New guy looking for a good training book, recomendation for retriever club.

[dansanddogs]

Hello all, I am interested in training my new pup for field trials and was wondering if anyone could suggest a good book to aid in this. I'm confident in my ability to train for basic obedience, but don't have a clue about field trial stuff. My new puppy is from strong field trial/hunting lines and I think I would like to try to continue this with her.

I was also wondering if anyone could recomend a good retriever club near me in Roanoke, VA (SW part of VA).

Thanks!

[windycanyon]

Why not look on Entry Express and see what clubs are hosting tests? Then you can go and visit, see what the tests are all about and meet some of the members. https://www.entryexpress.net/

[georgie]

I am not exactly sure where it is located, but there is a NAHRA club in Virginia, it is Old Dominion. Good luck with your new pup. Evan Graham has good books & videos on training. It really helps to join a club & train with them. There are always people willing to help a newcomer to the sport.

[GulfCoast]

Look on Welcome to the HUNTING RETRIEVER CLUB, INC. (HRC) Family and they have a listing of hunt test clubs by state, and contact information. Most folks start in "hunt tests" because they have increasing difficulty levels. Field trials are like jumping right into the NFL. After you have trained a HRCH/MH, then you will have the conceptual knowledge to evaluate the jump to field trials. I would LOVE to run more of them, but I don't have access to the large amounts of training property necessary.

If you want excellent material to prepare you to train a hunting dog, hunt test dog, or FT dog, get Mike Lardy's Total Retriever Series (Welcome). Also, I like Evan Graham's "Smartfetch" book and DVD for the force fetch component of training.

Enjoy the journey! You are about to have more fun than should be legal with your dog!