Just got back from the trainers.

[Benny]

Well I just got back from the trainers kennel.Mandy is doing well, they shot a couple pigions over her while showing me her do the upland stuff.She found them both and put them to flight.

Then we went to the ponds for some water work.They shot a duck for her, but the thrower didn't toss it far enough.So Mandy had to trudge through the mud to get it the first time.
The second time they tossed it way out in the middle.She went after it with gusto, even dove under the water twice to chase it.

Chris the trainer said it was the first time he had saw her do that, and that it was a good sign as she just learned to swim two weeks ago.

I got to work her as well, she did good the first toss, the second toss she wanted to break so she got tickled.

Then he showed me how well she does at heal, set/stay, while there were other people walking around her.

I had most of that basic obediance stuff down before she went there, so that helped out a lot.But with that collar on she knows it's buisness time.

I was originaly afraid to take her there as some people had voiced thier opinions about them and thier use of the collar.
But after watching Mandy tonight,I think they did good with the collar work.She doesn't seem to sulk,or shy away from any one when she gets nicked.She just takes it and does the comand.

Her tail never quit waggin the whole time, she was thrilled top see my daughter when they first got her out of the run.

Any way I left her there for anothere month to 6 weeks, they are going to do the force break,steady to shot,marking from shore,more water retrieves,decoys,boat work, and some whistle comands.

Can't wait to get her out in the field now.

Benny

[This message has been edited by Benny (edited 06-29-2004).]

[This message has been edited by Benny (edited 06-29-2004).]

[metrojoe]

Sounds like she is coming along nicely. Where did you take her?, and how much are you being "nicked"?

[Bushwacker]

Benny,
Congrats on your dog. It sounds like she is doing excellent. When I visited my dog at the trainer to see her progress I was grinning ear to ear the whole time. It is amazing what the professionals can do.
I had my dog at a trainer for a month and collar conditioning was part of the deal. Libby now goes nuts when I take out her e-collar. She knows its going to involve some fun, but she is all business the whole time with it on. Her reaction to her collar alone is worth the money spent on training her.

[This message has been edited by Bushwacker (edited 06-30-2004).]

[311Hemi]

How much does training like this run? I am sure it depends if you start the dog yourself or not? Also...any certain age to do this?

[WALLEYENUTZ]

311HEMI,
Yes, it depends on what the dogs knows by the time it gets to the trainer. I would say you can pay around $500-$750 a month for a trainer. Of course there are some that are more and some less, but you get the idea. I had my dog in for 1 month, he did force fetch, intro to birds, intro to gun, and shored up a little obedeince. Well worth the money if your not sure of yourself doing the training

[Bushwacker]

I paid $400 for a month of advance OB, Collar conditioning, force fetching, blinds, gun intro, bird intro, and some other basic training. Well worth it. Being a first time dog owner I read 6 retriever training books, but I did not think force-fetching was going to be an easy road for me. She is outstanding at it now and in my opinion, that is the basis for all advanced work.

[Swamp Scooter]

I sent the Monster out to the trainer for the force fetching and then on to some handling. I figured if she was going to hate anyone for making her take the directions it was not going to be me. yes... Good money spent wisely. The first month or so is the easy part. handling and some of the rest is the real meat of the dogs matter. They have to realize that you are giving them the direction. They have to understand that they have to take it too. Lots of brain work.

good luck with your new remote control(dog) not collar!!

[Benny]

Yep it is expensive, but as pointed out by others it is well worth the money.

I took her to Elk River Kennels,Al Freiberg is the head trainer but he has a guy named Chris working with Mandy.I am paying $575/mo + $150 for birds.

This second phase won't be as much for the birds .They use more dead birds now for the force fetch, hold, and steady to shot.But the monthly training cost is the same.

My plan is to see where she is at in 4 weeks, Chris said he thinks it will take 6 weeks to get her to where I want though.

After that I will take over as she should be well on her way to knowing what she is supose to do.

I too have several books and videos but it just wasn't the same if Mandy did some thing different than what the dog in the video did.Then I was spending more time tring to figure out how to teach Mandy what I wanted her to do rather than actualy training her.

It is a big,big plus to have them obediance trained and knowing it well before taking them to a trainer.
I had Mandy pretty well trained in that area, so Chris said he only had to reinforce the commands when off leash.

I have seen so many dogs bolt after some one or some animal who almost got hit by a car, to know a collar was going to be on her for sure.
I don't want to loose my hunting buddy to a squiral as she bolts mindlessly across a road.One blast of the whistle is all she should need, but a nick would stop her cold.

I checked around for prices before going to Elk River, they were one of the cheaper ones.
There are a few out side the metro area like 10 mile kennels that are a little less expensive, but this one is less than 30 minutes away from my house.They said the right things as well when I interveiwed them, although I was dissapointed that Al isn't doing any of the training, just his helpers.

Benny

[folke2000]

My lab is now 10 years old, had him at Elk River Kennels for training when he was young, and Al did a great job. Money Well Spent, and cheaper in the long run....