"hard" mouth

[Ryan_V]

Did some pigeon work with my dog. I just bought a 4 1/2 year old GSP. Got a good deal on her, she's trained and a good hunter.

Here's my problem: I planted the birds in a cage (one at a time) with a flip top. I brought her down to the cage the first time. She got downwind, picked it up, located it and held a great point. I slowly lifted the top of the cage (from a distance) so the bird could fly. Well the bird jumped, she grabbed it and was extremely rough with it and by the time she brought it to me it was mangled.

So we try again, thinking it might be different if the bird is actually shot. She did the same thing, located the bird, held a great point. So this time I held the lead on her so she couldn't grab it as it flew. It jumped, my buddy shot it and she followed it. She brought it back, but was again really rough with it. I tried to throw it a few times and same thing.

How can I train her to have a "soft" mouth?? I'm not going to be happy if any roosters I actually hit come back to me all messed up.

Thanks for any ideas!!

[Acemac]

back to the basics with a winged dummy is were I would start.

[LakeDocktor]

My brother had a Llewellin that was the same way. The breeder he got him from told him to put a few long nails in a tennis ball so they go through both sides a little way and cut the head of the nail off. I know that it sounds a bit extreme to me. At first the dog will have a bloody mouth, but will realize they only need to apply a certain amount of pressure to hold the ball/birds in their mouth.

[Farmboy1]

My brother had a Llewellin that was the same way. The breeder he got him from told him to put a few long nails in a tennis ball so they go through both sides a little way and cut the head of the nail off. I know that it sounds a bit extreme to me. At first the dog will have a bloody mouth, but will realize they only need to apply a certain amount of pressure to hold the ball/birds in their mouth.

Instead of nails have the dog carry a hard bristle brush.

Also have the dog hold a dummy in their mouth, give the hold command (or whatever you use) and slap if. They need to hold strong enough so they don't drop it, but soft enough that it does not hurt them. It works great.

[gspman]

A trained retrieve program can help with hard mouth. Do some internet research on hard mouth cures.

[jdog]

ive got the same problem with my lab but he will let go of anything else when i say drop treats dummys whatever but for some reason i have a problem with birds even more around other dogs

[2thepointsetters]

If the dog will not drop the bird when you have it in your hand, take the dogs upper lips and push them into its upper teeth while the bird is in the mouth. They learn to let go after a couple times.

[jdog]

actually had a very good pheasant opener after a year of learning the drop command he let go of every bird dropping them all at my feet

[shortfatguy]

I have never tried it myself, but I have heard of people using a wire brush with wings tied around it. The nail thing sounds pretty cruel and dangerous to me. I think the wire bristles would give them the hint without causing damage.

[kentuck_ike]

I have heard of guys wrapping a bird in barbed wire.

[MinnesotaMongo]

I wonder if that's why you got the good deal on the dog.

Good luck on trying to break that. I hope things work out for you.

[Ryan_V]

I wonder if that's why you got the good deal on the dog.

Good luck on trying to break that. I hope things work out for you.

Even if I had known this, I still would have bought her. She's an outstanding dog!! I'm not even sure she'll be as rough with a pheasant, it's just what I saw during pigeon training!!

[ItsaCrappieLife]

I've heard that filling a sock with gravel will sometimes work. Dogs don't like the feeling of biting down on rocks.

[FCspringer]

A trained retrieve program can help with hard mouth. Do some internet research on hard mouth cures.

This is your best approach. Force fetch and hold along with the trained retrieve is you best bet to manage it. It is hereditary, so you will not cure it completely most likely. But it can be better then what you have now. Dobbs method is the best.