RETRIEVING

[jedandlevo 8]

my dog wouldent even cum close to retreiveing it used to run of and burry what ever it had in its mouth but now i think it must have just grew out of it its ok now just be paitenet mate

[Scallywag 78]

To start off with never give the dog a "treat" for doing a retreive.....keep food out of the equation IMHO....JD

You know a lot more than me. Mind educating me? Sounds like I did something I shouldn't have!

[Scallywag 78]

This was an genuine question - can anyone help me out?

[bird 9,970]

This was an genuine question - can anyone help me out?

 

 

 

Its not a natural thing for any lurcher to do, dont forget if its 1/2,1/4, [running dog] its instinct is

to chase and kill. Ive had lurchers 25 years+ , and some will bring back right to you

and some wont. Now they have all been trained the same way, its down to each dog.

You can train a dog to do most things, but you can NOT make it retrieve if it does not want to.

 

BIRD

[J Darcy 5,871]

This was an genuine question - can anyone help me out?

 

 

 

Its not a natural thing for any lurcher to do, dont forget if its 1/2,1/4, [running dog] its instinct is

to chase and kill. Ive had lurchers 25 years+ , and some will bring back right to you

and some wont. Now they have all been trained the same way, its down to each dog.

You can train a dog to do most things, but you can NOT make it retrieve if it does not want to.

 

BIRD

 

Then why not "train" it to carry?

The rest should drop into place.....

[loftmonkey 2]

just out of interest why not use tit bits for training to retrieve

[J Darcy 5,871]

IMO, and its only my opinion, the dog will think more of the food than the retreive and will soon start dropping short to get the food instead......perhaps even stop totally and just sit there waiting for the food....

[comanche 3,061]

just out of interest why not use tit bits for training to retrieve

JDarcy 's advice is good .Get the dog carrying .Put the dummy in its mouth (make sure it is not too big or unbalenced )Walk it in on the lead at heel with dummy in mouth. Stop and on your command ,not before , have the pup release the dummyto you.Practise and praise .Next step is to make dog sit on a long lead with the dummy in its mouth and call it to you.Then try laying the dummy on the floor between you and the pup.Hopefully it will pick it up on the way to you. If the pup is still shy about picking the dummy up make it a game.Put a lure on a rope and have the pup chase it.When she catchesit gently draw her to you,but take the dummy in your time -don't let her just drop it.Pups( and big dogs) love this game but you must'nt let it become a tug of war . I don't give tit-bits because I want the pup to work for me not for my biscuits Also a dog salivating at the thought of a chicken wing is going to spit that dummy out as soon as it can to get the reward. This is only my way though might nt work for others.Good luck

Edited April 14, 2008 by comanche

[J Darcy 5,871]

Yes, i use that type of thing myself, a kind of "flirt pole" for lurcher pups!!!! I also find that if i am having trouble getting a young pup to pick up the dummy then i tease it in the garden in front of another dog (s) to get it very keen.....at that moment its just jealousy, but once they get the feel for a dummy then theres no stopping them in some cases.

There are, of course, some dogs that will never, ever picka dummy up. In such instances you must get the recall 110% and pray the dog will retreive back. Just my thoughts.... JD

[comanche 3,061]

Yes, i use that type of thing myself, a kind of "flirt pole" for lurcher pups!!!! I also find that if i am having trouble getting a young pup to pick up the dummy then i tease it in the garden in front of another dog (s) to get it very keen.....at that moment its just jealousy, but once they get the feel for a dummy then theres no stopping them in some cases.

There are, of course, some dogs that will never, ever picka dummy up. In such instances you must get the recall 110% and pray the dog will retreive back. Just my thoughts.... JD

I do agree with you.Retrieving is a combination of willingness to carry and good recall training. It's good when it comes together.I've had dogs that seem to have relished exposing my failures as a trainer all too often though .

[J Darcy 5,871]

Yes, i use that type of thing myself, a kind of "flirt pole" for lurcher pups!!!! I also find that if i am having trouble getting a young pup to pick up the dummy then i tease it in the garden in front of another dog (s) to get it very keen.....at that moment its just jealousy, but once they get the feel for a dummy then theres no stopping them in some cases.

There are, of course, some dogs that will never, ever picka dummy up. In such instances you must get the recall 110% and pray the dog will retreive back. Just my thoughts.... JD

I do agree with you.Retrieving is a combination of willingness to carry and good recall training. It's good when it comes together.I've had dogs that seem to have relished exposing my failures as a trainer all too often though .

 

Ha ha ..join the club!! The saluki blooded dogs can sometimes be a bloody nightmare :black eye:

[Scallywag 78]

Ah right - my question was why not use food to train the retrieve. I've been lucky then - I used food to train and although I struggle with MANY other aspects of training and working my dogs, they both retrieve to hand. I've got away with it this time but I'll try other methods when I do it again.

[comanche 3,061]

Ah right - my question was why not use food to train the retrieve. I've been lucky then - I used food to train and although I struggle with MANY other aspects of training and working my dogs, they both retrieve to hand. I've got away with it this time but I'll try other methods when I do it again.

Lucky? No mate you probably know what you are doing.. Lots of books recomend careful use of food. If your way works stick with it.Touch wood I've never had a lasting problem teaching retrieving either but sometimes it has take time.Seems with dogs that the longer you hang round them the more you realise there is to learn. Don't think my methods are that quick but once learned they seems to stick.Charlie Wyatt -the great GSD trainer writes of retrieving training ",if after a few weeks of this the dog still refuses to retrieve it is time to try another method" A few weeks! There is hope for us all ! Perhaps another reason i don't do tit -bits is because I discourage my dogs from eating from anything but their own bowls.Don't want em snuffling about for rat poison or bolting down poultry food in front of the farmer.

[skycat 6,173]

Just a point I've noticed: many lurchers are not at all interested in food if they are actually hunting, which is why the food reward often wouldn't work in the field. Having said that I've only ever used food once for a reward: when I was training a dog to compete in lurcher obedience competitions, and that was to reward her for holding the dummy whilst she stood in front of me after retrieving it. That was one year when the NLRC decided to tell the owners the dogs had to retrieve then hold the dummy until told to take it from the dog! Not the sort of thing you'd generally need in the field!

I'm now going out to try this method of retrieve training on a bloody Saluki thing! LOL And pigs might fly too!

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

My half bred bull cross(avatar pic about 8 months old) wont retrieve at all! He is good with re call, and other obedience, but just wont carry anything [bANNED TEXT]-so-ever. Now he is aproaching 2 years old and needless to say I gave up a while ago. He will catch, then kill, then stand there with it. Or if I call him back, he comes back without it. Its a bit of a bugger as you could imagine, but his plus points far outweigh his bad.

 

I didnt put him off at all. And tried all I could think of exept the dummy on the string, but im pretty sure he would have just caught, then dropped. But if I had known of this method I would certainly have tried it. I got my old terrier out of the kennel, who dosent retrieve, and I taught him to retrieve a puppy dummy in less than an hour! Which was nice, and kind of reasured me that maybe the lurcher is just a non retrieving one.