brittany retrieving

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jryan85
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brittany retrieving

Post by jryan85 » Fri Apr 03, 2015 4:58 pm

My britt pup is almost 12 months old I have been working him on birds 1-2 times a week and he is doing pretty well he is absolutely bird crazy. But has no desire to pick up birds or really any objects I havent been trying to force the issue. We do work on some in the hallway of the house where he does retrieve his bumber with bird wings taped on it. I only do this 3-4 times a week 2-3 retrieves at a time. But as soon as we move outside he will chase the bumber then just runs back so I pick up the bumber and work on whoa and here. I dont want to mess it up but really want a dog that retrieves, am I just better off seeing a pro now for FF or waiting til the end of next season? I have seen some dogs that retrieve but with very little style and I didnt know if it was from FF to early or from to much pressure? Have you ever had dogs that start showing more desire to retrieve with age or is FF the best answer?

Trekmoor
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Re: brittany retrieving

Post by Trekmoor » Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:25 am

There is a good chance that your dog would retrieve birds shot in front of him "naturally." I know several brittanies who will do that and those dogs have had no retrieve training at all. Their owners run into trouble when birds fall that the dog has not seen.

I don't do F.F. and if I had your dog I think that since I had the dog retrieving in the house I could persuade it to retrieve outside too. Your dog is not anti-retrieve , it is simply very pro-hunt ! Every Brittany I have ever owned has been the same way inclined as yours is so I stop giving the pup any chance to hunt unless it has retrieved a couple of articles first ....not necessarily a bumper ....any article the dog likes to pick up does to begin with, bumpers can come later.

Doing retrieves "my way" would probably take at least 2-3 months worth of carefully managed training before the dog became a reliable retriever. Going the F.F. route would probably take far less time but I don't know nearly enough about F.F. to advise on it.

Bill T.
The older I get, the better I was !

polmaise
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Re: brittany retrieving

Post by polmaise » Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:39 am

[quote="jryan85"]But as soon as we move outside he will chase the bumber then just runs back so I pick up the bumber and work on whoa and here. /quote]
Maybe you have trained it ?

jfwhit
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Re: brittany retrieving

Post by jfwhit » Sat Apr 04, 2015 7:40 am

My Brittany is 18 months. He was trained by Ronnie Smith. He had no desire to retrieve. only hunt. Ronnie told me to get a season under him with no retrieving pressures. Then we could work on it on the off season (FF). By Christmas he was retrieving about 50%. By the end it was 100%. I did some guided hunts with him and he saw other dogs do it and caught on. Some where pretty. Some weren't. Had no lost birds from January on. Even some blind finds. Just had to stay on him till he caught scent. I think it will only get better. I only upland hunt so I probably won't FF. Good luck.

jryan85
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Re: brittany retrieving

Post by jryan85 » Sat Apr 04, 2015 11:55 am

Thats what I was planning on just letting him hunt this season with no pressure but I also heard that if you let a dog get to old before FF it my make it harder. Upland is all I hunt with him but in the future I wouldnt mind taking him on some dove hunts but that is along way down the road. If I can get away without FF him I will, if not I think I will pay to have it done next spring. Just dont tell my wife.

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oldbeek
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Re: brittany retrieving

Post by oldbeek » Mon Apr 13, 2015 9:21 pm

I studied FF and did it myself. My britt is very hard headed but we got through it. She now will fetch anything I tell her to. We go out front in the morning which is open desert. She runs and checks everything out, then I call her in ,point to the daily newspaper, say fetch and she picks it up and heels back to the house waiting for the command drop.

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CDN_Cocker
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Re: brittany retrieving

Post by CDN_Cocker » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:24 am

There's an awful lot of FF talk going on here and the dog doesn't even retrieve yet. I am a big supporter of FF - I think it sets a fantastic base for any future training you do. It is a crucial piece of training for any type of bird dog in my opinion - especially (not despite) if you hunt upland. But I think you need to start doing things to encourage his natural retrieve desire first before you FF. Its kind of like training a child to run marathon that hasn't even took its first steps yet.
Cass
"If you train a young dog for momentum, precision will arrive. If you train for precision, demanding perfection, momentum will depart." - Rex Carr

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