Crate Training
The day you get your puppy, make sure you also get a good-sized crate as crate training should begin that same night. This can be challenging at first, but patience and discipline on your part will see quick results.
Once your puppy is accustomed to staying in the crate at home, try taking the dog in a crate for a drive in your car or truck. Take short trips at first, and make sure they end somewhere fun in order to create a positive association. Eventually, your pup will be eager to load up when he knows the trip will take him to a fun destination.
Embrace Open Spaces
While out hunting, it is more than likely your puppy will need to be comfortable with open spaces. Therefore, it is a good idea to add open-space running to your puppy’s early training, exercise and play regimes. Take it out to a field and let it run around on its own; let it discover what the field holds and become comfortable moving about in such a large space.
This is also an ideal time to start training it to return to you, so it does not run away. Work with voice commands and positive reinforcement in a way that balances a sense of exploration and returning promptly on command. For early open-space training, consider a locator collar or other means of keeping track of your puppy, just in case it accidentally wanders off.

Basic Obedience Training
Get your puppy started early with basic obedience training, as this will establish the foundation of its later hunting training. Obedience classes are a great way to get this training underway. At the very least, a few classes can give you some tips on how to complete the training at home. No matter how you choose to start obedience training, make sure you stay consistent and practice positive reinforcement with your puppy.
Purchase some puppy training dummies and a training whistle to get your puppy ready and comfortable with retrieving. It is important you do not overdo training sessions, as your puppy will either start to lose interest in the dummies or will miss the point of the training.
Water Acclimation
Nearly all hunting dogs will have to come in to contact with bodies of water at some point. So, start young and get your puppy used to swimming and being comfortable in and around water. Certain breeds of dog are natural water dogs, but others will take more time and require gentle support to adjust.
Try swimming with your dog or even creating a game while it is still young to encourage interest in the water. If it is reluctant, practice patience and continue positive training techniques.

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