I got a duck hunting dog, can't remember his breed at the moment. I donate the meat to poor families.

>>1991626
Awesome, do you shoot the duck and use him for retrieving? And did you train him with a dummy and scent?

>tfw have a guard dog
>tfw it's illegal to teach it to guard

If it is your first puppy skip all the advices, and go to a trainer for basic obedience. You will get trained along with your puppy and you will learn a lot.

>>1991649
I've had lots of dogs before, trained them basic obedience stuff (heel, sit, lay down, stay) had one mastiff very well trained, would ignore everything, had him going I between and either side on my legs.
I've got a collie now and it's already doing 80% of that! I have to wait a year before I can train her for agility so was wondering what exercises people do for actual working dogs because she's smart as shit

I train rescue dogs to be service animals.

>>1991720
Awesome, for the disabled and blind?

>>1991714
Reputable breeders are going to be the ones who can give you the best advice and contacts. If you don't know who to ask your best bet is to join your regional breed club and network there. You should also already belong to a training club, the first couple years are the best time to knock out those early competitive obedience/rally titles.

>>1991725
I've tried to join all the societies on Facebook, but unless you've dressed your dog as a witch this Halloween or you have a autumn leaves squee pic your thread gets deleted. I've joined the local young farmers groups too to try and find out about herding but still no joy. I guess the only way is to get into a puppy class and there will be a guy who knows a guy sort of thing?

>>1991724
Mostly mobility dogs. They are trained to range of things, depending on what is needed.

>>1991727
Do you frequent dog parks at all? Maybe some people there might know. I met a couple who works with an organization that brings dogs to visit people in hospices. That's a drop-in volunteer program, but you might meet people who can point you in the right direction if you ask around!

I only use vocal commands and toys as a reward, sometimes treats (her biscuits). What does everyone think of whistles or clickers? I dunno why it would be useful to make a sound before I give a treat when I already say good girl.

>>1991735
Whatever works is fine. I do think that non verbal communication is perferable, but that isn't always convenient or effective.
One dog I trained was severly neglected. She just wouldn't respond to the words 'good girl', no matter how sweetly you said it. So I started using 'jazz hands' (hands held palm out, rotated rapidly at the wrists) whenever I was happy with her.she picked that up quicker than verbal praise. I think she was reading me by my body language alone, because she wasn't talked to or interacted with until she was about 18 months old.

>>1991730
Nah don't think we have them, we just have general parks? Signed up to a puppy class, just for the socialising, we'll see how it goes. But by the looks of the curiculum I can train a 'gold' tier dog.

>>1991727
You've joined the wrong groups, then, because there are Facebook groups dedicated to working and training. The one I particularly like is Canine Conditioning and Body Awareness, they have tons of information in their files for beginners like you.

The reason I suggested networking with actual breeders and within your regional breed club is because these are the people who already do what you want to do and live in your area. Yes, you will have to leave your computer and talk to them in real life, but these are the people who can can give you real-life advice based on experience. These people can tell you which training clubs to join, might even work with you on the weekends, and can lead to other resources like events and other groups in your area.

>>1991735
You don't need a clicker as long as you're using some kind of marker. "Good!" would probably be the best since you're already saying, "Good girl." "Yes!" is another common, popular one.

Marking is a way of communicating to your dog the exact action they did correctly.

My dog used to be a licensed sex therapist before she was rescued from her former client.

>>1991645
Well no fucking shit. It's retards who think it's okay to not properly socialise a dog and encourage "guarding" (aggression) that cause all the fucking problems. A guard dog requires professional training