dog wont retrieve

[gerry]

Great news Gerry!

 

I was just about to comment that I've got a six year old springer bitch who has never ever been in the slightest bit interested in retrieving dummies or balls when out of the boring confines of the garden. In the garden she'll retrieve a ball or dummy a couple of times & then get bored. Game on the other hand, is a different story. She loves it and is my best picking up dog for when a gun tells me "Oh I've got a bird down in that wood - a long way back".

 

When she was young, I was beating at a friend's shoot with her & while she was going well hunting & flushing, she'd never retrieved anything for me and one of the other beaters had asked me if i trialled her & I replied that she wouldn't retrieve, so no. Ten minutes later we asked to look for a wounded bird down in a little spinney so with little hope, I sent her in to look. needless to say my non retrieving springer made a fool of me by bringing said bird straight back out!

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't panic - given the right circumstances and encouragement, the retrieving instinct will almost certainly switch on.

 

Good luck with her

 

TT

well thank you first for your reply this wk end iam taking her out on pigeon on a local farm for the first time with a friend fingers crossed watch this space many thanks for the encouragement

[bigbird]

Let us know how you get on!

[scotslad]

Not wanting to be negative, but shooting pigeons over such a young dog (assuming u've checked her for gun shots close by) that u have not owned for very long and is a reluctant retriever might not be the best idea. Far more dogs will be spoiled by rushing them into shooting to early.

 

If ur dog is only starting to retrieve then getting a mouth full off pigeon feather may very well put it off retrieving before it has really started, pigeons are probably the worst game to get ur dog picking early in it's carear.

 

I now train my young dogs with the food bowls in the garden to get them to learn the direction commands, quite easy really so when u move dog onto direction/advantanced training it already has a pretty good idea wot is expected of him

[JDog]

Not only pigeon feathers are likely to be a problem but the proximity of the gun to the dog in a hide.

[al4x]

We had a springer given to us from a retired keeper lovely dog he was only used to drive birds in for the shoot. My father took him on a vermin shoot at local farm and some doves came over and 10 guns fired the dog so frightened he run off every one said dogs gun shy never be any good etc but with in the closed season he lost gun shyness, hunt out any game and retrieve so it is possible even once they over year old. The 1st thing we learnt was to kick him out of car about a half mile from woods and make him run (down farm track) as if we let him out in the woods he went of at such a rate every thing flushed out before we ready. He even chased a roe deer buck christ knows what he done if he caught it. On one shoot my father shot a hare the dog brought it back by dragging it as it was as big as him. What a good gun dog they said the people that said he's gun shy never be any good. So good luck and show love and pamper when he does well and you will have a great dog.

 

 

Its interesting this post as basically the dog has been used for dogging in and that is it when you got it, perfect for the keeper run in fast on the poults and put them up and back to where they should be. At that point the dog wouldn't be used for shooting and some like to leave them and not steady them up. So effectively you had an older dog but needed to do the basics, luckily it worked out well.

As has been mentioned plenty of practice alongside a dog that retrieves well can stir a reluctant retriever up if all else has failed.

[johnlewis]

Thanks for that what I didnt say was that after 2 years of great hunting with Nimbus (name of springer) he contracted the rat urine disease after spending loads of time with vet we only thought it fair to have put to sleep as the vet unable to save him. The poor animal was just passing blood. Turned out that 2 other dogs in the area died the same way vet said that a troop of rats passed though that was carring the horrible illness. Also vet told us that if we fell ill to get Doc to contact him in case it passed to us.

Edited July 26, 2013 by johnlewis

[B725]

A sad reminder to ensure all the dogs boosters are up to date,it is unusual for dogs to get leptrospriosis.

[al4x]

I had someone come and look at a pup who had their name down and a deposit on a litter where the dog was allowed to jump in a canal shortly before giving birth, that killed the entire litter and was possibly lepto absolutely horrendous to have the whole lot stillborn.

[scotslad]

Wot i probably should have said is if ur dog is a reluctant retreiver work on that firest with dummies etc in a training environment and then work ur way up to fresh game throu the usual route dummies+skin/wings onto cold game, etc. Don't be in too big a hurry to get it out shooting,

If ur dog is reluctant try bouncing/rolling a tennis ball down a slight hill, most dogs would love to chase it, and work on the steadiness later on

 

The quickest and best way to ruin a well trained dog is to take it shooting, even quickier when dog not quite ready, and always harder to cure a fualt that u have let devlop throu taking it shooting to early.

[THE AD]

My ten week old lab retrieving http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3fdG7DFDU she's 18 month now and doing well