My lab has stopped retrieving

[gswanson209]

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have a 19 week old yellow lab; and I have been working with him since I got him at 8 weeks. He started retrieving toys well early on and then I moved him to a dummy. He was doing great; but about 10 days ago he quit retrieving the dummy. I thought I may be overworking so I quit for a few days and focused on perfecting obedience commands. After a few days I tried again and kept the sessions short (2-4 retrieves) and he did retrieve. But just today I tried a few throws and he did not retrieve. He either runs out to the dummy and looks at it (and me) or does not even go out. I even tried a duck wing and he ran out to it; played with it, but would not bring it in.

What could be causing this and how do I correct it so I can get him to consistently retrieve?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[EvanG]

Get your hands on some pigeons. Don't hold high standards for bird handling for now. Just get him amped up over them. Don't throw too many, but enough to get him excited. You can shackle the wings with a rubber band, or if he is spooked by live ones, use dead ones. Freeze a few to keep on hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bywrx4O9FeY

Are you following a training program for your pup?

EvanG

[GUNDOGS]

+1 on the frozen birds....i have noticed alot of dogs get bored of the plastic or regular canvass ones.. have you tried the deadfowl teal launcher dummy, or the dokken duck ones?..heres a pic of the dokken ruffed grouse one our pup LOVES to retrieve it..also they make some canvass dummies with a skinned pheasant over it to simulate a bird better..our setter always loved those to retrieve as well..good luck....ruth

[Sprig]

it's hard to say from not seeing the dog and seeing how the dog acts but i have experienced this from time to time over the years. some dogs i have found you can just lay off of everything for a few weeks, especially if they are kennel dogs and then go back to playing fetch on a limited basis with a totally new object. always tease the dog with the object at the end of the session to leave him wanting more and always stop the training session when his desire it at its peak. i would suggest laying off of everything for a couple weeks and then come back with a totally new dummy he has never seen before. i would also suggest a pigeon but i have seen dogs go through this stage where they dont even want birds. sometimes putting them on a leash and making them watch another dog fetch will build up that desire as dogs are a very jealous animal.

[gonehuntin']

I hate frozen birds. Won't use em' without thawing them first. Never have, never will. How'd you like to pick up a frozen bird in your mouth?

[jhorak]

That's bad logic...I wouldn't want a freshly killed bird in my mouth either! I find that using frozen birds not only makes retrieving more exciting for the dog, but it also promotes a better mouth.

[bhulisa]

You said: I thought I may be overworking so I quit for a few days and focused on perfecting obedience commands..

Your pup is under 5 months of age...it's possible that you are putting too much pressure on him in general and this is showing in his not wanting to retrieve or return to you. All work and no play...you know the saying. Can you give a little more background?

[Az Draht]

Is he teething yet?

[RoostersMom]

How do you handle the pup when he brings the dummy back to you? Are you reaching for the dummy and taking it from him? If so, then you need to change that tactic. When the pup returns to you with the dummy, you need to love up on him, petting, talking stupid to him - all of that.... while he has the dummy in his mouth. When he drops the dummy, or you eventually take it from him, petting stops. He'll learn quickly that he gets all loved up on when he has a dummy in his mouth. Many, many dog owners I've seen will reach for the dummy first as the pup approaches and grab it from his mouth. This just makes him not want to bring it to you.

If you were already doing this correctly, then I'd have to agree with above posters that suggest some time off for the pup. I wouldn't expect that much from a less than 5 month old puppy yet - I'd be wanting him to get excited about birds and be having a lot of fun. You're going to have him for another 10-15 years so don't rush his puppy stage.

[surferdave]

He's still young, I would think the best thing to do is keep it positive and not add pressure quite yet. Continue working in hallways where your pup only has one place to bring the dummy back. Also it may be frowned upon, but in the beginning I used treats as incentive. If he dropped the bumper, I would give a verbal correction, and repeat fetch. He would only get the treat once I took the bumper from his mouth, which later helped with the hold command. All this prep made force fetch a whole lot easier later on.

D.

[Trekmoor]

Your pup might be teething. Some pups don't want to retrieve while they are teething and I have found it is better to leave retrieving alone for a few weeks if this problem occurs. You may also be pushing on too fast in general with the pups training and making the pup switch off.

Bill T.

[gswanson209]

Your pup is under 5 months of age...it's possible that you are putting too much pressure on him in general and this is showing in his not wanting to retrieve or return to you. All work and no play...you know the saying. Can you give a little more background?

I have kept my training sessions very short (2-3 minutes). He is good with the commands sit, stay, come,kennel, and pretty good at heel both on and off leash.

When I have worked with him on retrieving; sometimes I just throw the dummy or toy and tell him to fetch; I have also been able to put him at heel; and then throw the dummy or tow and tell him fetch.

[gswanson209]

Is he teething yet?

Yes he is starting to teeth.

[thelast2]

With the dog teething I would say lay off the retrieving for a few weeks and if you absolutely have to throw retrieves then use something soft ie... the old stuffed socks. Dont pressure the dog at this point because you can do more damage than its worth.