I've posted here a little bit already, but haven't really introduced myself. My wife and I live outside Birmingham and we have a 7 year old yellow lab named Gus. He comes from a line of field trial champs from the UK and is definitely a hunting dog. However, I rarely bird hunt, so I don't hunt him. We don't do FT either. I still do a lot of retriever training with him for the exercise and enjoyment. He is a wonderful companion and a really fun dog to be around.

I mainly joined to find out more about natural diets. I've been eating naturally myself for some time, so I figure it's about time I spent the effort on feeding my dog naturally as well. I've learned a lot from the Leerburg web site and am learning more with the help of other forum members. I've really enjoyed a lot of the training forums and articles as well. This place is a wealth of resources!

Thanks to everyone who helped me so far. Hopefully I can contribute back to others one day.

Here's some pics of Gus from the recent snow...






Also, it looks like my wife and I are close to rescuing a 1 year old Beagle. So we may have an addition by the weekend.

-John

Hi John,

Welcome! Gus is beautiful.

Wish I knew more about field training, I think my boy would enjoy it.

Good luck with the beagle.

Meredith

Welcome to the forum. Lot of good people & info here.

Hi and Welcome! I had a yellow lab one time and she was the sweetest, sweetest dog on the planet. You have a nice looking boy and good luck with the beagle.

Thanks everyone!

We got the beagle on Saturday and have been very happy with him. He's a very sweet dog and has a really nice temperament. He came from a rescue group. He obviously had some kind of trauma because he has a dislocated hip that healed improperly. He can run very well, but some times he'll kind of limp a bit. Thankfully it doesn't seem to bother him though. He's a little over a year old and doesn't know anything. He seems pretty smart though, because he's catching on fairly quickly to some basic training. Tonight I gave him his first raw food dinner and he loved it!

Here's a pic of Gus and Miles. They have been getting along really well.

Very, very cute. Have your read about Marker training yet? This would be a great way to introduce this guy to training.

Not really. I've read a little bit about it on the LB site, but have yet to get the full details. I just started reading through the eBooks and I'm planning on getting some of the videos. The training I did for my lab was very simple stuff that I picked up from some Ducks Unlimited folks. It seems to be in line with a lot of Ed Frawley's philosophy and training, except Frawley seems to have much more depth. So I'm definitely interested in some of the training available on this site.

I'll be sure to get to the marker training ASAP. I think my lab could benefit from some of this too. He minds well, but he could use some improvement. Plus, he's always interested in some extra work.

I love it because it is so easy to learn and even if you make a mistake, no one gets hurt or offended , it engages the dog's MIND instead of just making them do something to prevent something unpleasant from happening, and the more you do it, the more you both get excited about it! When Falcon sees me get out the treat bag from the fridge he is grinning from ear to ear (and they are big ears...) just waiting to see what we are going to "work" on. You will love it, for both your dogs.

Congratulations on your new pup, John! Your dogs are soooo cute! They've got matching ears

Good lookin' dogs!

Welcome to the forum.:smile: