# Is Max Ready?



## Max's Best Friend (Jul 7, 2010)

He'll be two in August, or october, not sure which. Anyway, he seems to have the instinct. Any time he sees birds, he stands, looks for one second, then charges towards them. He loved the lake, when we took him there. Is Max ready to hunt? Or at least start learning to hunt?


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Not an expert for sure so others I am sure will kick in here. 

If your dog is showing instinct by all means find a trainer and/or a group to work with and try it out. DH and I are starting with our young lab, it is a lot of fun but trying on your own is hard. We found a local trainer we go to for pointers and home work, and we also belong to a golden retriever club and a labrador club. It is so much fun when they do what was bred into them. 

My golden won't pick up birds, but I am still going through all the training only using bumpers. Hopefully my next golden we will start much earlier so hopefully won't have the feather phobia. Teddi will mark a bird, and go out to it, just not pick it up. She turned 3 last fall. 

For our birthday's my MIL bought DH & I Evan Grahams Smartworks program. That way we have help if we run into questions.  I can't wait until it arrives. 

Ann


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

He's more than old enough to start training. Definitely find a good program and hopefully a training group and have a go at it. It's very fun!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Definitely old enough. While you are looking for a someone/group to train with make sure you work on your basic obedience in the mean time (heel, sit, stay, come). There is NO substitute for an obedient dog when training for the field. And if he is as driven by instinct as you say then it will be that much MORE important. Good luck and have fun.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

And Anne that is one hell of a MIL you have, Evan's program is outstanding!!


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## GoldenGrady (Jun 5, 2009)

Maxs Mom said:


> Not an expert for sure so others I am sure will kick in here.
> 
> If your dog is showing instinct by all means find a trainer and/or a group to work with and try it out. DH and I are starting with our young lab, it is a lot of fun but trying on your own is hard. We found a local trainer we go to for pointers and home work, and we also belong to a golden retriever club and a labrador club. It is so much fun when they do what was bred into them.
> 
> ...


 
My trainer was telling me a sory about a dog brought to him that would only retrieve bumpers and not birds. He ended up covering clipped wing pigeons and chukars with peanut butter. It took a lot of patience for this particular dog, as in baby steps each session but he finally got the dog to pick em' up. 
To the original poster..... you can teach a dog just about anything, it's just a question of how much time and effort you want to put into it. Some things come easy, others take a looooong time depending on the dog. Patience is a virtue. Also, it's actually much easier when you start training as a puppy, no earlier than 12 weeks. That way some bad habits can be avaioded, like people playing tug-of-war or over retrieving sticks etc. This may not be an issue with your dog, but starting a puppy with a "clean" slate can actually be easier. Training an older dog is certainly not impossible, find a pro you can use or consult and have fun with it as it's very rewarding and the Golden's love it too!


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