Question: I've purchased a Lab pup that I'll hunt mostly upland game with. Can you give me tips on how to train him?

Allen T., Fenton.

Answer: My experience with training retrievers for the uplands is to lay off the heavy obedience training until after their first season of hunting. With a duck dog, I would be working on heeling and long sit-stays at an early age. I find this to be inhibiting to a dog that's expected to run independently through brush and find birds. I want any dog to come when called and walk on a leash. I find that too much ‘heal' training confuses a young dog, however. I teach a command, ‘stay close,' to all of my dogs. When on leash, if the pup pulls, I pull back hard and say ‘stay close.' After working on this command on leash, I start using it in the field. The main problem I see with the flushers on upland game is a lack of independence. A dog that's walking next to you all the time will not be effective in finding birds in thickets. My Chesapeake is an excellent pheasant dog who drives hard into cover. I also have a British Lab that is much better at sitting next to me, waiting for a retrieve, than at finding birds running through the undercover. Part of this is genetics and part of it is training. Take your pup for long walks in the field and allow him to range out. We can always make him hunt close after he's learned to hunt.

Charlie Linblade

Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club

Michigan Pheasant Hunting

Michigan Bird Dog Training