Frequently Asked Questions.

Q. What is the WRHRC ?

A. The WRHRC is a club for hunting retriever dog owners, handlers and breeders based out of Calgary, Alberta.

Q. What does the WRHRC do?

A. The short answer is that we meet to train hunting retriever dog breeds for both field work and competition. The long answer can be found by checking out our club objectives.

Q. Is the WRHRC accepting new members? How do I join?

A. Yes, we are always interested in adding members to our club. Please use the Contact Us page to ask about membership.
There are different levels of membership. Please feel free to take a look at our Member By-Laws or the Membership Form.

Q. Why do I have to register to in order to take part in the discussions?

A. Unfortunately the internet is full of spammers and general trouble makers. Since you’re taking time to read this I am guessing you’re neither. Sorry but registration is the best way to combat this type of stuff.

Q. Why are my comments not showing up?

A. If it’s your first time, your comment must be approved by the moderators. Sorry but this is to cut out comment spam. After your first comment is approved, all other ones will show up automatically.

Q. Will you share / sell my information or do anything with my email address?

A. No, never. See the previous questions for our position on SPAM.

Q. At what pup age can/should we become members?

Membership is taken on an annual basis. Successful dog training begins the day you get your pup and is an ongoing process for the entire life of your dog. The results you get from your dog will be directly proportional to the amount of dedication and consistency you put into it. Especially at an early age.

Q. I have an X year old Y breed dog, do you think that he/she can learn to retrieve?

A. Others may say different but personally I’m a firm believer that any dog can be taught to retrieve and there are no true breed barriers. The club does focus on traditional hunting breeds.
Breeding is important to consider since retrieving for dogs uses the dog’s prey drive and predator instinct. This is then refined and focused into a trained action. So that the dog will bring you a desired object on command and not simply out of chase instinct. Many generations of domestication as house pets has caused some dogs to lose this instinct. However, some house pets will show a keen interest in chasing things.
You can force train a dog to retrieve but things move much better if the dog will naturally chase a thrown object or show some signs of interest in chasing birds or other animals. Interest in birds we call birdyness. Usually you will see this behavior when the dog is young and it should be encouraged as much as possible at an early age. If your dog will chase a ball or frisbee but not pick it up or picks it up but does not bring it back then you could teach the fully trained retrieve. However if the dog shows little interest in such things and is an older dog, truthfully it will be difficult but not impossible. The goal is to keep it fun for you and the dog. Only you know your dog well enough to make the decision.

Q. Do you encourage upland bird training as well?

A. Absolutely we do. Many of our members hunt all types of birds. Some only upland game. And others simply enjoy the field trial and hunt test sports alone and choose not to hunt wild game at all.

Q. Do I need to force fetch my dog?

A. Many people new to the sport ask this question, “is force fetch really necessary?” and the true answer is yes. Regardless if your pup has good mouth habits or not, in order to advance and give the dog all the tools it needs to succeed force fetch is required. Force fetching does not have to be a stressful and traumatizing experience for you or your best buddy but you should wait until the dog has all its adult teeth. The golden rule for this stage of training is make sure the pressure is enough but not too much. How much is too much? Well, every dog is different and will react in various ways.
Until the point of force fetch your dog has simply been retrieving based on impulse and instinct. This is fantastic to have but a gun dog must learn to retrieve on command and not just when its interest is peaked by a downed bird. It must go every time you send it. A good dog should fetch your hat should it blow off your head.