dog mouthing birds

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oldbeek
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dog mouthing birds

Post by oldbeek » Wed Mar 22, 2017 7:30 pm

I compete in NSTRA. I force fetched my Brittany. She is a fantastic retriever. Her longest is 900ft right to hand. Lately she has started rolling the bird in her mouth. Mouthing the bird causes a deduction from her retrieve score. She is not hard mouth. The other thing she has started is taking a little grab at the bird after she hands it to me. That could cause a deduction if the judge sees it happen. I am thinking back to the force table but not sure of what to do. Suggestions ?

Timewise65
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Re: dog mouthing birds

Post by Timewise65 » Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:53 am

I have the exact same problem with my current Senior Hunter, Retriever. I do recall that after her field training she did not do this. But now she does. I believe it started from playing with her in the house with balls and toys. I do not require her to drop or even fetch on command when we are just playing in the house. I fear that carried into her field work!

What I have been doing to two fold...

When working on marks, blinds, or lining when returning to heel I will throw the next mark while she still has the last bumper in her mouth. Then I give her the drop command, wait a second and send her on the mark, blind, or line. This not only stops the mouthing, it also keep her steady at heel.

I also work on the 'Hold' command just like when force fetching. I give her a bumper commanding her to hold. If she mouth our even moves, I tap her under the chin commanding hold, sometimes if that does not work I put my hand around her muzzle holding it firmly with the bumper in her mouth.

I have found this problem hard to break, but by doing these drills every time I train she slowly has stopped the mouthing.

I also have a big Doken Goose Decoy. It is a mouthful and heavy for her....if she mouthed that, she would drop it.....I work that into her drills...and that helped settle her down....

Good Luck

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gonehuntin'
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Re: dog mouthing birds

Post by gonehuntin' » Thu Mar 23, 2017 6:11 pm

The dog has to be re-taught hold. The jaws can't move. To stop it, put the dog at a standing or sitting position on a bench and put a bird in it's mouth. If it moves it's jaws, say NO, HOLD! And tap the dog under the jaw. Never let the dog look down or away from you. The dog should look at you with it's nose pointed up. Never pull the bird from the dog. On the DROP command, make the dog release the bird and back it's head away while you hold the bird stationary.

Sometimes you simply can't cure it or stop it. Some dog's are very loose mouthed, others get so excited by a bird they work their jaws. Most don't really hurt the bird and the only time it really matters is if you test the dog.
LIFE WITHOUT BIRD DOGS AND FLY RODS REALLY ISN'T LIFE AT ALL.

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oldbeek
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Re: dog mouthing birds

Post by oldbeek » Thu Mar 23, 2017 6:49 pm

Thanks guys. I also asked Standing Stone Kennels. That is the program i used when i first trained her. They said go back to the begining. I started today having her hold my bare hand. She tried to mouth it. Shortly she got the message by just tapping her chin and saying hold. Going to do this daily for a while plus other begining drills, then try some fresh shot quail.

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oldbeek
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Re: dog mouthing birds

Post by oldbeek » Thu May 18, 2017 6:45 pm

Got to where she will hold my hand in her mouth with no movement or mouthing. She is now retrieving with a firm grip no mouthing, head high and a proud gait. Should i add and a big smile.

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