Retrieving Multiple Birds/Following a line

[Bondo]

I have been working with my 3 yr old lab (15 mins at time during the heat) attempting to get her to follow a line. I have been doing the baseball diamond approach and throwing one bumper to 3rd and one to 1st. She is having a hard time focusing on one bumper at a time. She stays until I send her then starts running for the 2nd bumper I threw, she will then go off mark and remember the 1st bumper and start running towards that. Basically she can't make up her mind and which bumper she wants to retrieve. She is normally a good listener and I rarely have to use her e-collar. Any suggestions?

[LABS4ME]

Why confuse her with two? When teaching lines you usually set the drill to go to a single pile of bumpers at first. Have the dog walk with you to the pile when you set them out, walk her back to your side and send her back to the pile for the 5-6 bumpers one at a time. Once you have that down pat, ste the 5-6 bumpers out in a long row say over 30-40 yards (+/- 5 yrds between bumpers), send her out to get those. I usually do this in little to no cover, just to get them to understand the concept of running a line. Once you have that down you can start doing t's, double t's, baseball patterns, walking t's, walking baseball etc. etc. (after you teach the over and back commands too). Get a good book on running drills and patterns and the proper technique to do so. One good book, though getting old and I think out of print, is "Training Retrievers to Handle" by D.L. Walters. Find a copy and buy. It will give you the whole scope of what is needed to finish a dog off in training how to handle.

Good Luck!

Ken

[superfish2]

I just picked up a copy of the smart works books by evan grahm and they are really good for handling and lining.

[duckbuster]

Just touching on what LABS said. You have to identify the pile first.

I would do it similiar to LABS with one change. Sit the dog down and walk about 10 yards in front of him. Drop a dozen or so bumpers all the while saying dead, dead bird. Now walk back to your dog, put your hand down in front of her and say dead bird, back. While she is going to this bird step back another 10 yards and repeat. Work your way back away from the pile until all the bumpers have been picked up.

Repeat this for sometime until you feel the dog has the concept down then move on to your next step.

GOOD LUCK

[Bondo]

Thanks, I appreciate the advice!