Introduction

My name is Caden.  I am 24 years old and am currently attending the University of Utah for a degree in chemistry.  About a year ago, my wife and I decided to increase our family size (not just with a baby which did come later in the year).  We purchased a dog of the breed my wife loved the most - a shetland sheepdog (sheltie) named Hazel.  Hazel is a smart dog and throughout her first year of life, she has mastered many tricks including a visitor favorite of ringing her bell to go outside.  People have seen how great my dog is and they have asked me about how I trained her.  That is somewhat how this blog is getting started.

For my graduation present (a year early), I decided to buy myself a duck dog, a yellow lab named Jack.  I bought him today at 5 weeks and 3 days old.  Yes, this is a bit early to get a puppy, I suggest puppies being at least 8 weeks old (we got Hazel at 10 weeks old), but due to the circumstances of both the breeder and myself, it was best to get the pup at this time.

I have decided to follow the training outline called the Wildrose Way taught in the book Sporting dog and Retriever Training (http://www.amazon.com/Sporting-Dog-Retriever-Training-Gentlemans/dp/0789324466/ref=pd_sim_b_3) alongside the DVD The Wildrose Way:  Retriever Training.  This training method sticks out to me for a couple of reasons.  First, the founder of the Wildrose Kennels (and subsequently the Wildrose Way) is a man by the name of Mike Stewart.  Mike Stewart has partnered with Ducks Unlimited and trains their rock solid retrievers.  Another reason is the main theme behind this training:  shaping the desired behavior, not correcting bad behavior.  Nowhere in this training will you find force fetch or electronic collars.  The one time I will opt to use an electronic collar is when introducing Jack to snakes (fake ones of course).  Other than that, electronic collars and negative reinforcement will not be used.  Instead I will focus on shaping the dogs behaviors into what I really want:  a calm, steady, solid hunting buddy.