Recall And Retrieving

[Westyorkshire_lad 402]

Whats the best age to start working my pup on recall and retrieving? She is 13 weeks now. What should I use to work her retrieving with? My first lurcher Got her for mainly rabbits.

[birddog 1,354]

yesterday................seriously the earlier the better for me

[tsteve9999 456]

yesterday................seriously the earlier the better for me

Same here but only in very small doses at that age, you've got to make it fun for the dog.

[andy26 618]

My pup is now 11 weeks and shes bringing bits of toys back I just mess about with her for 10/15 mins on a night make a game of it she's even sitting and walking on a lead so the younger the better for me aswel

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

Mines bored with it at 20 wks,Will bring me stuff she has found and wants me to throw for her and loves that game but pick up a random object for her to retrieve..no way

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

Ps...am I worried..not one bit,it's just some dogs love the bring back any shit . Throw game,others just don't give a feck unless it Under there terms.

The greatest retriever I had was a terrier, obsessive with it.seen the mad dog jump of a bridge into water after a pebble was kicked off the bridge.

[andy26 618]

Ha I used to have a border russel that used to retrieve ducks out of the pond on shoot days cracking little dog something I've never seen a lurcher do

[alan81 110]

make sure that her recall is fairly good before you start her retrieving, if she wont come to you then you cant expect her to retrieve to you.

[Westyorkshire_lad 402]

Only had her nearly 2 weeks now iv got her walking on the lead with no problems she does sometimes do a emergency stop and you got to try not to trip over her lol i walk her on a quite field off the lead she runs about and love being off lead usually she stays close to me but when I try to clip her back on lead she hesitate to come close and sometime cowers down she doesn't have much confidence or lack of trust. I do make a fuss of it and praise her but sometimes it's hard when it's throwing it down and you want to get indoors but you can't get hold of her. I got told something about putting rabbit skin around a bottle or object and using that to retrieve after her recall is good?

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

I start retrieving indoors where they can't run away,or out down the side of my house

[paulf 820]

patience is the key mate on your behalf that is, when she wont come right in to you try kneeling down so your on her level and make a fuss of her when she does tried it with mine when she went through a similar thing and try not to lose your rag with her ...

[birddog 1,354]

as paulf said but make sure the recall is good before moving on or it will be a backward step...........start indoors with balls, teddies, socks and the like.......mix it in with games so your the most fun thing in its world...........tug of war games help bondbuilding as well as retrieving.......if your putting a wee hurdle in i was taught keep them small so its hardly a hurdle and build as the pup grows.......its about building good habits before bad one arise........hopefully very soon the commands here, sit, stay, over and fetch will be second nature to her...........but keep it fun

 

[Accip74 7,112]

Ps...am I worried..not one bit,it's just some dogs love the bring back any shit . Throw game,others just don't give a feck unless it Under there terms.

The greatest retriever I had was a terrier, obsessive with it.seen the mad dog jump of a bridge into water after a pebble was kicked off the bridge.

Ha I used to have a border russel that used to retrieve ducks out of the pond on shoot days cracking little dog something I've never seen a lurcher do

Best retriever I had was an ex-track greyhound I used for lamping for 2 seasons, she used to gallop back & dump them at your feet....many a time she had to run the same rabbit twice.... Lol

[skycat 6,173]

Only had her nearly 2 weeks now iv got her walking on the lead with no problems she does sometimes do a emergency stop and you got to try not to trip over her lol i walk her on a quite field off the lead she runs about and love being off lead usually she stays close to me but when I try to clip her back on lead she hesitate to come close and sometime cowers down she doesn't have much confidence or lack of trust. I do make a fuss of it and praise her but sometimes it's hard when it's throwing it down and you want to get indoors but you can't get hold of her. I got told something about putting rabbit skin around a bottle or object and using that to retrieve after her recall is good?

If the pup is cowering down at only 13 weeks old then it either has a naturally very submissive and nervous temperament, or you've already given her reason to be afraid of you: which is it?

 

You say: I do make a fuss of it and praise her but sometimes it's hard when it's throwing it down: so does that mean you have got cross with her, grabbed her as she's trying to run off? If you have mistakenly hurt her by doing that, and the pup is also very sensitive, then you have your answer. The thing you need most with pups is endless patience, and then some more patience. Pups are naturally hard wired to come to you and have a fuss, it is only when we give them reason to doubt us that problems arise.

If you have a naturally somewhat aggressive manner and a loud voice, you may find it helps if you adopt the 'little squeaky' voice when you call her and play with her: this will help to show her that you are trustworthy and friendly. Also, getting down on the ground as though you're a pup wanting to play, should give her more confidence in coming right to you.

[echo 24]

crouch down and offer her food.What ever you do,don;t grab her and while she is eating,put your hand underneath her chin to clip the lead on,not over her head.If you grab at her,it will make her hand shy and she will start to circle you.Once they become hand shy their recall can take months to sort out