gsp wont retrive

[Thump68]

my gsp now 14 months old is good at pointing an all the commands necessary. but when it comes to retrieving a dead or half alive bird she wont pick it up an bring it too me. any advice on how to fix the problem. FF? thanks in advance

[4dabirds]

Yes force retrieve will fix it. I used this video as a guide http://www.georgehickox.com/about_georg ... x_dvd.html pointing dog 1-4 it works great. Keep in mind that you will need to put some pressure on the dog and some people are not able to follow through . If you are one of those people let a pro do it for you.

[landonman]

You was given the absolute correct answer. pick the right trainer landonman

[Thump68]

thanks 4dabirds guess she just needed some positive reinforcement she brought back a couple the other day during training but when she run up on them to get them she pulls alot of feathers off then picks it up an comes back to me.

[Rockstar]

Force Fetch will solve this.
Recommend a Pro or expeienced dog guy. NAVHDA is a great place for this.

You can also work positively and command 'HOLD' then 'drop' and reward with treats.
Its not force but very low strees, and may work for what you want it to. Slowly increase hold times and graduate to walking with holding.

Good luck

[DonF]

thanks 4dabirds guess she just needed some positive reinforcement she brought back a couple the other day during training but when she run up on them to get them she pulls alot of feathers off then picks it up an comes back to me.

Throw dead birds for her but keep her on a check cord max 25'. Soon as she get's to the bird and touch's it, pull her off and back to you. It'll probably take some time as she's got away with a lot to this point. When i used to train, I used that method soon as I got the dog's on the ground, makes them snap up the bird faster.

[ultracarry]

Dinking around with the bird before you get it back is another reason to have it FF'd. It isn't all about the fetch BTW.......

[Thump68]

thanks donF sounds like a good idea. yeh im trying to make it fun for her an make her bring it back but sometimes she just picks it up drops it an then trys to find more birds where i planted them! gonna try that method today

[Doc E]

Properly done Force Fetch is your answer.



.

[magspa]

try walking away from her as soon as she picks it up so she will want to follow you and wont have time to mes around.

[will-kelly]

It seems to be the answer that everyone has but I find it to be so strange that someone can make this assumption without the full information or ever seeing the dog.

I will talk about my own experience and you can do with it what you want.

I have a Vizsla(18 months) from an outstanding line. She too did all of the commands like your GSP but would not retrieve a bird. She would retrieve a tennis ball, a hockey puck and anything else that I would challenge her to retrieve...except for a bird. She would lick them pull off a few feathers but never retrieve.

I called Ben Garcia who was gracious enough to give me advice. I called Ronnie Smith who also was gracious to give me advice. I took her to the Vizsla club I belong to and Daniel Burjan gave me some advice. The one common thread was that they all said it's a confidence thing...she's doing well...back off on the training and make it fun for her she's young. So I decided to just hunt her.

Her first cockbird, a cripple, in November she stood on top of and let out a weird sounding bark. The next time out she repeated the same with a Hen and a Cock both where downed and not living. Each time she got a little more mouthy and you could see her excitement, which I now realize was confidence, grow. Birds 4 through 7 I walked up and immediately took away. No more standing and no more licking.

Bird number 8 I walked in the opposite direction and called her to bring it to me. (magspa's approach) As I turned around to see what her response was she was in a full trot with a crippled cockbird in her mouth. Smiling and confident as was I.

All of these birds where on PA State Game Lands.

In her first season she has pointed, chased, and made tons of mistakes. She still hunts with her eyes more than her nose but the nose is beginning to take over. The point is solid and the retrieve is to hand. We have 30+ pheasants with only 8 from a hunting preserve.

My reason for this post is not to criticize the Force Fetch Club but to point out that building a dog's confidence will do more for your hunting companion than force fetch ever will. Force fetch is done for the owner. Not for the dog. A soft dog may need a different approach. Remember they are pack animals. They look for direction from the leader. They will perform their task in the pack once they understand and are confident in what they are doing. Force Fetch is just a technique to do something that will maybe come naturally once given the right instruction and right amount of time.

[Trekmoor]

I don't train F.F. so when I get this sort of problem with a dog I'm training the first thing I usually try ,provided the dog has already done this exercise with dummies, is to let the dog see me place a dead bird out on short grass then walk away with the dog , on lead if neccessary, then send it 60 to 100 yards back for the bird as a memory retrieve. The distance between me and the dog as it reaches the bird makes the dog a bit anxious to get back to me because I will move even further away or hide from time to time during this kind of retrieve. Very often the dog will begin to nuzzle the bird then hear my recall whistle and with a wee bit of luck it picks up the bird and hurries back to me with it just as fast as it can.

Bill T.

[Thump68]

thanks guys yeh i think it was just a confidence thing as she would pick the dead bird up i would walk away an blow the whistle to come. she started coming but without the bird so did it couple more times,then she eventually picked it up an ran right back to me an dropped the bird. it was awesome !! i also was doin this in shorter grass seemed easier for her to grab it or something, or maybe she saw me easier. either way shes starting to get the hang of it an its getting alot more fun every time we go out to train. she likes doin it now an im glad the training an long hrs are starting to pay off. hopefully in a couple months she will be in tip top shape to tackle an bird hunt i venture on thanks again guys for all the help