Standard Time - Killing my Training Regimen

S

steelbull85

New member
The end of Daylight Savings Time is really killing my training ability. I have a 19 week old yellow lab and she is coming along nicely with the training, but now that it is dark before I get home from work it is making it extremely difficult to do training exercises with her. The good thing is that I have no intentions to hunt her this year, so I know that I have plenty of time to get her trained for next season. I don't want to stop making progress with her though. How have others handled this situation?

I'm following Dokken's and Wolter's books for training, and I'm about to get into a big couple of months of training. Obviously I have weekends, and can do obedience training inside, but teaching quartering, introduction to birds, and other field/waterfowl work isn't possible in the dark. If I didn't have a job, this would be a lot easier :laugh:

All suggestions welcomed! :cheers:
 
I do 2 different things. 1 attach a small bright flashlite to the dogs collar. That way I can keep track in the dark. 2 I found a office complex that is somewhat lit at night, especially the parking lot. It has a ton of landscaping, even in the parking lot. There are quail that live there, among other things. Sure its not the ideal spot, but it sure works this time of year.
 
Any regimen you follow is better than nothing but Wolters is one of the weakest programs. You might want to research that while you are slowed down because of darkness


I agree I would prefer to go to work in the dark and come home with hours of daylight left
 
I hear ya. Find a community Ed "puppy kindergarten". Good social skills are critical.
Not sure where you live but if you get snow that will get you an extra hour or two of sufficent light for training.
I agree with Bobman, Wolters is a bit outdated. Check out Hillman's puppy DVD's.
If you intend to teach your pup to handle Dokkens "place board" training will help you with mini T and Swimby. Place board training can easily be done under a street light or in your garage/basement.
If you intend to FF your pup the permanent teeth should be in around 5-6 months.
 
Thanks for the information. I was following what my breeder suggested (Wolters), while also mixing in some of Dokken's stuff. I will definitely look into the others that you all recommended.

She is coming along nicely. Will walk pretty well at heel, knows sit, stay, come, place, and hunt 'em up. She is also pretty well whistle trained with stop/sit and come. She loves to retrieve, and won't always deliver to hand, but we are working on that.

She gets all amped up whenever I bring out feathers or a frozen bird, and will just sit and watch geese/ducks fly by overhead. I think I have a good bird dog in the works.

Thanks again for the information.
 
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