pup wont retrieve as yet

[darren m]

i know shes only young ( 6 months in 2 weeks time ) but this little springer pup seems very reluctant to retrieve any thing ( unlike my older bitch who will retrieve all day long )

 

i,ve tried puppy dummies , tennis ball , soft toys .

the most she'll do is run upto them and only sometimes pick them up carry them a few yards back towards me and drop them , other times she'll run out to the dummy and then just look at it and ignore it .

 

is there any way to instill the drive into her at this young age , or do you reckon it will come with time

Edited June 28, 2010 by darren m

[WGD]

I'd be getting her retrieving before much longer otherwise she'll find more excitement hunting and it will become a big problem.

 

Is there a local gundog trainer you can go to for a one to one lesson? Would be worth a few quid to get someone who can see the dog and its behaviour first hand to help you with this now before it gets to be a bigger issue.

[MadSpringer]

Darren,

 

If you can make it over at the weekend I'll have a look. Drop me a PM.

 

 

Sit on the floor with her and tease her with a tennis ball or soft toy, wind her up so she's keen to grab at it. Throw it a few feet away and let her fetch it, don't take it off her, just let her jump on you and give her lots of praise. Do this a few times, when she is keen to fetch hold her back for a few seconds before letting her go. Don't over do it a few short sessions are better than one long one. Loads of praise and encouragement and if she starts to look bored with it, STOP.

 

You could also sit her down or keep her on a lead while you do some retrieving with your older dog, jealousy and competition can often work too!

 

 

Plus I'd also restrict her hunting, I would keep her at heel for a while.

 

 

 

Cheers

[essexfluke]

Just had the same problem with my lab he would not pick up anything. Then I watched him walking around with a chew bone so called him over and tryed that he pick it up and brought it back 3 times on the trot I then tied duck and pheasant wings on it to keep him interested after a week had him retrieving dummys. Good luck and keep trying differant things.

[cockercas]

hot dogs give her one throw a ball 2-3 feet call her back with it give more hot dog i had the same problam

[Paul T]

I agree with Madspringer - start small and build up with distance. I was very lucky that my young dog would pick anything up, right from being a few weeks old, so it was fairly easy for me. Put a training lead on her and then throw her favourite toy a few feet. When she picks it up reel her in and give her bags of praise (or a piece of dried tripe from the pet shop - dogs love it). Repeat regularly and stop immediately she gets distracted. You should be able to lose the lead very quickly and eventually it'll become second nature for her to pick up and retrieve. You can increase the distance when she has it cracked, but take it slow. Still doesn't hurt to have that piece of tripe in your pocket for an unexpected reward to keep them on their toes !

[gwb]

Had the same problem with my lab at 7-8months. Very reluctant retreiver.Went back to the corridor method, loads of encouragement, then back outside in the garden, still didnt get it so returned to the corridor indoors.

 

Then at 9 months he strated to really enjoy it and become over excited going for anything wether it was for him or not.. Go figure!

[UKPoacher]

Darren,

 

If you can make it over at the weekend I'll have a look. Drop me a PM.

 

 

Sit on the floor with her and tease her with a tennis ball or soft toy, wind her up so she's keen to grab at it. Throw it a few feet away and let her fetch it, don't take it off her, just let her jump on you and give her lots of praise. Do this a few times, when she is keen to fetch hold her back for a few seconds before letting her go. Don't over do it a few short sessions are better than one long one. Loads of praise and encouragement and if she starts to look bored with it, STOP.

 

You could also sit her down or keep her on a lead while you do some retrieving with your older dog, jealousy and competition can often work too!

 

 

Plus I'd also restrict her hunting, I would keep her at heel for a while.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Good advice there. I'd also advocate chasing her in a playful way when she has the retrieve article to make her more possessive. If you have another young dog then once she starts to show any possessive tendencies use the other dog to make a competition out of it.

 

Don't go too far though or you'll have problems making her come to you with the retrieve article.

[darren m]

ah well theres the other problem -- she is very possesive , and is for ever snatching the dummy or toy from my other springers mouth starts a game of tug and runs off with it as if to taunt her , my older springer is so soft she lets her get away with it , i cant think how i,m going to stop that , apart from keeping them totally seperated .

 

good thing - i actually got her retrieving this last few days with a rubber water dummy 3 times in a row then left it and did the same the next day , not to hand but close to me

[Anthony.D]

I had my first springer/gun dog July 2008. He was not very interested in retrieving at all, hunting was everything to him. I was going to give him to a well respected local trainer for 3 months, in the end couldn't bear to be without him.

Anyway the guy, lovely chap understood, and said 'do not give him any more retrieves at all' until he could see him - in a couple of months. He did stress this.

It worked. Then only a couple of retrieves a week. He would always retrieve a dummy with pheasant wings on it (not very interested unfortunately if he had retrieved the same one previously). He would not bother with a plain dummy, preferred a tennis ball. He was always more interested in real game retrieves.

He did like a 3 ball retrieve.

Anyway, long story cut short, he came good in his own time. I was desperately upset at the time and can imagine what your going through.

Just hoping yours will be the same. It sounds like you know much more than me, so sorry if I'm talking ****.

[darren m]

update - well pups retrieveing 50% of thrown dummies now but only 50% of them actually come back to me , finding that the less i do with her the better at the mo

well at least its still progress

i shown her a pheasant this morning which she picked ok but then ran past me and promtaly tried to eat it

[ziplex]

You've done the right thing getting advice early , my little Springer is in her element retrieving but my GSP is very indifferent to it....she is a strong hunter and great 'pointer' but retrieves are hit and miss. My fault for not instilling it into her at an early age I suspect. Good luck, it sounds like you're on the right track.

[MadSpringer]

i shown her a pheasant this morning which she picked ok but then ran past me and promtaly tried to eat it

 

I'd leave cold game well alone until you have her retrieveing 100%

 

 

Remember you've only been trying to sort this problem out for a couple of weeks, no need to rush!!!!!!!!!

 

Small steps and build on success! It may take a good few weeks but time spent now will pay big dividends in the long run.

 

 

If you can make it over I will have a look at her, let me know!

 

 

Cheers