Retrieve Issues
Retrieve Issues
Quick Background-
Pup is 6 months old
Drahthaar
Crazy drive and hunts/tracks/points with awesome natural form
*Issue
She has no desire to retrieve. If I throw something in the house as a young pup- she would chase and bring it back to me while I sat on the ground. She gets really excited when I toss something- chases it down with strong desire....picks it up, drops it and either comes back to me or does her own thing.
Wanted to get your thoughts on the situation and if you have dealt with this, how did you work on it.
Her drive is great- almost too strong for me!
Thank you.
Pup is 6 months old
Drahthaar
Crazy drive and hunts/tracks/points with awesome natural form
*Issue
She has no desire to retrieve. If I throw something in the house as a young pup- she would chase and bring it back to me while I sat on the ground. She gets really excited when I toss something- chases it down with strong desire....picks it up, drops it and either comes back to me or does her own thing.
Wanted to get your thoughts on the situation and if you have dealt with this, how did you work on it.
Her drive is great- almost too strong for me!
Thank you.
Life is too short not to get lost in the woods once in awhile
Re: Retrieve Issues
I expect others will respond in the same way, but if she picks it up, she should "hold" and then she should do a recall.
Six months is not too young to teach a quiet no pressure "hold" command. Short sessions, praise, quiet verbal correction when she tries to drop it. Some people use food as a reinforcer after she does it properly. This is not hard to teach if you take your time and do many short sessions. Teach a recall separately, and don't ask her to combine it with the retrieve until she has a full grasp of a "hold" command.
No reason to panic; she probably is a natural retriever, as most wirehairs are. Give her a little help and her tendencies will come through.
Six months is not too young to teach a quiet no pressure "hold" command. Short sessions, praise, quiet verbal correction when she tries to drop it. Some people use food as a reinforcer after she does it properly. This is not hard to teach if you take your time and do many short sessions. Teach a recall separately, and don't ask her to combine it with the retrieve until she has a full grasp of a "hold" command.
No reason to panic; she probably is a natural retriever, as most wirehairs are. Give her a little help and her tendencies will come through.
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Re: Retrieve Issues
You’re probably dealing with teething issues. Retriever games should be for fun only until adult teeth are in. Start in a hallway. Toss something soft, tennis balls are my go to. Then build in layers. It’s should be a game at this stage with no pressure involved.
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- gundogguy
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Re: Retrieve Issues
Clean paint rollers are excellent for pups. Inexpensive and can be bought at any hardware store. Young dogs usually just "love' them!Fishmongerjoe wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2019 7:57 pmYou’re probably dealing with teething issues. Retriever games should be for fun only until adult teeth are in. Start in a hallway. Toss something soft, tennis balls are my go to. Then build in layers. It’s should be a game at this stage with no pressure involved.
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Re: Retrieve Issues
+ 1gundogguy wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2019 4:28 amClean paint rollers are excellent for pups. Inexpensive and can be bought at any hardware store. Young dogs usually just "love' them!Fishmongerjoe wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2019 7:57 pmYou’re probably dealing with teething issues. Retriever games should be for fun only until adult teeth are in. Start in a hallway. Toss something soft, tennis balls are my go to. Then build in layers. It’s should be a game at this stage with no pressure involved.
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Re: Retrieve Issues
Plus another 1 . All I would like to add is to maybe use old, smelly, woollen socks stuffed with rags to make a sausage or bumper shaped retrieve article. Sock bumpers are very soft and even teething pups seem to just love them.
Bill T.
Bill T.
The older I get, the better I was !
Re: Retrieve Issues
thanks for the replies. Ill give the roller a try!
Life is too short not to get lost in the woods once in awhile
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Re: Retrieve Issues
A couple of other suggestions are to work teaching the Hold Command. You can do it in your living room and I use treats to reward it as we work on it. No pressure involved, just set the pup in front of you, place the roller in its mouth and help it hold it initially as you say Hold. Praise the pup for holding it and then give it a treat when you take the roller away using an Out or Give command (whatever your preference). Teach the pup to hold it calmly in its mouth without chewing or biting down. Use Praise when it does it right and ahah if you see some bad mouth manners. But keep it short and positive at the age of your pup, no punishment involved.
I use plastic snow fence and t posts to setup a temporary barrier running parallel to the wall of my Machine shed and block off one end with straw bales. I start pups doing play retrieve in that tunnel so they only have one way to go once they get the object which I teased them with and then tossed to the far end. With Hold understood and the pup excited to chase the object you throw it is likely to get the behavior you want and then after you have engrained through a few reps daily for a few days you can move outside of the barrier. It if works outside the barrier great, if not go back to working in the barrier a few more days. The approach has worked very well from me with my GWP pups.
I use plastic snow fence and t posts to setup a temporary barrier running parallel to the wall of my Machine shed and block off one end with straw bales. I start pups doing play retrieve in that tunnel so they only have one way to go once they get the object which I teased them with and then tossed to the far end. With Hold understood and the pup excited to chase the object you throw it is likely to get the behavior you want and then after you have engrained through a few reps daily for a few days you can move outside of the barrier. It if works outside the barrier great, if not go back to working in the barrier a few more days. The approach has worked very well from me with my GWP pups.
Re: Retrieve Issues
If a retrieve is Recall with something in the dogs mouth,then something in the dogs mouth with a solid recall is a good place to start (without taking it from the dog).?