LAURENS COUNTY, Ga. — Obedience training is tough enough for a young dog, but teaching your dog the basics of hunting could be a whole new challenge.
The Middle Georgia Hunting Retriever Club is one group that decides to take on that challenge. They hosted their first handlers seminar Saturday.
"This time of the year, it's hot, so you got to get up early and train these dogs. Most of these dogs train every day of the week," said Vice President of the club Dustin Owens.
Owens says handlers of all skill levels came out to share tips.
"We have all levels of dogs here, and this seminar is a handlers seminar, so you have people like me that are amateur handlers, and you've got the two pro trainers out here watching us run dogs and giving us tips," he said.
Owens has two black retrievers, Fancy and Ranger.
"(Ranger's) only three months old, so he don't know much yet, but he's wild," he said.
But Pro trainer Justin Hergert from Southern Way Retrievers says it's best to start doing all training while they're still young.
"It makes a huge difference to start them off on the right path as early as possible. Some of these well-bred labs, they're able to go out at eight weeks old and just naturally have that ability to retrieve," Hergert said.
These handler seminars are meant to give tips on how to better train your dog, whether it's using a whistle or a simple voice command.
"Obedience is critical. That's your building block, just like the foundation of a house. Once we get that down, we're able to go to the further field work, like these dogs will do hand signals and voice and whistle commands," Hergert said.
He says the time frame for training is different for every dog, but once you start the training, you have to stay consistent.
If you'd like to learn more or become a member, look them up on Facebook.