Teal has been in training for 7-8 weeks now. First month was obidience/force fetch, second mo. force fetch/ field work when ready, third mo. is supposed to be more intense field work and the fourth mo. is kind of a fine tuning.

I am not trying to put a timeline on Teal!!

Question: Does this program sound normal? (it sounds OK to me) Does the fourth month sound like it needs to be done by a trainer? (it was advised by the trainer)

If more time was needed and the dog was "behind Schedule" Should that be noted at 7-8 weeks of training?

When it comes to my dogs i dont even trust a vet let alone a trainer. Thus your opinion would help in Keepin em Honest.

John, What are your goals for the pup? Sounds like the trainer is on the right track. Ive had a pup in training for about eight months. After FF was complete it was force to pile (part of ff) T work, swim by, the dog is currently running pattern blinds.

IMO a trainer that has a pup for four or five months should be able to teach OB, ff, cc, teach basic marking drills with live birds. There is only so much that you can get done in that time period. On the other hand in four months your pup should be able to learn the above.

Greg, no doubt about what you said. My anticiaption is to have Teal run hunt tests.(hunting first) The idea was to have him JH and see where it goes from there. Since this is all new to me (having my dog trained) i guess my question is, since the fourth month is described as a fine tuning, Should i leave the dog there for that or, since this 4 mo. period is all i will do, should i fine tune the dog myself? Should i even try? Would i be throwing away 3 mos of training? To me this is kind of like sending your kids off to college, in this case Stanford and wondering what the hell is going on with your kids as you write the check!!

Hey, i'm in construction and every penny counts these days, however, I wouldn't pull the dog for the sake of one months training cost if it destroyed the previous 3.

The trainer also has a program where i can go up there and train with them for a session for fine tuning as needed.

John others may differ, but I would leave the dog.
In a typical situation your pup has been on the table and done alot of yard work for three months. Give the trainer the last month to transition these new talents into the field. He will have to make corrections and probably start working on steadying and line manners. Also getting from the holding blind to the line. There is still alot for your dog to learn to tie all this together. I too work very hard for my $$$. It's a hard decision sometimes, well all the time. Anyway, good luck. Sounds lioke the dog and trainer are on the right track.

Thanks Greg appreciate the advice! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: john parkin,

quote:

Originally posted by j parkin:
Hey, i'm in construction and every penny counts these days, however, I wouldn't pull the dog for the sake of one months training cost if it destroyed the previous 3.

The trainer also has a program where i can go up there and train with them for a session for fine tuning as needed.

Regardless of what else you do, by all means take advantage of as much chance to work with the trainer as possible. Most of the dogs through our place have been professionally trained, and most of the money spent on that training was wasted because those who paid for the training have little or no idea how to use and maintain it.

Thanks Rick they do have a program that allows us to come up and train as a group for the price of flyers! Beautiful area right at the base of the Buttes!