help needed please

[COUNTRYLAD 0]

i need some help getting my dog (whippet/staff) to retrieve she tends to start shredding whatever i have shot. could anybody help me with any tips on the best way to for me to get her retrieving. im sure with the correct info i can pull it off as im still teaching her news tricks all the time. help would be greatly appreciated thanks

Hi, yes you can get her to retrieve.

I have a bedlington bitch which I use as a gun dog.

It has been a fairly slow progress but she is now very useful, she soon lost interest in dummies to the point where I was going to give up, but having shot a jay one day I tried her with that and she never looked back. She now retrieves all small game undamaged and will sit steady to shot. I avoid letting her pick wounded game as the terrier instinct may take over. The size of her mouth dictates that a pigeon or hen pheasant is her limit for a clean retrieve larger game is dragged back in a rather undignified manner.

Keep trying, short frequent lessons are the answer with lots of praise. For early pigeon retrieves try putting the bird in a stocking so the dog doesn't either get put off by a mouthful of feathers or have a great game plucking it.

Although my dog is a good game finder I have always discouraged her from chasing what she flushes and she should return to me having flushed it. (That's the theory anyway).

Good luck.