stuart21 Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 A while ago, I posted a question on here, as my dog was starting yo not let go of retrieves, however, with a bit of patience and training, I've hot that sorted now. BUT, I've noticed that when he goes to pick up a bird, he is starting to tear at it, rather than just pick it up. Most of the birds he retrieves, come back with missing feathers and ripped skin. Any ideas on what I should do now??? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul T Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 I'd take a step back and forget working for a while. Train with some short distance retrieves - 5 yards or so - the idea being that you can control the retrieve and (hopefully) stop any mouthing before it starts. The key is to make it almost impossible for the dog to fail and then build on that success. Just do it a few times so the dog enjoys it and they succeed - don't keep going until they fail! Use dummies if necessary and then move onto feather later. If the dog is pulling at feathers then put the bird in a length of the wife's old tights and cut holes and pull only the wings through. Pigeons aren't the easiest to train dogs with as they lose feather way too easily - partridges are better. I know someone who had problem with her dog mouthing and because one time the dog managed a good retrieve it was allowed to carry the bird further. Dog then decided to drop the bird and rag at it - so who let who down there? Little steps and then work up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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