Hey guys, here is our new puppy, she is 9 weeks old now, we got her sunday before this last one. I decided to name her Heidi. She is supposed to be lab with some german shepherd, but they weren't sure how much (mom was pure, father was a visitor from next door and thought to have some german in him) a guy I know that has had labs said that she has a "block head" and looks good. she does have webbed paws.


I am on my way to get the wolters book, and thursday am going to try and stop by Bass Pro and get a retrieve r trainer and some dummies. I had a couple of questions though.

1. I was told labs are not the right breed to hunt pigs or bears, is that correct? (if not, any information on how to train for that?)

2. my other dog is an australian shepherd, I wish I'd spent more time with him training, he does love to chase anything and bring it back though. he's about 6yo. Can he be trained some of this? (specifically hand signals and more control. right now when he gets excited he won't listen to commands very well, like sit)

Thanks guys. (this isn't me, it's my brother holding her)


Red

quote:

she does have webbed paws.

Not sure about this but all dogs have webbed feet.....even my Beagle had webbed feet!

quote:

1. I was told labs are not the right breed to hunt pigs or bears, is that correct? (if not, any information on how to train for that?)

For that I'd suggest Mountain Curs.....

A labrador can be trained to do anything.....but I can't tell you how to do this. The Curs will do it almost without training at all.....they are air scenters where Labs normally are ground scenters.

Any dog with the right temperament will do most things, question is will he be good at it. I am a Lab person had them for most of my life and compete them, would they stand a chance against a pig or bear who is set on getting a peace of them, I personally don't think they have it in them, maybe the Shepard part would fill in the voids anyhow good luck
Labs are soft temperament dogs, they will defend themselves but not at the level a pit bull, Shepard or Rott would, seems the odds are greater with the more aggressive breeds.

Vapo I may be wrong, I don't know much about retrievers or their paws. I do know after being told that I checked her paws against my aussies and she has way more webbing between her toes than him, hers extends further out.

I bought the waterdog book and am reading it between meetings. I have not hunted duck before which so far seems the main purpose of this book, but I am not opposed to it. I'd also like to do some dove hunting but it seems this might not be the book to teach her how to do that kind of work. All bird hunting is new to me, which is why I was curious about the others types of hunting.

Mainly I want to train her well so she is capable, isn't board, and will be a good companion when hunting in general and camping. I wish I'd bought a book like this when my australian was younger, high strung SOB is very smart, but when there is a ball or food around he's so excited he doesn't listen well.

Thanks guys.

Red

I had a half lab shepherd cross when I was a kid great dog he wighed 120lbs when he would go after a bird it was fun to watch.

she could turn out to be a great dog train her properly she should work out

Hey Red, sorry I'm late to this thread.

I've seen guys use a Lab to retrieve doves after they are shot. I haven't used a dog to find doves since I usually set up before morning shoot time and wait for the birds to fly to/over me.

I've also seen Labs used as flushing dogs for upland game such as pheasants and quail.

If you like Wolters, look for Game Dog. It was written specifically for non-pointing upland game hunting dogs. Of course, there are other books though I don't know enough to recommend one. Check out Gundogsupply.com.

Late too. But Wolters' book is good. Have had several Labs, and I love the breed, but I would stick to birds, which they were bred for, or maybe tracking and bloodtrailing, which I am sure they would be good at (but have never used one of mine for that). They are not a dog to put into a fight. (With one exception -- I had a bitch -- the dog from hell -- that could have taken on the devil himself and won hell in the surrender, but that's another story, and not usual).

Dago Red, wrong breed for hunting pig or bears!

Now there are several crosses that will work out much better and not get sliced right from the get go. We raised AKC Labs 30 years ago, they are primarily a water retrieving breed. Now raise only AKC German Shorthair Pointers. We specialize in the NFC "Slick", NFC "Magnum" and NFC "Rawhide Clown" breeding

Yes, you can teach your other dog hand signals, it just takes a lot more time and patience. How much he will do is hard to say.