"Little" Emmitt pup...

[Rutin]

I surprised the family and brought Maverick home for the holidays. He has been gone for 3 months and has def grown up a little bit. Now his dad was a "big" lab and I have a feeling Maverick is on the same track. Honestly I just wish his brain would catch up with his body. Sarge was such a quick learner and Mav still acts very puppyish. Then again he is only 9 months, but Sarge was hunting and rock steady at 9 months. I wouldn't dare take Maverick out right now. Could he hunt and learn A LOT..... YES! But I think I would truly set him back in his future career by pulling him out of training. He's through collar conditioning, and half way through Force Fetch. Once he really grasps the FF concept I think this dog will blow up!!!! The plan is to continue training this winter and then around Feb/March send him to Georgia with my trainer to train with the big dogs and trainers for a couple months. If my trainer thinks he can play in the big dog games (field trail), I will give him a shot.... If not I have no doubt he'll be a hell of a hunting dog. He's already taller/bigger than Sarge by several inches, he just doesn't have the body mass as Sarge yet. Sarge has been a blast to hunt with this year, just wish more birds were around. He's probably ready to trade his owner in for a new one since I cant seem to get him on birds locally this year. Last year he had over 250+ retrieves, this year maybe 40.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Good looking dogs Zach.

 

[jagermeister]

Yep he's gonna be a bruiser. Good looking dogs Zach. He'll mature eventually... Some just mature a little quicker than others. That's one reason I like females. They usually mature a little quicker than males. Although they aren't typically ice breaking powerhouses like the big males. How long has he been working through FF? Slower than Sarge? I could see that taking a little longer for a pup that's more puppyish.

 

[hickslawns]

Good looking dogs. You saying you are going to sell Sarge? Or did I misread that? Not shopping, just curious. Sounded like you are starting them and selling them, but I may not have followed properly.

 

[Rutin]

Jim - He's been working on FF for 2.5 weeks now. Hopefully he's fully complete in another 2-3 weeks. Making sure we don't cut any corners with this guy, he's getting put through the ringer. He's a very soft dog so there's a fine art to him. My trainer has a male that could literally be his dad that looks like a damn thoroughbred who was very soft as a pup as well. His marking has been pretty good but we pulled all marks until he's done with FF. He was dropping the bumper short so we didn't want to keep him on marks and confuse him anymore. I'm really not concerned with his marking ability. At 6 months 100-150 yards and he was pretty close to spot on. Def ready for him to finish FF so I can see what he's made of and stretch him out. Emmitt was 85lbs I think when he won the Nat'l in 2011 so I'm def going to have a horse on my hands.

Phil - No, I'm not selling Sarge. He's been a good meat dog and has a lot of potential but lacks some genetics and training. The dog has 10x more heart and drive than I ever expected. He's willing to do ANYTHING!!! Longdraw (Mike) and Carpn (Jake) got to watch him make some 100-125 yard retrieves in the middle of the lake on cripples til he chased them down. There is NO quit in him but he has small corks that drive me crazy! Whiney, Separation Anxiety in the field when I leave to do something, finishes bringing birds back slow the last 20 yards, just small corks that can be worked out over time. Either way he saves me a lot in gas and energy picking everything that dies up.

 

[hickslawns]

That makes more sense. I was thinking he was pet, companion, and a working dog for you. Unless you start out with intention of starting a dog to sell, it would be real tough to part with them. I am sure your shadow would be heart broken if you got rid of him now. I would imagine they are buddies. I know my kids are attached to our dogs, but we don't hunt them. They are just door bells and security guards. lmao

Hank isn't a house dog, so they don't really have the same attachment. Brutus the boxer on the other hand. . . he is nearing the end and the only boxer they remember in their lives. Not looking forward to digging the hole when his time is up. One of life's lessons for them to learn. For now, you and the kids enjoy the heck out of Sarge and the new pup. You can cross that bridge when you get to it. Hope you have many happy years with the kids/dogs growing up together.

 

[Rutin]

Amen to that brother! One of the greatest sayings I've ever read about a man and his dog is: "One of the greatest injustices man has to suffer is that time and time again he must outlive his dog". Hits home on any dog but once you have a working dog they truly steal a peace of your heart and soul every time they pass.

 

[hickslawns]

Agreed. Although I do work Hank, I don't feel the same connection I do with our house dogs. Our boxers have always been very loyal to me. Plenty of time in plow trucks or in the shop. I have a connection with Hank, but it is different. He gets his lovin' every time I feed him and work him. Not the same as a dog that won't sleep anywhere but next to you. Enjoy the heck out of it Zach. Sorry to derail. Darn good looking dogs.

 

[jagermeister]

Jim - He's been working on FF for 2.5 weeks now. Hopefully he's fully complete in another 2-3 weeks. Making sure we don't cut any corners with this guy, he's getting put through the ringer. He's a very soft dog so there's a fine art to him. My trainer has a male that could literally be his dad that looks like a damn thoroughbred who was very soft as a pup as well. His marking has been pretty good but we pulled all marks until he's done with FF. He was dropping the bumper short so we didn't want to keep him on marks and confuse him anymore. I'm really not concerned with his marking ability. At 6 months 100-150 yards and he was pretty close to spot on. Def ready for him to finish FF so I can see what he's made of and stretch him out. Emmitt was 85lbs I think when he won the Nat'l in 2011 so I'm def going to have a horse on my hands.

Phil - No, I'm not selling Sarge. He's been a good meat dog and has a lot of potential but lacks some genetics and training. The dog has 10x more heart and drive than I ever expected. He's willing to do ANYTHING!!! Longdraw (Mike) and Carpn (Jake) got to watch him make some 100-125 yard retrieves in the middle of the lake on cripples til he chased them down. There is NO quit in him but he has small corks that drive me crazy! Whiney, Separation Anxiety in the field when I leave to do something, finishes bringing birds back slow the last 20 yards, just small corks that can be worked out over time. Either way he saves me a lot in gas and energy picking everything that dies up.

Sounds like he's on the right track to me. Definitely don't want to speed through FF too quickly. I was FF'ing Betty's brother from a second litter (cheech) and he is a soft dog too. It really opened my eyes to the differences between dogs. Betty is a hard headed little bitch... No where near being in the soft category. I had to really take my time and watch what I was doing with Cheech. Get him through FF and you'll be smooth sailing from there on out. Sounds like he's got some really good marking ability so you got yourself a good one.

 

[Rutin]

I'm hoping! I think once he gets through FF and can start running drills and marks again it'll be fun for him again. Hope Jake can work the details out with Jess about Cheech, sounds like a fine animal and a great opportunity!

 

[jagermeister]

Yep his attitude should improve quite a bit after force fetch. Although, T-drills and casting can get to be pretty boring for the dog too. I hope Jake can get Cheech. I'd love to see that dog end up somewhere he'd get hunted a bunch. Lots of potential in that dog. Wish I had the space for him myself to be honest.

 

[Kaiser878]

I'm dredding force fetching. I really am having anxiety about it..... and its about time

 

[jagermeister]

I'm dredding force fetching. I really am having anxiety about it..... and its about time

It's a bit tough the first time you do it... No doubt about it... But don't be intimidated by it. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders can force fetch a dog. I have no doubt you'll do fine with it Zach. The biggest thing is patience. You can't allow yourself to get irritated with the dog. It is such an extremely foreign concept for the dog... Not holding something per se, but holding something on command and not letting go until released... It's so unnatural for the dog at first that some really are slow to let it "sink in." As long as you're patient and let the dog progress at its own pace you're fine. If you let yourself get pissed off during the process you're going to make mistakes. And if you move through it too quickly, the end product will not be as good as it should be.

Make sure he's done teething before FF. If you have any questions about it let me know. I had issues teaching "hold" that I worked through, which helped me learn a few little tricks.

 

[Kaiser878]

Did u use a particular video Jim?

 

[Milo]

It's a bit tough the first time you do it... No doubt about it... But don't be intimidated by it. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders can force fetch a dog. I have no doubt you'll do fine with it Zach. The biggest thing is patience. You can't allow yourself to get irritated with the dog. It is such an extremely foreign concept for the dog... Not holding something per se, but holding something on command and not letting go until released... It's so unnatural for the dog at first that some really are slow to let it "sink in." As long as you're patient and let the dog progress at its own pace you're fine. If you let yourself get pissed off during the process you're going to make mistakes. And if you move through it too quickly, the end product will not be as good as it should be.

Make sure he's done teething before FF. If you have any questions about it let me know. I had issues teaching "hold" that I worked through, which helped me learn a few little tricks.

I like Zach a lot but if he needs to relax to do force fetch then he is gonna needs some Valium

 

[Kaiser878]

I like Zach a lot but if he needs to relax to do force fetch then he is gonna needs some Valium

No shit!!!!!! True statement......

 

[jagermeister]

Did u use a particular video Jim?

Not really one in particular but I watched a bunch. I followed the smartwork program with Betty though. If you search Evan Graham force fetch on YouTube there should be a few. Freddy King has a nice free training series on his YouTube channel too that includes a section on FF. There's a bunch of info out there... I pretty much just scoured every resource I could get my hands on and put it all together.

I like Zach a lot but if he needs to relax to do force fetch then he is gonna needs some Valium

Lmao. Shit why didn't I think of that???

 

[jagermeister]

Oh and I have the SmartFetch book by Graham too which is a great resource. I can mail it to you if you'd like. Just gotta make sure I get it back cuz them fuggin books aren't cheap! Lol

 

[Kaiser878]

I'm no book guy. I'm 31 years old and never read a whole book. I'm a video kinda guy. Haha

 

[jagermeister]

I'm no book guy. I'm 31 years old and never read a whole book. I'm a video kinda guy. Haha

I'm totally with you on that front. I hate reading books.