Gun Dogs
The various stages of training 8 weeks to 1 year +

Many of the problems that owner-trainers experience when training retrievers could be easily minimized if addressed early in training. It is much better to not condition in a problem that you will later have to train out of your dog.

But also don't expect too much from your dog too soon - but ensure that all lessons learnt are learnt well. Do not progress onto a new training subject until the old one has been learnt thoroughly.

Puppy 8 weeks - 3 months
No long Training Sessions
Too much enthusiasm from the trainer at this stage often proves detrimental to young pups. As a result of lengthy, repetitive training sessions, the pup simply loses focus, becomes distracted, and finally burns out.

Pups under 3 months have very short attention spans. Sessions should not exceed 5 minutes and should include only a few repetitions. It is not essential to train every day at this stage.
Throw an old sock for the pup, it should be retrieved, once you have seen evidence of your pups ability to pick up objects and carry them around in its mouth you can leave this for now. Do not rush to take an object from pup that he has picked up at this stage and at all costs avoid tug of ear games.

Put a collar onto pup so that he becomes accustomed to having something around his neck, without complaining. It can later be removed.

Vary pups food. There is NO need to do this for the dogs sake - he will be just as happy eating the same thing everyday - however you do not want to be stuck if you ever run out of his preferred brand of food. Avoid having a fussy eater by introducing variation into his/her diet early on.

Puppy 3 months - 6 months
Training can include sit (most effective when at mealtime), come - which be natural to an inquisitive puppy anyway, just get in the habit of giving the command as pup is on the way back to you) No! can be used whenever the pup does something that displeases you - it will have to be reinforced initially by your physical restraint - however the command on its own should soon be enough.

Lead training can be intensified so that pup walks comfortably on or off lead. Do not use the lead too much or pup will come to rely upon it and will then cause havoc when off the lead. Get him/her used to being under control on or off the lead.

Clearly define playtime when pup IS allowed to run around and play, from training time when work is expected.

Short training sessions - little and often. A few minutes twice a day is more effective than an hour every day. Often a break of a few days in training produces surprising results.

During this important formative period introduce your puppy to everything that you will later expect him/her to cope with. Water, car journeys, livestock, loud noises, children, other dogs - the list is endless. The best way to socialize your puppy and avoid problems later on is to introduce him gently to all of these things NOW, whilst he/she is moldable and dependent upon you for confidence.

Young dogs between 6 and 12 months
Pups between 6 and 12 months must maintain a positive attitude toward training. Pups this age will benefit most from sessions no longer than 20 minutes. Never continue to the point of boredom. If things are going well and the session is complete, there is no need to push pups past 2 to 3 repetitions. Always stop on a positive, successful exercise or response. A good gundog can be trained with the investment of 10 minutes a day, if an effective training plan is adopted.

At some stage your dog will have to be introduced to gunfire.
If possible have a more experienced dog around, so that your young dog can see there is nothing to worry about. A local clay shoot is a good place to go - on a 'not so busy' day. Start off at a distance. As with most things dog training - do not be in too much of a hurry to start firing your double 12 bore over your dogs head.

Nothing can be gained by exposing pups to real shooting situations under the age of 6 months, whether it's pigeons, rabbits or waterfowl shooting.
Be patient. Let the pup mature and do your homework building strong basic gundog skills. No dog should be exposed to a shooting situation until all basic gundog skills are entrenched. Don't rush the process.

1 year +
At the age of one year your dog should be considered part trained. All of the basic commands should have been taught and the dog should simply require practical experience in the field. Regularly look back to your training schedule to ensure that your dogs skills are kept honed and that he/she consistently meets your expectations.

It is only after a season or twos regular work that you can consider your dog as a trained gundog. Even then you should regularly brush up one aspect or other of your dogs work.

Counterproductive Interference
Most potential gundogs spend much of their time in uncontrolled environments such as the home or work where they remain unconfined during off-training periods. Well-meaning friends, visitors, or neighbors commonly confront them with opportunities for dysfunctional behavior/activities.

Dogs are learning all the time, not just in training.

You must question what is being learned outside the controlled training environment. Many times the experiences occur while the owner/handler is not present. People love to amuse themselves by playing with an eager, enthusiastic retriever and they may be promoting unsteadiness by tossing repeated, meaningless retrieves, encouraging free running or swimming, or perhaps even a bit of rough house, tug-of-war, or chase. Guests, kids at home, and neighbors all may unintentionally create undesirable habits for our gundogs.

Set rules for family members to follow when handling the dog while you are away.
Instruct family, especially children, visitors and neighbors about acceptable conduct with your dog, especially pups.
If you cannot control the situation while you are absent, control the dog's environment. Build an outdoor pen so the dog can remain away from others while you're away

Don't allow others to interfere with or distract your dog while involved in training.

As always, the best strategy for gundog training is to set pups up to succeed and to not condition in a problem that will have to be rectified later. Do not 'test' your dog. Rather engineer the tests so that your dog always succeeds - then extend the test - bit by bit - until your dog is doing exactly what YOU want.