Soft Mouth

[mitch]

My GSP will be 2 in December. She has a VERY high prey drive, but a very soft mouth when it comes to retrieving birds. She won't grab a bird by the body, only by a wing or feather or other small part of the bird. When she brings a bird back she kind of flips it around like she's playing with it. If I try to place a bird's body in her mouth she'll hold it for a second or two, but then she just lets it fall out of her mouth.

I'm happy she's finding and retrieving birds, but I would like her to have a firm grasp on them in case it's a running rooster or something like that. I know she's still a pup and will probably get better with more experience, but if there's something I can do to help her along I'd like to give it a shot. If nothing else I'll be happy that she isn't bringing back chewed up birds.

[TylerS]

Force fetch her! If you go through a proper program, that will clear up a ton of retrieving problems.

My GWP had a pretty soft mouth to start...would occasionally drop bumpers and kinda held them with a limp jaw. Force fetching him solved all that, and then some. If he goes out to get a bird, bumper, soda can, shoe, or whatever I tell him to get, you better bet it's coming all the way back to me, is being presented at my side, and is being held until I tell him to release.

Again: FORCE FETCH