter said:


> Duck Dog Basics by Chris Akin is a good one!



UGA have you used it before? this will be my first time training a dog.


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## DUhollywood1 (Nov 28, 2011)

Look into: 

Mike Lardy
Evan Graham
Bill Hillman
Fowl dogs


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## UGA hunter (Nov 28, 2011)

I personally haven't trained a dog with it but a few friends have and they have some very good retrievers!!!


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## obadiah (Nov 29, 2011)

DUhollywood1 said:


> Look into:
> 
> Mike Lardy
> Evan Graham
> ...



This


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## Tag-a-long (Nov 29, 2011)

DUhollywood1 said:


> Look into:
> 
> Mike Lardy
> Evan Graham
> ...





obadiah said:


> This



Yup!  And my preference would be in that order although I'll admit I only know Hillman and Fowl Dogs by reputation (Hillman is next on my acquisition list!  ).  

No matter what you get though, there is nothing that beats having an experienced mentor or two show you hands on what you need to do.  If you can find someone to train with that will help you more than anything.  I am certainly not the most experienced trainer in the group but when you get him/her let us know and we'll get you out to a Mid-Ga training day sometime.


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## bnew17 (Nov 29, 2011)

Tag-a-long said:


> Yup!  And my preference would be in that order although I'll admit I only know Hillman and Fowl Dogs by reputation (Hillman is next on my acquisition list!  ).
> 
> No matter what you get though, there is nothing that beats having an experienced mentor or two show you hands on what you need to do.  If you can find someone to train with that will help you more than anything.  I am certainly not the most experienced trainer in the group but when you get him/her let us know and we'll get you out to a Mid-Ga training day sometime.



Will do man. I preciate all the info so far. I definitely think i will benefit the most from video training as opposed to books. I know a few trainers that i can contact as well if need be. i have noticed that alot of people use shock collars on the dogs when training. is that a neccessity or just personal preference?


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## DUhollywood1 (Nov 29, 2011)

bnew17 said:


> Will do man. I preciate all the info so far. I definitely think i will benefit the most from video training as opposed to books. I know a few trainers that i can contact as well if need be. i have noticed that alot of people use shock collars on the dogs when training. is that a neccessity or just personal preference?



As far as the dvds go, yes they are great to demonstrate a drill you may not completely understand how to run. The text that goes with lardy and graham's work will explain why you are doing it. Invest in one of the two programs and your eyes will be opened. Training a retriever is kinda like math, you can't add before you can count and you can't multiply before you can add.

As far as the ecollar goes: it is a great tool for training. More than less an extended leash for correcting commands that are already known, not for teaching the commands.


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## bnew17 (Apr 16, 2012)

Im leaning towards Rick Stawski's Fowl Dogs 3 dvd set. ANybody on here used it before?


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## krazybronco2 (Apr 16, 2012)

this is what i will be getting in a little bit. from all the research i have done this is the best info you can get for the price. 

You can spend thousands of dollars for a trainer or a couple hundred for a really good dvd set.

http://www.gundogsupply.com/full-smartwork-dvd-package-special.html


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## Folsom (Apr 16, 2012)

krazybronco2 said:


> this is what i will be getting in a little bit. from all the research i have done this is the best info you can get for the price.
> 
> You can spend thousands of dollars for a trainer or a couple hundred for a really good dvd set.
> 
> http://www.gundogsupply.com/full-smartwork-dvd-package-special.html



Yes, BUT the experience and ability to read a dog that a good  pro has is priceless.


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## jwb72 (Apr 16, 2012)

bnew17 said:


> Im leaning towards Rick Stawski's Fowl Dogs 3 dvd set. ANybody on here used it before?



I have it and I like it pretty well. This is my first go at it and it is easy to follow and doesn't put me to sleep like some other videos I've seen. Plus it's not that expensive compared to some of the others. The only thing, as someone also told me, is that he doesn't really go into multiple marks and varying distances very much in the beginning. But I haven't gotten into the second dvd yet. I'm afraid if I look ahead I'll try to rush things.


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## krazybronco2 (Apr 16, 2012)

Folsom said:


> Yes, BUT the experience and ability to read a dog that a good  pro has is priceless.



That is VERY true but some people do not have thousands of dollars to spend on a trainer and think that a $20 dvd will be the easy fix. when they could spend a little more money and get more information and get more indepth with the training.

not trying to get in a urination match just this is what i have found from the months of research i have done to find the most indepth dvds i could find, and again i know that a trainer has more experiance and i wish i could afford to send my pup to a trainer but i dont have that kind of money


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## Folsom (Apr 16, 2012)

krazybronco2 said:


> That is VERY true but some people do not have thousands of dollars to spend on a trainer and think that a $20 dvd will be the easy fix. when they could spend a little more money and get more information and get more indepth with the training.
> 
> not trying to get in a urination match just this is what i have found from the months of research i have done to find the most indepth dvds i could find, and again i know that a trainer has more experiance and i wish i could afford to send my pup to a trainer but i dont have that kind of money



No offence was taking. I was just throwing out there that watching all the DVD's and reading book after book doesn't take the place of being able to read the dog.


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## ngaduck (Apr 16, 2012)

I don't care for the fowl dog dvds. Not sure why, I just didn't like them. 

Folsom is right. If you can't read the dog, you are not going to be able to train them the right way. The more in depth dvds are going to get you a better trained dog as long as you can read the dog. My advice is to get the a good program such as Smartworks or Mike Lardy's TRT then find a pro or accomplished amateur to help you along the way. If you are going to train your own dog, having someone truly experienced to help you is the ticket.


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## bnew17 (Apr 17, 2012)

jwb72 said:


> I have it and I like it pretty well. This is my first go at it and it is easy to follow and doesn't put me to sleep like some other videos I've seen. Plus it's not that expensive compared to some of the others. The only thing, as someone also told me, is that he doesn't really go into multiple marks and varying distances very much in the beginning. But I haven't gotten into the second dvd yet. I'm afraid if I look ahead I'll try to rush things.



Thats good to hear, how do you feel your dog is responding to it?


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## jwb72 (Apr 17, 2012)

He's doing real well. He does doubles with no problem and marks really well. I also followed him with teaching obedience and he's great with that, too. He's a pretty soft dog and I haven't seen any issues with confidence or timidity except for when I started collar conditioning, but that was my fault in starting that too early. He's still teething, so I haven't done any force fetching with him yet, but Rick does a good job explaining and demonstrating that, I feel.


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