Ok I read the last 2 pages of the first thread my 4 month 2 week old male lab that I didnt get till 2 weeks ago does the same thing but he has never realy retrieved well just once in awhile. I try to keep things fun for him and get him excited he will run out to it every time stick his nose on it and sometimes mouth it but never realy pics it up , but he comes back to me every times and heals . Iam lost now I need advice please before he gets a bullet(grin).

Should I stick with the obedeince till he gets his adult teeth then FF him or does it matter that he has'nt his adult teeth yet?

Ive tried every thing for him to retrieve from balls to birds to socks he did brind back a dead bird once thoe.

Thanks for your time and knowledge.




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Not to sound cruel, but at five months old if your lab pup has shown no inclination to retrieve ANYTHING, I would seriously consider sending it back to the breeder for a new pup. If you did not get the pup from a reputable breeder, perhaps you may want to consider doing just that. A well bred lab pup should be running out and picking stuff up by this age. He may not want to bring it back, but he should be going out and grabbing all kinds of stuff.

Just,

You need to be following a good, modern, sequentialtraining program. From your post, it doesn't sound like you are (I could be wrong).
Have you introduced your dog to live birds? (like a clipped wing pigeon).

FF isn't started until the dog has it's adult teeth.

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Doc E
I havent gave him a live bird yet thats next . I have been using" Retriever Traing For th Duck Hunter" by Robert Milner as a refrence the only thing is he starts out with a weined pup and Iam starting out with a 4 month old . He was gaved to me by my brother in law and he said that he was retrieveing when he got him so Iam thinking some where his young daughters might have messed him upby chasing him and taking his toy from him .

And yes I have got ahead of my self I started in on the obedience because he was ill manered and never even dreamed he wouldnt retrieve.I was wrong
So what I have done is stoped with the every day obedience and started taking him for walks in the pasters and timbers off lead let him run and try to find his instincts aleast thats what the book has said to do with him .

He charges out to what I throw somtimes grabs or lays his front legs on it and chewsonitwhen he does a tell him here then he drops it or dont pick it up and he charges back .
Maybe its me let me know what you think .
And dont worry about hurting my feelings I know I have alot to learn also


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At the age your pup is, I would highly suspect that the problem is that the pup is teething. What you describe is exactly what the majority of pups do when their mout is sore from teething.

I would also suggest that you get the book, "The 10 Minute Retriever" by John and Amy Dahl -- It's much better than Milner stuff.

Thanks Doc for the feed back.



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justhuntitall, Doc E is right on target. Your puppy is more than likey teething. My sugestion is to get the book by Loveland and Rutherford. RETRIEVER Puppy Training, The Right Start For Hunting. It is 6X9 soft cover and in my humble opinion one of the best puppy training books written. I refer to it weekly sometimes dailey while working with my 3 ten month old pups. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. If I can help don't hesitate to ask.
Jerry Day

that is a good book. i was lookin at in my local huntin store so i might pick it up if we get another lab