Could anyone please help with advice on home training sessions for a bored retriever?  She knows basic commands and a bit more very well, but I think I need to spend more time on daily training to occupy her mind (and stop her chewing/bull-in-a-china-shop tendencies!). What sort of things could I do with her on a daily basis; I made the decision to do more, got outside with her and couldn't think what to do!!  Thanks.

How old is she?

She's two.

Just as a quick thought for you, if she's bored you are obviously spending too much time on routine training and not varying it around enough. What are you training her for? Obedience, gundog work, agility? Even if your aim is just as a pet then there is still no reason not to use one of the disciplines to spice things up a bit. For a pet I would tend to look towards gundog work because it is more "Open" and less regimented than obedience. There is so much you can do with a retriever, the options are almost unlimited!

Regards, John

Thanks John.  I have done some agility with her, but only got a few weeks in before our class stopped for the winter (as it's outdoor).  I don't want to do formal obedience, and would like to get into gundog work but don't really know how to go about it.  What preliminary things could I do at home with her for that?  I know her retrieve needs working on (as I find it hard to train her to hold things instead of giving them to me - we're getting there slowly).

Hi Pen.
As you have found with Agility, so many gundog training societies close during the winter. Most instructors are so busy working on shoots that time is at a premium.

Obedience is obviously a requirement of gundog work but not quite such tight heelwork. A dog wrapped around your leg would be a liability whilst trying to traverse a slippery bank. You need to work on the retrieving aspect because the fun for both you and your dog starts with this.

You will need such things as a whistle, lanyard to hang it around your neck and dummies. Have a look at the Turner Richards web site, you will find all you need on there. A good video to get is Stan Harvey's "Gundog Training the young Labrador Retriever" if you can bear watching Labradors ;) (I imaging when you say retriever you mean Golden Retriever?) A book worth buying is the late Susan Scales "Retriever Training the modern way". Both of these are available from Turner Richards.

Training a Golden retriever is basically the same as training a Labrador but one thing to be aware of is that they are, on average, far less forgiving of errors or impatience than a Labrador. You might be able to order a Lab around but you need to humour a Golden or apprehension will creep in. Mentally they are not so strong and easily switch off if worried.

If you give me a rough idea of your location I may be able to point you in the direction of a gundog training club.

Regards, John

Thanks for that John.  I have bitten the bullet and contacted someone who does gundog work and is going to help me train - I've been thinking about it for a while, and your advice has given me the push I needed!  It was interesting to hear your thoughts on the differences between labs and goldens; I've owned both and the goldens certainly seem to be more sensitive to criticism.

Thanks Digger - I hadn't even thought of that sort of thing, but that makes sense; there's such a lot that we could actually do around the house.

Go for it Pen, both you and your dog will love it.

Regards, John

How about basic assistance dog tasks?  Like finding/reteiving the TV remote.....