Gun Dog Forum

There ain't any difference between the way a Pointin' dog and a Retriever should HOLD an object. Forget YouTube, get some good comprehensive training material, and consider some hands on help from perhaps some folks in a Retriever Club...someone whos' properly FF'D a dog before. Don't "try transitio...

I think the year of hunting is really misunderstood. If I have a June pup, and I waited for it to get a year of real hunting in, it would be 1 1/2 years old before I ff'd it. No way. I like a dog to develop independence and confidence, but you don't need hunting for that. I want to be ff'ing a dog ...

Just a little background... I have a now 2.5 year old Labrador which I have trained myself for upland game (primarily pheasant). He has been out to South Dakota the past 2 years hunting pheasant with us. There are only 4 of "us" and 1 other Labrador. My issue is, when I am hunting by myself or with...

My 15 mo GWP is a natural retriever. On land she does great. When I throw a bumper or ball she holds steady until I release her, then she does a great retrieve. If she didn't see it go down, I call dead bird and she frantically searches in the direction I am walking until she finds it or I call her...

Sharon-->"Want to witness a spirited exercise in developing hard mouth? Send two retrievers after a single downed bird. When hunting with multiple dogs, be smart and have them take turns." I know little about retrievers , but from what I've read, when the dog knows it will get its turn and the othe...

You are jumping to conclusions based on a brief update and not seeing the dog. You are wrong. I'll take cash or a bank check, no personal checks please. Gotcha', ...my bad. Silly of me to even stretch the crazy idea that 7mos later you shouldn't need rocks.. :oops: Must've read this wrong- Update o...

Retrievingte="41magsnub"]Update on this - 100% resolved. Retrieving a couple of ducks and a pheasant in the water solved it, she seems to have made the connection. I may have to pitch a rock as a redirection tool if she is having trouble finding the dummy while already out in the water - but she is ...

I live in a subdivision and I have three egg-laying chickens that live next to the house (for eggs, entertainment, etc.). Anyone have a similar situation while training a pup? Any issues, concerns that the chickens could be a distraction to the training process? No issues or concerns from my experi...

Kyle- Heartworms will knock the snot right out of a dog.. Keep that in mind in terms of when pup "used to be pretty good", and when pup because disinterested. Also agree w/ Sharon on those teenage years. Secondly- Also enjoyed Nutmegs' assessment. Here's to hoping that when you stopped the praise th...

maybe this topic has been discussed before,...but i'm having a major issue with it. my dog is pretty well trained, is a duck machine and a field nut. i have 2 dummies, a dokken mallard and a browning padded bumper for his retrieval and water training in which i use. well, lately, when he retrieves ...

When you stick a dog you do not BEAT a dog. It is a persistent tap on the outside flank. Fetch. Tap. Fetch. Tap. Fetch. Tap. Sting, don't beat. Enjoyed the whole post 'Gonehuntin' 8) As most of the time , a new kind of stimulus and/or concept the dogs' not seen before, can be initially confusing to...

I thought e-collar and collar conditioning was to reinforce known/learned behaviour? I suppose, a lead or even a long line when the dog is in new or different environments is out of the question?..Or even the stop whistle training? Recall ,would be another of the basic yard drills I would be concen...

Well he hunted em up for about 2 mins and then started running back to the house. I called the breeder/ trainer up he said get a collar so we did. "Get a collar" :!: What kind of collar? An E-collar!!?? :?: Could be I'm missing something here, but am very curious to know how any kind of "collar" co...

............................................. Definitely your choice , but I would not leave an e collar on that long. If you need it 16 hours a day , something is wrong. What about using a short lead in the house for correction? Is there too much correction going on , so the dog is turning you off...

He is perfect on the cc with the commands but no responce when off. "When off" When what is off- ( collar?) Most dogs respond better when they're inside because there's no where to go in a confined space. Don't give a command that you're not in a position or unable to re -enforce- anywhere . Hey I'...

There are two problems here - the jumping and the nipping. The jumping has been addressed, but a knee to the chest won't stop the nipping. The dog thinks it is a fun game - you need to make it undeniably uncomfortable so that the notion of playing a game of "nipping" never occurs to him anymore. Mo...

I need help with my Britt pup jumping up at everyone. He jumps up an digs on u or he jumps up an I guess there play bites in your hands. Catch both paws in both hands and squeeze, while pulling the dog down commanding NO!. May take a few REPS, but pup will learn soon, (very soon), that jumping up o...

I don't see how the dog could possibly know what shocked him unless he's become collar wise, in which case he thinks the collar shocked him, or he's standing next to you when it happens, in which case he thinks you're the one that shocked him. Buckshot- A dog that's "collar-wise" isn't questioning ...

My Pup knows HERE and will come every single time I say here. He has been coming to me when I do 3 tweets and use a hand gesture and don't say a verbal HERE but how do I know he knows what I mean by it and not just coming to me because of the hand gesture? Set him out 100yds. away on a remote, walk...

A "band-aid" approach (but not a fix) is to stand with your back against a fence. Totally agree. Wasn't my idea. Believe O.K. for pups too young to re-enforce, but old enough for some conditioning . Seemed his pup needed a "refresher"- re-enforcement HEELING or HERE. But there's more to the story- ...

I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I am trying to think of positive reinforcement with an aversive stimulus to make a behaviour more likely. But, pinching or forcing, or what not is by Skinner's definition, negative reinforcement. The removal of unpleasant stimulus to strengt...

Polmaise - Enjoyed that read! I'd respectfully like to add something to it's context "Breaking or creeping is a common behavior exhibited by excitable, high-drive dogs. The key word here is excitable. The goal is not to stop the dog from breaking, but to recondition the dog to embed a behavior to be...

Anyone have any Ideas why he is doing this ? and what I can do to fix it so he holds it and does not drop it. Yes- He's doing it because you "commanded" him to :) And very often, most pups repetitiously hear a HERE or COME command when there's absolutely nothing in it's mouth as Birddog I believe, ...

Early duck is this weekend Thinking i will hold him steady when the ducks come in, and my dad will shoot them, i will send him. To get a good picture in his head about hunting. Isaac and Banks That's probably a good bet considering the time you've got between now and this weekend- particularly if y...

Oh-oh swamp. Now you're on the "dog abuser" list too. There are many good trainers on this forum. It's more slanted toward pointing dogs, but lots of flusher and waterfowl folk here as well. Welcome to the board!!!!!!!! Thanks 'Gone! Here's to hoping my post didn't come across to others as being a ...

Hey folks, name is B.J..
Been Duckin' and Dovin', Upland for 34yrs., lv dawgs, a musician in a band, and a God fearing kinda' fella' .
Hope everyones' ready for a new season

Hey folks! 1st post here. Read what Gonehuntin' suggested, went out in the yard, "whacked" my dog with the HEELING Stick to re-enforce, and now I have a huge "problem"- He keeps coming back for more, what should I do? http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu226/Swampbilly1980/Mobile%20Uploads/1feeda0a-...