chocolate lab

[aga man]

hello chaps, hoping you can help. i have a chocolate lab dog 5 years old this october. i have gundog trained him since 18 months as advised. i am a amateur dog trainer not a proffesional. any way i am happy with the dog i use him for rough shooting, occasional duck shooting with water work and mostly pigeon decoying from the hide. he works to the whistle and is generally good. two years ago we bought some chickens. the dog quickly became used to the chickens and is steady around them, however,when he is sent for a retrieve on wounded game or pigeons ie runner birds he finds the birds but will no longer pick them up. i am sure it is related to the chicken situation. he used to pick runner birds. also worth mentioning he lives in the house with two young children and is generally a family pet aswell as a gundog. any help or tips greatly appreciated.

 

thanks in advance aga man.

Edited April 14, 2012 by aga man

[darren 67]

Just make sure you kill what you shoot. If it aint a runner no problem. But realistically if you can persuade him to pick up a live bird and praise him well he should pick them to please you but might start bringing you the chickens after.

[aga man]

Just make sure you kill what you shoot. If it aint a runner no problem. But realistically if you can persuade him to pick up a live bird and praise him well he should pick them to please you but might start bringing you the chickens after.

lol cheers for the reply mate/ try to kill everthing but kiil a lot in a year so bound to get the odd runner , hence the dog!, seriously though this problem has been with us some time. tried all i can think of. hoping some one on here has come accross the problem. thanks anyway. aga man

[Big Mat]

I'd like to know the solution as well. My lab will retrieve dead rabbits no problem, but she won't retrieve them if they are even slightley still alive. My sister keeps pet rabbits and they are forever in the house and the dog wont touch them.

 

It's a real pain in the backside if you catch a rabbit in the back end with the shotgun and it can still move and the dog wont retrieve it!

[JDsniper]

I have the exact same as you mate choc lab he would not retrieve unless dead. Then one day the runner was that close I could encourage him and gave him such a fuss he has never looked back I think it was just the confedence he needed.

[aga man]

I have the exact same as you mate choc lab he would not retrieve unless dead. Then one day the runner was that close I could encourage him and gave him such a fuss he has never looked back I think it was just the confedence he needed.

thanks for your reply mate. gives me a bit of hope. think your right about the confidence thing. i am sure he feels that he will be in the wrong if he picks it up alive, even though he has never been told off for anything like this. he also has never retrieved anything that could bite him. its a srange one. glad to hear yours is sorted. hopefully we wil get there 1 day.

[ditchman]

 

 

Got a mate who has choc and yellow labs....the problem sounds like that the dog was spured, when it went for a runner, this happens and it can go 2 ways

 

1. dog learns to crush and kill every runner, and becomes hard mouthed on dead birds.

 

2. dog becomes reticent in picking up runners but operates fine the rest of the time.

 

ive seen dogs mash and rip a live bird apart because they have been spured, so thank your lucky stars that your choc' is gentle, i dont know how to encourge the dog to pick up runners,,,just lots of praise i guess.

 

one of my little black and white sprocker girly spainiols had a run in with a large cock pheasant, it put her on her back, the look on her face was precious....she got up ..cuffed it ..pinned it to the ground and picked it up breast down and brought it back to me in triumph !! if that had happened to my black lab, he would have weed himself !!