aister Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 i have a lab that is hard mouthed, not serious, but hard enough that most of the birds he retrieves has 2 holes where his eye teeth has punctured the skin and brused the meat. i havn't ever lost a bird because of him. does anyone have any tips i could try or any suggestions. he is 3 years old and has two seasons under his belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegleg31 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 i take it you've sent him for alot of runners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 no. the funny thing is he doesn't harm the runners at all, its nearly as if he tries to look after them the way he handles them, its the dead ones he tends to hold just a bit too tight!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 How hard is he on dummies or cold game? As he's not crunching runners there is something somewhere in this that has caused him to bite down, you've just got to find it and train it out. "Backchaining" I think it the fashionable term for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 he is pretty hard on the canvas dummies, occasionaly puncturing them with his teeth. the two things i can think of that has made him hard mouthed is he was a year old when i got him and i think the last owners let him play with plastic bottles and the other thing was the dummies i initialy trained him with was the hard rubber dummies from the launcher, i think they were so slippy he had to bite down on them hard to keep hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Try getting him to retrieve eggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 i tried that, he was doing fine till one broke and he ate it, now he thinks they are for eating!!! he doesn't see it as training like when we are useing dummies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Is he a very enthusiastic retriever, do you think he would be put off easily? Is he a soft natured dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aister Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 very enthusiastic and not put off with anything. i wouldn't say he was soft natured but i wouldn't he was hard either. he doesn't like being told off and is very biddable but he doesn't tuck tail and run if you raise your voice if you know what i mean. he does get very exited say for example if two of us is shooting geese together and we drop 4 or 5 i usually pick them all up bar 1 and let him fetch it otherwise he tends to run in circles not sure which one to pick up first, i am hopeing that will steady with age as he is still young for his age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuddster Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I have a 3yr old lab dog was keen to prevent any hard mouthing from an early age. When playing I regularly put my hand into his mouth repeating the command 'gently' to him.He seemed to grasp that anything other than a soft hold may result in a firm NO! I repeated the command 'Gentle' in a firm voice when ever he returned a bird of any description to really instill the soft mouth. so far so good. hope that helps fudd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvemanta Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 I was told once cant remember by whom when retrieving eggs if they get a taste for them as a nice treat you should blow out the eggs and fill them with tabasco sauce or something similar. Next time they break one they wont do it again in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larp Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 try wraping a rabbit skin around a bit of wood ie fence post and use that as a dummy that will sort it out phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larp Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I'm sure he wants it soft mouthed not hard. thats how i stop hard mouth its worked on a lot of dogsfor me have you tryed it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larp Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 To get my dogs soft mouthed I would not give them anything hard to bite on such as bones or wood or even rubber. I just got them to retrieve a sponge with either a rabbit skin or pheasant wings wrapped around it. This worked well for me on lab, springers and lurchers. I can not see how letting them retrieve something hard such as a rabbit skin wrapped around wood could make them soft mouthed when it would encourage them to bite hard. The point with the sponge is that they don't. Not meaning to knocking your method, and if it worked for you it worked. Just could not understand the methodology behind it.? ATB Steve the way i looked at it was if its hard to bite down on it will think twice about doing it. never tryed the sponge way we all have little tricks that works for us .sorry if i come across has being sharp.next time a dog comes in with hard mouth i mite try the sponge way cheers phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker3 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) i tried that, he was doing fine till one broke and he ate it, now he thinks they are for eating!!! he doesn't see it as training like when we are useing dummies. use rotten eggs did this with a young lab years ago they learn quickly to be gentle i have a cocker who got spurred by a cock pheasant a few years ago and now every cock he picks if its a runner he kills before he brings it back to me and i cant stop it (he only does it on cocks not hens or partridge) Edited March 3, 2011 by cocker3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sako751sg Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 i have a lab that is hard mouthed, not serious, but hard enough that most of the birds he retrieves has 2 holes where his eye teeth has punctured the skin and brused the meat. i havn't ever lost a bird because of him. does anyone have any tips i could try or any suggestions. he is 3 years old and has two seasons under his belt. My only tip is put him in a dogs home and get a decent dog,an english springer spaniel is the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Similar to the idea of wrapping a can of fizzy drink in rabbit skin and shaking it up; throw it then send him for it - when he punctures the can he'll get a fright. Was going to suggest it earlier hence my questions about his enthusiasm and nature, but I'm still not sure about it - I would be concerned about the possibility of putting him off retrieving altogether. The fact he brings back runners alive, I think this one needs to be seen to be resolved - I would be off to see an experienced trainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Ok, when my GWP was a pup he grabed the odd rabbit around our grounds and totally squished them, i mean realy "squished". I got him out of it by giving him only rock hard frozen Rabbits only for a whole period of his training and i can tell you it worked for me i have yet to find a mark on anything (err other than foxes etc). Do not let him have anything partially thawed or fully thawed, just rock hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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