new pup

[SMOKE]

hey guys just got home with my new pup from dennis taylor. i got a yellow female shes is just about the same color as hawk. im gonna try and get some pics up here in the next few days. i just catn wait to start hunting her i hope she turns out as good as her dad. :D

[Max4Gooser]

I picked mine up as well, got to see Smoke's pup while I was at Dennis's house. She is a good lookin little pup. Mine is a yellow male, a little bit lighter in color than his dad, but still a good lookin dog. Dennis told me he has two black females left out of the litter, if anyone is interested.

[SMOKE]

alright guys heres some pics of the new pup Lucy. she looks a lot like her dad(hawk). shes quite the character let me tell ya and i couldnt be happier with her :lol: just cannot wait till she gets big enough to start huntin with me.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/smokegrinder/lucy3.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/smokegrinder/lucy2.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/smokegrinder/lucy4.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/smokegrinder/lucy.jpg

[wpritchett]

Great looking pup'. Happy hunting to you and Lucy.

[mlgorecki]

That's exciting stuff. Scout will be 3 this August and we're both anxious to start our second waterfowl season. This is the first time in my life where I want summer to just blow by.

[hoosierhunter]

Good luck to you smoke. Is this your first hunting retriever? I love working my dog, I'd almost rather work the dog than actually shoot anymore. Almost! Nothing better than a good handling dog. Are you going to train her, or send her to someone?

[SMOKE]

hoosier- yeah shes actually my first pet ever not countin the fish you win at the county fair when your little that are lucky if they make it out of the parkin lot alive :shock: . my plan as of now is to take her back to dennis taylor and let him train her. i really want her to turn out good and with my job i work a lot and probably wouldnt always have time to work with her myself. dennis does a hell of a job too from what ive heard. he actually has one of jeffs other dogs over there right now for training. shes already gotten bigger since monday night. damn near too big for her pet taxi i got guess ill have to go buy the great big one pretty soon :D

[hoosierhunter]

Are you going to keep her in the house permanently or outside? How much does Dennis charge to train? I had mine trained by a guy in Tennessee, it was $350 per month, and he had my dog for about 9-10 months. He trained him to the point where he does all the blind retrieves and hand signals, definitely worth the money! Having a dog that will handle is awesome. Good luck to you, and many years of enjoyment!

[SMOKE]

shes inside now but will be goin outside here pretty soon. i think he said 450 a month.

[IowaMigr8tor]

For $25 you can go out and buy "Water Dog", do all the training one on one with YOUR dog. You will learn everything that you are paying someone $350-450 to teach your dog and all you get out of it is a trained dog and not a trained trainer. I have water dog and it is amazing how much the dogs that i have trained have turned out. It just takes time with you and your dog, but you form a strong bond between you and your dog.

[hoosierhunter]

I agree doing it yourself is probably better, but if you don't have the time to consistently put toward it, paying someone is the only other alternative. If I was going to do it myself, I really like the Smartwork by Evan Graham. As far as learning to handle the dog, my trainer took a day with me to show me everything he had done and where to correct if necessary, most good trainers will also do this, and if I have any questions or my dog needs a "tune up" on something, he is more than happy to meet and work on something. I don't feel that I'm disadvantaged in any way, actually just the opposite, I have a very well trained dog that helps to train me to handle him, I feel more confident to train one myself now if I was going to. To me it was definitely money well spent. I still have to work my dog consistently, but he's already trained, so it's just repition to him now, staying sharp for next season, and it is so much fun!

[mlgorecki]

I'm new at this so I won't even pretend to know as much as you guys.

Hoosierhunter, it must be awesome having a dog trained buy a pro, and I'm very envoius of you for that. It was definitely worth the money for you.

Iowamigr8tor, I too have copies of Richard Wolters's "Water Dog" and "Game Dog", and I trained Scout myself. He's not ready for OLN but he does a hell of a job and keeps getting better. I also have him trained up for pheasants and he points. You are 100% correct on the hunter/dog bond thing; furthermore, there is nothing like the feeling of watching a dog, that you trained yourself, do the job out there on the water. It was like teaching my kid to ride a bike. I was very lucky in that I've had the time to do it which is the big variable in the equation. I do spoil him though; he sleeps inside and he is definitely part of the family. I've read and been told that this helps reinforce the bond thing.

[SMOKE]

for you guys with dogs already how old were your pups before you put them outside??? lucy just turned 7 weeks on saturday and i figure in another month or less she should be ready to go outside.

[ganderlander1]

Dennis does a great job with dogs and I would strongly recommend sending your dog there if you dont have the time. My best friend did a internship at nilo farms last year and got to help dennis with his training of dogs. My friend has a yellow male and trained it with dennis's help and the dog is great. He marks well and takes hand signals great and does really well on blind retrieves and the dog is just turning 1 year old. From what I have seen and the fallen skies videos of jeffs dog Hawk and from my friends dog it would be a wise investment if you have the money.

[hoosierhunter]

Smoke, my dog was about 3 months old when we started to keep him outside, we would bring him in the night. Finally about 4-5 months old he stayed outside permanently. I sent him to be trained when he was about 7 months old, and the trainer had him for about 9 almost 10 months, they want to take them after they loose their puppy teeth. Having my dog outside conditions him to the elements for hunting, but I do bring him in when it gets extremely cold outside.

[SMOKE]

lucy loves it outside some times i think she would rather stay out then come in. ill take her out and run around the back yard with her and then try and get her to come back to the house and she just wont hardly do it. i know she will be ok outside durin the day but the night was what i was wondering about but then again dennis had them outside so it may not even bother her.guess only one way to find out.

[migrator00]

had mine outside permanent at 6 weeks..not a problem

[IowaMigr8tor]

Thanks thats what I was getting at. My dog also is in no way ready to go on OLN but he does the jobs I need him to do and I dont ask any more of him. Our Lab also sleeps inside and most of the time is wherever we are!