Older Hunting Dog?

Question

My brother-in-law has a two year old hunting dog that he finally is getting around to want to train. Is she too old for training? I can't remember what breed she is, but she's a beautiful dog and of a hunting breed of dogs. Is two years too late for her to learn waterfowl and pheasant retrieval?

Answer 1

Actually no. Many trainers start around that age. Most field trial dogs out there have started their training around a year and a half or older.

The reason for this is that "force fetching" is most strenuous on a young dog. At a year and a half or two years old, dogs are mentally young adults (approximately 18 or so in human years) and they can mentally cope with the training regime.

You mention waterfowl and pheasant. While it isn't difficult to get a dog to retrieve both, you have to remember that this is two different types of training. If hunting waterfowl over decoys then you will want the dog not to break unless told. This means he is not always going to see the fall and will need to be guided to the bird by whistle and hand.

Pheasant retrieval usually goes hand in hand with flushing or pointing. A flushing behavior is to run the semi-circle in front of you at a distance of 15-25 yards. The dog is not under the constant control that is required in a duck blind, and they are given whistle and hand commands basically to keep them within boundaries. While flushing can be adapted from waterfowling, pointing dogs generally fail miserably in waterfowl situations. The strict control in scent and the general lack of directional control makes pointing trained dogs quite hard to have in the blind.

Now these are generalizations, and as such only apply to the "average" and not to specifics. My yellow lab/golden retriever cross has been doing both waterfowl and upland for 9 years now without problems.

There are a couple of good books you can recommend to your brother-in-law... one is Top Dog and the other is 10 Minute Retriever. Both of these are highly recommended books from some of the top field trial trainers in the business.

I've listed out some good resources below.

Answer 2

No it's not too late even though the older you let a dog get less willing they are to learn.

It used to be true that Field Trial Trainers would wait until a dog was older to train it but not anymore. They've started to learn that the younger you start a dog the easier they are to train and they have a stronger willingness to learn. It doesn't really cause more stress on the dog than waiting until they are older if you do it right. You just have to pay attention to the dogs temperment and be willing to be soft if the dog is soft and a little bit harder if the dog is a bit more stubborn.

But long story short a dog is never too old to learn, the thing to remember is that the older a dog gets the less willing to learn they will be.

Answer 3

Age shouldn't matter, but it will probably take a lot of patience in training. A hard-headed dog may require force training.

Answer 4

Not at all.....as long as the dog has had basic already.....the common sit, stay, laydown....and listens well.....I my experiance it is always good to have the basics and then go to the harder stuff.....I started my pups with the basics from the day they came home....started hunting training at 6-8 months....worked well for me....

Answer 5

no 2 years not to old, in some cases she make a better huntting dog,,, all it mean she just slow down, an realy to real hunt

Answer 6

no, the dogs not to old, however, it will not be as easy now as it would have been when younger. tell whoever not to get to frustrated trying to train the dog now, and resort to shock collars and other dumba** methods of training. be patient.

Answer 7

no but it should have been given birds as early as 8 weeks old .you well need a shock caller and no what you want from the dog .

Answer 8

most dogs that it is bred into you can still train them may not be as good since didn't start early but there is still hope


good luck hope she turns out to be a good one

Answer 9

no at age 2 she is still a pup and should pick it up faster than a younger dog

Answer 10

Most PRO trainers wait a minimum of one year.They say it's best to let them be a puppy first.GOOD LUCK AND GOOD HUNTING!