I have a 13 month of chocolate lab that i would like to start training for the water? Im new to duck hunting and by no means a trainer, is 13 months to old??

Not too late, will say you missed out on some very valuable time in a stage of his life where lifetime impressions are more easily made..but it can be done. Had a guy bring me a 5yo dog with no training and was recently able to get an HRC finished title on the dog, exception NOT the rule. Have you taught the dog anything? Worse dogs I get are the year old ones where the owner hasn't done anything with them for fear of "messing up" the dog. Teaching him simple stuff like sit, stay, lay down, shake and silly stuff like roll over, speak, etc all conditions the dog to learn and puts him way ahead of the dog who is taught nothing. With duck season approaching most trainers have dogs going home which should allow you to get a training slot pretty quick. If you decide to do it yourself join an HRC or AKC hunting retriever club in your area and start training with some of the members. Be prepared to throw ducks, load wingers, stage dogs and all of the dirty work and you will find yourself with access to some great training grounds, equipment and surrounded by knowledge and experience you can't get from books.

Pretty much what dux said. Not too late for a JH or SH level dog, but will be hard to get a MH. But, a SH level dog is all most folks need in a retriever. One that will be steady to the shot, go WHEN sent, do doubles and can handle. Get with some folks who have experience in training dogs to the MH level. I'll say it again- get with some folks who have experience in training dogs to the MH LEVEL . Or seek out a pro. BIG HINT: Watching the dogs run at a HT will show you who the good trainers are both pro and non pro. Trust me there are a lot of bad trainers out there and some of them are Pros. I would recommend going to a Hunt Test (not a field trial that is beyond most dogs) and watch the different levels run to see what the possiblities are. To find them go to www.entryexpress.net/ and do a search for your state.

Shes been around gunshots since i've gotten her and shes amazing chasing down tennis balls on ground and even in the water. I never really taught her to drop it, she just brings the ball back and drops it at my feet. The other thing shes really good at is if she cant find the ball in the water she will just turn around and look to me for a hand signal on which way to run. I know she has potential. Id like to try training my self just for the added time out side.

James Lamb Free, an early guru of Lab training for trials, didn't think a dog should be started until it was a year old. He was wrong. However, from your tennis ball anecdote, I'm not sure you understand the foundation that neeeds to be laid or what your ultimate performance goal is.

If you're not solid on sit, come etc you will have much frustration in trying to develop a reliable retriever for hunting. Put in the basic training and consider force breaking if you want to really have a reliable dog.

Do some serious reading about training. Best of luck and have fun doing it. It's not life and death, necessarily.

Right on the money, T mentioned FOUNDATION. He is absolutely correct, a good foundation (OB, FF,CC) is essential to build on and achieving your goal to have a reliable dog.

TG,

There is a lot to be said about starting a dog that has a more mature mind. I have been using setters for the last 15 years, and they need to be about 12-18 months old before they come along the way they should. There is a lot to be said in letting puppies be puppies for a while; they grow up too soon, just like our kids.

Well, yes, but Free just basically parked them in a kennel until they were a year old. One can certainly do better than that during puppy adolescence. On the other hand I do not see having the youngest dog to ever achieve some particular goal is a good target either.

Depends on the dog and the trainer, but going too fast usually causes more problems than going too slow.

The people who push too hard for early achievement remind me of little league dads - and with the same motivation. And that's not a compliment.

That might be true about Setters, I don't know for I know nothing about the breed. But that is absolutely not the case with labs or other retrievers. Training for retrievers should begin when the puppy gets home. James Lamb Free was DEAD WRONG on this issue.