back command

[anthonychez]

Hope someone can help. I'm not sure what i should be doing. this is where i am at the moment. I walk her to heel, sit her down and throw a dummy over her one to the left and one to the right about 20 yards. i can send her back or in any direction and she retrieves them no problem in any order , i use the word back with a raised hand for back and out for left or right backed up with my let or right arm. I also sit her down walk out 70 - 80 yards and drop 3 dummies. i then walk back to her and past 5 yards, send her back and she will bring one back then send her back till she fetches all 3. no problems here .I also walk her out sit her down , walk around her in a circle about 30 yards out dropping about 6 dummies. and send her back for random dummies. no problems here. all this is done on a football pitch so she can see the dummies. now here is my problem . i have tried blind retrieves by going out and dropping dummies around the pitch but when i send her back she'll run back then via off left or right, especially if she notices some litter thinking it is the dummy.she is even worse in a rough field. any help would be appreciated , what do i need to do so she go's straight back ish to the dummy and what am i doing wrong.

[chrispti]

she doesn't trust your command.

 

start small.

 

Find a small strip of long-ish grass, preferably along a fence line or edge of a field, so e sent back, the dog can't

bear off.

 

Discretely drop a dummy in.

 

Walk on 10 yards, and send her back.

 

Build her trust in your command and she will work with you.

 

Increase the distance as her trust in you grows.

Edited October 15, 2012 by chrispti

[anthonychez]

i did this on a farm track for a while. before i took her into the field. should i go back and do it on a track. cheers

[chrispti]

i did this on a farm track for a while. before i took her into the field. should i go back and do it on a track. cheers

 

You want to do it in some light cover, so the dog can't see the dummies.

[lee-kinsman]

Ey up Tony I'll give you a ring 2mo mate and tell you what I did with Charley. Basically going off what I've seen when we've been out. I'd leave the dummies and just take game/pigeon/duck out with you. Sounds like she could be coming off the line to hunt up for something more interesting. She isn't stupid as to not know what your saying but she does know what she wants and maybe thinks she knows best.

 

Hope your well mate, Lee

Edited October 15, 2012 by lee-kinsman

[chrispti]

 

 

The dog is relying too much on its eyesight.

Edited October 15, 2012 by chrispti

[ETO]

I agree with Chrispti.

 

Use a Red dummy to teach her to use her nose. Dogs can't see red very well so have to rely on their nose. Hence why my pup lost my red dummy today.

[kent]

it sounds like its all down to eyes, the footy pitch started this. Dont give it any retrieve that can been seen, in the field or in practice, but keep them all easy blinds and build. look on it like this if you can see it you can pick it yourself so do so

[kent]

I agree with Chrispti.

 

Use a Red dummy to teach her to use her nose. Dogs can't see red very well so have to rely on their nose. Hence why my pup lost my red dummy today.

 

oh, but they can still see the object perfectly well. Dogs might not desern certain colours as different but they can sure as heck see the object. Dogs sacrifice thier colour vision for superiour vision in low light. Its just like a person with colour blindness they dont fall over stuff just because its the wrong colour. If you want a dog to use its nose then marked retrieves into heavy cover then progress pre-hidden retrieves into cover. When you get to this latter stage its one of the best things in gundog work (dont let the dog fail and start to distrust you superiour knoledge of were to find things, cheat if you loose one by secretly dropping another)

[Actionpigeons]

This is how I teach all my dogs the get back command.

 

 

Find a footpath that is next to a fence. Keeping the dog on the lead for the 1^st few times you do this. As you walk along drop the dummie saying, “leave it” as you drop it. (The leave it command will come in useful later in the training)

 

When you have walked a little way turn your dog around to face the towards the dummie.

 

Putting your right leg forward of the dog to give it direction say “get back” build this up until you can send the dog back any distance along the path.

 

When you get to this stage walk along with the dog, but this time drop two dummies, one as far back as you can, the other about 50 yards from where you send your dog. After the dog has picked the 1^st dummie wait a little, then ask it to go back for the 2^nd dummie.

 

The dog will lean to trust that when you say, “get back” there is something there to fetch.

 

You can then move on to throwing the dummie away from the path and stopping your dog and sending it left or right to simulate a blind.

 

When you can do this, go to a rough field, leave your dog in the car drop a couple of dummie 40 yards out. (you can put a thin stick in the ground so you know where the dummies are)

 

Get your dog and face it towards where you left the dummie, putting your leg forward towards the dummie telling your dog "Get back". Do this a few times building up the distance.

 

The dog will then trust that when you say, “Get back” even if she has not marked the bird, it is still there.

 

 

The idea is that the dog takes a line to the dummies from your leg and had direction and should go out in a straight line from you. No good having a dog looking at you and pointing behind it and saying “get back”

 

 

 

 

Hope this helps

Edited October 20, 2012 by Actionpigeons

[vixen.]

Main thing I would say here is make sure you're dropping the dummies at the end of the path not in random spots along it. The corner of a field is a great place to do it that way your dog will learn to go back to the furthest point. Pays dividends when you want to get your dog across a big area for a bird and saves you having to keep pushing it back/reduces the chances of it veering off line if it has been taught to go out as far as it can on one cast.