fortune82 Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Im having a couple of problems with my 20 month old Cocker. This is his first season and he is doing reaaly well in the beating line. He will retrieve partridge and pigeon fine but will not touch a pheasant at all. All he does is pull a few feathers then come back to me. I did manage to get him retrieving them in the garden last sunday but then today on the shoot he was back to normal. The second problem is when he is on the peg he whines and yelps at the pheasants as they fly past! Ive tried a growl, a firm no, a tug of the ear and a sharp tap to the nose but nothing seems to stop him. Any ideas on these two problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Problem #1 - Place a cold shot Pheasant (I would suggest a small Hen to begin with) in a pair of old ladies nylon tights. Get him bringing that back to you as if it were almost a dummy! You can then expand the idea to start exposing a wing at a time, and before you know it you can ditch the tights. Problem #2 - Small bottle of water, the sort they take to the gym with the screwcap - Meet every squeek with a squirt in the face, this may mean you need to leave your gun at home for a while and stand behind another gun - but you MUST get on top of this, for it will become habitual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Good tips! must be frustrating having a problem retrieving pheasants :( good luck ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 We've all been there Too think my Springer wouldn't pick a thing... if only you could see him now, sometimes I wish he was like his old self! he marks runners far too well - sometimes for his own good. Don't rush it, don't loose your cool and it will come good in the next 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune82 Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Thanks for that! Ive got a squirty bottle which I used when he was in the habit of jumping up at you when he saw the lead! That sorted the problem in a few days. Hopefully get these two problems sorted over the christmas hols! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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