rtaylor Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 I've two labs, one is 9 the other is 2 1/2. They both beat more than pick up but when I do pick up with them, if the younger one sees th elder has a bird then she will race over and steal it off her. She has even dropped her own bird to steal the others. They do it when retrieving stick. I can't tell her off for doing it because she is still retrieving. I have tried holding her back and letting the old one work but it doesn't stop her next time. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 (edited) Have you got a mate with a lab gundog you can take her out with who won,t let her take their bird. This might help. Problem is she is taking advantage of soft nature of her mate. Its a difficult one as a lot of the methods to stop her doing this might put her off retrieving. I presume you are taking them out together to ease up on the older dog,s work load. Maybe some work at home with both of them when stopping her doing it in a smaller area will be easier and telling her NO when she goes for the others retrieve. Edited October 15, 2014 by loriusgarrulus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Have you got a mate with a lab gundog you can take her out with who won,t let her take their bird. This might help. Problem is she is taking advantage of soft nature of her mate. Its a difficult one as a lot of the methods to stop her doing this might put her off retrieving. I presume you are taking them out together to ease up on the older dog,s work load. Maybe some work at home with both of them when stopping her doing it in a smaller area will be easier and telling her NO when she goes for the others retrieve. Try aniseed................that works.......... TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted October 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Your right about the others soft nature. The trouble is even if she looks at possibly going for another's bird as soon as she gets close and realises it's not her mate she forgets about it, she only steals of my old dog. I think your right about going back to the dummy in the garden. When in the field they are too far away to stop her before she steals it and then like you say I can't tell her off so she doesn't get put off. Try aniseed................that works.......... TEH Care to elaborate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michufc Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 My eldest cocker does this she is the strongest worker out of my three and I guess from her eyes it's a case of I am the boss of you two so it's mine so I had to put her on the lead and send the others and make her wait and she also used to try and take it from the others when they bring the dummy to me. So a stern voice and sharp tug on the Leed reigns her in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Your right about the others soft nature. The trouble is even if she looks at possibly going for another's bird as soon as she gets close and realises it's not her mate she forgets about it, she only steals of my old dog. I think your right about going back to the dummy in the garden. When in the field they are too far away to stop her before she steals it and then like you say I can't tell her off so she doesn't get put off. Care to elaborate? It was a reference to this advice..... http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/295175-game-stay-results/?do=findComment&comment=2646447 TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 It was a reference to this advice..... http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/295175-game-stay-results/?do=findComment&comment=2646447 TEH That wasn't advice. I was asking a question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 The only other alternative if you can,t break her of the habit is to send them in turn, so the young dog doesn't get the opportunity to take the older dogs retrieve. It will make retrieving multiple game slower, but gives both dogs a share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee-kinsman Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 You can tell her off and it's that attitude that has made it worse. More thorough training would have avoided this problem. Any dog is at fault if it diverts from the most direct path back to the handler with any retrieve and this problem is elimintated in correct training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 You do need to jump on that. You can 1. correct the dog for dropping its retrieve 2. correct her for effectively running in unbidden 3. correct it for stealing. Take you pick and do all three but you need to engineer the situation, coz every incident re-enforces itself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 Does the younger one only steal game, or will she do it with dummies too? If she does it with dummies that's where you start, in a managed situation where you are positioned to intervene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pboro shot Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 Go back to training use a tennis ball instead of dummy and keep on top of the dominant dog can be hard one to break but not impossible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee-kinsman Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Also another point to note, you can't handle two dogs out on a retrieve at the same time so maybe that is something you can nip in the bud before you start the retraining process. ATB, Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 A dog that I had did this to the older dog and I didn't bother to do anything about it. As long as one of them retrieved the bird in the quickest possible time I didn't care who did it as long as it got done. It didn't seem to affect the way that they covered the ground and hunted out the quarry. The strangest behaviour was that of a mates cross spaniel that picked a pigeon that had flushed from around a pond. My mate dropped it out on the headland out of his sight around the pond although I saw it come down. His dog raced around and picked it and then proceeded to go about twenty paces out into the ploughed furrows and dumped it into a furrow and then came back. When he came around to my position he said did he get it and I told him that he had got it and about what his dog had done. We went out to where it was and picked it up. We both reckoned it was out of jealousy that his dog didn't want my dog to get it. If I hadn't seen it the pigeon would have been a meal for charley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Mostly it can create tug of war with game Or Fights, the less dominant dog will often subsequently refuse to retrieve full stop with other dogs present. At the end of the day one really should except any bad manners from a dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 I understand what you are saying about which ever one retrieves it faster, but my problem is the younger one will drop her bird to pinch the others. I've been keeping her on the lead and letting the older one go and retrieve. She does seem to be calming down but we'll see by the end of the season if it makes any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pboro shot Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 If theres only one thing to pick up only send one dog id favour the quiter one for most retrieves do both of them good once dogs start with thesrgames there no longer undercontrol and you need to get on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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