Article Title: Labrador Puppies For Hunting
Author: Anna Hart
Labrador Retrievers have become the most popular dogs in the
United States. Having reached the top, they have stayed there
for a number of years, and seem reluctant to relinquish the
crown.
Many of the Labradors that have found homes as a result of the
breed's popularity have become pets, but this dog was, and
continues to be bred as a retrieving gun dog.
Labrador Puppies Hunting Homes
Visit a breeder or animal shelter, and you find many Labrador
puppies hunting homes. Some will be purebred, AKC-registered
dogs. Some will be mixed breed. Some will be bred for pets,
while others will be bred for show. If you want Labrador puppies
for hunting, however, you will want to look for specific
characteristics.
Breeder
The best Labrador puppies for hunting are probably those that
come from a good breeder. The breeder should be acquainted with
the standard for the breed. More importantly, though, the
breeder should be dedicated to, and passionate about, training,
breeding, and hunting Labrador Retrievers.
Ask basic questions. Does the breeder use only breeding stock
that comes from the finest field trial and hunt test lines
available? Ask to see pedigrees of the breeding dogs. Ask to see
proof of awards won.
Does the breeder monitor the health of breeding dogs? Are their
Labs' eyes and hips screened for genetic disorders before
breeding? Will they guarantee the health of the Labrador
puppies' eyes and hips for a period of time? Do they keep
kennels clean, clearly disinfected?
Are testimonials available from customers who have purchased
Labrador puppies for hunting? Is there a possibility of talking
directly to any of those people to learn more?
Labrador Puppies
Observe the puppies carefully, and ask questions. It won't be
too hard to choose the puppies that look nicest to you, but
there are more important matters at stake if you want Labrador
puppies for hunting.
Run through the following check list. Labrador puppies that
have all or most of these 7 features are likely to be the most
trainable for hunting. The 7 features are not necessarily listed
in order of importance.
1. The Labrador puppies have been well socialized, including
learning to be comfortable with children as well as adults:
learning to get along with other dogs; introduction to birds;
crate conditioning; and kennel conditioning.
2. The Labrador puppies have been introduced to water if the
season permits.
3. They are obviously intelligent.
4. They are bright and alert when playing.
5. All of the Labrador puppies have respected pedigrees.
6. All of the Labrador puppies have had quality veterinarian
care, being wormed, and receiving necessary shots.
7. They are clean and shiny.
New Owner
No matter how wonderful the Labrador puppies hunting homes are,
if they are going to be Labrador puppies for hunting, the new
owner will have a lot of responsibility. You will have to take
those intelligent, energetic, eager Labrador puppies and teach
them to retrieve birds for you. To do so, you may want to
consider the following points.
1. It is a fallacy that your Labrador puppies must stay outside
in a kennel if they are going to be good hunting dogs. Labrador
puppies bond with their owners better, and develop much better
temperaments if they are permitted to live indoors with the
family.
2. For the first 5 or 6 months, you may want to teach your
Labrador puppies little else than retrieving. That is, you may
want to teach them to come when called. This is of topmost
importance in retrieving. It is also important when an emergency
arises, such as an unexpected vehicle, a snake, etc. It is a
lesson that human children also should learn from a young age.
You want your Labrador puppies to learn that "Come" means
immediately running directly to you.
3. Some puppies are taught to sit when they are very young, but
they receive so much praise, all they want to do is sit. Some
are started out with an obedience course that would be used for
any pet dog. They learn to obey many commands, but end up not
wanting to add retrieving to the list.
4. Keeping Labrador puppies in the house allows you to use the
hallway as an early "retrieving ground" for the puppies. When
you throw a dummy down the hall, they have nowhere to go but
back to you. As the puppies learn, you can sit to one side of
the hallway, making them come directly to you. If they try to
run past you, you can easily capture them.
If you are not experienced at training Labrador puppies for
hunting, you may want to enlist a trainer who is, or follow use
of the many books that offer complete training programs.
Finally, even though you got your Labrador puppies for hunting,
enjoy their undying affection and humor.
About The Author: ©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to
read more of her articles about Labrador Retrievers at
http://www.lovablel
information about this popular breed on that site. If you want
information on non-field training of Lab puppies, go there now
and get Anna's perspective on the subject.
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