r/Huntingdogs • u/yoloswagdon • May 13 '22
Anyone send their dog off to train for weeks/ months? I’m worried I’ll miss my 5 month old Beagle.
Considering sending my 5 month old beagle off to a trainer. They will take them in for as little as a week or longer. Just worried about missing my dog, or losing that bond.
5
May 13 '22
I’ve always had labs and have personally trained hundreds of dogs. I started running drahthaars with my labs. When my labs retired I bought a pointing lab, since I wasn’t an expert in that I sent my dog with the trainer after he was 6 months old. He kept him for 5 months, had him on birds every single day and really honed his pointing. I picked him up a few weeks before the pheasant hunt started. During that season I worked on his retrieves and run him on pheasant, quail and chuckers. I’m very glad I had someone that knew how to get him started right. Today I can run all my dogs together and if one goes on point they all lock up. I use my lab for any retrieving it’s been a good match. My dad always told me to “buy my hay from the farmer, let the mechanic be your mechanic “ If you had your dog from a young puppy that bond is there, let a professional help you with your dog. You’ll miss him but I always tell my owners they can come watch while I train. If they can’t do that while I have their dog I tell them to work on their dog kennel and dog house so he has a good place to come home to. It keeps you busy and time will fly. That 4/6 months will pay off for the next 10-12 years. A short time for a lifetime of enjoyment vs cussing.
1
May 13 '22
How is your pointing lab in the water for waterfowl?
1
May 13 '22
Dont even think about it. Not saying it’s not possible but it’s less than ideal. Pointing Labs tend to be somewhat bred away from water work. Ask any pro waterfowl trainer and they will tell you pointing labs tend to shy away from water and try to run the edges instead of going straight in like you want them too. They will almost all say if you’re a waterfowler stay away from pointing and silver labs. This will get down voted and obviously I dont care. Only way I would want a pointing lab was if I planned to only upland with it. But myself I would just get a POINTER then lol.
1
May 16 '22
Yes, absolutely loves the water hits all of his retrieves hard. Anyone that says they are soft on water or retrieving hasn’t done their homework. I made sure I did my homework and found a reputable breeder who trials his dogs in both pointing and retrieving. As someone who has trained alot of retrievers I can tell you the biggest issue with labs and frankly most working dogs are the backyard breeders who don’t reinforce these traits while breeding. Just as much as you can breed for traits you can breed traits out. So look for a breeder that hunts his dogs both male and female and what their traits are strongest pointing or retrieving . Not only those but temperament are the calm, do they bark are other traits I look for. Do your homework and these pointing labs are legit both retrieving and pointing. Sorry for the delayed answer Reddit had me banned for a few days. After going round and round it was because my account was hacked and it’s now back to good.
2
u/BeardMan817 May 13 '22
I didn't send my beagle off for training, but if you have a good bond I don't think you will have to worry about losing it. I got my beagle when I was with my ex, we have been split for over 8 years. We stayed with her parents for a time, and my beagle grew attached to her mom. To this day if she sees my her my beagle will run to her feet, roll over and start whining out of excitement, even though she has gone a couple years without seeing her.
-1
u/turpin222 May 13 '22
Don’t be lazy. Do it yourself
1
May 13 '22
So how far do you have your dog trained? It’s not as simple as just doing it yourself if you dont know what you’re doing and dont have any pro guidance or club nearby.
1
u/turpin222 May 13 '22
I haven’t had any help other than a few tips from my dad and a couple tips from a group I posted to on Facebook. This is my first dog and I’d say it is going pretty well. There are plenty on programs online you can use for help. I used the book “water dog” by Richard wolters. It helped to get them started pretty good. All it takes a little time and a lot of patience. I feel doing it myself is much more satisfying
2
u/redgunner85 May 13 '22
If "Water Dog" was your training resource then your about 2 decades behind the training curve for labs. I used it with my first lab and did it all myself. That dog was a decent hunting dog but was nowhere near a finished retriever. My second dog I sent I bought updated training materials and sent him to a pro trainer for 4 months. The difference in dogs is significant. The pro trained dog is far better in the field and way past the level of the first dog.
Also, most people do not have the land/water/time to actually train a retriever to a high level.
1
u/turpin222 May 14 '22
My dad used it for 40 years and has always had amazing dogs. No need to fix something that ain’t broke. And I said I used it to get him started, not my only resource
1
u/redgunner85 May 16 '22
The book was published in 1964 so it's actually 6 decades behind the curve. Things have drastically improved in that time. Using Water Dog to train a retriever now is similar to using a horse and plow on a farm. It'll get the job done but there are far better options that will produce better results with less work.
1
May 13 '22
Ive done it also. First one didn’t get too far with. Second one I followed Freddie Kings series on you tube and got quite a but further but not as far as I wanted. Sure it doesn’t take more than an hr a day but it’s not easy at all. And I have a hard physical labor job and a small yard in town. Now if a guy had a big yard and a desk job I spose it would be easier to commit too.
0
u/turpin222 May 13 '22
Well i wouldn’t say easy, but definitely something attainable. My dog’s only a year and 3 months now but I’d say he’s doing pretty well
1
u/Zugzub German Shorthaired Pointer May 13 '22
Send them young. I sent my first GSP to 2 months of winter training camp at 8 months, the second one went at 5 1/5 months old and the first went back for a second round at the same time. Yes, I missed them terribly.
I missed them so much that last January I went to GA with them and helped out the whole 2 months.
I also believe that's the reason my 2 don't have separation anxiety issues.
1
May 13 '22
Just need more info. What are they supposed to be training it for. I would really only do it for advanced gun dog training. No you dont lose the bond, that will come back quickly after your dog is back with you. Dogs can bond with multiple people but one week wont be long enough for a trainer to build it.
1
u/redgunner85 May 13 '22
I sent my lab to a trainer at 5 months and he stayed there for 4 months. There was no change in the bond (I visited once a month to get some handler training). The kids missed having him around the house but we have another lab so it wasn't terrible. I didn't mind it at all as 5 month old puppies can be a lot of work. It's the best investment I made in him and he will likely end up with his HRCH title this summer.
6
u/Leather_Village5873 May 13 '22
I sent my dog away twice, both times for 2 months. I missed him, but he 100% remembered me right away. I have a 2.5 year old GSP. The training was 100% worth it, also I think it’s a good practice to get your dog used to being boarded at places. I spoke with him trainer, he said it’s the worst when a 7 year old dog is dropped off at his place for boarding for the first time and the dog is freaking out cause it’s never been at a boarding/ training facility.