Retrieving ?

[Fins_n_fur]

My 1 year old lab does great retrieving, but when I reach for the dummy he ducks his head. Is there a good way to correct this behavior?

[duckbuster]

I would like to touch on some of what labs said. The dog dipping his head like that I would ask this. Have you dropped your hand down on him to correct for something in the past? Do you think it's a flinching thing?

Labs how is your friends dog doing in Texas?

[Fins_n_fur]

He's dropping his head as to keep it from me... He's not flinching.

Thanks Labs, I'll give that a try.

[LABS4ME]

Some of the basics part of the conditioned retrieve is to teach the commands "fetch", "hold", and "drop". To do so, sit the dog in front of you, place your fingers over the top of his muzzle and say "fetch". Put the dummy in his mouth, and say "hold", as you let go of his muzzle. He should now be holding the dummy in his mouth, you can re-inforce the "hold" command by lightly tapping his chin up to keep his muzzle level or slightly elevated. Put your hand on the dummy and say "drop". Do not let him release the dummy without the command "drop". Over time he should fetch without you opening his mouth, hold when told to do so (eventually you no longer say this command) and deliver on the command drop. Keep lengthing the time of the hold, and the time you place your hand on the dummy to the command drop. This is only the basics of the conditioned retrieve or force fetch. The entire process is a little more in depth and involves some negative re-inforcement and making the completion of every retrieve a must do for the dog. I've seen many hunting dogs who have just been taught the process as I've described it and they have had little problems. Without seeing your dog, I'm not sure if he's dipping his head to try and keep the dummy away from you, or if he's going to drop it at your feet (you don't want him to develop this habit), or if he's lacking confidence when completing a retrieve. For now, do the process with him just sitting in a quiet area (garage, basement etc.) with no disturbances. Resume throwing the dummy as he grasps what you want him to do.

Good Luck! Labs