Dog does not want to bring geese back

[Sergio M]

I have a 2 year old female chocolate lab and she weighs 55 lbs. She will not bring geese back on land. Last year she brought back about 40-45 ducks and 1 goose on water. My buddy crippled a goose and I sent my dog out to find it in the weeds. She found it and then the goose swam out of the weeds into the middle of the pond so I shot the goose. I sent her out and she brought back the goose but when she brought it back she dropped it when she got to land, stood over it and waited for me to come and get it. This year I've taken her out 6-7 times field goose hunting, she marks the birds as they fall but when she is sent out to get them she will just stand over them or if it is a crippled bird she will just jump on it and wait for me to come. I took her out for the Youth duck hunt and she brought back 8 ducks which 3 of them were cripples, with no problems at all. Just wondering if my dog is just too small to retrieve geese on land? Is there anything I can do to persuade her to retrieve geese on land?

[Jimmy from Cottage Grove]

I don't know a lot about dog traiing. I am in the process of training my first springer puppy. So it's kind of a first time for me. I don't think that she is too small. I know the place where I got my puppy from. They use there springers for goose hunting. And springers only weigh 35 to 50 pounds.

[farggingicehole]

It's not the size, she probably got wacked in the side of the head by the wing of the first cripple "Would you pick another one up?" Force fetching is a good way to go (See other thread). Less expensive "expirement" would be buying a Dokken Goose Dummy, get the pup used to a large heavier object in his/her mouth. Thorw that a few times and see what happens.

[HunterLee]

My lab is the same way. For the most part she don't like the heavy geese to bring in. She brings in crippled ducks and other birds on land, and in the water she brings back everything including geese that are beating on her. I like to have her with to chase down the cripped runners, but once in a while she brings one back on land, i think her problem is getting a good grip on the birds, as she sometimes mouths the bird to get a grip but loses it and gives up. So I just kinda let it go.

[JDM]

I had a 55 lb female that retrieved many large geese on land and in water. She was a force fetched retriever.

Your dog probably had a bad experience with geese and won't forget it. If your dog has not been forced, you don't have the training base to implement a fast fix. Assuming that is the situation, I suggest you get your hands on a dead goose and set up a training scenario to get her retrieving them again. Start with short distances, be very enthusiastic, and praise her heavily when she does it right. Try to keep the sessions short in duration (3 to 4 retieves) and ALWAYS try to end on a positive note, even if that means stopping after two retrieves. Multiple short training sessions each day are often better than one long one.

[LovenLifeGuy]

I used a dokken goose dummy and it seemed to work well. My lab is about 59 lbs and he figured out how get a good grip on it. He has retrieved about 20 geese during the early season and has only had trouble getting hold on a few, but he did get it done. He is force fetched and giving up is not an option! Its a great tool!

LovenLifeGuy