hi evreyone im after some advice while training the dogs ive consistantly had trouble training them to drop to shot in fact i still cant get my four year old to drop or even sit to shot she just ignores my command where as normally she is very obediant, i now have a 14 week old puppy although naturally shooting is along way off  but adventually I would like to trial her,is there anything i should be teaching to make it easier when shes older.
any tips please!! :)

I'm not the best one to advise you on this. It is a Spaniel or HPR thing and not something a retriever would normally be taught so I'm talking things I have never done!! (Not knowing about a thing has never stopped me talking in the past though!!)

I believe I am right in saying HPR's flush whereas with Pointers and Setters the bird is flushed by the handler?? I would be concentrating on the stop whistle in an area where there is not likely to be anything to point. Get the drop to command in the garden. The drop to command and whistle. Then, after an introduction to gunshot, drop to whistle and shot. Only after getting it right without the added excitement would I try it where there might be found any game. If you have not got it right in calm surroundings it will never be right when combined with the excitement of the field. As with all training, break it down into the smallest bits to train and build it up.

Best wishes, John

Start as you mean to go on and start on the basics early on. Remember to keep it fun and 'play' at all times. Your dog must obey the command first time - every time. If you can not inforce a command when you give it, then never give it in the first place. Do not start with the 'shot' to early. Instil the sit/stop command and the whistle command first. You can start that now. The shot should be introduced much later in my opinion and that in itself has to be undertaken with the utmost care. Concentrate on the basic obedience commands first and foremost. This is where handlers let themselves and their dogs down. Get the basics in first and properly and don't take short cuts. If you do, then you will end up having to put it right at a later date and this will be harder.

thankyou both for your advice its been very helpful :)