In the early 1970’s my father purchased two Labrador Retrievers, one black, and one yellow. He started duck and pheasant hunting and began training his labs for show and hunting. After being tapped on the shoulder in the ring, he quickly gave up on the political game of the confirmation shows. He met some field trial trainers and joined a club in Wisconsin which he still belongs. I helped him train those two dogs mainly throwing birds.

I’ve always loved our dogs and my favorite was my Dads third dog Shane. I learned a valuable lesson when my father found out Shane was dysplastic (hip displasia) and wouldn’t be suitable for field trials. He was 5 years old and my Father thought rather then put him down, he would make someone a fine hunting dog, so he sold him to a duck hunter.

Six months later the man brought Shane back for a visit. The new owner was very pleased with his new duck dog. When I heard Shane was back for a visit, I jumped up, ran outside to Shane with arms outstretched ready to give him the biggest kiss ever. He turned, looked at me and trotted over to the nearest tree and lifted his leg. I was almost in tears, my friend had forgotten me. But really Shane now had a new owner, was happy retrieving ducks and was looking just fine. Then I realized that if the dog has a good home he would adapt to the owners just fine.

Ever since than I’ve been training and handling retrievers. I’ve had many dogs, which I extensively hunt for ducks, geese, pheasant, grouse and woodcock. I’ve been running my dogs as well as friend’s dogs in AKC field trials, AKC hunt tests, UKC hunt tests, and several other retriever contests. I have been doing my own training as an amateur and have qualified my dogs as well as placed (including several wins) at these events; I have attended AKC judge’s seminars as well as worked events as Marshall, shooter, bird thrower and all around gopher, I’ve been on our retriever clubs board and have been the chairman of several retriever events.

I’ve seen the old training methods as well as the new, have read nearly every book I’ve found on training retrievers, watched every training tape I could get my hands on as well as subscribed to many magazines. My training methods have been developed along the way using information from those resources as well as other trainer’s old school and new guys including my father who ran field trials for twenty years. Of course most methods of training these dogs have been developed from over 50 years of training in the States from many excellent trainers, professional as well as amateurs. Some came from overseas, mainly from England.

The methods that will be presented will make most dogs excellent hunting companions as well as have the training to compete at field trials and hunt tests. We will talk about how to take the puppy through all the changes of training, how to introduce the pup to pressure, introduction to birds, guns, boats, decoys, and different types of cover. We will explain the forced retrieve, the e-collar, and provide many drills. We will discuss multiple marks, blinds, and a slew of other advanced tactics. You and your dog will become friends, companions, and partners. Your dog will respect you and have confidence in you.

First of all, everything we do in front of the pup is training. After being involved in raising and training Labrador Retrievers for nearly 30 years, that’s one thing that’s clear. They see and learn from our every move and consistency in our training is by far the most important aspect of beginning training as well as advanced.

We must know what we want in a dog, what we expect of the dog and what our goals are with this dog. For example, say at the present time we have no desire to breed our dog. But down the road we want a pup out of this dog for one reason or another. If that’s a possibility than neutering or spaying the dog wouldn’t be the right thing to do.

A lot of people change their minds in what their expectations are for their dog. Many people that run hunt tests or field trials never thought when they first purchased the dog that they would be doing this. They begin training, or meet someone that’s involved with these events, and then they try it and like it. Many people that run at these events just start out wanting a good hunting dog that’s good in the house and good with kids. The thing is; training and running events is very addicting.

So the first thing we must do as responsible owners of the breed is to research and get the best dog we can for our personnel needs.

The first dog I bought was a black lab named Bear. My Father asked me if I registered the dog with the AKC? I told him, "I just want a good hunting dog and don’t have any plans on running him in trials or breeding him". Well you know where this is going; of course later on I wished I had registered him, because he turned out to be a pretty damned good dog.

Some people will spend a thousand dollars on their gun, but just can’t seem to spend much on a dog. That dog will bring back many more birds than that gun will. They may end up spending more on vet bills by obtaining dogs with genetic defects and endless health problems because they didn’t want to spend the extra money to get a genetically sound dog with a pedigree that has generations of problem free dogs.

A friend of mine purchased his first dog for next to nothing and had the dog pro trained at a young age as well as spent countless hours of personnel training, ran the dog through the junior hunter program with the akc hunt tests and the dog was doing great. Shortly after, the dog obtained countless health problems including uterus removal, extreme weight problem (thyroid), tumors, acl tears, and arthritis. The dog was retired at 6 years old. The pedigree wasn’t researched, he didn’t look for reputable breeders, and just didn’t know or care to look to the future. It was his first dog and surely learned a valuable lesson the hard way. No one wants this to happen and that’s why we must take precautions before purchasing the dog.

It’s a bigger responsibility in owning a dog than most people think. We should be aware that we must be responsible to the breed itself. We should always steer clear of pet shops, dog brokers, and pet factories only looking for monetary gain. They could care less about the breed or genetic quality and are only interested in the payout.

We should also be aware of the backyard breeder. This can be deceiving, because all though there are good quality pups coming from amateurs in the field, there are far more poor litters than good ones. Ask lots of questions about why they bred the dog. When you’re satisfied, have them send you a certified copy of the pedigrees from both dogs and any pictures or videos of the parents to examine.

One good reason for an amateur to breed would be if they feel they have a substantially good dog and find an excellent stud or bitch with a complimentary trait that could improve this particular line. They know the lines in the pedigrees, and want one of the pups for themselves. This would seem an acceptable reason to have a litter since we certainly shouldn’t do it for the money. Having one litter is going to cost you nearly as much as you will get from the purchase prices of the puppies, depending on stud fee and the price tag you put on them.

I see far to many inferior retrievers out there, and the hunting breeds have deteriorated because of people trying to make a buck, or not being responsible enough to neuter or spay a dog that simply shouldn’t produce a litter because of genetic defects, health problems, behavior problems, or deference’s from the breed. If I have a retriever that doesn’t like to retrieve I certainly wouldn’t breed the dog and make more of the same. So how do we properly research the breed so as to have as little problems as possible and get the most trainable dog I can?

If you’re researching a dog for hunting, field trials, or hunt tests then you’d want to see many titles relating to field work in the pedigree. For example a "CH" listed before the dogs name means the dog is a champion conformation dog titled by the AKC (American Kennel Club) in bench shows. This title doesn’t relate at all to fieldwork but only has won a beauty contest, and in the opinion of certain judges looks better then the other dogs entered. So as far as your concerned this dog may be pretty, but may or may not have ever retrieved a bird, or may not be able to be trained to love the retrieve.

Dogs with no titles next to their name may or may not be suitable to your needs. Research must be done on these dogs, because a dog with no titles may be a high point derby dog or qualified all age and with open all age points but just hasn’t met the criteria to obtain a field championship. Researching pedigrees requires a lot of work, but its well worth the effort to find that special dog.

The more titles in a pedigree the better, the first three generations can be the most important. Pedigrees can be obtained through several different dog registries the most common in the states being the American Kennel Club (AKC). Be aware that the AKC's pedigrees will only show that clubs recognized titles. In other words the dogs on an AKC pedigree may be titled as hunting champions in other national registries like United Kennel Club or Canadian Kennel Club but won’t be shown on an AKC pedigree. The same holds true on the United Kennel Clubs (UKC) pedigrees. The North American Hunter Retriever Association (NAHRA) try’s to complement the dogs by putting all known titles at the dog’s names.

An example of titles to look for in order of preference of difficulty of the tests are as follows, AKC titles = NFC (National Field Champion), NAFC (National Amateur Field Champion), FC (Field Champion), CNFC (Canadian National Field Champion), CFC (Canadian Field Champion), MH (Master Hunter), SH (Senior Hunter), JH (Junior Hunter). UKC and NAHRA titles can be viewed on their respective websites. An example of a suitable pedigree is shown as figure 1. When in doubt contact a reputable breeder and ask lots of questions about the dogs on the pedigree until your satisfied you’re getting what you want.

Good sources of reputable breeders include magazines, such as Retriever Field Trial News, The Retriever Journal and Retrievers Online magazines. Also try the Internet websites such as Working Retriever Central. The point is to find a good dog for your purpose and a good athlete for training that’s going to be trainable and have a good genetic background.

Another point to bring up is the genetic certifications, such as the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) hip and elbow certifications. Make sure you see the OFA certificate. Ask the breeder to see a copy of all the genetic health certificates for the sire and dam. The rating (excellent, good, or fair) pertaining to hips will be on these documents.

All dogs on a three-generation pedigree should have this information. If any dogs on the pedigree don’t have this number then questions should be asked as to why. The dog that was not certified might be a great dog, but to obtain a dog and fully train him only to find out he has displaysia isn’t worth the risk. Dogs can be x-rayed at two years old to obtain certification. Preliminary checks can be done before the age of two but cannot be certified.

Elbow certifications are also done but as of this writing they are not normally a problem and not as detrimental of a problem as the hips. The stud dogs are usually elbow certified. The problem with elbow certifications is that even dogs that aren’t cleared as being elbow dysplasia free might run for long lives without ever having a problem. That is not usually the case with hip dysplasia.

The Canine Eye Registry Foundation also certifies that the eyes are problem free. These tests are almost becoming the norm with reputable breeders. Ask to see a copy of this certificate also. Remember the Eye certificate can only be valid if done yearly or within a year of the date you are viewing it. Again this problem is not as much of an issue as the hips seem to be.

Other tests including CNM (Labrador Myopathy) and EIC (Exercise Induced Collapse) are occasionally done by breeders and are becoming more and more popular. These diseases can also be researched on-line.

The breeder should also provide a receipt for the deposit on the pup as well as a receipt for full payment after you purchase the pup. Breeders should provide the first shots the pup is to receive, as well as removing the dewclaws.

You should take the dog to your Vet within 48 hours for an exam as well as a blood test (to check for heartworm) and receive heartworm pills if its mosquito season. Normal vaccinations for the first year are normally a combo type vaccine of distemper and parvo and should be given at – 1^st shots 6-8 weeks, 2^nd shots 10-12 weeks, 3^rd shots 14-16 weeks, then yearly (check with your vet). They should receive their first rabies no earlier then 16 weeks then one year from that date and then every 3 years (depending on your States requirements).

If you’re planning on neutering or spaying the pup it should be done after 6 months. A written warranty against genetic defects is also a must. The standard warranties, guarantees the dog from genetic defects such as hip displasia for 2 years. Most warranties will expire after 2 years old, so its imperative to have the dog’s hips x-rayed as well as the eyes checked at that time. Most breeders will give a full refund for the pup or an equivalent pup provided you show proof from a certified Vet. Once verified you have to return the dog to the breeder to be spayed, neutered or put down. It’s not much of a warranty after you have spent countless training hours on the dog and have now become attached to him. That’s why it’s so important to research the pedigree and find out as much as you can about the dogs in that background.

A dog is a product of the parents, their parents and so on. Take your time picking your companion, it’s a 10 to 15 year investment and it doesn’t do the breed or yourself justice to do it half assed.

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