water retrieve

[low flyer]

Hi All

 

My 11th month lab has started wimping with excitment on the way out to do a water retieve. any ideas how to stop this.

 

Thanks

[arwen3513]

hi i would think he is anticipating the retrieve and getting excited,

try setting him up, but instead of the fetch command turn around and walk him away,

if he is successful you could give him a reward of a retrieve on land.

it would be helpful if someone could remove the dummy from the water so that if he runs back for it it is no longer there

on a string maybe

once he is no longer allowed to have all the retrieves from the water he should start to settle as he is never sure if the retrieve will be his or not.

another option is a retreive across water so the dummy can be easily picked up by a helper.

you could also try your multiple retreives with one being in the water left right and back changing the order of the picked dummies

jan

[cracker]

hi i would think he is anticipating the retrieve and getting excited,

try setting him up, but instead of the fetch command turn around and walk him away,

if he is successful you could give him a reward of a retrieve on land.

it would be helpful if someone could remove the dummy from the water so that if he runs back for it it is no longer there

on a string maybe

once he is no longer allowed to have all the retrieves from the water he should start to settle as he is never sure if the retrieve will be his or not.

another option is a retreive across water so the dummy can be easily picked up by a helper.

you could also try your multiple retreives with one being in the water left right and back changing the order of the picked dummies

 

All of this advice relates, but it could also have some damaging ramifications. Walking a dog away from water whilst there's a retrieve to be made could even exacerbate the "squeaking" - not to mention imparting to the dog that, perhaps, it's not meant to retrieve from water at all since you are, after all, walking it away from the water.

 

"Start(ing) to settle as he is never sure if the retrieve will be his or not" might just settle him right out of any enthusiasm for going into the water.

 

If somebody removes the dummy from the water on the far shore, it could stress the dog even more as it vainly goes across the water for a retrieve it'll never get. Now it's got to turn back on a retrieve without completing it - never a good thing for a retriever.

 

Multiple retrieves with two on land, one in the water, is a much better idea - if the dog's been trained to perform on multiple marks.

 

But a fairly surefire way of toning down the vocalizing when the dog's in the water is to have the dog in the water very little - or should I say not very far - when making the retrieves. In other words, if he leaps (launches) into the water and comes up with the retrieve as he's coming down almost on top of it, he probably will not be vocalizing, as he'll be too busy getting the dummy in his mouth. From there after the dog's gotten comfortable (and better acclimated) to making water retrieves, you start "stretching out" the retrieves so that they involve more and more water.

 

Also, we only pick up the dummy before the dog can get to it if the dog's done something wrong in getting there - which would mean "cheating" or running the bank en route to the dummy. That's not to be expected in your style training, but it does give the trainer an opportunity to get in the water ahead of the dog and to make the retrieve him or herself. And conveys to the dog that the next time it'd best run straight in - and with no "exhaust" coming out of its mouth from swimming so fast to get there.

 

MG