Retriever help

[ford]

I have a great 9 month old fox red lab that has the pedigree and formal training to be a great duck dog. In fact he is. He stays with with me only retrieves what and where I tell him to go. The hunting school I took him to did a great job. However I have found a small problem and need advice on how to solve it.

When I take my dog, Roscoe, out for pheasants I can't get him out front hunting the birds. He has been trained to stay with me and wait for a bird to retrieve. It's making me crazy that when we are afield he will only wander 10 yards away and comes back to heal as soon as he realizes he isn't next to me. I have begun tieing pheasant wings to his bumper and throwing them as far as I can to get him out 30 or so yards, but that is getting exhausting.

On our first field hunt Roscoe circled a pheasant within 5yards and had every chance to flush it. He just doesn't know what to do with a live running bird unless it's wounded or dead. What do I do to fix this? I need him to get out front and hunt.

[gonehuntin']

You have to teach him a release command like OK. When he's playing in the yard, tell him OK, and let him play. When he understands OK means he can leave your side proceed to the next step. Do not throw hinm anything to retrieve to get him to leave your side.

When he'll leave your side, plant birds in a field and turn him loose, encouraging him to leave your side and find the birds. Now, next day, TAKE THE DOG BACK TO THE SAME FIELD WITH THE BIRDS PLANTED IN EXACYLY THE SAME SPOTS, tell him OK, and let him find the birds.

You'll have to do it several times, but eventually he'll catch on and hunt on the OK command.

[ford]

That sounds like a great plan. Just that it's way to late in the season here in Buffalo ny. The school I took him to uses a three step method for dog training. The first year of a pup must be left with them for 3-4 months and they drill into the dog perfect obedience and a very good understanding of the owners choice of duck hunting/retrieving ( my choice) or field hunting. Not both. Duck and pheasant seasons run the same time in NY. So unless their is a quick fix, I have to wait till next summer to put him through phase 2 of hunting class. The training is awesome, no complaints. But it's a three summer process for a total of 9-12 months of training. Then I have a master retriever/field dog. What can I do now to get him out front on short notice"

[Timewise65]

I have three trained Golden Retrievers. One of the ways I keep them in shape and trained is to do yard work on bumpers. I have always used a command when we are done with the training session, I say OK! That tells them we are done, I then play with them without bumpers in the yard running around and letting them just have fun smelling around and jumping around.

When we go into the field hunting pheasants or quail once we start hunting I release them from heel, but saying ok....they know it is ok for them to go out and smell around. If they get beyond 40 yds (gun range). I whistle sit them, until I catch up then again say ok...they soon learn not to go out beyond 40 yds.

When I began training them for field the were fully trained at the SH level for retrievers. To get them to quarter I would walk in one direction, then change going 45 degrees in a different direction. They would look back and see me walking away, they rush over to get back in front of me. In time they naturally learn to quarter....I just follow them!

On retrievers, you have to watch the dog closely, when they get birdy the tail will tell you, they 'flag' with their tail. That alerts you they are about to flush....then the fun really begins..

Good Luck

[ford]

Thank You. As I said before, I have been throwing bumpers to get him out front. He is just so obedient he will not leave my side until he knows a bird is waiting to be retrieved. Great for ducks, sucks for pheasants. I'm now trying to have two people in the field 50 yards apart. When he gets clingy the opposit person calls him over. Then he takes off, sniffs around until he makes over to the other side. I'm using all the commands he was taught in school. Find it... Stop.... Point left.... Point right.... Go. But if he doesn't see the bird fall or hear your gun shot, he stays with me. Just so frustrating. He is a perfect duck dog. Now I just need to get him to hunt pheasants.

[mnaj_springer]

That sounds like a great plan. Just that it's way to late in the season here in Buffalo ny. The school I took him to uses a three step method for dog training. The first year of a pup must be left with them for 3-4 months and they drill into the dog perfect obedience and a very good understanding of the owners choice of duck hunting/retrieving ( my choice) or field hunting. Not both. Duck and pheasant seasons run the same time in NY. So unless their is a quick fix, I have to wait till next summer to put him through phase 2 of hunting class. The training is awesome, no complaints. But it's a three summer process for a total of 9-12 months of training. Then I have a master retriever/field dog. What can I do now to get him out front on short notice"

A quick fix? Short notice? I assume you haven't done a lot of training yourself. Dogs learn through associations. One strong positive or negative association, or repetitions of lesser associations. You can't make this happen overnight. If you're not willing to be patient, you might as well wait for your trainer to do so. Gonehuntin is very knowledgeable, so if you are willing, heed his advice.