Maeve is a pretty girl! 40lbs is perfect. I agree more joy with the dogs hunting than anything else.
Characteristics sounds similar to my Vizsla....He will not hunt unless he can see me, turns into a sissy. Won't hunt for any of my buddies either unless I'm right there with them . I'm guessing Vizslas were bred that way? Not sure....She's not a pointer, Braque d'Auvergne is the breed, though they do point well. They hunt closer in not as far out as pointers/setters do. She is still lots of pup. I haven't had her up hunting in Idaho. Lots of "bird" in this one. She'll be awesome if I do my part. Hopefully life will allow it.
Get a copy of "Training Your Retriever" by James Lamb Free and follow it to the letter. You and your retriever will bond in no time.I do have a young male golden that is very skittish. Any tips on breaking a dog into gunfire slowly. He jumps at the sound of the slide racking on my pistol. I don't know if he will ever be a gun dog.
Hows the training going? I am currently looking for a bird dog so hoping to be in training mode soon.So I checked out a designated bird hunt/bird dog type forum today. I'm in the beginning stages of learning and was hoping to learn something.
What I learned was, the forum members were kind of rude to each other and seemed a little arrogant. I guess LRH has spoiled me a little bit.
No, I have a little Golden Retriever. We hunted North Dakota for the first time last year. She's the first dog I've tried to train. She doesn't know a lot of commands and we probably would get laughed off of some expensive hunting lodge for improper etiquette. All that being said we went out on public land last year and killed a few wild birds. My little dog and I are now hooked and I'm still trying to learn what I can when I get time. I'm in the process of moving to Montana soon so this season we will be starting over finding places to hunt
My grandfather raised and trained Champion Chesapeake Bay retrievers for many many years! He was also a Steeplechase Jockey in England prior to emigrating to Canada in 1897. He told me when I was very young....son...you can train a horse or a dog to do anything you want.....even if EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING may be wrong by ACCEPTED PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS....as long as you are 100% consistent...with YOUR COMMANDS! He was right.No, I have a little Golden Retriever. We hunted North Dakota for the first time last year. She's the first dog I've tried to train. She doesn't know a lot of commands and we probably would get laughed off of some expensive hunting lodge for improper etiquette. All that being said we went out on public land last year and killed a few wild birds. My little dog and I are now hooked and I'm still trying to learn what I can when I get time. I'm in the process of moving to Montana soon so this season we will be starting over finding places to hunt.
I've been real busy with life so it's a slow process. He's doing much better with loud noises around the house. Now that I'm done deer hunting it's time to get into bird mode. I need to get him out around 22 rifle and see how he does.Hows the training going? I am currently looking for a bird dog so hoping to be in training mode soon.