I good friend of the pops gave me a lab that has been trained i got her monday she listens well but her stay isnt so well and dont no about shootin a gun he days she isnt gun shy whats the best way to figure out if she is and what should i look for as far as just overall retreiving amy help is much appreciated

Take a shot from a distance 25 yards a way and see what happens.

Stay is important but should be trained through the sit command. If you haven't done this before get some books/videos. Also see if there are any retriever clubs in your area. Google "hrc".

I would start with a gun that isnt very loud, maybe a pellet gun and work my way up to a 12g, u stay with the dog and have somebody shoot away from y'all just to see what kind of reaction u get out it. Im not a trainer, but this is what i did with my pup in the beginning.

If your dog is gun shy, it will likely b scared to death as soon as u pull the gun out. If u can walk around wif the gun and the dog follow u, u will likely b OK. If it is scared of the site of a gun, u likely won't b able to fix her yourself. She can b fixed, but it will take more work than any working person is capable of.

Here are some threads that will help you out with checking her for being gun shy.






As for the "STAY" command. Is she breaking because she is excited or is she just not listening. There is a difference. Her drive to retrieve could be the root cause. If it is then you have a good problem. If she is just being hard headed then you need to go back to obedience 101 before the gun drills.

As for the command "STAY"....forget it. Sit means sit. With your hand and palm extended in front of her face you make her sit..."Sit, NO!" "Sit, NO!" When she puts them together she will start to stay. Eventually increase your distance from her, but do NOT turn your back yet until you are at a great distance. Once she is staying (without being told to stay) then you repeat the process. Start up close in her face and when you increase your distance from her that is when you turn your back and walk away. I would only increase the distance by a few yards at a time then turn to face her..."Sit, NO!" with your hand and palm still extended. Eventually you will be able to tell her to sit and walk 300 yards away with your back turned and she won't budge.

Good luck!!

Stay shouldn't even be in ur dogs vocabulary sit means sit why confuse the dog by adding something that is meaningless leave it at sit and if the dog gets up correct it with sit r ur obedience is not completed

She will stay until i throw the bumper i can say no stay when she starts to retrieve and she will stay the guy said when heres a shot and sees a duck fall she's gone to get b4 u have to tell her

That is a good problem to have. However it can be a trainers achilles heal as well. You want your dog to have drive, but also you want, or more importantly, NEED to control it.

DO NOT AGGRESSIVELY CORRECT THIS UNTIL YOU CAN ACCURATELY GAUGE HOW MUCH PRESSURE YOU CAN PUT ON HER.

Method #1: Throw bumpers and use a heel stick. REINFORCE HEEL. Throw bumper with right hand and at the same time you rare back to toss it a little pop with the heel stick will reinforce it.

Method #2: If method #1 fails use a check cord. A very short one. You can start by standing on it and when she breaks she will not like the result I promise. It shouldn't take long before she realizes getting jerked by the neck is not fun. If you are not heavy enough you can hold it with your hand. However, sometimes this leads to dogs being nervous of English slip leads (or leash) because they see the rope in your hand.

Method #3: Shock collar if she is collar conditioned. Toss bumper, verbal "SIT - NO", low nick with collar. If she is not collar conditioned DO NOT USE THIS METHOD.

Do not ever forget: You cannot ever put the drive back into a dog so do not do anything to her that will take it out. Learn what kind of pressure she can handle first.

Thanks everyone for all the help ... She is about 5 or 6 and pretty hefty she seems really smart and has takin to me very well alreadyim gonna try to diet her tips there would be appreciated to

How much overweight is she? That is going to dictate an exercise regiment.

Food is critical also at that age. What kind of food are you feeding her?

I got her a high protein weight manegment food from tsc shes prolly 15 to20 lbs overweight i ve had hog dogs before never had to deal with a weight issue tho they always had plenty of exercise

Here is my opinion.

Cut her food back to 3/4 daily consumption. Then split that between two meals. Morning/Evening. Switch to a food with glucosamine and that is an ALL natural food. NO fillers. Wellness Core Original is a good one. I have fed that to my labs their entire life. I have a 5.5 year old female who looks like she is barely two. I firmly believe it is the food. I would drop half of her weight first before exercise through scaling back the food. Trust me. She will not starve so do not feel like you are doing her an injustice. The injustice is her being overweight. Invest in an auto-feeder that you can program to control portions and exact feed times. I have one I bought online for about $50. Correct portions and a feeding schedule is important. Their body gets tuned to it just like a humans.

She needs an exercise routine. Start with brisk walking (on grass) just to strengthen her joints as I am sure they have been stressed due to excessive weight. You will notice, and she will notice, the increased energy by dropping half her weight (7-10 lbs), switching her diet and feeding times. After a couple of weeks of the walking start her on a swimming routine. I would not put her through the rigors of heavy running until you drop all of the weight (15-20 lbs) and strengthen her muscles and joints through walking and swimming. Start small and then increase swimming distances. If you do not have the area to increase swim/walk distances just increase the time of exercise.

one more thing...what is your address to send the bill to for this help?

Just kidding...

Dont no much bout dogs but u gotta a ? Bout a diesel ill return the favor

just kidding man...ask away

Ill try all that out and see whats happens

Threw a gun up in front of her and boy did she get excited

Sounds like you may be golden then. Just need to get her weight down and back to a little obedience 101 for a bit to get her tuned up. Remember sit means sit. No breaking tolerated.

Glad to hear!