4 month old retriever, what now?

I have a 4 month old BLF and she is a great retriever. She is directly out of Lucyana's Fast Willie (the 1997 NFC). She retrieves very well in water and on land. She comes right back most of the time. She is a lot of dog to handle and has a lot of go. My question is what should I do next. I don't want to do anything that will hurt this enthusiasm. I plan on FF her when she is done getting her adult teeth. I have a 2 1/2 year of CLF and I think I might have been a little aggressive with the training when she was younger. I think I hurt some of her enthusiasm for retrieving when she was little. She lives for retrieving now but it took a lot of work to get her that way

Thanks,
Brian D.

Brian,

Sounds like you have a very nice pup and I commend your effort to keep her excited. If you are going to employ an e-collar then now is a good time to start collar conditioning. If not then I would concentrate on solidifying your obedience work away from retrieving. I recommend that control work be taught separate from retrieving because the pups is not wired and can think and learn more freely. This is especially important for a really hot pup out of high powered breeding like yours. This is a really good time to start solidifying the sit stay to lay a foundation for steadying. A solid recall sounds like something she could use work on also. Teach these skills with food and praise and put the bumpers away until she is through the FF.

Good Luck

Bill Corcoran
Highland Retrievers
bcorc4@aol.com
Highland Retriever

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