Worth a shot on a rescue?

love2hunt · Post by **love2hunt** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:38 pm

Would love to hear some thoughts. My wife and I stumbled on a Llewellin Setter in our local humane society. I got more info through the guy who dropped her off and found out that she was gotten rid of by his neighbor. Apparently, she was messed up by a "pro-trainer" with an e-collar and will break her point and leave the bird as soon as she sees someone coming out of fear of getting zapped. Question is, does she sound like a lost cause to fix, or is there some hope for her as a hunting dog again? By no means do I think I'm gonna work a miracle, but I'd at least like to give her the chance if there is one.

Garrison · Post by **Garrison** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:54 pm

The shorthair I have now was damaged goods when I got him. He was not introduced to the gun properly by someone previously and dumped. He would freak out if he saw a shotgun much less heard one. Took a year and about a 100 pigeons for us to get him properly conditioned. I think the amount of prey drive he had was the only thing that got us through it. It was frustrating at times but worth it in the end. If I was going to take a project like this on, my goal would be a good pet and a hunting dog would be an added bonus if it worked out. If my only goal was a hunting dog there are plenty of them out there. But yes if he was bred to be a bird dog there is a chance he can become one.

Post by **Sharon** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:28 pm

and there's good reminder. Never correct a dog in the presence of the bird.

Take the dog as a pet, and with long term patience and some skill you may have a bird dog.
How old is the dog?

(Where I live , if you say you are going to use it for hunting , they won't let you adopt the dog.)

Post by **ezzy333** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:39 pm

Most anything can be accomplished as long as the dog still has a desire to find birds. If that disappears it can be a real problem doing much with it. Big thing to remember is SLOW

oldbeek · Post by **oldbeek** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 12:26 am

I over trained my pup. She will not point stocked birds with a solid point. She checks to see if I am coming. Last week she broke point on a chucker. This is an improvement over just blinking stocked birds. Today she locked SOLID on 6 different wild quail. Solid through shot till order to retrieve and retrieve to hand. So, a dog screwed up by an amature trainer can still be a good hunting dog.

gonehuntin' · Post by **gonehuntin'** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 5:19 am

I look at rescues like this: Are they worth my time?

I have high expectations of a dog, so rescues don't personally fit me. The way I look at it is that every second I spend trying to rebuild a dog that someone has screwed up or that may be a very marginal dog anyhow, is time I could better spend developing a dog that may be a great dog.

Now, on the other hand, if you have the time, the birds, the patience, the knowledge, and don't care if she ends up a pet, working with damaged goods may teach you more than any good pup ever would and may be a blessing for the dog as well. I'm not much on rescues, but that's just me.

shags · Post by **shags** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 5:22 am

If you have room for another dog, take her. The worst thing that can happen is you wind up with a good housedog that keeps the home safe while you're out hunting with your #1dog.

Something I have learned over the years is the really talented, easy dogs don't teach you much as a trainer; they might lead you to think you're a marvel but it's the dog that's great, not you. It's the problem dogs that force you to think and plan and rethink in order to get around their quirks. That dog might be the one that helps you to be a better trainer.

We've had had two rescue setters. One was an elderly, stone deaf old girl who was riddled with cancer. She was the queen of our house during the short time we had her and helped a heathen puppy become a model citizen

Our other rescue was abandoned because "she runs too much for a hunting dog". Turns out she was a bolter. We fixed that problem 99% percent, and she became a great little hunting dog and training partner for my trial dogs. She used to clean up the birdfield and would retrieve to hand - and I never did even one retrieving drill with her.

Besides all that, there's just something about paying it forward a little bit...

Good luck to you if you take her in, and good luck to her if you don't.

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 6:25 am

Shags is on the money. My EP wasn't truly a rescue, but we were her third home in her short 6 months on Earth. I knew that there would be bad habits to overcome, and you're never really sure of the breeding. But when we went to see her she pointed a planted pigeon so I knew I had someplace to start.

We took her home thinking she would, at the very least, become a nice running partner for my wife and I, and a buddy for our other dog. She's over a year now and she's starting to put this hunting stuff together. It's slow and she still has bad habits, but I don't expect a trial dog. I just want her to be steady to flush and retrieve.

Post by **Sharon** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 4:10 pm

"Something I have learned over the years is the really talented, easy dogs don't teach you much as a trainer; they might lead you to think you're a marvel but it's the dog that's great, not you." quote Shags

That is so true! LOL

AZ Brittany Guy · Post by **AZ Brittany Guy** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 7:37 am

shags wrote:If you have room for another dog, take her. The worst thing that can happen is you wind up with a good housedog that keeps the home safe while you're out hunting with your #1dog.

Something I have learned over the years is the really talented, easy dogs don't teach you much as a trainer; they might lead you to think you're a marvel but it's the dog that's great, not you. It's the problem dogs that force you to think and plan and rethink in order to get around their quirks. That dog might be the one that helps you to be a better trainer.

We've had had two rescue setters. One was an elderly, stone deaf old girl who was riddled with cancer. She was the queen of our house during the short time we had her and helped a heathen puppy become a model citizen Our other rescue was abandoned because "she runs too much for a hunting dog". Turns out she was a bolter. We fixed that problem 99% percent, and she became a great little hunting dog and training partner for my trial dogs. She used to clean up the birdfield and would retrieve to hand - and I never did even one retrieving drill with her.

Besides all that, there's just something about paying it forward a little bit...

Good luck to you if you take her in, and good luck to her if you don't.

Great way to look at it Shags!

love2hunt · Post by **love2hunt** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 4:16 pm

Thanks for the perspectives. The dog ended up being adopted before we could get there. However, it's cool to know that so many have had good luck with rescues. We will definitely strongly consider it for our next one when the opportunity arises.

oldbeek · Post by **oldbeek** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 5:53 pm

My last American Brittany was a rescue. The owner died and his wife did not know anything about the dog. She was a 4 year old out of the Beans Blaze line. I think she was a field trial dog. The widow said she had been sent to a trainer. Had heck of a time bringing her in for my style of hunting. It was a pure fluke that she was available when I was looking. She was a fantastic dog. I never looked at the pedigree that came with her until after she died. My wife reminded me of the Pedigee and said she was such a good dog, why not look for that line for a new dog.

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