Lab Pup Retrieving Issue

[icefisker]

Hi guys-

We have a 5 month old black lab puppy who has become quite independent over the last week.

When we are training in the yard, she will sit and stay (she is very steady), release on command and sprint out and find the dummy, but over the last week, she will either refuse to bring the dummy back (she will come half way and then lay down and chew on it), or she will bring it back and then run around with it.

Until about a week ago, she would deliver gladly back to hand. Nothing else has changed. She has also quit responding to COME in general...

Do you have any tips on how to correct this? Is this just normal puppy stuff that will correct itself?

Please help!!! Thanks Guys.

[Ufatz]

Maybe you could take a shower?

No no-seriously; next time she stops with it turn around and walk away....right into the house if you can. Or when she lays down with it, do the same thing....walk or run away from her. Next time she DOES bring it back slowly back up and make her come those last few feet....keep on backing until she gets to you.

And this will go away with time. When she figures out that the FASTER she gets it back to you the QUICKER she'll get to go after it again. If she stars losing interest be sure to just STOP the lesson and go in the house.Ignore her.

She'll be fine.....don't worry too much about it.

The serious dog guys will jump in here too with good advice. This is not a lost cause situation.

[ESSGuy]

Go to a long check cord, when she stops coming in to you, pull her in to you. Let her know if she stops or messes around she will get pulled in anyways so she may as well do it right and get all that praise.

[bobberineyes]

Both of the above suggestions is a good place to start. The only downside to a check cord is it getting wrapped around there legs in the process of retrieving and you have to go to them anyhow to untangle them when you want them to come to you. Definitely try walking away when she lays down, if she continues to lay there chewing on it try a different fetch toy. My 7 month old loves the dummies but goes crazy after a rubber kong that bounces and goes every direction possible. You never know she might be doing a dominance stint on you.which is a whole different thing. Good luck

[Pherris]

I would reccomend getting a copy of Tom Dokkens Retriver Traing book. Many of his traing techniques can also be found on YouTube.

[Todd Caswell]

Normal puppy at that age , when they flip you the bird, a solid traing program is a must, FowlDawgs is a good start. As soon as you start a formal OB program with CC and FF this will all go away and you will have a solid dog NEXT fall..

[LABS4ME]

She is also most likely starting to teeth... Hence the laying down and chewing. Good point in development to not work on retrieves and really solidify obedience. You know she retrieves... That's not going anywhere... Work on getting her to comply to each obedience command over the next 4-6 weeks, then bring the retrieve back in to the fold.

Good Luck!

Ken

[icefisker]

Thanks for all of the tips guys. All good insight. This is my first pup, so every day is new I have been starting back with the basics/fundamentals and see where that takes us. I agree that basic manners and good habits is probably what we should be focusing on.

Also, for those that recommend ignoring the dog, do you just leave her with the dummy and walk away?

thanks again

[kingr]

One other thing to keep in mind. I am still on my first dog and one mistake I made was only training in the yard or a maintained lot. My dog is now 7 and he still hunt's with his eyes first, nose second. Granted my lab was a $250 dog, but I place most of the blame on myself by not properly growing his instincts.

[TylerS]

Remember, too, that pups have pretty darn short attention spans. Not sure how long your training sessions are at this point, but I'd keep them under 10-15 minutes, and always end on a positive note. Always.

[icefisker]

Yeah I definitely keep the lessons short. I let her tell me how its going to go. I have been working on the basics and back to some short retrieves. I dont hunt all that much anyway, so my main focus is having a well mannered pup.

My boss has had a lot of labs over the years, so he has been a good resource as well.

[sdsu_jacks]

Teething for sure! Let up on the retrieves for a couple weeks.

[icefisker]

Yeah poor thing has been bleeding and drooling a lot! Have cut back on the retrieves and worked on manners. Thanks.