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Black Betty

jagermeister

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Ohio
I've been meaning to share this for a while now... just haven't had much free time lately. A few weeks ago I brought home the newest addition to our family, Killbuck Creek Black Betty. She's a Pointing Labrador Retriever and she just turned nine weeks old on a couple days ago. She's ornery as hell, but she's really smart and I think she'll be a great hunting companion. Crate training and housebreaking have gone really well. She rings a bell on the back door to go outside and runs to her kennel on command pretty reliably... extremely reliably if I'm holding a bowl of kibble. lol

Betty is the product of Lakota's Hurricane Cruz and Killbuck Creek Molly, both pointing labs. Cruz is a 4xGPMR and HRC and is considered one of the best pointing labs in the country right now. As you all know, I waterfowl hunt a lot more than I upland hunt. I went with a pointing lab because 1)they seem to be relatively smaller and more sleek than most labs these days, 2)having that pointing ability is an awesome bonus, and 3)my boss' dog Molly had the litter. lol

Here's some video footage of Molly in action, pointing some chukars and pigeons...
[video=youtube;F3LX2JmpOO4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3LX2JmpOO4[/video]


A few pics of Black Betty...














I haven't introduced her to any birds yet, but I've shown her a frozen duck wing a couple times and she went nuts over it. When the weather finally cooperates I plan on planting a few pigeons for her to see how she responds. Right now we're just working on manners and going on field walks once a day. I've also been running her on 2-3 retrieves per day... no longer than 20 feet for now. They say not to flood the dog with too many retrieves at a young age so they don't get bored of it. In the latter stages of training, fun retrieves will be a form of reward for the dog. In just 3 weeks I've seen the truth in this line of thinking. The first week and a half, Betty showed little interest in retrieving... She'd run after something, but seldom bring it back to me. Now, when she sees me grab a bumper, she immediately jumps in excitement and retrieves it every time. I build the excitement for a couple retrieves, then take it away, leaving her wanting more. Paint rollers work great as "bumpers" for pups, BTW.

Hopefully like Rutin, I can update this thread from time to time as Betty's training progresses. As most of you know, when I get into a new hobby I tend to go "all-out." This dog ownership thing will likely be no different. I'm hoping to help Betty win a few ribbons when it's all said and done. A titled pointing lab with this kind of lineage can spit out pups that'll fetch $1000-$1500 each. Cha-ching. :)
 

Derek j

Senior Member
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Knox Co.
beautiful dog J!! The puppy days are some of the most enjoyable.....molding your pup to the companion you will have for years!! Have fun with her and good luck.....she looks like a dandy!!
 

jagermeister

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Ohio
Beautiful dog!
I admire the discipline of those who are able to train dogs successfully.

I'm with you there. This is my first real dog training venture... Hopefully it continues to go well.

She's a looker, and big for 9 weeks!

There were only 4 pups in the litter, so they were all a bit bigger than "normal." That's mainly why all of the pups were taken home so soon. She was actually the smallest of the four, though. One of her brothers weighed in at 20# on Friday. Betty is hovering around 16-17# right now. I'm thinking she'll only be 55-65# full grown. The dam is about 65# and the sire is actually smaller, weighing about 60#.
 

Curran

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Central Ohio
Awesome! You'll have a blast training her & even more fun when you start to see it all come together. When things start to click inside a dog, and that lightbulb in their head flicks on, it's a great feeling. The main thing I would say is that the instant you get frustrated, or the dog losing interest in a training session, just end it for the day. And end it on a positive note to leave the dog wanting more.

Oh, and your dog has a kick ass theme song TOO!!!
 

Rutin

Senior Member
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Ina Duck Blind
Beautiful pup Jim! You hit the nail on the head.... everything right now is Happy, Happy, Happy! lol. Paint rollers and canvas bumpers are great at this age bc of their teeth. After 6 months when the adult teeth come in 2" hard bumpers are fine. You seem to be on a very good tract and everything is about socialization and obedience. My pup is ornery as hell about crate training but a little kibble goes a long way! I truely belive a winter pup is a great time to teach obedience and commands and when they hit 4-5 months old the weathers perfect for water training and they have a better understanding of your command. This will be a fun thread to keep an eye on. Good luck bud, Zach
 

jagermeister

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18,060
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Ohio
Beautiful pup Jim! You hit the nail on the head.... everything right now is Happy, Happy, Happy! lol. Paint rollers and canvas bumpers are great at this age bc of their teeth. After 6 months when the adult teeth come in 2" hard bumpers are fine. You seem to be on a very good tract and everything is about socialization and obedience. My pup is ornery as hell about crate training but a little kibble goes a long way! I truely belive a winter pup is a great time to teach obedience and commands and when they hit 4-5 months old the weathers perfect for water training and they have a better understanding of your command. This will be a fun thread to keep an eye on. Good luck bud, Zach

This was my line of thinking as well. I'm glad to hear that you agree. It kind of sucks that the weather is so shitty now because it makes it difficult to get her out and burn the energy off, but I'm hopeful that it'll pay off here in another month or two. I'm hoping that she'll be ready to chase down some doves in September as a warmup for duck season.