Labrador Puppies For Hunting
By 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 Homes

Visit a breeder or animal shelter, and you find many Labrador puppies 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 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 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 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 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.

Article Source: http://www.article-matrix.com

© 2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about Labrador Retrievers at www.lovablelabradors.com. Anna has posted additional 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.