wetpwdr53

I have a 7 yr. old lellow lab with a great nose for locating and retrieving. There is one prob. that I haven't been able to lick, and I'm wondering if she is too old to change. A typical retrieve has her bringing the bird within 10 yds and then mouthing it in the water or dropping the pheasant and mouthing it. When I train with bumpers, she returns on a dead run and circles behind me instead of delivering to hand. The trainer has none of these problems, and I'm wondering if she has become too much of a family pet and views me as playtime. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Doc E

Has the dog been Force Fetched in the past?


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wetpwdr53

No, not really. Most of her training was done with a trainer with my involvment. He was heavily into electronic collars which I now regret.

Doc E

I guess, at age 7, you could try to Force Fetch, but IMO,it's pretty late to go through that process.
So, what I'd do would be go through the "Hold" (preliminary) portion of FF and not really worry about the follow-up (ear pinch etc).


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wetpwdr53

Thanks, I'll try that approach

andrewjoseph

If your dog is collar trained, I would follow a HERE or COME command with a electronic stimulus on a higher than normal level. If this is the only problem the dog has, then it will quickly learn that not completley retrieving will result in a correction.

If you dont like the collar conditioning, you could use a long lead and give it a hard jerk along with your come or here command. The dog will quickly remember who the one in charge is. Not fully retrieving is a serious problem in my opinion - I think that this can be corrected quickly.

JW

I disagree with Doc and FF is your answer. No such thing as ya can't train an old dawg IMO.

One thing though - I would add much prause and reward during the process and take my time.

JW

daleh

You can teach an old dog new tricks, but how long it would take to undo years of not doing something right?
FF works on some not all to begin with.
Putting a collar onthe dog and telling to come here and giving a good shock with a bird in its mouth is going to make him drop the bird.
At 7 years old andthe behavior that dog has developed over the lastyears. Just be glad you only have to walk 10 yards.
Next one you get you should do things right to begin with.

sproulman

my lab at times runs right by me with bumper,so, i make like i dont want it ,then he brings it to me.

they get bored over time as they age.

but say to my lab,TOBY YOU WANT TO GO HUNTIN,he will stand at attention.

like hunting rabbits in my yard, he knows they will out run him, so, he just looks at them now, he used to go full speed and crash thru brush..
get TOBY out in hunting fields and let rabbit jump out and its full blast after rabbit.

they know when they are hunting or walking or playing.

my problem is i cant put him in kennel in back, he goes nuts.

i should have raised him in kennel in truck ,not front seat, what a mistake that was.

i have to wear ear plugs the whole way to field as this overexcited hunting lab barks the whole way .

i wish i could find solution to barking in front seat,i have none and have given up and now wear hearing plugs.

Doc E

That's my thought too. Of course you could go through a complete FF process, but with a 7 year old dog, but it would be a long arduous process. I've helped friends FF older dogs, and it's quite a task.
That's why I suggested going through Formal Hold and call that good enough.
And, for sure, with the next dog, start out training as a puppy with a good, sequential training program right from the beginning.


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