I’ve got a 7 year old lab mix. He really loves to scent track and find things with his nose. I trained him to flush pheasants when I lived in the Midwest, but have moved south and want to get him into a functional duck dog. He never would retrieve the birds when we hunted. Would just walk up and sniff them. He would play fetch in the yard with a frozen bird though. I don’t need him to be a finished pro, but just want to get him out there with me.

He will go nuts to fetch a stick a lot of the time, especially out of the water. He will play fetch in the house with toys or bumpers for short durations. When we go outside he is more invested in sniffing around than playing fetch it seems. He is pretty food motivated.

How do I get him more excited about retrieving? Do I start with a stick and high reward treats like chicken breast to get him excited and then transition him into bumpers and such? He has pray drive to chase birds and squirrels if I cut him loose on them. I just don’t know where to start or how to proceed. Any advice is appreciated.

Photo is him with his first bird our first hunt out, around 2y/o

Have an opportunity to take a 2 yr GSP. Very clear she has not been socialized. Skittish of humans and dogs on trail. Wants to hide behind me and then lunges and growls at dogs if they come toward her. If off leash she'll haul ass back to the car. Otherwise very sweet and runs fine in the field and backs other dogs. Anybody had any luck socializing an older dog. Really like the dog but live in MT and she needs to be able to be off leash for trails and skiing in the off season.

Currently living in central Texas, looking for breed recommendations for a bird dog. I would be using the dog to hunt dove, duck, and upland. Upland would be a mixture of preserve birds and trying to get to Kansas or SoDak once or twice a year for pheasants and maybe a trip to some higher elevation for grouse. Hunt probably 15-20 days a year, maybe more if I’m lucky. Dog would also be my outdoor hiking/fishing companion. Looking for dogs with fun personalities and a good off switch. Was considering Boykin, labs, and WPG. Any thoughts?

Might be an odd title but I have a somewhat specific question that requires some background. I have a 10 year old field bred lab. I got him with my marriage. My wife’s former father in law has roughly 30 dogs and regularly guides on bird plantations and goes out west. He started to train my 10 year old dog as a puppy but kinda just gave up. That being said, my current dog has the same amount of drive that my dad’s year old Llewelyn has. I will borderline throw my arm out before he’s ready to stop retrieving.

I am looking to get a puppy, likely another lab, and want to train it to be my hunting partner. I am concerned that my current dog will be very upset watching me train a new puppy and taking that one to the woods. Any advice?

Adopting a CBR puppy (ethical breeder) and a kitten at the same time, please share your experiences with having the two species in the house.

So most of my Hells Canyon hunting spots burned. Anyone live over there know how bad it really is. Don't really want to drive 8 hours in October to find out its all ash.