Young Dog Eating Birds

[Grits]

I have a 7-month old GSP and she will retrieve dummies all day long on land and water. However, I have shot about 10-15 pigeons over her and she will find and begin to eat the bird with very little interest in bringing it back. She also chewed up the only dove I have been able to shoot this year. I did work with her a little with some dead pigeons and she retrieved them great out of the water when she was about 4 months old, maybe she just couldn't eat and swim.... Anyhow, this is my first bird dog and I have no idea how to correct this in a manner that does not turn her off of birds. Please help!!

[Sharon]

I'm no expert on retrieving but it seems to me that the dog has been mouthing tennis balls and bringing them to you and now there's a bird to mouth and eat. Probably the two items are not different in the dog's mind. You need some good resources: "Fowl Dawgs" is a good one and there are some good threads on here by Crackered and Evan that you could search out for other good resources and helps

[Grits]

Thanks Sharon,

We rarely use tennis balls. But I'll check out the book. I appreciate the advise!

[Sharon]

Lol Don't know where I came up with tennis balls - sorry. Ah, I know. I've been watching The US Open all week.

[adogslife]

Work on a solid here command and start to encorporate a FF program.

[snips]

I would just keep a light weight rope on her and reel her in...She is just a pup in my book..

[gonehuntin']

I would just keep a light weight rope on her and reel her in...She is just a pup in my book..

Me too.

[romeo212000]

Frankly I would quit giving her birds to retrieve. Still continue the bird work, but don't shoot them for her. When she hits around a year of age you may consider finding someone to force fetch her. It sounds like you are fairly new at this and I do not recommend trying this on your own if you are newer at this.

[perezalf]

My pup is doingthe same. She will run after the downed bird get it come back and eat it. I think I will tie a rope next time and bring her towards me then give her a treat in exchange for the bird.

[gonehuntin']

You guys can save yourself an awful lot of problems, if you would just obedience train your dogs. If you don't believe in full obedience, NO, HERE, and WHOA will get you through.

Once the dog is reliably coming to you, with distractions, it makes control handling birds and conrol in the field SOOOOO much easier.

[Tall Boy]

You got to get the dog FF (force fetched I guess, always have called it Force Broken) to get a soft mouth. Start of with a dowl that has pegs driven into the end, in the shape of an X so it can sit up off the ground. When they retrieve the buck perfectly, start to incorporate a real bird. If the dog starts chewing and eating wrap wire around it so it's uncomfortable to grip tightly in their mouth. Alternate between them until the dog gets the hang of it and has nice soft mouth.

I think you should be able to force break a dog, just get a good book on it and make sure you know what to do if the dog balks....be patient and do not be too rough. FYI: I prefer the ear over the paw for correction.