my dog has turned into a potato...terrible 2's?

[halt3rtop]

ok guys. first off, it's great to find a forum with such a plethera of knowledge. i'm still fairly fresh and new to the gun dog/hunt scene. only been doing it for about 2 seasons now. last year i ended up aquiring a GSP, Bullet. great dog. couldn't have asked for a better partner. the entire summer i devoted my time, money and efforts to him, training, going with the breeder for shoot sessions, and putting him through his navdha test where he took home a prize 3. i was very pleased. well, this passed saturday something strange happened. this is where i need some help pinpointing what's goin' on. my boyfriend is an avid duck hunter. bullet is trained for upland, and for what he is, does well with it. so we sat in the duck blind for hours, yes we ended up bagging a few birds, and it took some serious convincing to bullet to retrieve the birds. it's like he's unsure about new waters. but, with some disasterous results (he ended up getting entangled in the decoy lines, retrieving decoys, you know, the usual pre 2 year old idiocys) but he ended up bringing them in. well, we ended up in a different bay, we stalked up on 2 hoodies, and with the triggers pulled, boom, they went down. first bird bullet saw, he ran like a shot into the water and retrieved it. second one he was unsure about, so we ended up throwing rocks into the waters, and he would go in, play with the bird, drag it maybe 3 feet then drop it and come out. frankly i was getting real ticked, i know i should've kept my cool, but it's so hard when he was doing it perfectly, and then he just stops. my friend says that maybe because it's a fish duck, the smell is a bit off? whatever the case, a third came in, boyfriend shot it, wounded it, so now we're literally on the hunt for this bird. like upland, i tell bullet in a fun, catchy voice "find the bird"!!! he then ran maybe 10 feet, then turned around and stuck to my side like glue. like wth?! now i'm angry. all that training, and he's not responding to a single command?! then when we get home, i tell him to kennel. usually he rips into his crate and stays there. well, he sat and stared off into la-la land. i then had to tell him another 4 times, progressivly raising my voice. only then would he go into his kennel. i personally think maybe i rung his ears when duck hunting from the blind. he's never done it before, and he was literally beside me while i was sitting and shooting, or laying under my legs. heck, he even fell asleep when i shot a mallard 60 yards out, and we had to take him and show him where the bird was for a retrieve. he seems to be getting better with me being firm and loud in my voice, but my friend told me it could quite possibly be the terrible two's, as bullet won't be 2 until december 18th. anyone had issues like this where their dog is a working machine, then poof?! it seems to go all out the window? i'm going for pheasant, which he's trained on this upcoming friday, but i'm just afraid he will still be "hard of hearing" lets say. should i be worried? or just keep working him?!
thanks guys.
harmony

[Sharon]

Welcome to the forum.

Where to start.............

Not terrible twos. He was over whelmed and shut you off. I'm overwhelmed reading about it.

"He's never done it ( in blind for ducks) before, and he was literally beside me while I was sitting and shooting, or laying under my legs..........." quote

You threw him in the deep end before he could swim. Every situation , every kind of bird, every new environment is NEW to a dog. They have to be introduced slowly and carefully.
Considering , the dog did remarkably well.

I bet he'll be fine on the pheasant. Let us know.

Get a training plan for retrieving ducks. Google : https://www.google.ca/search?sourceid=n ... Sj35Pir8k8

[DonF]

Agree with Sharon. Terrible two's may be yet to come. Most dogs go through them. I've had really good luck avoiding them, I don't hunt dogs their first season. They turn into little know it alls. The first season is for the owner's benefit so the owner can brag on his/her pup. The second season they curse them. To much to soon. An 8 month old pup looks like a dog and act's like a dog but it's a pup!

[deke]

That's like me telling you to study for an English test, and then when the test comes its in Spanish. Then after you fail it (assuming you don't speak Spanish, but if you do switch it to whatever language you don't speak) yelling at you about the Spanish test you just failed.

[Gooseman07]

I agree he needs to be introduced slowly or at least introduced before spending hours in the blind. The retrieving thing, I would ask, has he been force fetched? It sounds terrible but is actually a GREAT teaching/team building tool when used properly!

Don...I disagree with you. I think a pup can be hunted the first year then if it is FF'd shortly after the season and some more off season bird work, you are set!

Good luck with your dog!

[gonehuntin']

Sharon nailed it. An upland dog runs on some training and a lot of natural ability. A duck dog runs on a lot of training and some natural ability.

If you want a waterfowl dog start over with a program. Force fetch, obedience, exposure to retrieving in different places and environments, exposure to various birds, breaking through decoys, and steadiness to shot.

To do it correctly, start over. Your dog is very confused and unsure right now.