Eklind Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 I have a golden retriever who is two years old. She love to retrieve ducks and geese both on land and in water. The biggest issue is with pigeons. She picks them up and carry them but then she seems to be frustrated about all the feathers and she spit it out and starts to pick of the feathers. She has no problems with wet pigeons who has been frozen. Can you guys give me some tips of training with pigeons? Best regards/Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Try not to put her on wood pigeon for now if it worries her. Their feathers are much looser and come out easier. If she's fine picking other birds then i wouldn't worry about Woodpigeon until she's a bit more experienced. You can put them in a sock, pair of tights etc but when picked in a shooting scenario those horrid fluffy feathers are still going to come out.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eklind Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Try not to put her on wood pigeon for now if it worries her. Their feathers are much looser and come out easier. If she's fine picking other birds then i wouldn't worry about Woodpigeon until she's a bit more experienced. You can put them in a sock, pair of tights etc but when picked in a shooting scenario those horrid fluffy feathers are still going to come out.... Thanks for the Quick reply bigbird! I got a tip from a friend who puts rubberband around the wings to get them tight around the body of the bird. That seems to help. If a have a new shot pigeon in my hand and give the bird to the dog and say "fetch" she takes the bird in her mouth and holds it fine until I say l "release" and she gives me the bird. I Think that she is a bit excited about the whole situation. A lot of birds, shots and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 They've got really loose chest feathers, i don't know any dog with half a brain cell who actually relishes picking woodies lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scutt Posted August 11, 2015 Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 feral pigeons feathers don't come out as easy try a few retrieves with them and mix them up with the woodies and the ducks she likes to retrieve .get it to be a normal thing for the dog to do try to build a bit of experience by using a mixture of birds in a training session hope this makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eklind Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Thanks Scutt! Will try it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee-kinsman Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 A good bird to use if you can get them are ducks and teal. The feathers are probably the tightest of any bird a gundog will get familiar with. Good advice from the others though I'd avoid feral pigeons because they are often very dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farma Geddon Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 They've got really loose chest feathers, i don't know any dog with half a brain cell who actually relishes picking woodies lolMy dogs must be stupid then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 Haha no not at all, probably just got the knack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eklind Posted August 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 A good bird to use if you can get them are ducks and teal. The feathers are probably the tightest of any bird a gundog will get familiar with. Good advice from the others though I'd avoid feral pigeons because they are often very dirty. I use teal and ducks when we train, they work perfect and she loves to collect and retrieve them. I think that the biggest problem are that she gets so excited over the shooting, decoys and dropping birds so she can't get control over herself. It feels that she isn't mentally mature for pigeons at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEADLY PLUMBER Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 They've got really loose chest feathers, i don't know any dog with half a brain cell who actually relishes picking woodies lol My crazy cocker has a real passion for pigeon. ( no brain ) He does get in quite a mess with the feathers. He passes through the ones he swallows. Next day. I do make sure he has access to lots of water while retrieving. That does seem to help. I can imagine pigeon feathers can annoy some dogs. They are dry and light and stick around the mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Neal Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 I'd avoid feral pigeons because they are often very dirty. I've shot scores of them and they're as clean as any other bird I've shot! My dogs love eating them too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 Band a couple of freshly shot pigeons and do some controlled retrieves, first with and then without the bands. She needs experience too so don't let her go too far wrong, but she won't learn how to pick them by not picking any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorismyhero Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 Leo tends to fetch pigeons by carrying by one wing tip. He delivers them with an air of "yeuk its another one of THOSE" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltings Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 try cutting up some old tights and using them like a tube bandage over the pigeons when training should help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow white Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 My older dog doesn't mind picking pigeons but her daughter will not touch one for love or money yet will pick dummy up with pigeon wings wrapped round it very funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evo Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 my English springer " Archie " loves picking pigeon up,, in saying that he loves squirrels, not too keen on using him on crows ect but have to say he just loves bringing things back to me,, it must just be the welsh springers that have no brain bigbird :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 As you say your dog is fine with fowl I should leave thr pigeon alone Mine detests all corvids so if they need fetching I do it myself Some dogs dont like pigeon some don't like crow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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