retreiving

[sureshot360 1]

hi people got a bit of a problem i have a 10 month ess dog he loves to hunt but wiil not retreive a dummy, he will find it but carries on hunting, he stops on a penny he will turn, recall is good and walk at heel

for my sport falconry hes fine but would like to try fieidtailing can anybody help cheers byron

Edited January 17, 2012 by sureshot360

[Mooch. 177]

You could try using a long lead. Throw the dummy in range and when the dog picks it up call it to you and give the lead a jerk. If a jerk's not enough reel the dog in but keep praising as it comes towards you. The dog should get the message eventually. Basically at the moment your dog sees hunting as far more rewarding than bringing the dummy back to you. You need to change it's mind.

[Bradford Lad 74]

Some dogs just hate certain types of dummies, try a rabbit skin dummy or even tennis balls.

[sureshot360 1]

cheers lads will take on boad what you have said and give it a go

[Casso 1,261]

hi people got a bit of a problem i have a 10 month ess dog he loves to hunt but wiil not retreive a dummy, he will find it but carries on hunting, he stops on a penny he will turn, recall is good and walk at heel

for my sport falconry hes fine but would like to try fieidtailing can anybody help cheers byron

he is expressing his drive through hunting which is only natural, but doesn't see any great return in retrieving a dummy drive wise if ya get my drift, if the result of the retrieve is to get to hunt again it will feel to him like a far better return for his energy,

the reward for retrieve can often seem worthless to a highly driven dog if its mostly based on praise and treats, for a young dog to need to hunt far out weights these, as he get older and understands his job and you, praise has it place

i wouldn't let him hunt for a while until you get a handle on him retrieve wise, the reason for this is, he will still have drive energy or hunt energy you could call it within him but with no avenue to execute it , any system you use that will give him a chance to hunt will appeal to him,

take him out in an area with no game about ,using two retrieve items works well in having him retrieve the first to get to hunt for the second, its about getting him to apply his drive to the retrieve and him seeing it as part of the hunting process, try getting him to retrieve the first for you to launch the second, and so it goes on, always leave him wanting more, work him hungry it will give him a greater appetite not just for food but for work,,

best of luck with him,

[sureshot360 1]

Hi Casso, A lot of what you said makes sense when i give him retrieves where there is no scent he retrieves fine.when i take him out if he flushes anything and he loves small birds that layes in the long grass rather than having him tear off down the field after it l stop him on the whistle,wait for the flush to clear and then throw him a retrieve it is not always a

straight forward retrieve i throw it were he has to use his nose, but he finds it pickes it up comes so far back drops it and then carries on hunting. Do you think that i should not throw him a retrieve after a flush just

stop him for a minute and then hunt him on. Has of yet he hasn't seen any game killed .cheers Byron

Edited January 26, 2012 by sureshot360

[Mickey Finn 3,004]

Hi sureshot360. I agree with casso. Work on the retrieving seperate from any hunting situation. Training with dummies in the presence of game, never seems to work out well.

 

Work in small steps and don't move on to the next step til your seeing 100% progress. By that I mean, short sighted retrieves. Then longer ones. etc. When you move onto blind retrieves. Have several dummies out in the field. So, everytime he's sent out. The dog is sure to find one. Everytime. Having a variety of retrieving dummies, and several places to train, also seems to help. Breaks up the monotony, I guess. Then you can wrap feathers around your dummies. or use frozen birds. Then warm ones, then shot ones. But always move forward in steps. This way, when you hit a bump. You can always go back to where the dog was "doing it". Then proceed again.

 

Those are nice looking dogs in that pic! have fun.

[sureshot360 1]

cheers lads for your input let you know how we go