Won't retrieve a bird

[tonyf125]

So, my 1 year old choc. lab is in his first year of hunting. My problem is that he does not do a good job of picking up a real (dead) bird. He will when I throw the bird, like we are playing fetch, but he has a hard time making the correlation when I shoot it. He seems confused about putting the bird in his mouth. I have worked with him quite a fair amount all year long but have never worked with birds, always dummies. Another issue that I have with him is that he doesn't bring the bird back to me, he will drop it 5 feet away from me.

So, how do I fix this problem? Is the bird thing an issue that only experience can fix or are there any tips that any of you know? Any help would be greatly appreciated because I am extremely frustrated.

Thank You All

Tony

[gatorhunter]

Forced fetching worked wonders for mine. Less than 10 ear pinches and he went from training dummy to pigeons to ducks to Canada Geese. That was last fall. By the last hunt he was going out on a line from the lay out blind to the bird and bringing it right back to me. This fall he took off where we finished last year and has 28 Canada Geese and 5 ducks to his resumé.

[BLACKJACK]

I have worked with him quite a fair amount all year long but have never worked with birds, always dummies.

You hit the nail on the head right there!!! If hes never worked with birds how do you expect him to be a pro at retrieving them out in the field???!

Take one of those birds, cut the wings off and tape it to a dummy. Then practice, make sure he brings it to hand!!! He may want to keep it or eat it, make him bring it back to you. You may encounter a problem where after retrieving the dummy with wings, he may not want to bring the dummy without wings back - make him bring it to hand.

Now its time for birds. Live pigeons are ideal, you can trim one wing, turn them loose, and the dogs get bird experience and trailing experience. If the dog has a gentle mouth, you can throw the pigeon in a cage and reuse him for weeks. If you can't find a live pigeon, any dead bird will do, use it like you would your dummy, throw it in the weeds and have him retrieve, encourage him like you would on dummmies. Keep the dead bird in a bag in your frig or freezer, train your dog a couple times a day, just like you would a puppy. He'll get the hang of it. The first time your dog retrieves a bird in the field while hunting, praise the heck out of him!!! Don't worry about shooting more ducks or pheasants, pay attention to your dog and his retrieve!!!

[SpringerGuy]

BlackJack nailed this one. You got to get the dog used to the taste of the feathers. Larger zip ties work well for keeping wings on a dummie. I also used wings on my Dokkens Dead Fowl dummie. Does the same job.

Also a freshly shot bird will be warm. He has to get used to that as well.

You should not have to use the forced fetch, just get it used to the taste and feel of the feathers. That is what is problem is.

Practice before you hunt!

[tonyf125]

Thank you all for the input. Much Appreciated. I will have to work on him with real birds more!!!

[hamms-scooter]

I put a dummy with wings on it on a thin rope and when he picks it up you say here and pull the rope till he gets back to you .this will avoid the pick up and run and play thing they do when they are young. on the other hand my lab is going to be 8 and doesnt retrieve a biird anymore he finds them and flushes them but he wont retrieve . i think its due to a goose experience . it was injured not dead and it scared him good. but now and then he will bring one in. need to work on it

[gatorhunter]

You should not have to use the forced fetch, just get it used to the taste and feel of the feathers. That is what is problem is.

I had done a ton of work with wings, feathers, whole birds. He was carrying a dead ruffed grouse around at 14 weeks. So feathers weren't the issue at all. He didn't connect the bring back the dead bird while hunting dots. I could toss the birds and he would pick them up and retrieve but to run down a dead bird while hunting and retrieve it....nada. So a professional dog trainer figured we should move on to forced fetching.