10-Day Check-up

My new dog has kept me away from the blog and in the yard trying to housebreak the pup! So far, things are going well. After two tough nights, Boru has pretty much become a crate-trained dog. Sleeping through the night, going in without a problem, not whining to get out when he's in there. Housebreaking is going a little bit slower, but is progressing.

I've been using as my aide, Tom Dokken's Retriever Training. I met Tom on a hunt with the folks from SportDog and Lacrosse/Danner a few years ago. His keen insight and proven track record made me interested in checking out his book. I'm glad I have. His training techniques and writing style are both very easy to follow.

Meet Boru--the GoHUNTn Dog

Saturday, I brought home my little bundle of black lab.

Sleeping has been a little rough, and Boru (pronounced Boh-roo) had a rough morning yesterday , but he has been a champ so far!

He's already showing some early signs of enjoying fetch, at least he likes to go after the tennis ball in the back yard. The brightest moments have been him perking up when he hears geese go squawking by. I think I just might have a hunter on my hands.

In the meantime, it's all about crate training, housebreaking, and having fun with him!

New Dog Nerves

Well, in 48 short hours, I will be a first-time dog owner. And while I have seen friends successfully train puppies, and I have helped train a dog before, I'm starting to stress out a bit about the responsibility of having a dog.

Will he chew the couch? Will I find puddles of pee everywhere? Is he going to whine all through the night? Can I really train a dog to not only be a great pet but a great hunting partner?

I'm sure the answer to all these questions is going to be yes, at least I hope that's the answer to that last one. Somehow this dog is turning me into Woody Allen, and I don't even him yet!

How Early is Too Early to Train?

There has been a lot of debate about how early is too early to train your hunting dog. I'm getting my puppy soon, and I'm thinking that I want to start with some basic commands immediately. But are there certain things that are worth waiting for?

I'm basically thinking that commands that work well for both a family dog and a hunting dog should be the first ones taught: sit, stay, heal, come, etc.

Famed gun dog training author, Richard Wolters, believes that you should start as early as 7 weeks (Boru will be 7 weeks old next week!), while many other authorities think you should wait until the dog is a year old.

Welcome, Failte

We weren't allowed to have a dog until I turned 12 years old. While my dad, brother, sister, and I desperately wanted on, my mom wanted to wait until we were all responsible enough to take care of him. Fourth of July weekend 1995, the McClintocks brought home a yellow lab from Close Corters Labs in Linden, Pa.

Since he was our first dog, and we were a sports family, we named him Rookie. Rookie was a remarkable family dog and hunting dog. He had no interest in playing fetch, and would only retrieve downed ducks, which he did with great skill.

We had to put Rookie to sleep in 2008, and when I was looking for my first dog, I knew I had to go back to the Corter's. Fittingly, though, I stuck with my generation when choosing my pup, getting him through the son of the owners of Close Corters, Daugherty's Run. And I decided to go with a black lab.