Labrador Retrievers

[Doublebass73]

I'm going on almost 5 years with my first Labrador and 2 years with my second. These were my first dogs that I ever trained for hunting. I chose Labradors because everything I read said they were the easiest to train. After this experience I'm not sure if I'd ever pick any other breed. They are extremely intelligent and can pick up on the most subtle of commands such as foot commands. I shoot lefty so they heel on my right side. If I step off with my right foot they will heel with me. If I step off with my left foot they will stay.

They are trained in both waterfowl and upland hunting. They can both mark the falls of 3 birds and memorize where they are, they can both do blind retrieves on water and land, are steady in the blind and deliver to hand. I hunt both of them at the same time in the uplands and they typically flush the same bird together. They are brother and sister from different litters and both have amazing noses. I also trained them to hunt fall turkeys, we're allowed to use dogs in the fall here. On top of that if I go squirrel hunting they aren't squirrel dogs but they will happily retrieve the squirrels for me.

They are also happy hiking all day with me up mountains and equally happy laying around the house doing nothing. If I'm sick they will just hang out with me and keep me company. They are super friendly to all people and love attention. They instinctively know to be gentle around little kids.

I now understand why Labradors are the most popular breed, it's tough to argue with intelligence, trainability, even temperament and loving personalities. I have so much fun hunting with them that I barely ever hunt deer anymore, I'd rather be a team with them. I let the weather dictate what we're going to hunt. If it's going to be rainy, snowy or windy you'll find us in the duck blind. If it's going to be a calm, bluebird day we'll be in the uplands.

[Doublebass73]

Oops I meant to put this in a different forum, feel free to move it GB.

[wtxbadger]

Labs are definitely a good breed of dog. Got a female black lab but back in 2004 and started working with her on retrieving and getting her used to the noise of my shotgun right after we got her. I worked her with retrieving dummies all year long and opening day of dove season figured we were ready for a lot of fun. It was one of those classic moments in time, sitting on my stool and dog by my side and ready when a dove flies over us, I stand up swing and knock it down. The dog knows her job, has the bird marked and runs right to it, picks it up and starts running back to me when all of the sudden her whole face wrinkles up and it was the oddest facial expression I've ever seen on a dogs face and tooie she literally spit that bird out of her mouth and just stood there looking down it and looking at me like come and get it cause I ain't picking that nasty thing up again and she never did. We spent the rest of the hunt with me shooting and her marking the birds and running out to them showing me where they were but that was it.
She was great with our kiddos and a great family dog but not so much when it came to retrieving dove. Lesson learned, I should have been working her with some live birds when training her as a pup.

[BUGEYE]

Labs are definitely a good breed of dog. Got a female black lab but back in 2004 and started working with her on retrieving and getting her used to the noise of my shotgun right after we got her. I worked her with retrieving dummies all year long and opening day of dove season figured we were ready for a lot of fun. It was one of those classic moments in time, sitting on my stool and dog by my side and ready when a dove flies over us, I stand up swing and knock it down. The dog knows her job, has the bird marked and runs right to it, picks it up and starts running back to me when all of the sudden her whole face wrinkles up and it was the oddest facial expression I've ever seen on a dogs face and tooie she literally spit that bird out of her mouth and just stood there looking down it and looking at me like come and get it cause I ain't picking that nasty thing up again and she never did. We spent the rest of the hunt with me shooting and her marking the birds and running out to them showing me where they were but that was it.
She was great with our kiddos and a great family dog but not so much when it came to retrieving dove. Lesson learned, I should have been working her with some live birds when training her as a pup.

LOL, I wouldn't want a mouth full of loose feathers either.
My flat coat retriever wouldn't retrieve them either.
The best looking lab I ever ran across was a large BROWN male I found sitting in the bed of a truck.  He was gorgeous.

Double:  I may have seen a dog trained as well as yours, but I don't remember where.
It sounds like they really want to please you and that's half the battle right there.

[Ranger99]

They are all that what has been posted ^ ^
I've not had one, but know several that have.
Unfortunately, those I knew really didn't
need a dog like that, and would have been
better served with a chihuahua or something
like that. Those poor labs never got
any exercise to speak of, and were more
or less indoor lap dogs.  Every one's
belly nearly dragged the ground, and had
to hobble along like a lame elephant.
A lady a few houses over would take
hers out up and down the street to poop
in other yards other than her own
tiny yard. Poor thing was so overfed it
would poop enough for 4 big dogs
every time.  It finally died, and they
moved away

[Doublebass73]

You definitely need to at least work with dead birds as a puppy, I started with wings then I used domestic mallards and whatever birds I shot the previous season I would save their carcasses and freeze them to use for training. I also know a guy with a wildlife trapping business and get dead pigeons from him for training. I also have gone to my breeder for upland training, he has chukars so we'll plant them and use them to train the dogs to sit on flush.

Labs definitely need lots of exercise or they will easily gain weight. I see lots of overweight labs out in public. You have to keep the food to a minimum and run them as much as possible.

My male is an alpha, he was easy to train for obedience but he always thinks he knows better than me when it comes to blind retrieves so it's been a challenge to train him for that. My female on the other hand is always eager to please and was way easier to train than her brother. She still needs some work on a few things but she's miles ahead of where her brother was at this age because she truly wants to please me.

[Ranger99]

I see lots of overweight labs out in public. . .

That's just being kind.
The ones I've seen that were allowed
to get in that shape were big fat blobs
of grease.  It's a true shame. I put
those owners in the same drawer as
puppy mill people

[BUGEYE]

You definitely need to at least work with dead birds as a puppy, I started with wings then I used domestic mallards and whatever birds I shot the previous season I would save their carcasses and freeze them to use for training. I also know a guy with a wildlife trapping business and get dead pigeons from him for training. I also have gone to my breeder for upland training, he has chukars so we'll plant them and use them to train the dogs to sit on flush.

Labs definitely need lots of exercise or they will easily gain weight. I see lots of overweight labs out in public. You have to keep the food to a minimum and run them as much as possible.

My male is an alpha, he was easy to train for obedience but he always thinks he knows better than me when it comes to blind retrieves so it's been a challenge to train him for that. My female on the other hand is always eager to please and was way easier to train than her brother. She still needs some work on a few things but she's miles ahead of where her brother was at this age because she truly wants to please me.

I’ve trained and help train many hounds and from my experience, females are smarter than males.
Of course trail hounds could be different in that category.
My wife is smarter than me.

[Doublebass73]

I hate seeing overweight dogs of any kind. It's not their fault and they go to the grave early because of irresponsible owners.

I think female dogs are generally more obedient. After training both I will always pick females from now on.

[BUGEYE]

I hate seeing overweight dogs of any kind. It's not their fault and they go to the grave early because of irresponsible owners.

I think female dogs are generally more obedient. After training both I will always pick females from now on.

Yeah, plus, when we would put the hounds down out of the truck, the females would squat and pee, then head out hunting.  The males had to water every bush in sight before they got down to business.

[Doublebass73]

I hate seeing overweight dogs of any kind. It's not their fault and they go to the grave early because of irresponsible owners.

I think female dogs are generally more obedient. After training both I will always pick females from now on.

Yeah, plus, when we would put the hounds down out of the truck, the females would squat and pee, then head out hunting.  The males had to water every bush in sight before they got down to business.

Haha that's the truth.

[DEACONLLB]

I had a  brown Lab once I called him my donated dog because I live in the country and people from town drive out to the country toss out their unwanted dogs and speed away and the dog is left to fend for him or her self. We came home  and there he was. I guessed his age at about 2 years we had him for about 10 or more best dog we ever had, Love that dog one day he just fell over and he was dead when he hit the ground. I still miss that Dog.
My late wife named him Buster after the old buster brown shoe ad that some of us old guys remember.

Deaconllb

[BUGEYE]

I had a  brown Lab once I called him my donated dog because I live in the country and people from town drive out to the country toss out their unwanted dogs and speed away and the dog is left to fend for him or her self. We came home  and there he was. I guessed his age at about 2 years we had him for about 10 or more best dog we ever had, Love that dog one day he just fell over and he was dead when he hit the ground. I still miss that Dog.
My late wife named him Buster after the old buster brown shoe ad that some of us old guys remember.

Deaconllb

Love them brown ones.
And yeah I remember buster brown shoes.

[Buckskin]

I prefer males, they have more drive and if you've ever had the unfortunate timing of getting a bitch in heat on a hunt it can really disrupt the entire county... 

[Doublebass73]

I prefer males, they have more drive and if you've ever had the unfortunate timing of getting a bitch in heat on a hunt it can really disrupt the entire county...

My male has a lot of drive IF real birds are involved. My female has more drive during regular training sessions with bumpers. My male is by far a stronger swimmer, rivers with fast current he always gets sent for the bird. I lucked out with the heat timing, it never happened during hunting season. My female works closer in the uplands which I prefer but my male is more birdy. His instincts are amazing, he has always flushed any gamebird out there while ignoring songbirds.