New dog

at 8 months she is still just a pup, most trainers dont really start working on hunting skills untill about 6 months, before 6 months is mainly obedience. As far as retrieving, most labs are born with the instinct, you just need to hone it into what you want. I know people that have gottend dogs as old as a couple of years and made good hunters out of them. I would recomend reading any and every dog training book you can get your hands on, go to the library and study up. I have a 4 month old female yellow lab, this is the first dog I am training myself, and she made her first goose retrieve at 14 weeks!! I also had her retrieve a pheasent about 5 weeks ago. Also she walks (heals) 95% of the time without a leash already. She sits, and will stay for an hour if you want her to. And remember I have no experience in training, I just did a lot of research. You need to develop a plan for your dog, get in your mind what you want from a good gun dog and be persistant in your training. Train even if you dont feel like it, but just remember to have fun with it and keep it fun for your pup. Good luck and enjoy your new hunting buddy.

Plainsman now that you mention it what the heck am I doing replying to a thread about lab crosses :roll: :lol: :lol: Hunt her bud get her out especially if you're by yourself. Get out there and have fun with her if she's showing that much improvement in a few days WOW. Have you fired around her at all? If not try a 22 rifle (it's little quieter than a pistol) to make sure she ain't gunshy Macey was last year the first time I took her out but like I said she was nothing but a yard dog untill I got her. Shook like a leaf blowing in a storm but didn't run off just stood and shook so I felt we could work it out and yepper we did. I know a lot of folks say 8 months is to young but I started both Bill and his Half sister Katie when they were 9 months. Now Katie had the advantage of learning from Bill just like Macey is, but if she's wanting to please and is fetching find yourself a real small pond that you can hunt some ducks on and even if you have to put on the wader and go out with her I'm sure you'll be suprised how quick she'll figure out that this makes dad HAPPY but make sure you let her know it everytime. Not knowing anything about what kind of life she had before you got her but from what I'm hereing you say how she's reponding I'd say she darn happy where she is and being a lab female she'll want to do nothing but please you. 8) 8)

Football like someone told you in your other post you can make a hunting dog out of almost anything. I believe if you could keep him from freezing up you could train a CHI CHI WAH WAH to at least fetch teal :lol: I once had a white german shepard that loved to upland game bird hunt and even pointed not the classic leg up but if you looked between his ears and down his nose (like rifle sites) you know right where the birds were he of fetched them also but I had a 6 month ole lab cross that figured that was his job 8) friend gave me a bad time about it till they saw him in action.