Check cord on a retriever

[strutrut247]

Hey i'm having a problem with my 7 month lab female delivering the dummy to me. She wants to go lay down about 20 ft from me and chew on the top of it. I don't really want to force her to me with a check cord but i think i have no other choice. I just don't want a retrieve to be forceful to her. What do yall think?

[WildRose]

one way or another you need to work on "here" to where she understands it means NOW and EVERY TIME.

Work on it without the dummy for a while, when she's doing it well go back to playing fetch.

You don't have to "force" her to you with the cc'd, just give the "here command" and then reel her in.

She'll figure it out IF you give her structure. Just like kids though if you let them make up their mind on their own as to when they will comply you aren't likely to get good results. CR

[EvanG]

Hey i'm having a problem with my 7 month lab female delivering the dummy to me. She wants to go lay down about 20 ft from me and chew on the top of it. I don't really want to force her to me with a check cord but i think i have no other choice. I just don't want a retrieve to be forceful to her. What do yall think?

It's that word 'force', isn't it? Many people have a knee jerk reaction to it that equates 'force' with 'brutality'. Such is not necessarily the case. Nothing in our universe moves with out force. The question is "How much?"

Usually the forcing of "Here" requires only minimal pressure, and yields a very reliable response - one that has saved the life of many a dog from a moving car!

Your pup, at 7 months, is more than age appropriate for this work. As the old saying goes, "It's easy when you know how".

The procedure I use has been proven over decades with scores of retreivers and other gun dogs, and is truly simple. The only refinement added in recent history (the early 70's) is the use of a second rope. One rope assures your dog will come when called, while the other assures that he cannot come until called. This is because the technique is so effective that your pup will soon want to come and just stay with you, and you need more repetition of the command to solidify a reliable response.

The drill looks something like this.



Use something like a smooth post (a clothesline pole is ideal) so the rope will slide around it with minimal resistance. The longer rope keeps the dog from coming until called (or initially from wandering off during the early going), and the shorter one runs directly between dog and trainer to assure compliance with the command to come. I use "Here", but the choice is yours.

An important item of note is that dogs, like most animals, resist a steady pull. They yeild far more readily to tugs. Therefore, when you call your dog, use a series of tugs in conjunction with the command to come. The tug and the command should arrive together.

The other half of the procedure is every bit as important, and that is praise for compliance. Two things make praise effective; timing and emotion. Praise your pup the instant he gets to you, and mean it. Establish and maintain the mechanism that compliance brings rewards, and your pup will come to seek reward through compliance with your commands. Those little tugs you've just used are 'force'. No big deal. Just 'force'. The dynamic of using both appropriately will result in a reliable dog. He cannot refuse the force, but then complying with the command is also highly rewarding. Compliance becomes the order of the day...habit.

There's more, if you're interested.

EvanG

[Goosehunterdog]

I agree, I would just use the checkcord and work "here" without retrieves...Use a smooth pole and wrap the checkcord around so you have 100% control of the dog...I would also CC to "here" once the other is solid..I would recommend that you follow a good training program such as Smartwork Vol.1 The Smartfetch book or DVD also shows this process..Fowldawgs 1 DVD shows this as well..Good Luck

[Goosehunterdog]

I guess we posted at the same time Evan..Thanks for the detailed explanation....

[kiddcline]

I agree with all of these suggestions.

I'm no pro but I have just finished training 4 labs and a few had this problem as well. Sometimes it takes making a fool out of yourself to get the dog to come.

Once the dog picks up th bumper turn and run. The pup will want to play and chase after you. While running give the command "Come" or "Here". when the dog gets to you go nuts over it and let the dog hold it for a couple of seconds before you take it from her.

Give it a try. Like I said the suggestions made all work too. Especially with a really stubborn dog.

[AT2]

I had a hard time with that pic at first. It looked like he was hanging the dog. Then i realized it was on the ground.

[gonehuntin']

We have to remember that befoe the electric collar, trainer only had ropes. A rope will dog everything an electric collar will, only at a more limited distance. Most today have forgotten the way's of the old trainers.

[EvanG]

We have to remember that befoe the electric collar, trainer only had ropes. A rope will dog everything an electric collar will, only at a more limited distance. Most today have forgotten the way's of the old trainers.

That's why so many dogs can operate at high levels in the field, but need such frequent correction. They lack fundamental soundness. If a trainer will first establish solid skills through good fundamental methodology, and then enforce it with the temperate use of an e-collar, the dog will function much higher, and with less maintenance.

EvanG