springer retrieving problem

[chris o]

Hi guys. Right things going well but me spaniel is now 2. Shot a goose got it home and all he did was tug at it and pull the feathers out and eat them. Not tryed him on anything else like pigeon or anything. What can I do to stop it and get him to retrieve it? Please help if you can. Thanks in advance chris.

[sixhills 69]

I would try something smaller i tried mine with a dummy with a set if pheasant wings teid on with elastic bands

[sixhills 69]

Mine is also 2 years old sometimes when she is excited she will tug at a bird once she has brought it back to me, you need to be firm on the bad tap on the nose and praise the good my ESS will retreive any bird but she will not do rabbits she just turns them over and then sits there looking at it. I also use mine to round up chickens on a free range egg farm i shoot on, she will sit and wait until she is told and they don't bother her at all.

if you can find some one with chickens it might be a help if you peg your dog down until she stops trying to have a go.

I suppose 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[chris o]

Well he does retrieve pigeon pheasant duck pretty much everything apart from geese which he just plays with it and eats the feathers. Which I need him to as some geese I shoot land in deep streams. The geese so far are canadas there are pinks but could it be the size of the bird?

[sixhills 69]

The only thing i can think of is he thinks its a bit big and is getting over excited just be firm and let him no its not a toy.

i Remember mine did the same it was the last day of the season i shot two over my local lake which was half frozen she went in for the first one and when she pulled it out she kept going back up to it and snapping at it and pulling its wing she was very excited she would not go back in for the second one.

We played ball on the bank for about 20 mins and then she just jumped in and brought the second one back i put it down to the cold i downed three this year and she has just gone and brought them straight back she is the same age as your dog she does still get a bit excited as i work her as a shooting companion not a fully working dog and she loves a good fuss when she has done a good job.

 

Good look

 

Nigel

[cracker]

Well he does retrieve pigeon pheasant duck pretty much everything apart from geese which he just plays with it and eats the feathers. Which I need him to as some geese I shoot land in deep streams. The geese so far are canadas there are pinks but could it be the size of the bird?

 

Chris, of course it's the size of the bird - but handling a goose takes getting acclimated not just to the size but the weight displacement. You're onto something with a water retrieve - doesn't have to be a deep stream, just water where the goose will float and allow the dog to gets its gob around it. That's the gob around anything on the goose - neck, wing, feet, whatever. So next time you bag a goose, take it and the dog to a loch or pond, throw the goose out 10-15 feet (that's a shot-put with a big Canada) and send the dog for it. And no matter how the dog gets the goose back to shore, abundant praise for its work effort.

 

All gundogs *can* tote geese and 99% of them are willing - it just takes some familiarity.

Rest assured this is not your dilemma alone - more Yank wildfowlers get bent out of shape over their dogs' "inability" or "unwillingness" to retrieve geese than anything else.

 

I would also, after water retrieve is successful, get the dog excited by making a big fool of thyself in getting on your knees, throwing the goose around, pushing it every which way in front of the dog, and continually exhorting the dog to pick it (pick it up not pick the feathers). The excitement level and having you so vividly "playing" with the dog usually comes through - for both of you, both being your angst and the dog's retrieving.

 

Good luck,

 

MG