Feather haters

[labman21]

I am not sure if this is the reason. I had a previous post about my dog drake,the yellow lab, not liking to pick up birds anymore. He used to love having birds in his mouth but something has changed. I am beginning to ff him now and I hope it will work. I can get him to pick up wings, but maybe it is the soft, loose body feathers of birds that bug him. Just an assumption.

So what I am asking is has anyone had experiences with a dog not liking feathers,or not picking up birds?
If so how did you solve the problem? Did you solve the problem? What are you doing now to solve the problem?

Replies will be deeply appreciated, thank you

[Calisdad]

Sounds like he had a bad experience. Did he get 'nicked' for lollygagging on a retrieve?

I'd start over. Show some enthusiasm like you did when he was younger and keep the sessions short, ending on a positive note.

Patience. good luck.

[A/C Guy]

Our dogs went through a similar phase their first year in the field. Doves lose their feathers easily and many dogs hate them; I don't fault them for it. We were patient, enthusiastically encouraged them to fetch the bird. A few times, walked over, picked up the bird and tossed it for the dogs and turned it into a game. When we got home, we cooked the breast, took the carcass, played with the dogs with the carcass and fed little pieces of the cooked breast meat while playing fetch. Problem solved. Now they equate the feathers with a treat later of fresh bird to eat. When a bird is down, they race to be first to retrieve the bird. When driving home, they vie to lie on the game bag to protect and guard their birds. Whichever one wins, lies his/her head on the game bag during the drive home. Problem is definitely solved.