How to Prepare
Now that you've decided that a Morgan's Point Ranch puppy is the right choice for you, you're probably wondering what you will need to prepare for your new family member. Below is a list of essentials for your puppy's well being:
- A relationship with a very good dog friendly vet, better yet, hunting dog friendly vet, not a pocket pet vet.
- A good well balanced Large Breed puppy food, we have been quite content with Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy, Salmon flavor, No corn, No wheat, No soy; we like the way our puppies look and act while on it! We also suggest to avoid Peas and too many fillers. Meat should be the first ingredient.
- Another great food we have been hearing about is The Honest Kitchen Puppy Food. We suggest avoiding the grain free options. Our vet also recommends Purina Pro Plan. If you decide to switch foods, we will send you home with enough puppy food to make the switch gradually.
- We highly recommend an enclosed intermediate size Ruffland kennel, or a large size with a divider to increase the size as the puppy gets larger. Good for nighttime, traveling, and for when puppy will be by itself for a period of time.
- A Medium 30 inch size wire crate by Midland is handy as well for hanging out in the daytime.
- A safe enclosed area for exercising outside (exercise pen- when she/he is small, and you cannot be with her/him and when she is not in her crate)
- A training lead. We recommend a product you can order from Standing Stone Supply called Easy Lead
- Please avoid extra "treats" you buy... just like babies... too many other ingredients can mess up a puppy's digestion. Use pieces of their own kibble for treats and training rewards. High quality food rewards should be plain cooked chicken breast pieces and non seasoned steak pieces. ( We like to cook up ahead, chop up and store in the freezer to easily pull out.) A couple of tablespoons of Plain pumpkin is a great additive to a food during times of stress, changes and food changes.
- Chew toys should be hard like Nylabones or Kong toys for chewers. Avoid Rawhide and Bully sticks... these can possibly cause an intestinal obstruction. Watch for broken off pieces and stuffing from toys and throw them away.
- If you are a newbie to labrador retrievers, a good training guide, and/or dvd's, websites are in order... some suggestions: Standing Stone Kennel, The Wildrose Way Retriever Training DVD with Mike Stewart , George Hickox Training the Upland Retriever DVD, Gun Dog: Puppy Training with Jeremy Moore. Check out GunDog Supply for their large selection of training Books and DVD's and materials.
Below are tips from the Baxter's Bird Dogs which are helpful for those getting one of our puppies! Baxters are filling up fast for their one on one training sessions. Morgans are taking on our own dogs for longer training periods on a limited basis and for one on one sessions with you and your dog.
Welcome New Clients!
As the new training season begins we would like to give you a few tips to help you and your hunting buddy to get ready for Baxter’s Bird Dog boot camp.
Welcome New Clients!
As the new training season begins we would like to give you a few tips to help you and your hunting buddy to get ready for Baxter’s Bird Dog boot camp.
- Socialize, socialize and socialize.(meaning with people and different situations)... you want your puppy being the well behaved one in a social situation!
- Please don’t introduce your puppy to gun fire, this is our job and we have a specific way we do it. We associate gun fire to birds
- When your puppy retrieves your favorite shoes, don’t get mad, find a favorite toy and swap with them. When they have the toy in their mouth, love them up. This tells them that they get more love with the right thing and it doesn’t deter the retrieving aspect of the hunting game.
- Whoa or sit - For those of you who have pointing breeds – a great way to get your puppy under control is to use the word “WHOA” (meaning stand on 4 feet don’t move) – for those who have flushing breeds – use the word “Sit”. When putting your dog’s food down for them, hold them back with the food in their line of sight, tell them Whoa or Sit, wait a few seconds (vary the time), and then release them to eat. Dogs learn from repetition. This also establishes you as the Alpha of the pack, second it is a valuable tool for getting them under control if they are running towards a dangerous situation, these commands started early in life get the dogs to listen to you, it also helps us out when we are working with them on training. These commands cut down on the time we spend on the basics and allow us to get down to the nitty gritty of bird hunting.
- If you are using the bird wing on the fishing pole, remember never let your puppy catch the wing, and only play for a maximum of 5 minutes. Never want to frustrate, or bore your puppy.
- Your puppy/dog should be comfortable/relaxed in a crate situation. Follow our links to Wildrose Way and Standing Stone Kennels for excellent crate training tips.