Not retreiving birds...
 

Had my 11 month old Lab out pheasant hunting for the first time last weekend. She did pretty good....but she would not return with the birds....she would find them and start to lick and eat feathers....keep the wings and tried training with just the wings and still has the problem of wanting to eat or not return with them.....we have worked on retrieves with the dummy and with doves but I guess the bigger birds taste better....any way to correct this?

RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

Sure ---------- It's called Force Fetch.



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RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

some labs will retreive for years then all of sudden stop and do as you say..i believe its because they want to hunt more than retrieve..

hunting is more important to that lab on that day..most labs if you say command to retrieve, they will but its pain in butt to be out there saying,BACK, BACK,ETC. also, most of us dont stop and wait for our dog to bring bird back to us..i did that and was losing birds do to them running after being shot..

if you stay in your place and say command for retreive,your dog should bring it back..mine stopped retreiving after i was always there to grab bird while he was pulling a few feathers out..

on publicland you dont have time to fuss with dog to bring bird back or some hunter will be there before you can get to bird at times..

i would suggest you go to preserve where you dont have other dogs and hunters ,you can leave bird for your dog to bring back to you..there you can take time to have the dog learn that this is what you want him/her to do..

on publicland, its not worth it and hard to do..

RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

I was hunting my gun club and put out birds just for my dad and I to hunt and work the dog..

RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

Legacy,
What training program are you following?
Have you FF your dog?



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RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

Save a few for her....and go back to basics meaning check cord and a few fetch commands...she's already retreiving...just enforce it....if that does'nt work...FF...Honkers

RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

forced fetching will solve the problem. Unfortunately for Labradors, their retrieving has not been emphasized enough in breeding programs mainly of the backyard variety. End result, you have to train a retriever to retrieve instead of it doing it much more naturally. good luck

RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

FF is about MUCH MORE than just good retrieving and good mouth habits.



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RE: Not retreiving birds...
 

Do you have any other dogs out there? A little competition might get her going...