Gun Dog Forum

Hey guys i went out today to try and introduce some birds to my pup and was trying to get him to retrieve and instead of bringing the bird back to me he decided to eat the darn thing. my question is will it just pass or will this be a problem. I shot the quail with 8 shot lead will the lead have any negative effects on the dog?
Thanks

Dog will be fine wouldn't worry about the lead. You may want to back off the retrieval of dead birds until the pup is older. I'm assuming the pup is not even a year old yet, better off to let them run and chase and find their own birds. Or if your buying quail only use good flyers and let them go. May want to look into good flying pigeons as they don't land back on the ground.

Which method are you using to train him? I don't know too many trainers that will be shooting birds over dogs at 4 months old. I'm hoping you were just using a previously shot bird. I would introduce him to LIVE flying birds. Not dead ones. The Perfect Start or other methods are good. I'd back off on the retrieval of dead birds - and I'd make sure he gets lots of good flying live birds that he cannot catch. Not bringing the bird back is a sign of an obedience fail - he doesn't know and understand "here" well enough. He should be on a checkcord so you can reel him in if he isn't trained on "here" yet.

the bird was previously shot from training a 1 yr old gsp. i just wanted to see if hed retrieve the bird; guess not lol. thanks for the tips though guys. i will definitely have him on a check chord before attempting that again. as for a method im just letting him see the bird and then releasing it so he can chase it and when hes far enough i shot a couple blank .22 rounds in the opposite direction from him. i cant really do allot with him since hes so young unfortunately.

How old is the dog ?
Only 4 months ?



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Yes you can do alot!
Puppy age is the FUN time. Don't rush the finishing touches cause now is the time for serious foundations. Building Love of exploring, drive, independence, bonding with you, learning about the world. You can let him romp around and gain confidence in the field, explore water, learn to swim, pounce through tall grass, woods, brush, hear frogs, watch grasshoppers and dragon flies etc... You can let him learn that being 50 yards away in the field is okay ( or 100 or many hundreds of yards if you want that range...) but teach him to watch for you and turn with you when you change directions. at 4 months he doesn't want to be alone too long so he will try to stay with you. Condition him to that. You can work on positive associations with "here" and build play retriever drive inside (check out Pat Nolan's video's on building play retrieving drive) You can take him to the kids soccer fields or other places where he can get to meet lots of strangers and have a good time so he won't bite the hunt test judges . Take him to a hunt test and let him romp around on CC and meet people who smell like horses and birds. YOu can start a puppy class, and teach him about greeting other dogs (ON LEASH AND CONTROLLED not the same as a dog park AT ALL). You can start teaching him to wait on a whoa for his food, by GENTLY restraining him until he stops stuggling and then giving a release tap on the head and letting him go eat. You can teach "hold" gently like Lorri Jolly does with her puppies. You can let them chase pigeons and good flying birds and do your best to avoid allowing the catching. Check cords are cumbersome to get used to but will be your best friend if you have limited bird access and the birds are questionable.

You are starting an adventure. Enjoy the ride! Don't try to jump to end cause the adventure is in the middle

There is going to be no harm from eating a bird.....I let all my pups have their way with a few birds......even feeding some bird parts to build desire.

For the Record he did retrieve the bird.....for himself. which is what most dogs will do at that age.....

Mountaindogs hit the nail on the head! Excellent advise for any puppy owner.

Doug

thanks guys for all the feed back its very appreciated. Mountainback, thanks allot for the advice, i have been taking him to allot of places like the forest preserve and just let him loose and let him be him. i have heard that while the dog is running and explore there should be very little commands from me and to just leave the dog alone. How true is this?

Pretty much true. A little "let's go" when you turn 180degrees or "heyhey" or YEP YEP... will cue the dog to look at you and change direction at that sound. BUT don't overdo it, mostly it's fun time for pup. Of course you have to watch to be sure you don't meet snakes and skunks and roads and barbed wire and such...