Custom collars: http://www.blockydogs.com/

I bought a collar from them even though I usually preferred a good leather collar. It lasted longer than my dog did. People always asked where I got it.

Dog Tags: http://www.boomerangtags.com/

I ordered pet tags for my dog and Medical Alert tags for me and some family from those guys. The quality and durability(both stainless steel and plastic) was great on both types of tags. The medical alert tags are military style dog tags. The site lists them as Mantags/ Military tags.

The boy went to school today, to a very reputable trainer. He's not that far from me so I can stop in and see him from time to time.

The dog has the gift, and I realized I'm not qualified to bring it out of him so I took him to "the man". I spent a couple hours with the trainer and my dog and it's amazing what he was able to do with him in that limited time. The dog already is very well socialized and had basic obedience commands down-pat (mostly) but those will be 100% solid when he comes home. He will also "force-fetch". If you don't know what that is, here's a decent description though my trainer goes about it a little differently http://www.versatiledogs.com/ask/ret8.html

The trainer actually got very excited when he saw the boys bloodline and realized what he had on his hands by working with him.

I expect the trainer will try to talk me into leaving him with him for longer than the agreed upon time to "polish him up" for purely personal reasons. He doesn't charge for the additional time, so money isn't the object. He will want the opportunity to work him more so that when the dog hits the field he will be a testament to his skills as a trainer.

The trainer called me over the weekend. Now, I've been over there a couple times since the boy went to school and kept in touch with my dog and him but he called me all jacked up.

He had a guy bring his 16 week old pup down to have a look-see at his operation and to interview him about training his dog this past weekend. He said as they went by the kennel he opened Scout's kennel and brought him out to demonstrate with, as he's the youngest dog there right now... He came and walked at heel, sat and stayed. All with hand signals. The trainer told the guy "I've only had this dog about two weeks". The guy said "You never said a word to him... can I leave my pup today?"

Long story short, the trainer is very enthused. He is crediting Scout's human bond and desire to please. Which is why I wouldn't recommend leaving the dog at the accepted 16 weeks but waiting somewhere from 5-6 months to get that trust and relationship going.

This trainer has about 6 dogs counting his own (now 7, as he accepted the new pup) and his Champions are so high strung they can hardly be let out of his sight. He told me he goes out in the morning and lets Scout out and he hangs with him all day. I take this as a good thing as the more time spent and the better he makes the trainer look the more attention he will get. In essence, he told me the dog earned him 400.00/month this weekend after two weeks work and he wouldn't forget it.

Good deal. The difference between a dog and a smart dog is priceless.

I have the suspicion that Bornyo has this bumper sticker:

I saw one the other day on a SUV that said "Ban Ignorance, Not Pit Bulls".

I was thinking, "God I hope that thing bites your fucking face off".

All of the "Free Tibet" and "Coexist" stickers around it did not help my deathwishes.

I hate the "coexist" stickers. I hate any philosophy that can be boiled down to bumper sticker size.

even whores lie?

Hell, I sell those.



I got to thinking about this. Actually, the dog is earning him 800/month when you count the 400 I'm paying. That's per month for at least a few more months. And I bet he'll get him another dog before it's over. I gotta fucking dog that's taking money out of my pocket and directly putting it in someone elses! Wonder who's really getting trained here?

You going to handle the dog in retriever trials, or have the pro do it?

If he goes to trials, it will be with me, not the trainer. I'm not so much into that totally hands-off thing like horse racing.

I may take him through a few trials so he can get a few titles after his name on his AKC records. That brings a lot more money when it comes to stud fees.

you have to be an absolute whack-job to sport any kind of bumper sticker.

Specially if you drive drunk and/or high. Nondescript, that is how I like my vehicles.

Yes. I totally agree. I even hate those stick family things on the windows of SUVs. Altho I'd like to build my own. 2 huge titted moms, a dog licking himself. That sort of classy thing.

I'm not even putting radios in my new car and going with the plain tag rather than a vanity one.

You might have to turn in your Redneck License if you don't put a 102" whip on your new ride.

Never ever had one !

What about a K40 and a silver eagle mic?

Put a big ol' Texas Bug Catcher on that thing, OM.

I've had a K40 and a Ranger 2950. My van has a K40 radio with a lil Will antenna. Works well. Hardly ever turn it on though.

All my old homies rocked Ranger 2950 and K40, a couple went to 102 whips. They all had 250w amps too. Bravo Romeo Oscar, Big Radios Only.

All right. Enough is enough.

Knock it off and get the Ham shit out of this thread. Backdoorman and Chuck I'm talking about you. You have your own dead thread to talk about this shit in, if you can find it.

Edit: You too Jerkules, you're only egging them on.

Sorry man.

What is your trainer feeding the pooch? He use a shock collar or a right hook? Some dogs too smart and get "collar wise" by the 3rd time you put it on em.

Sorry B ! Sorta ! :-)

hehe... I see what you did there. He's feeding him the same food I did, Purina One large breed puppy formula, based on how good he looked when I took him in there. Normally he feeds Purina Pro Plan, which is a higher reviewed food. When I get him back I'll stick with his present brand or may switch him to Diamond Naturals, which is less expensive and even higher rated.

The trainer doesn't use shock collars and nothing I've seen or heard indicates force is ever used. He did, at the beginning, use pieces of dog biscuit sparingly. He says it gets the dog started paying attention to his hands and he doesn't use the treat every or even most of the time. I think he described it like this: "that biscuit don't have to be there all the time, just enough that the dog wants it to be there".

I'm not sure how the trainer would do with troubled dogs like the "Dog Whisperer" sees, but he definitely has an immediate connection with dogs.

Interesting. I have no experience with retriever training, didn't know it was biscuit laden.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say his use of pieces of biscuit is an exception rather than the rule for "professional" trainers. The hardcore trainers have no tolerance for non cooperative dogs, and have been known to use an "e-collar". I have never heard of a successful trainer using brute force or a right hook. After all, even a dog knows his trainer can't pop him in the head if he's 50 yds afield. Any lesson you taught a dog based on being at arms length is not gonna hold up when he is 50, 75 or a hundred yards away.

Back in the day, before the rise in popularity of electric collars, I heard a .410 w/ bird shot was commonly utilized to "reach out and touch" a dog that wasn't paying attention.

Some guys use the right hook at the drop of a hat, others more selective. General rule of thumb, don't use it around birds, for fear of turning them off to the birds, and don't use it when they come back after running off, for fear that next time they don't come back. You gotta chase them down, and get them in the act of doing something to utilize it properly.

I knew plenty of trainers, again NOT retriever guys, where the right hook was their go to move. One guy used a left. All of them long successful careers.

Time for an update, B.

Thanks for asking Chuck...

The boy is still at school about to finish his second month. He used him in a demonstration at a huge game cookout a couple weekends ago where he showed what dogs he'd trained 1 month, 1 year, 4 yrs and 8 yrs could do. My dog was the 1 monther and he did excellent. I hid to the back of the crowd and pup had no idea I was there. He brought him out and demonstrated basic obedience and a few hand signals then he called out and asked if I would step forward. I did and Scout broke and came charging to me. He's never done it before but he was pissing like a fountain while he rolled around on the ground with me. I mean he was excited...The trainer let us have a minute or two and I stood back up and he laid on top of my feet and in between my legs and just in general got as close as he could... Then the trainer gave two blasts on his whistle and said his name and Scout jumped up and ran right back and sat at heel with him. Trainer looked at the crowd and said "Folks, that dog just did the absolute last thing on Earth he wanted to do. That's training". It made quite an impression.

I see him a couple times a week. The trainer does not need a right hook...he has some connection. I'm afraid he is going to try to buy the dog from me before this is over. I won't sell of course, but that's where it's headed.

I used to love it when we'd cook a steak for my brother's Rottweiler and then tell him to sit. He'd sit and wait and wouldn't eat it, but he'd be salivating and drooling all over while he was sitting. Another favorite thing was to tell him to sit while at a park and then walk back to the car while he just sat there a 1/4 mile away. He wouldn't do anything else in either situation until you gave the OK. Great dog. I'm pretty sure he thought he was a person and used to sit down on the couch with his butt on the seat just like the rest of us.

it's so cool that even though he's away from you, you're still very much his person. I've never been loved by anything as much as my dog loves me.

Yep. I think I've gotten sappy here before about dogs. If you are a Christian or know anything about the Bible, a dog's love for his man/woman is as close a thing to "Agape Love" you will ever see on Earth.

That's weird. When I was a kid, my Pops used to say "Agape Mou" in Greek to my Mom when he was being lovey-dovey.

Google it. I doubt your Dad had true Agape Love for your mother. I've never seen it from a human.

edit: No offense to your parents. If he did, more power to him.

It probably doesn't mean what your expression means, but I think "Agape Mou" is a pretty common expression of love in the Greek language.

Went to the trainers today and worked with the dog for about 2-1/2 hrs. We;;, we worked about 30 minutes and played with him for two hours. He is a Crackerjack.



Edit: This replacement phone I got has a bad spot on the lense or in the chip that blurs the center of the images.

Aaaaww. He's a good boy.

My boy's back home from school.

So we're into week three of our two week lovefest and rebonding period. Mostly focused on obedience and getting him back into the routine of being a dog on the go, to work and the watering hole and what-not. Next week we start back in working on the retrieving and that will require a few stops by the trainer for him to actually train me.

Anyway, if I stand still for over 60 seconds, this happens.

And that's not a complaint at this time.

He knows where his bread is buttered, as it were.

So, will you be entering him in competitions in the fall or just using his skills for your own hunting needs?

Pretty much just using him as a gundog and companion. (In other words just serving my needs). I personally do not have the time to devote to competing in trials.

I've faced the reality that I'll never get my money out of him even though he is capable of the trials and then some, and that's my fault. He is still not neutered though, so if you think you have a worthy female send me her papers. I'll consider it.

The trainer actually cried as we pulled away a few weeks ago and has nearly repeated every time we stop by. He's begun to realize we aren't going away.

Took him to Knoxville today. So far he's been to VA, NC, all of SC (of course), GA and today he marks off TN.

I'll just say he's a trooper and leave it at that. A great traveling companion and just what I needed.

Here he is sniffing some long gone dogs piss at a rest stop just east of Knoxville.



When we got back into town I stopped by the watering hole. A friend had an older, alpha, Chesapeake there as well and we introduced them. They did fine but Scout for the first and only time felt the need to mark my leg with a squirt of pee when the other male got too close to me. Gross, but it was kinda funny.

He don't want anyone bird doggin his bitch "This mutha fucker bring ME the kibble. Keep yer distance."

Well, Hell no. Nobody's gonna get his man.

It came up earlier in this thread- his kibble is now Purina Pro Plan. Four cups a day and I'm going to cut it back further if we stay on the road and he stays inactive this many hours a day. I can't find Diamond Advanced on a consistent basis and you cannot fuck with a dogs food when he spends time in a vehicle and hotel room with you.

True that. Pro Plan always produced a solid stool. What flavor you give him?

Shredded blend beef & rice. He loves it.

That's with the freeze dried pieces of meat? My dogs loved it when I switched to that. I used to get them the chicken, and every once in a while the lamb.

I think I'm going to get a dog in the spring. A smaller one for in the house.

It's a hard knock life



He weighed 61.5 lbs at the vet last week. In my opinion that's about perfect. My duck hunting friends are wanting to borrow him this winter. The smaller the Lab, the better chance you have of staying in your boat when the dog launches or has to be retrieved.