Pup chewing on dead pigeon

[CoolHandLukeGSP]

I introduced my 5-month-old GSP pup to a dead pigeon today and he loved it. Trouble is he chomped on it every time I threw it for him. Any suggestions on how to work with this?

Thanks in advance.

Eric

[DonF]

If he's chomping on it every time, quit throwing it till you find out how to stop it. the more you do it the deeper you imbed the habit! Use something other than a dead bird for retrieving. Something hard.

[gundogguy]

+1 Donot let pup keep on keeping on. Work on other facets of the dogs skill sets Pointing should be encouraged at this stage of the pups life, possible handling issues could start being addressed. Lots of things to do before retrieving behaviors are addressed.

[Big bloc]

What I did is take a 2X2 about 6" long. Get some feathers and use plastic ties to hold them on. Then I took #6 finish nails and drove them in until about 1/4" of the head stuck out at random areas. You can start with nails first if you want. I kike to use goose feathers they are more durable. Good Luck

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

I introduced my 5-month-old GSP pup to a dead pigeon today and he loved it. Trouble is he chomped on it every time I threw it for him. Any suggestions on how to work with this?

Thanks in advance.

Eric

What made you decide to use a dead bird instead of a live one? There are no substitutes for live birds when it comes to introduction.

Nate

[mtncntrykid]

wrap that pigeon with barb wire so he gets a poke if he bites to hard.

[tasi devil]

If he's chomping on it every time, quit throwing it till you find out how to stop it. the more you do it the deeper you imbed the habit! Use something other than a dead bird for retrieving. Something hard.

Listen to Don, he's forgotten more than most of us have learnt.
you also need to consider that it is a puppy,......would you wrap your childs toys in barbed wire or drive nails into them
for your education consider this (a copy/paste from here, http://www.dailypuppy.com/articles/stag ... h_843.html)
I couldn't be bothered typing in my own words, i'm in the tooth business btw)

Between the ages of three months and seven months, a puppy begins to lose its deciduous teeth. Each deciduous tooth root will generally be absorbed by the adult tooth, though there are instances where this does not properly occur. At three months, the incisors begin to fall out to make room for the new adult teeth. At the age of four months, the adult molars and adult canines are beginning to come in. Between the ages of six and seven months, the adult molars will come in. Finally, by seven to eight months, the full set of adult teeth should have come in.

and people want to do serious retrieving training while all that is happening strewth !!


..........tasi

[bonasa]

Id force fetch regardless (not yet though).Is the pup in a checkcord? Do you rip it out if his mouth as soon as you have the chance? Call or lead him to heel then do your own victory lap then ask for it. Once is enough. As DonF said use something hard. They calm down when you calm down and not rush the pickup and prompt delivery, he's 5 months and this isnt NSTRA.

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

wrap that pigeon with barb wire so he gets a poke if he bites to hard.

That'll teach him! If this method doesn't work nothing will. :roll:

Nate

[birddogger]

wrap that pigeon with barb wire so he gets a poke if he bites to hard.

That'll teach him! If this method doesn't work nothing will. :roll:

Nate

My thoughts exactly! Where do people come up with this stuff?

Charlie

[TonyS]

I heard wire brushes work.

[DonF]

Do not throw anything for your dog wrapped in barbwire or with nails sticking in it. Give a thought what could happen inside your dogs mouth if it chomps down on it. May even get stubborn and continue chimping down. Ever seen many dogs that learned much at all from a porcupine encounter? Don't endanger your dog. If the problem persists when you get back to retrieving, go to force fetch.

[gonehuntin']

He's probably chomping because he has a slow or no return. Try keeping him on a cc and command here, then gently reel him in when he gets the bird. Every time he chomps give a sharp little tug and command here. If this doesn't work and the problem persists, stop letting him retrieve birds until you ff him.

[CoolHandLukeGSP]

Over the weekend I took a live pigeon, clipped its wings and threw it out for the pup. I am proud to say he did great! He ran it down and picked up and did not try to chomp on it. I kept him on a check cord because I don't have a retrieving corridor like George Hickox does and he just walked in to me with it. I just praised the living daylights out of him and let him hold it until he was ready to put it down.

[Bud Savoie]

My Brittany is learning the ropes, and he's pointing well. We were working him on live pigeons, which he pointed and then picked up. I took the first pigeon from him and the bird flew away without a feather rumpled. Beautiful, soft mouth on this dog. Next time, however, he got the bird and didn't want to give it to me. As I insisted that he drop it, he chomped down, getting blood on himself, the ground, and me. The pigeon was dead, of course. How do I get him to give the live bird to me as he did the first time?