cocker spaniel

[ROBLATCH]

I HAVE AN EIGHT MONTH OLD COCKER BITCH WHICH I AM HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE ON STOPPING ON THE RETREIVE.SHE HAS EXCELENT ABILITY AND IS VERY OBEDIENT,THE ONLY PROBLEM BEING IS STOPPING HER ON THE DUMMY UNTIL I ASK HER TO RETREIVE.SHE QUARTERS EXCELENT AND IS SHOWING ALL THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE AN OUTSTANDING GUNDOG.

I HAVR TRAINED MY LABRADOR WITH THE SAME TECHNIQUE AS I AM USING NOW AND HE HAS TURNED OUT TO BE SECOND TO NONE (very rarely puts a foot wrong).I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS AS TO STOP HER ON THE RETREIVE,ALL ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

THANKS

 

ROB

[Browning]

Rob. I always make sure my dogs will sit and stay perfectly while I walk away and around them

before I introduce any steadiness to the dummy.

 

I then start bringing steadiness into my dogs training by sitting them up and walking away

and placing the dummy rather than throwing it away from them. Walk back to them and then

send them for the retrieve.

 

Then move on to sitting them up, walking away and dropping the dummy, walk back before sending them for the retrieve.

 

Then progress to throwing the dummy from their side and making them wait until I send them on for the retrieve.

 

I also retrive some of the dummies myself, whilst making them stay on the sit, just so they don't think it's their "right" to automatically retrieve everything.

 

Good luck with her.

[ROBLATCH]

thanks for that mate, i'l give that a go.

cheers

[lurcherboy]

Jesus She is only 8 months mate give her a fighting chance.

 

 

 

 

LB

[v-max]

Hello im new to cocker's but finding it no different from my lab's as the hunting instinked is natural in my cocker & all i want is the basic & most important stuff sit/heel/comeback etc.I dont trial so i dont need him to sit to flush.Trial retriever's ie lab's are only polished off basic's ie stop-sit/right/left/goback.Back to your question is for a couple of day's go back to stop-sit command hand-whistle & verbal if needed & inforce this & try diffrent location's once she is doing this addiquitly try the dummy.Browning has given good addvice.When i do this training for first time i sit the dog infront ie 5-10ft & through the dummy back & right ie dog 12o'clock 5-10ft infront of me & dummy 4/5o'clock.you can give command to fetch & stop & get between the dog & dummy to stop it.once you have the stop working bring the dummy round to 2/3o'clock & then behind it etc & 1 in 5 dummy's throughen let it pick once she has grasped the idea hope this help's.

[dusk2dawn]

I HAVE AN EIGHT MONTH OLD COCKER BITCH WHICH I AM HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE ON STOPPING ON THE RETREIVE.SHE HAS EXCELENT ABILITY AND IS VERY OBEDIENT,THE ONLY PROBLEM BEING IS STOPPING HER ON THE DUMMY UNTIL I ASK HER TO RETREIVE.SHE QUARTERS EXCELENT AND IS SHOWING ALL THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE AN OUTSTANDING GUNDOG.

I HAVR TRAINED MY LABRADOR WITH THE SAME TECHNIQUE AS I AM USING NOW AND HE HAS TURNED OUT TO BE SECOND TO NONE (very rarely puts a foot wrong).I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS AS TO STOP HER ON THE RETREIVE,ALL ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

THANKS

 

ROB

 

 

Maybe you are starting a tad early? Equate one year dog to seven years human and you have the answer, experienced trainers seldom start serious work until 18 months. Let her enjoy her "childhood" just concentrate on basic obedience, orientation in the world etc. Good Luck :unsure: D2D

[ROBLATCH]

thanks for that v max i'l try that.as i said all replies are greatly appreciated.

 

cheers

 

 

I HAVE AN EIGHT MONTH OLD COCKER BITCH WHICH I AM HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE ON STOPPING ON THE RETREIVE.SHE HAS EXCELENT ABILITY AND IS VERY OBEDIENT,THE ONLY PROBLEM BEING IS STOPPING HER ON THE DUMMY UNTIL I ASK HER TO RETREIVE.SHE QUARTERS EXCELENT AND IS SHOWING ALL THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE AN OUTSTANDING GUNDOG.

I HAVR TRAINED MY LABRADOR WITH THE SAME TECHNIQUE AS I AM USING NOW AND HE HAS TURNED OUT TO BE SECOND TO NONE (very rarely puts a foot wrong).I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS AS TO STOP HER ON THE RETREIVE,ALL ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

THANKS

 

ROB

 

 

Maybe you are starting a tad early? Equate one year dog to seven years human and you have the answer, experienced trainers seldom start serious work until 18 months. Let her enjoy her "childhood" just concentrate on basic obedience, orientation in the world etc. Good Luck :unsure: D2D

 

thanks mate i've given that a thought myself but others have given me different oppinions on when to start training. i'm not an expert in dog training but what you say sounds quite logical.

cheers mate

[MadSpringer]

This is only a youngster and you should concentrate on basic obedience Sit/Heel/Recall

 

Do some play retrieving with her and give her lots of praise for bringing the retrieve to hand (pups love tennis balls). Hide a few tennis balls in some long grass or cover and encourage her to hunt and quarter close to you. Work her on to where you have hidden the tennis balls and encourage her to retrieve to hand and give lots of praise. As she develops over the coming months and years, finding retrieves close to you will encourage her to hunt close by as that is where her success has been!

 

Work on the stop whistle NTTF has a training outline pinned to this forum !

 

Once she is reliable on the stop whistle you can incorporate it with the thrown dummy!

 

Have her sit just to your left and throw a dummy out to your right at the same time blow the stop whistle. If she runs for the dummy she will have to run past you and you will be able to stop her and put her back on the spot and reinforce the stop command. Pick the dummy yourself and keep her sat on the spot. Send her for a retrieve as a reward at the end of the session and keep sessions short and fun. Two short sessions are better than one long one. If she does make it to the dummy and brings it to you, take it from her and give her a little praise and do the exercise again. DON’T ever get frustrated or raise your voice with a dog that is retrieving to you!

 

After practice you will find she will become steady to the thrown dummy this exercise also leads on to drop to shot at a later stage.

 

When she is reliable, reinforce steadiness by having her sit and throwing dummies around her. You pick all the dummies and give her a retrieve as a reward at the end of the session.

 

 

Above all don’t rush things and don’t try to do too much at once!

 

 

Cheers

[ROBLATCH]

thanks for the reply madspringer.

i have no problem with her retreiving as she will retreive all day and sit at heel untill i take the dummy from her,the only problem being is when sent for the retreive i would like her to sit and stay at the dummy before picking it and retreiving.i think maybe now i am asking too much of her.all replies are greatly appreciated.

 

thank you

 

rob

[MadSpringer]

Rob,

 

I thought she was running in on the retrieve!

 

only problem being is when sent for the retreive i would like her to sit and stay at the dummy before picking it and retreiving.

 

Whats the reason for this?

 

 

 

 

Cheers

[harryhawk]

Rob, always put yourself in a winning position. When you through a ball/dummy make sure you are between the dog and the object, that way you can stop the dog should it run in.

NOW CAUTION......Why do you want her to sit and stay at the dummie before retrieving? :o What are you going to do when you send her for a runner? :unsure:

You don't want the dog to be too cautious, You want it to be pelting in to you with that retrieve. It's still a game for her.

[ROBLATCH]

Rob,

 

I thought she was running in on the retrieve!

 

only problem being is when sent for the retreive i would like her to sit and stay at the dummy before picking it and retreiving.

 

Whats the reason for this?

 

she retreives perfectly normal. she will sit and wait untill told to go for the retreive but i would like her to stop at the thrown dummy when untill she is asked to retreive.ie if i throw out a dummy 25 yards she will not retreive untill told to,when she is told she will retreive but i cannot sit her at the 25 yard or whatever distance with the dummy. she simply wants to bring the retreive straight back to me.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Rob, always put yourself in a winning position. When you through a ball/dummy make sure you are between the dog and the object, that way you can stop the dog should it run in.

NOW CAUTION......Why do you want her to sit and stay at the dummie before retrieving? :o What are you going to do when you send her for a runner? :unsure:

You don't want the dog to be too cautious, You want it to be pelting in to you with that retrieve. It's still a game for her.

 

cheers for that mate makes a lot of sense.

with my lab i do a fair bit of driven shooting and the old keeper i normaly shoot with recomended i do this.

but this topic has helped me a lot as i have said time and time again all responses are greatly appreciated.

cheers mate

[MadSpringer]

I think the issue here is to work on the Stop Whistle!

 

There may be times when you need to stop a dog on its way out to a retrieve or even on its way back with a retreive. But I can't see the point of sending a dog out to a retrieve and wanting it to stop and sit by it until given the command to retreive again. As has already been mentioned this could lead to some confusion for the dog!

 

Cheers

[ROBLATCH]

yes after thinking about it you may be right there.

she is ok on the whistle (not briliant) but there is time to work on that issue.

realy speaking i am not a profesional gundog trainer and in my view i never will be.i should have realy asked to explain why i need my dogs to stop on a retreive before going ahead and pushing it into the training regime (my mistake).

as mentioned earlier in the discusion my labrador works to this command without a problem and if it is the wrong thing to do i suppose its too late to get him out of it now.

 

cheers

 

ROB

[new to the flock]

I think that you need to do 2 things;

1) Take some time and come up with a well thought out training plan that will end with a well trained dog working the way YOU would like it to.

 

and

 

 

2) Slow down.

 

You are trying to go forward on to a new exercise before you have the fist step accomplished well. Teach the sit, the sit stay, the wait, and the whistle sit. Once these are all steady you can chain it onto another exercise.

 

In the mean time keep the retrieving as a fun game, and not a drill.

 

NTTF

[ROBLATCH]

I think that you need to do 2 things;

1) Take some time and come up with a well thought out training plan that will end with a well trained dog working the way YOU would like it to.

 

and

 

 

2) Slow down.

 

You are trying to go forward on to a new exercise before you have the fist step accomplished well. Teach the sit, the sit stay, the wait, and the whistle sit. Once these are all steady you can chain it onto another exercise.

 

In the mean time keep the retrieving as a fun game, and not a drill.

 

NTTF

 

thanks very much nttf i will accept that taken as good advice.

cheers

rob

[ROBLATCH]

well after taking all the good advice in my previous posts i am pleased to say that i have acheived what i required from my cocker bitch (faye).after only 10 minutes every day she has finaly cracked it.i think now what we must remember has been said in an awfull lot of previous posts is that a dog,s work should be to please and enjoy their work.blaming the dog which to my ashame is now in my oppinion NOT the way to treat them as i have recently learned that it was my mistake not faye,s. i now beleive that faye has got everything to make an excelent gundog or at least do the job i want her to do and my oppinions this if she does what i want i am happy.

[MadSpringer]

well after taking all the good advice in my previous posts i am pleased to say that i have acheived what i required from my cocker bitch (faye).after only 10 minutes every day she has finaly cracked it.i think now what we must remember has been said in an awfull lot of previous posts is that a dog,s work should be to please and enjoy their work.blaming the dog which to my ashame is now in my oppinion NOT the way to treat them as i have recently learned that it was my mistake not faye,s. i now beleive that faye has got everything to make an excelent gundog or at least do the job i want her to do and my oppinions this if she does what i want i am happy.

 

 

 

Glad to hear you have her working the way you want her to!

 

 

 

Cheers