6 Month Old Chessie

jryley · #1 05-10-2013, 04:59 PM

For those that are interested heres a couple new photos of my boy Gunner.

Pup's coming along nicely with his bird training. He comfortable with triple marks and dual blind retreives. Hes already a big boy and holds true to what I picture when I think of a bay retriever. At 6 months he's weighed in on the scale last night at 59 lbs. Great swimmer already.

southernman · #2 05-10-2013, 05:07 PM

lucky bugger, I would love another chessie, just would be fair right now. nice looking pup.

7rem mag · #3 05-10-2013, 06:57 PM

Triple marks at 6 months?? Pretty talented dog I would say. Most dogs usual get Force fetched at around that age after they lose their baby teeth........Anyhow, sounds like you enjoy your dog, and that is what counts!

Can I ask where you bought him and what his breeding is? I just found out there is a male Chesapeake availble at 8weeks at Westpeake kennels of very good field breeding for those looking for a working Chesapeake.

Anyhow, like your pictures and I am glad you are enjoying your dog!

jryley · #4 05-10-2013, 07:13 PM

I must stress 7mm when i say comfortable i mean as comfortable as a 6 month old could be on triple marks. He definitely still needs tons of work for sure. But i consider about a 7 out of 10 success rate on drills being comfortable. He is far from a trialing hound. But hes my boy and we both work our arses off to try and get both our training down. As long as he brings the birds back to me ill be happy.

Ive heard great things about westpeake, but gunner came from saskatchewan!

densa44 · #5 05-11-2013, 07:06 AM

Wow, that is really something. I can see the triples, sort of, but the blinds are truly remarkable. At what age did you teach him to stop on the whistle?

jryley · #6 05-11-2013, 08:17 AM

Thats still an ongoing project, as far as stopping out at 100 yards, sitting and waiting for a command. But i had him pretty well knowing a single blast means stop and sit at about 4.5 months. Hes consistent with his whistle recalls but we need to work more on him not ignoring it when the distraction stimulus goes into overload :P

Little turd. But he is still a pup i guess.

jryley · #7 05-11-2013, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by densa44

Wow, that is really something. I can see the triples, sort of, but the blinds are truly remarkable. At what age did you teach him to stop on the whistle?

I guess thats good to hear? Honestly i have no comprehension as to where a dog should be at gunners age and what is impressive and what isnt....as this is my first real experience training a mutt from a puppy. But I just keep going with the flow and not setting my expectations too high. I dont want to give the impression pup is a hero, cause trust me, he makes me mental at times. But we just keep plugging away, and ive found consistency is absolute key. Ive utilized an E-collar a small bit and it literally put his whistle obedience into overdrive and within a day of reinforcing the whistle commands he already knew, he was pretty much money. Havent used the E-coller since, but I plan to once again just to reinforce.

Wont profess to be a pro trainer by any means, but I will recommend "the wildrose way" as reading material. Great philosophies and drills for memory work.

Element · #8 05-11-2013, 04:39 PM

My dog runs cold blinds, but what's a "dual" blind?

basepc · #9 05-11-2013, 08:04 PM

Got a female yesterday from Westpeake. Our third dog from Brian and this one looks to be as good as the first two, all winners!

fzo · #10 05-12-2013, 02:02 AM

wonderful dogs.

Pixel Shooter · #11 05-12-2013, 02:33 AM

A dog at gunners age should be completing obedience and if your lucky force fetch once permanent teeth are in. I think people are a little taken back that a 6 month pup doing blinds and triples and the thought that you have already started advanced handling when not convinced the basics are thorough. Sounds like you have a great pup and good for you! my recommendation not that your seeking it lol, is to slow down and reduce expectations and have a firm control on basics. obedience including collar conditioning, then force fetch (teaches the dog how to release pressure and as important how to hold a bird, then move onto simple marks and stretch them out and learn set ups that take into account factors. Then move into drill work, pattern blinds, memory blinds, then cold blinds, de-cheating. I could go on for ever here, but jest is if you go too far ahead in training your going to have holes everywhere and will spend twice the time filling those holes and confusing your nice pup. Retriever training has a very pragmatic approach to it regardless of method in how to get there. btw didn't know wildrose training did electronic collars ?? sorry been a while.

good luck with your pup, take it easy, still is a pup and great to see your investing in him

Quote:

Originally Posted by jryley

I guess thats good to hear? Honestly i have no comprehension as to where a dog should be at gunners age and what is impressive and what isnt....as this is my first real experience training a mutt from a puppy. But I just keep going with the flow and not setting my expectations too high. I dont want to give the impression pup is a hero, cause trust me, he makes me mental at times. But we just keep plugging away, and ive found consistency is absolute key. Ive utilized an E-collar a small bit and it literally put his whistle obedience into overdrive and within a day of reinforcing the whistle commands he already knew, he was pretty much money. Havent used the E-coller since, but I plan to once again just to reinforce.

Wont profess to be a pro trainer by any means, but I will recommend "the wildrose way" as reading material. Great philosophies and drills for memory work.

densa44 · #12 05-12-2013, 01:53 PM

I remember my first dog, and I'm glad you are both having fun, that's great. BUT there are no short cuts.

The best and hardest advice to take when you train alone (I'm guessing here) with one dog is to over do it. Are you throwing the dummies from the same spot or do you have help. If you are throwing 3 marks from where you and gunner are standing you are teaching him to hunt short. Not a good thing.

Get the obedience down cold. Can you get him to sit and walk away and he stays put? Have you force trained him yet?

I'd stop with the collar until you really need it. Blow the whistle and have him sit beside you, no collar.

Have fun, you'll never forget your first dog.

jryley · #13 05-12-2013, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by densa44

I remember my first dog, and I'm glad you are both having fun, that's great. BUT there are no short cuts.

The best and hardest advice to take when you train alone (I'm guessing here) with one dog is to over do it. Are you throwing the dummies from the same spot or do you have help. If you are throwing 3 marks from where you and gunner are standing you are teaching him to hunt short. Not a good thing.

Get the obedience down cold. Can you get him to sit and walk away and he stays put? Have you force trained him yet?

I'd stop with the collar until you really need it. Blow the whistle and have him sit beside you, no collar.

Have fun, you'll never forget your first dog.

Good advice! His obedience seems pretty good. He is automatic on sit to the whistle in close and away from me, and pretty much automatic on recall....had a couple situations where a duck has spooked him by flaring in the bush where it took a second three blast recall. He is automatic on the heel command as well as 'hold'. I have force fetched him and no real hiccups yet. He seems to trust me as he straight line runs out on blind retrieves when i line him up and send him away. I do have the privilege of training with another dog as my brother in law lives blocks away and has gunners litter mate. Densa, yes he is 100% on sit, stay etc. he wont move even if im 200 yards out of sight

I appreciate the advice fellas, keep it coming

densa44 · #14 05-12-2013, 06:05 PM

I don't know which one is closest to where you live, but there are many excellent retriever clubs in Alberta, and they often run training days. You will get a lot out of going to a few of them. The dog can run in CKC puppy trials starting very soon.

You both will like that.

Don't bore the dog, once he has it, move on, that means don't give him the same mark over and over.

jryley · #15 06-03-2013, 12:02 PM

thought Id post an update on my 7 month old pup!

Hes progressing so well, I couldnt be happier at this time. His obedience is pretty much rock solid. He is working out at 300 yards just as well as in tight. Stops, sits and checks in with me on one blast to the whistle 100% of the time, Recall is dialed right in and we are doing whistle blast recalls 100% of the time. He heels off lead perfectly and he's trusting me 100% as he runs a direct line when i send him out on a blind retrieve. Just to test his mettle the other night i sent him out after 5 dummies, 3 of which were marked after being tossed by my helper and two were direct blinds. He nailed all of them so im pretty much happier beyond belief. Hes nailing his multiple retrieves in water as well. Last weekend myself and my buddy gun broke him. That was actually the easiest part of his training so far. Pup didnt even flinch from start to finish. The one thing ive really been impressed with with my chessie is the apparent willingness to figure things out for himself with limited "show pup" drilling. For example: I prefer pup brings the bird back to my right side, turns to face towards the shooting lanes (so he can view incoming flocks - just my preferance, but makes sense to me!) while holding the bird until i say the 'drop it' command. I didnt have to train this into him. Not sure if he just figured out that because I throw with my left hand, or because he just wanted to be able to have a sightline to the next bird thrown, but he just seemingly figured out where to go and what to do without me showing him. Pretty neat!

I know a ton of guys say chessies are hard to train, stubborn, one man dogs etc etc etc.....but so far my experience has been the opposite. Pup has made this an extremely rewarding experience from my end.

Next up is laying off the training progression and drilling home what we've learned to date. All of july will be drill drill drill on existing knowledge. August I plan to POSSIBLY start working in some simple hand signals, but the main plan for September 1st is to have a field workable dog that can handle basic multiple retrieves. Year 2 I plan to have a refined dog with multiple skills in the bank.

As always, feedback is appreciated!

Norman · #16 06-03-2013, 01:11 PM

Beautiful dog, well done on the training, sounds like you are on the right track

gumbo2go · #17 06-03-2013, 08:33 PM

Hey nice dog, he reminds me of my old chessie. Good luck this season, I'm sure both of you will survive!

JJ

Element · #18 06-03-2013, 08:55 PM

Good looking pup, sounds like the training is coming along nicely but curious how you run a 300 yard blind or any blind for that matter without the ability to provide hand signals if needed.

Does your 7 month old pup really mark at three hundred yards, wow impressive.

jryley · #19 06-03-2013, 09:19 PM

He absolutely can see the bird drop out at 300 yards! Seems plenty fine marking at least the firet bird thrown by my helper! As i said as well, when he returns the first i heel him up, line em up, send him off and he B-lines it out until he sees or winds the bird. That seems pretty basic stuff to me? Im more looking for my dog to figure it out within regards to finding a long distance tough mark. Yr two realistically will be hand signals. But he will absolutely be serviceable come september 1.

Pixel Shooter · #20 06-03-2013, 09:37 PM

300 yard is not a tough mark for a 7 mth old??? even season dogs regardless of factors if not marking off white jackets is not a typical mark except field trialers but throw in retired gunner, not so easy.

I think we are getting caught up in your verbiage and what you are doing is not typical to any retriever program or expectations of a pup. Use of word of blind is handling using casts and whistle hence people are asking questions and trying to understand.

Regardless, sounds like you have a great pup and companion for along time and be ready for hunting season, good on you!

Element · #21 06-03-2013, 09:59 PM

Yes, I would like to say a lot more but won't... My hats off to you for all the time you're putting into working your pup. Wish more guys would devote this kind of time to working their dogs for what they're bred to do. Good luck this fall.

jryley · #22 06-03-2013, 10:26 PM

Ah i c. Yes when i say blind im referring to sending him off to a dummy/bird he has not seen fall. Im sure my verbage is brutal lol but i know what im referring to. Lol. To dumb it down, he has his obedience down, goes out and gets the bird in a straight line whether he saw it fall or not, and has manners so far. Im happy!

One thing i will say as a guy that doesnt run competition dogs is ive heard from 100 different guys, 100 different things im doing right and 100 things in doing wrong. Ive also had guys that own competition dogs tell me my choice of breed was the worst breeds to choose. In the end, my mutt will be field ready by september so i dunno. Itake it all with a grain of salt and in a positive stride. Ive read 6 books front to back twice over. Watched over 12 dvds and spoken to countless people rangingfrom saskatoon to stony plain....(where the brother laws springer is attending school) and every pro has a different way to train, andin their eyes everyone elses way is incorrect. To behonest i have incorporated multiple schools of thought into my training. From wildrose to hickox etc etc. i go with what works best for gunner and what helps him learn the fastest. The way i see it is if gunner can mark 5 dummys at the age hes at, and do a proper delivery, then why wouldnt i encourage it? I understand guys take months to get where others are at at an earlier stage but is the guy that seems to make progress quicker wrong?

With that all being said, i understand most guys spend 15 minutes a day training. I do a solid 40 minutes of training ive incorporated into formal 'games' for pup. Along with 2 hours of river valley intense hiking. I think bonding with me has a little to do with how quickly he picks things up

Pixel Shooter · #23 06-03-2013, 10:40 PM

I surely dont want to come across the wrong way here, again caught on verbiage. The fact of the matter is your are committing time, making progress and have a dog that wants to hunt for you, kudos.

As far as retriever training, any pro I know there is one way. lol Retriever training is a very pragmatic approach to training. Key to good trainers is to have the ability to be able to read a dog and work thru the challenges or obstacles to learn to concepts and that they are fair and respectful with their dogs. I would say Lardy is probably the most followed program out there and guess by his results not hard to understand why. Regardless of Lardy/Graham/ Rorem/ hillman/Carr all have the same pragmatic approach but different ways to skin a cat.

what you may want to be careful is the amount of work and expectations on a 7 month pup, I made a earlier respectful comment. Leave a dog wanting more, less is more at this age. he will still be ready by fall for his first outing. work on marks, not so much sight single blinds. work reasonable distances, if not being challenged, work more factors into the marks. I have seen many difficult even for all age doga short marks then 500 yard marks. again keep simple.

guess you can add me to your total to 101 of opinions. right wrong or indifferent lol

to your comment on doing more is better right? , imo , NO, when you get more into advanced training, that is where you will find the wheels come off the cart and find holes in your training causing you to go backwards and fill those cracks and holes causing you to go backwards. that causes confusion and time

Best of luck

jryley · #24 06-04-2013, 08:41 AM

Actually that does make sense. Good thoughts pixel. Hey, thats what we r here for, to learn and help learn! I have laid back in the 'learning' of things. My thought has been to not 'overload' him. To clarify pixel, i do train everyday, but he only gets bumpers once or twice a week. Monday through friday is obedience. So yes, ive been under the impression that by minimizing his retrieves you increase drive. Actually most of our training is strictly obedience. My biggest fear was having a mutt that doesnt recall :P

This is one reason i love AO. Good support and advice!

Sneeze · #25 06-04-2013, 08:47 AM

Sounds to me like he should be running the derby! Enter him in the Lethbridge Field trial in 2 weeks time. If he is as good as he sounds you will win with out a problem!

jryley · #26 06-04-2013, 09:41 AM

sneeze I dont know if youre being a smart aleck or not....but ive already stated i dont want, nor will i ever expect pup to be a competition dog.

The goals I set out for myself and my pup when I brought him home in December for this coming fall season were 1. To have fun! 2. Have a dog that recalls 100% of the time and knows his obedience training cold at the start of the fall season 3. Have a dog with proper blind/pit/field manners 4. Have a servicable everyday field dog - meaning, will retrieve the birds i down.

To date, Ive achieved my goals. Time will tell how good he will be in the field but all signs point to him being fine. And dont get me wrong, I am not naive enough to be blind to the fact I know there will be holes I need to fill, again im a rook. Ive already come across things that reared tehir ugly heads as we've gone along here.

Not too sure why guys bother posting what seems to be condesending remarks, but its all good. I appreciate the legitimate help provided by certain members on here, and I really appreciate the kudos about the time and energy ive put into making gunner into my gundog. I will say its been hugely rewarding!

For the guys busting my chops on the thread and via PM, keep in mind this is new to me as much as it is to my dog. Im learning just as much as my pup.

Sneeze · #27 06-04-2013, 11:10 AM

Nope, not being a smart aleck at all. I wish more guys would take such an active role in training their pups. Your dog sounds quite special, it would be a shame not to let him compete.

jryley · #28 06-04-2013, 11:25 AM

Thanks man!

You'll never hear me complaining about putting in the time thats for sure! Gives me the "hall pass" from the wife for a couple hours every night to spend some good time 1 on 1 with my mutt! Even if he ends up being the most ukranian stright forward field dog, Ill be more than happy! lol.

Thanks for the kind words, criticism, and feedback fellas! Im going to keep updating this thread as we go along here and continue to seek feedback. Hopefully I dont annoy anyone :P

And as far as EVER competing sneeze.....Id like to become a more active member of the community by running a pup....but I think my next Yellow Lab I start looking for in a about a year and half will be the one I start getting my feet wet with. Dont think my big lumbering Bay dog would be able to keep up with the Labradors of the world.

u_cant_rope_the_wind · #29 11-30-2013, 09:45 AM

how did yer pup do this hunting season?????

GREENGUN · #30 11-30-2013, 10:06 AM

Gorgeous Dog!