Lab slow to retrieve

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joshjurecek

Lab slow to retrieve

Post by joshjurecek » Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:21 pm

Hey guys i have question i was wanting a little help on. I have a 7 month old male black lab. I got him when he was 8 weeks old and bought the book Game Dog and have been following its directions. However it seems that Major is not a very motivated dog. When he was 8-16 weeks old i started tossing soft toys for him. He would chase after the toy but at a slow trott and bring it back at a slow trott. At first i thought it was because he was a puppy but he will still trott to the bumper , pick it up look around for a few seconds then bring it back at a slow trott. He has been on a couple of dove hunts now and i can not complain. From the time he was 8 weeks old i have played with him with frozen dove. On this last hunt he retrieve about 20 birds. But just like with a dummy he trotts to the bird picks it up looks around and takes his time coming back. He is very soft with the bird and does not teeth it at all. The only time he gets really exicted is on a wounded bird where he has to chase it or if one lands in the pond, Major loves to retrieve in the water. Question is he always going to be like this? Is there anything i can do? Will he become better or worse with age?

The reason i am so concerned is because i also have a little white female that is 12 weeks old and she will tear the grass smooth up retrieving the bumper. She will run so hard after it that she will over run the dummy by a foot and run back with it to me like she is on fire. Also major will run for the dummy hard if Kimber is chasing the dummy. Wish he would do it all the time.

PS. I can post or email a video of what i am talking about if anyone wants to take a look at it.

Thanks,
Josh

wchua24

Re: Lab slow to retrieve

Post by wchua24 » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:13 am

some dogs just don't have much drive to retrieve.

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crackerd
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Re: Lab slow to retrieve

Post by crackerd » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:12 am

If the dog's turned out a reliable retriever, I wouldn't sweat or fret over lack of drive. Has it picked up birds other than or including fresh-killed doves? Has it been at your side waiting patiently (if not expectantly) in a duck blind? Has it delivered to hand? If so, you've got nothing much to worry about, unless it's not the dog you wanted or had hoped to train. As for drive, a lot of it's discernible from the pedigree--is the older Lab from field-bred lines? The younger dog sounds a certainty on that score. With the performance Labs, with all gundogs really, there's a maxim about drive and determination that you can't put it in them, but you can sure take it out of them with a heavy hand or misguided training.

MG

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