I have one of the most naturally talented German Wirehaired pointers and I made huge mistakes when training him by being to harsh and overpowering. It wasn't too much force but I was too rough verbally and he began to be scared when I would raise my voice. Not an easy one to fix and I'm very lucky he's so good at being a bird dog on his own. With his mannerisms, it just takes extraordinary amounts of patience to get him routine with commands. He just has so much energy and wants to go-go-go. So making him understand how to react to all commands the exact same way every time, was very very tough. But I will never again be too harsh and raise my voice. That made my job a hundred times harder.

I do a lot of traveling between home in South Carolina and school in Mississippi, so training my Boykin to relieve himself on command ("10-100" and "stool") has been helpful with pit stops. I don't have to wonder whether he will need to stop again in 20 minutes. The commands were also helpful in housebreaking and before hitting the dove field.

I find that there is so much diversity among Labradors that the best thing you can do is bring out the best of what's already inside without doing any damage. With intelligent dawgz from Champion stock, This is as challenging as anything you will encounter in this lifetime. As a triple Professional (including a Master's in Education) I was prepared for this. I know that, if I followed the sage instruction of my two best training manuals, there was ample opportunity and advice to ruin both of my present companions. The marketing of rigid training schedules and goals is beyond bordering on the Irresponsible. You just ain't gonna get it out of one manual. You can turn your dog into a Zombie that does or does not retrieve. Fortunately, Labs are very forgiving when young. Two things that can and will absolutely destroy your dog beyond repair are force training and the e-collar. Both of these confine your dog to a very narrow range of behaviors. Eventually, he will become paralyzed with fear and refuse to do anything. There have been some near-misses with some now-famous dogs, who could have been much more dimensional.Patience and time always prevail. This has been a topic of controversy among people who teach teachers, but it becomes more evident with every passing day. Not everybody has any business doing it. Some "professional trainers" are merely scammers who can appear to do nothing else. There's no doubt. Unless you were trained by an Old Master with a successful track record of training Field Champions, or have considerable College education in Psychology or Education, forget it! many times, people see me training and ask what they can do to overcome the effects of an e-collar or inept trainer, and the answer is the same: Be kind to your dawg, and don't take him to the pound!

Clay Cooper-- Astute, as always. We're one small, happy family. -D

Whoever said it I do agree. Who is more spoiled or rather in love? If that dog is going to hunt get him away from that pretty girl, she will only make him her baby, she's already in love with him. I'm kidding but actually not.

hey Dave, I'm pretty sure I forgot to say this at sometime but happy birthday, Pritch. My pup was a year back about the 11th, and I know hers and Pritch's was almost identical.

Thanks Dave, that`s good sound advice! Briley will be going to basic obedience classes in two weeks. He`s really doing well and I`m sure he be fine. The classes are as much for me as they are for him!