retrieving

[blando 0]

Hello, I have my dog lying staying healing and sort of retrieving the problem is she always drops it short about a meter in front of me, do I praise her or not for this? Up until now I have been. I was thinking she mite retrieve a live rabbit better because she can’t go dropping them short, but the few times she has caught a rabbit iv ended up going to her (my fault these first few rabbits got me a bit exited lol) cant wait to get her out this season!

 

All the best

[dickyboy 1]

don't praise her till she does it right but do not punish her either............run away like a child and she'll play and get down to her level keep your arms down and let her come to you, when she does pat her, praise her, go right over the top, scratch her tummy whatever she likes but don't try to take the toy/game. when shes ready gently hold it and ask her to drop it etc.....praise again then throw it.........repeat whole performance at the end of the session when she retreives it let her praise her loads and let her carry it for a while at heel. then take it gently....................over a period wean off the over exciting praise and get her more focussed and she should do it through habit.

 

 

keep sessions short ....2 or 3 throws to start with.

[Rabbithunter 456]

Don't praise her for doing something you don't want her to.

 

Say if your in the back garden, and she grabs hold of you best shoes, you shouldnt really "punish" her, as she is thinking "pick up = punish"

 

Do not make it into too much of a game, its a serious thing which many people cant get right. Its all the little things that count, like the best shoes i mentioned above

 

Do not go to the dog

 

A little tip, seems to work for me:

 

Tie a length of string onto a dummy/stuffed toy. Get her intrested in it, go round in circles a bit to gain intrest then let her "catch" it. Have a little tug of war, and slowly bring her into you.

 

Tell her to SIT (if you want a dog to sit before giving you - and im not bothered as lon as it comes to me)

 

Take hold of the dummy and take it off her. LOADS of praise, Do it little & often, no more than three times a day.

 

Keep at it, it will be frustrating. If the pup starts getting bored, leave it till another day.

 

Good luck

[Guest Gregg Barrow]

I can’t improve on the information given.

The only thing I would consider is teaching a “hold†command, independent of retrieve training.

I usually start with something they won’t be required to work with (retrieve) on a regular basis. I like to use a 10 inch piece of PVC (small diameter) wrapped tight with cotton rope.

 

The gundog trainers on the list should be able to help if you decide go this route, or a search for “force fetch†or “force retrieve†on the internet should provide a lot of useful information. It’s one of the foundation steps and is not taught with a lot of pressure, just persistence and patience.

 

Or, encourage her to hold for a few seconds at the end of Rabbithunter’s “tug of war†game. Praising the hold and reinforcing it by petting and repeating “good hold†for a few seconds prior to taking it.

 

I use to force fetch a lot of dogs for competitive work, now I just praise the effort when it happens naturally, marking the behavior.

 

Best,

Gregg

[blando 0]

Thanks for that I just did a quick session with her, instead of squatting and staying still and making a fuss, i ran away from her and she retrieved perfectly to hand all 3 times, I mite work on the hold command, I can see it would be useful. Anyway hopefully if I keep on at this she will retrieve to me when im not running away.

 

Thanks for all your help all the best!

[dickyboy 1]

i'd be careful with the tug of war i have used it and it turned a soft mouthed dog quite hard and then once they get used to squeezing it bruises meat they expect it to be tugged.............didn't do it much or hard just once or twice but its hard to undo once they start and it just got worse when things wriggled ie pheasant runner and rabbit

[Rabbithunter 456]

With the first dog i had, i played tug of war all the time with him, even with my bare arms.

 

Rabbits he caught where hardly bruised. He always used to take rabbits by the head, and most were dead when they came back to me

 

I think its all down to different dogs

[Guest martyn]

A good tip i had from a gundog guy years ago,

 

is as they approach you, look at your feet "do not look at the dog",

he/she will come right into your toes to see you,

this has almost has always solved all my problems with dropping short..

[Rabbithunter 456]

martyn, I shall certainly try that as Skye Progresses

 

sounds sensible

 

Think Dog

[Rabbithunter 456]

A good tip i had from a gundog guy years ago,

 

is as they approach you, look at your feet "do not look at the dog",

he/she will come right into your toes to see you,

this has almost has always solved all my problems with dropping short..

 

 

Anybody retrieve training your dogs, follow that tip.

 

THREE perfect retrieves in a row ( i only do three a day)

[Guest martyn]

i may be a newbie here, but ive been around a bit...

 

glad it worked,

it has always worked for me with terriers, spaniels and retrievers..

(never had a lurcher though, i think that will be next)

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited January 18, 2008 by oneredtrim