Is it too late to try to start hunting training?

uuacallis

I have two Weims,

Chloe age 4.5 and Kennedy age 1.5.

With Chloe we went through all of the obedience classes offered locally and she responded extremely well. She is very obedient.

When we purchased Kennedy we told ourselves she was going to go through the same classes, however unfortunately due to scheduling mis-haps, and just outright laziness by me (I know, I am terrible), she didn't go to class.

We found that she did learn most, if not all of the Chloe's good behavior traits. If I rated obedience in 1-10, Chloe would be a 9, and Kennedy would be a 6. I see a lot of the same issues that Chloe had when she was only a year old as well, so I figure a lot of it is just her "youth".

Even though I no longer actively hunt, I still would like to take them out and work with them in the field, and possibly put Kennedy through the AKC trials. (Chloe was never registered because she was rescued from a puppy mill)

I am looking for some advice as to
A - Good books that I could read to learn how to train a Weim for hunting
B - Good DVD or Online resources
C - Good trainers in the Washington DC Suburbs (Virginia side) that can assist in this training.

I have tried contacting the Weim club of DC, but either I have a bad email address, or they just aren't responding to my question. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for what we are looking for?

Ultimately we want to breed her since she has a wonderful personality and does exceptionally with our 2 year old. However, I want to be responsible and insure that she is a good hunter and really meets the breed standards first.

Thanks -
Adam

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:20 pm Post subject:

You can train them to hunt at those ages, but it can be harder depending on the drive of the dog. I would suggest you find your local chapter of NAVHDA and ask to sit in on a few of their training sessions.

anne · Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:53 pm Post subject:

Adam,

Email me privately, I know some people in that club that can probably help get you started. anne@weim.net.

I agree with h20fwlkillr that NAVHDA would also be a good place to start.

You can learn a lot from books, but it's much much easier to learn in person....

Also, you should know that field trial dogs, NAVHDA dogs and hunt test dogs, and dogs you use for hunting can be a little bit different. (I have a field champion and a NAVHDA UT dog as well as a MH level dog, and all my dogs are hunted as well.) At your dogs' age, they can definitely be trained, but trials may be a bit harder to start training so late than the other stuff.

As for online resources, check out the versatile dogs list at versatiledogs.com, there are lots of very experienced people there. Also for books and DVD's.... I like the Bill West/Bill Gibbons methods. Delmar Smith's book is somewhat of a classic. Dave Walkers book is good.

What's Kennedy's breeding?

Anne