Dog eating game birds

[Dirty Harry]

Please help me. I want my dog to retrieve dog biscuits and tasty treats but every time I send him for one he eats it up!

What can I do?

[FalconFN]

You may take the urine but he has a problem and is looking for a solution, which is the point of these forums. Labs eat all sorts including their own **** and this one likes birds a bit too much, probably not helped by the bad advice offered in the past, but a solution is needed, not derision.

[Dirty Harry]

But it's the same question. He's asking the dog to retrieve dog food.

[FalconFN]

But it's the same question. He's asking the dog to retrieve dog food.

I'm pretty sure he regrets listening to that advice now, but my dog retrieves rabbits, I give her the liver in the field, she eats the ribs and pelvis at home so she is retrieving dog food too. I'm sure if I asked her she would also bring me her dinner so it's as much to do with training and obedience as it is to do with the original feeding error. Its a tough problem for sure.

[evo]

my advice is take a few steps back, stop the retrieving and work on the stop whistle as said,

 

certainly don't ever give him any food with feathers on as the dog(in its own mind) is basically being given food and is then asked to give it back when its enjoying it,,take a step back, go back to basics and I,m sure you will correct the problem, the dog is still young

 

good luck with it

 

atb Evo

[ant1]

hi adi I have known dogs to eat birds on a shoot day this sometimes happens if the dog is hungry or the bird has been shot to close and exposing the flesh. what I would try first would be to give the dog a good belly full of her normal food double the amount if she can eat it then try the dog on a short retrieve enclosed if possible so you can take the bird off the dog if it tries to eat it hopefully she will be to full to try and eat the bird and will bring it back to you. or try a hold and release method don't know if this will work but worth a try.maybe. atb

Edited October 25, 2014 by ant1

[jayDT10]

If this ain't a wind up . Just stop feeding it chickens for a couple of months and then try a retrieve with plain dummies and slowly introduce it back fur then if goes well try feather, always reward retrieves with food ( not chicken in feather) at best he might bring the retrieves back and spit them in anticipation for treats so after time you'll have to put that right too.

[adi1210]

Yes fair play to people thinking this is a wind up I was a stupid thing to do.

I was told that it wouldn't bother the dog at all and would be good for her.

I've been a country boy all my life running a small farm shoot and shot game from my teen years so not as stupid as people may think. This however was a big mistake,

I fed her for maybe a week on chicken and then stopped 3-4 months ago.

I had the dummy out this morning with her ( with only 1 wing attached ) just to see exactly what she does.

When I threw it she picked it straight away came back to me and ran round me.

I just kept on calling her to me and she came.

I praised her and gave her a dog treat. I tried it again and she did pretty much the same think but coming bk quicker. I did it one last time and she did the same as the second throw.

I treated and fussed her up and left it at that for today. Finished on a +

She didn't eat the wing on the dummy for some reason. (Which is good)

Maybe because I only put 1 on I don't no. I think I'll carry on doing this if it continues to work.

[FalconFN]

Well done, slow and steady and one small step at a time.

[shoot and be safe]

Stick with the basics. Move on slowly and when your ready to start retrieving, keep them short and use a lunge line (long lead), also as I said in a earlier post, put the dummy in a stocking and slowly expose the feathers over many retrieves.

By doing this you can correct any issues as you have control of the dog with the lead and can't run off.

When you trust the dog to do a retrieve on it's own, go back 1 step with the first by removing the wings. Then again keep the retrieves short and in a enclosed area.

 

Above all, keep it positive. Always end the session on a positive. If you have to chastise the dog, keep it short with a firm NO and a growl, then move on to something you know they will do correctly and reward with a positive.

 

You have a long way to go with this problem. The dog is only young so there is hope. Forget about this season for retrieves, take her alongside your other dog and let her watch them work and see the reward you give them for retrieving.

 

I'm not a dog trainer by any stretch so others may have better advice. The above is what I used with my young lab.

 

I wish you well

[pboro shot]

Id drop retrieving for a month or so then begin slowly forget about putting feather near dummys etc leave it a month concentrate on steadyness general obedience then start his retriever training like it was his first dummy its the only way to be rid of this habit

dont rush or he will be ruined

[jayDT10]

Id drop retrieving for a month or so then begin slowly forget about putting feather near dummys etc leave it a month concentrate on steadyness general obedience then start his retriever training like it was his first dummy its the only way to be rid of this habit

dont rush or he will be ruined

+1 get the recall 110% ingrained in its mind, it's the most important part of a dogs of working life .

[loriusgarrulus]

hi adi I have known dogs to eat birds on a shoot day this sometimes happens if the dog is hungry or the bird has been shot to close and exposing the flesh. what I would try first would be to give the dog a good belly full of her normal food double the amount if she can eat it then try the dog on a short retrieve enclosed if possible so you can take the bird off the dog if it tries to eat it hopefully she will be to full to try and eat the bird and will bring it back to you. or try a hold and release method don't know if this will work but worth a try.maybe. atb

Be careful about working a dog on a full stomach as it can increase risk of stomach torsion or bloat which is a killer if not recognised and treated promptly.

[Albertan_J]

Fed your dog whole feathered chickens lol

[ian g]

i doubt you will ever 100% sort this now the dog will always know that what its picking up is tasty to eat if give the chance and from the sound of it the dog knows it can run off eat it and not be caught already

[scotslad]

I'd +1 wot jay said get ur recall a bit stronger, possibly use a retrieving lane/field corner so dog can't run round u.

 

Is ur dog a mad keen retriever usually? Generally the golden rule is never critise/correct a dog with something in its mouth but if its keen the moment it turns its head give it a light growl/Oi and praise instantly the minute it turns back and starts to come to u.

If its working carry on slowly, i wouldn't do too amany retyrieves 1 or 2 would be plenty u really don't want it reverting back a monrth down the line as its bored with all the 'easy' retrieves.

 

When it comes to shoot days u will just have to be very carfull never to leave it alone unsupervised with game. But seen plenty of dogs having a 'snack' on shoot days.

A lot of pups will do similar the first time they pick a feather dummy sort of pick at the wings etc that haven't been fed on chickens

[adi1210]

Cheers for the info guys.

She's mad keen on retrieving dummy's she will retrieve from just about anywhere and straight back to hand.

Put a feather on the dummy and it's a different story.

She has the potential of a super working dog.

I'm going to cut out retrieve for a few months and concentrate on recall and basic sit-stay commands.

Re introduce dummy's when I have more control

And do it in an enclosed environment for starters.

To be honest I think I can crack this one now having spoken to a lot of people and spent hours coming up with the best way to tackle this problem.

Thanks for the sound advise everyone.

[fenboy]

Cheers for the info guys.

She's mad keen on retrieving dummy's she will retrieve from just about anywhere and straight back to hand.

Put a feather on the dummy and it's a different story.

She has the potential of a super working dog.

I'm going to cut out retrieve for a few months and concentrate on recall and basic sit-stay commands.

Re introduce dummy's when I have more control

And do it in an enclosed environment for starters.

To be honest I think I can crack this one now having spoken to a lot of people and spent hours coming up with the best way to tackle this problem.

Thanks for the sound advise everyone.

Sound like a good plan to me , dont forget to work on the stop also , that will help prevent her legging it with something she wants to eat.