Puppy: Early Manners vs Retrieving Drive?

[IdahoBirdHunter]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum. Thanks for having me!

I’m preparing to bring home a golden retriever puppy soon (Hank), and I’ve been trying to do as much homework as possible before he arrives. I’ve been reading and listening to material from both general dog trainers like Will Atherton and retriever-specific trainers like Bill Hillmann, Tom Dokken, and Mike Lardy.

One theme I keep seeing is that in the first few months, many retriever trainers emphasize building drive and excitement for retrieving, sometimes intentionally delaying stricter obedience so you don’t dampen enthusiasm. At the same time, trainers like Atherton stress early manners, structure, calm behavior in the home, and impulse control. Ideally, I’d like Hank to grow into both a reliable family dog and a strong hunting partner.

He’s coming from strong field trial genetics, so while my primary interest is hunting, I’m also open to potentially exploring hunt tests or field work down the road if he shows the ability. Because of that, I’m trying to be thoughtful about the first weeks to months and avoid doing anything that might unintentionally limit his retrieving drive or marking ability.

For those of you who have raised retrievers for both family life and hunting, how have you balanced these two goals in the early months?
Some specific things I’m curious about:
-How much formal obedience did you introduce in the first weeks to months?
-Did you separate field training sessions from general house manners training?
-How often did you do early retrieving sessions, and how many retrieves per session?
-Were there any specific habits you tried hard to build (or avoid) early on?

Also, if there are books, programs, podcasts, or trainers you found especially helpful for raising a retriever puppy the right way from the start, I’d really appreciate the recommendations.

I’ve looked at things like Hillmann’s puppy program, Dokken’s book, and some of the Smartwork/Lardy material, but I’d love to hear what has actually worked in practice for people here.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I’m trying to start Hank off on the right foot and would really value the perspective of folks who’ve done this before.

-Aaron

[Sharon]

Well welcome to the forum. Lots of questions, but I'll l try to answer one.

One big mistake new gun dog owners make is trying to move too fast with training.

"One theme I keep seeing is that in the first few months, many retriever trainers emphasize building drive and excitement for retrieving, sometimes intentionally delaying stricter obedience so you don’t dampen enthusiasm. " quote

Can not agree with the suggestion in that quote.
Let the pup be the baby that he/she is for at least 6 months. That does not mean no obedience training.
example: When you say come make sure he/she comes. If not get up and get the pup every time. That is one essential training needed early on. Work on pup learning to pee outside too.