Breaking a Bad habit (burying birds)

shetzy911 · 01-19-2009, 11:44 AM

I have a 7 yr old brittany who is not broke to wing and shot which is how I want it. The problem is whenever we shoot a bird over him that he is in pursuit of and it falls not being completely dead the dog will take the bird and imediately bury the bird dispite me being five feet away from him yelling commands at the top of my lungs and reiterating my disapproval to the dog. If the dog finds a dead bird he has no problem making a perfect retrieve. This problem has been on going and I havent been able to break this habit. I dont kill enough birds over him to establish constant training with a partially live bird. So... any suggestions.

Thanks

birddog3412 · 01-19-2009, 02:27 PM

I really do not think breaking him to wing and shot is going to help your problem, (I am not sure if that is what you meant or not) he will probably just do the same thing when you release him. I would say the best thing to do is have him force fetched.

Bugflipper · 01-28-2009, 11:26 PM

I agree with the force fetch. Since he is ignoring you and knows full well he is going to do only as he wishes, not as you instruct I believe an e-collar will break him. Britanies can be ruined by spanking. The new sport dog collars if used properly are a wonderful tool. Due to the training approach they teach on the dvd. You may try to see if they have the dvd for free and base your oppinion on their strategy. This would not be a zap him when he's bad approach, but a 15 minute a day play-training session to have him do as he should. He will learn to respond to any command you methodically teach him. The idea is to create minor discomfort, not pain. On the low setting it feels like a vibration. That is all I have ever used and that was maybe 4 or 5 times. The rest is just an audible beep that tells him to straighten up. I have not even used that this season. If done properly it just makes the dog subbordinate as he should be. But it does not break their spirit.