how to stop dog from retrieving

[56-26]

I have a 16 month old vizsla and I'm happy with the way he hunts, but the dog wants to retrieve every bird thats is shot rather he points it or another dog. The guys that I hunt says that it don't bother them but if it was me I would get tired of my dog not getting to retrieve any birds. Some people that I've talked to says not to try a correct this because it could cause him not to retrieve anymore. He did retrieve to me but now he will come back to me about five feet away and drop the bird. When I go to get it he picks it up and runs off. After a few min I can get the bird. I think what started that was I was hunting with a guy and his dog wanted the bird and kept blocking him from getting to me. After the he would stop short of me. The really weird thing is he only stops short on pheasant and chuckars. Quail he will bring to me, but thats what I trained him with. Then Sunday one of the guys I was hunting with tried to take a quail from him and he would let go and ended up tearing the bird up when the guy got it out of his mouth. Then the next quail the he got a dog that was hunting with us kept chasing my dog to get the quail and my dog ate half of the quail. Any thoughts on he to fix this. Thanks

[romeo212000]

Sounds like you need to work on the Here command. Do some yard work with a dead bird. If he has been intro'd to the e-collar toss the bird and when he goes and gets it give him a firm "Here" or whatever you use. If he is slow or piddling around nick him with the collar and command "Here" again. Eventually he will get the clue. Do not try to correct the other problem.

[Ruffshooter]

1) Stop hunting him with other dogs for now.
2) Work on Steadiness training.
3) As stated the here or come command. (give him a good reason to come to you with the bird.)
4) I think your dog has had his prize taken away, He has had other dogs trying to posses his catch, he has wanted other dogs catch. He needs confidence and structure.
5) Don't let him go for a retrieve until you command it.
6) When you finally do hunt with other folks again he needs to honor a dog on point and you need to go to your dog and collar him or train him to be steady through the other dogs retrieve.
7) If you wish once you have your control commands in place your could ff him to give him the manners mentioned above.

This is how I see it and approximately how I handle that type of situation.

Good luck
Rick

[R-Middleton]

You are expecting a pup to act like a fully trained dog. The reason that he runs away with the bird, may be because you have scolded him for retrieving. It's great to have a good natural retriever, but don't expect him to do something that he is not trained to do. I would put him through a FF program, and teach him to retrieve when and how you tell him. If you get after him for retrieving with out teaching him what you want soon he will ether never bring you the bird or stop retrieving all together. You aren't the only one that has that problem, only most people don't know it's a problem.
Good luck

Ray Middleton

[gonehuntin']

You'll have to steady him to flush, shot, and fall. Then he will only retrieve on command.

His obedience is lax and that's why he won't bring the bird to you. Without birds involved, work him on HERE and HEEL until he'll come right into you and not stop. Then you many have to do some heeling drills with him with birds in his mouth. That's kind of a whole involved thing in itself. Now is a great time to work him, over the winter. He ain't gettin' any younger.

[donnie_19]

I have the other problem. My dog finds and points the birds before the other dogs. They spend the entire day backing.

[gonehuntin']

That's their problem, not yours. If yours is the best dog, it's the best dog. Your hunting partners will have to live with that.

[snips]

If childern are allowed to have all the candy they want then they learn to expect it. Your dog has been getting ALL THE CANDY HE WANTS!

[Ditch__Parrot]

If childern are allowed to have all the candy they want then they learn to expect it. Your dog has been getting ALL THE CANDY HE WANTS!

Thats Great We need a HOF topic for great short quips of advice and this should be in it for sure.

On Topic: backing through another dogs retrieve, seems to me anyway, would have to be one of the more difficult things to train for. Does anybody have any training or practice type scenarios they use for this ?

[56-26]

Thanks for the replys. I was never worried about having him steady to shot. I never seen any need for it for just hunting. But now I see that I will need to work on that. I will come when called or by the wistle, But not when he has a bird. I have been scared to FF or put an ecollar on him because he is a soft dog and I think that he would shut down on me. As far as I know I have never scolded him for retrieving, but I guess that I raise my voice when he wont. I have done yard work with him and he did retrieve, but like I said I hunted him with a dog that kept blocking him from me and thats when it all started. I going to start working with him again on the check cord and see if I can figure this out. Any other idea I would like to hear. Thanks

[prairiefirepointers]

In the Lab world, (where I hatched) Honoring a retrieve is as important as the Pointing worlds Honoring a Point. However, That is fixed by Romeo's and Ruffs advice put to work. (Steadiness)

Good Luck.

Edit* Guess I should have said "retrieving world"

[gonehuntin']

There is no such thing as a dog too soft for an ecollar. Just work at lower intensities. It is far more humane than jerking him around on a cc when he breaks on the birds.

[Ruffshooter]

Just to hang on GH's post, Soft dogs actually benifit from the proper use of a collar. If you use a proven system like George Hickox or Delmar Smith or Perfection etc. Your dog will understand more compeletly what is expected. Improper Physical correction and even proper correction sometimes takes the focus of the task at hand and puts it on the correction and the handler (you) and the dog misses the whole reason for the correction. Start reading and get a video and a good trainer to help you learn more about it. A Soft dogs confidence can be boosted with the proper use of a collar. IMHO.
Rick