blade Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 hello everyone iv just acquired a 4 year old ess dog its a ex gamekeepers dog was just wondering if it would be still young enough to train it retrieves ok but wont pick dead pigeons up only tried in the garden and when its off lead its gone flushing does 2 fields before it comes back so have not let it off again orderd a 100ft long lead to try and train it to recall any other ideas for training to retrieve game when i get the recall sorted or do you think it will be set in his ways any help please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 hello everyone iv just acquired a 4 year old ess dog its a ex gamekeepers dog was just wondering if it would be still young enough to train it retrieves ok but wont pick dead pigeons up only tried in the garden and when its off lead its gone flushing does 2 fields before it comes back so have not let it off again orderd a 100ft long lead to try and train it to recall any other ideas for training to retrieve game when i get the recall sorted or do you think it will be set in his ways any help please Oh yes !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 get it on an electric training collar, it'll be used to hunting hard and sounds like typical springer selective hearing. With a collar you'll have it sorted in a week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 get it on an electric training collar, it'll be used to hunting hard and sounds like typical springer selective hearing. With a collar you'll have it sorted in a week Can't agree with you there al4x, if the dog has not been trained to recall, turn on the whistle, stop etc etc it shouldn't be punished for not doing so. blade - you are doing the right thing in trying to get the recall sorted first off, then build from there. A far as the retrieving is concerned a lot of dogs don't like pigeons due to the fact the feathers come out v.easily, so build onto pigeon from other feathered game first, when you get to that stage. In answer to your original question, it is still young enough to train but it will be a harder, longer job than with a younger dog and you won't know the extent of the bad habits until it has been exposed to a variety of situations. The difficulty you will have with this dog, IMHO, is the fact it seems to have been allowed to free hunt away from its handler for a long period of time; it will be a nightmare to get back working tight. But it depends on the standard you are looking to achieve, and from what you say you have taken the dog on now so you will have to work through the basics methodically and patiently, don't be surprised if it takes you until this time next year to get what you're after. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 used carefully though it will reinforce training and also act as a safety device as certainly round us out of control dogs have a habit of getting onto roads. I'm not into using them to punish but they will back your training up and certainly with my GWP on a PAC trainer the bleep is enough to stop her when she's thinking twice about coming back. I've never used it on anything other than minimum as I don't want to do that to the dog but with a 4 year old dog it will probably be the difference between driving you insane training it and training actually working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 Don't get me wrong al4x, i have no high moral ground to take regarding the use of an e-collar, i think used correctly as you have done they are just another tool in the trainer's bag. But for the dog in question, it doesn't know the basics so needs some basic training to learn right from wrong before it gets corrected via the use of a collar for taking the proverbial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Personally I don`t like the collars as dogs can easily be the models of good behaviour when the collar is on and then revert to type when the collar is off and I have seen this happen before and it resulted in a lab pulling down a deer and ripping its belly at the end of a drive in front of the guns ! At 4y.o. I think it is beyond all but the best of trainers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blade Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 thanks for you replys lads just a quick update took him out last night to a local park sat him down walked 150yds called him came straight to me did this 4 or 5 times he never failed then went in to a corn field next door let go of the lead and told him to stay he was gone saw his tail and ears boucing above the corn quartered the field then came back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 being an ex keepers dog I'd be surprised if it didn't know the basics so probably was taking the **** a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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