Dog wont retrieve ducks

[retriever wont]

I'll admit I did just about everything wrong that I could with my lab. I started him late etc etc... I don't need the worlds greatest duck dog just a dog that will retrieve singles. Worked extensively with a bumper and had no problems, he'll retrieve every time. Attached a duck wing to bumper to make it more realistic and he'll still retrieve. Took a frozen duck, no fresh available, and he'll bring that every time. The season opened today. The dog was excited for the birds and I was excited. Got to the first puddle I was jumping, downed a bird, sent the dog into the water and he had a great swim. Didn't bother with the duck at all. Never even came within 10 yards of the thing. So my question is, can I fix this problem (he is very bird motivated) or is he retired at 2 yrs and 4 mos of age to be the family pet?

[gonehuntin']

He's a hunting dog and has to be trained as such. I suggest you get Fowl Dawgs 1 & 2 and follow them.

[Munster]

Did he see the bird go down? Is he force fetched? All is not lost, just sounds like he needs more work! Maybe work him on fresh killed ducks for a bit, If the season opened you shouldnt have ab=ny probs finding some.

[Ruffshooter]

If he is bird motivated then I would do a NAVHDA thing. Wing tape or wing clip a live duck set it loose in a small farm pond and let him have at it. This should light his fire. Use any duck even the white ones, (maybe not the Muskoviy) The other stuff will come along as you train. He needs to know what a bird is and the fun involved. If he won't chase the duck then the only thing that I think will work is Forced fetch, which you should do anyway next spring. Also, get into a blind and hunt so he can see the ducks coming in, shoot em. No need to give up. He will do it. He does not really know what to do right now. Bumpers and wings are not birds.

[adogslife]

Looked as though he may have blinked the duck.

Did you introduce fresh killed duck retrieves on land and water before this? You may have had high expectations for his first time.

adogslife

[snips]

If he is bird motivated then I would do a NAVHDA thing. Wing tape or wing clip a live duck set it loose in a small farm pond and let him have at it. This should light his fire. Use any duck even the white ones, (maybe not the Muskoviy) The other stuff will come along as you train. He needs to know what a bird is and the fun involved. If he won't chase the duck then the only thing that I think will work is Forced fetch, which you should do anyway next spring. Also, get into a blind and hunt so he can see the ducks coming in, shoot em. No need to give up. He will do it. He does not really know what to do right now. Bumpers and wings are not birds.

This is right on. A duck chase should get him going, after a chase shoot the duck for him. He should figure it out then.

[retriever wont]

The dog was, to the best of my knowledge trained to force fetch. I did pay a 'professional' trainer to work with him and she claims that he's been trained to force fetch. She abandoned training him after a month because he was too stubborn. I think she just had to work at it too hard. Where can I order some live ducks? I'm in BC, Canada so having them shipped cross border is probably out of the question. Another thought, is it possible that the bird went down too far away from him? He will blind retrieve the dummy at 30 yds but haven't tried anything beyond that.

Thanks again

[Ruffshooter]

RW:If you can not get ducks, I really think if you can get in a blind with your dog and hunt, hunt, hunt, he will catch on. Mybe even on some jump shooting if he sees the duck go down. You can also throw a rock or something out near the duck to get your dog in the area. As far as ducks go, see if you have any type of agricultural auctions there. We have them here and can get most any kind of animal cheap. Or go to your local agricultural store and ask around for ducks, they probablly seel feed to some one with ducks.

Your dog only got to see one duck? Maybe not used to marking ended up on the down wind side.

[bmacinok]

Force fetch. Your dog has to know that when you send him out he can't come back without a duck/bird/baseball/set of keys/whatever. I know you said he was "force fetched" but unless you can consistently make him fetch anything and everything, multiple times, there will be times when he might not want to retrieve.

bm

[retriever wont]

Update: Took the dog out again today to do some jump shooting. He went 2 for 2. YIPPIE. neither bird was more than 15 yds away and I did need to throw a couple of rocks to induce him to the area. He was rough with the first duck. I figure he thought it was a toy. I praised the retrieve and didn't scold the damage to the bird. Second duck he retrieved like a pro. No damage or gnawing the bird. Went to the boat launch and tossed the bird for him a few more times to reinforce the behavior. My question now is, can I and should I use that same duck to reinforce the retrival behavior for the next few days (just in case I don't shoot anything)? The duck is in a ziploc in the fridge not in the freezer.

Thanks again

[Ruffshooter]

Congrats: You have a duck dog. Just hunt him this fall and the fire will get bigger and bigger. Read about the forced fetch methods, find a pro to do it for you come winter or spring and you will have some of the best hunts for the life of the dog. You could learn your self with the full help of a pro.

It is amazing how their instincts will take over if you let them. Good job.

Rick

[adogslife]

You can't rely on a dog that will not expand the seach or take a cast.
I like the first response to your OP.

[Ruffshooter]

Right now is hunting season. You don't do anything to an untrained dog to knock down its enthusiam to hunt.. You may have noticed the dog is now picking up ducks, which it did not do before.

I am not backing off my stance that the dog needs to learn to be independent, via, duck search or chase and it should be ff, just right now he can hunt his dog and may on occasion need to help the dog or even go get the duck. But now enjoy watch, let the dog learn, he may get that cripple that the dog marks down and chases or can be directed to with a rock or something thrown and the dog will learn. The formal stuff can wait until after the season. The drive will be increased by hunting which will make the rest of the training better to a degree.

[retriever wont]

Another update: Went out again today. Crippled a duck (not intentionally) and let the dog go. He bee-lined for the duck (I think the movement caught his attention) he swam half the puddle (35 yds, his longest retrieve yet) before he caught the duck. Brought it back no problem. Held it until I commanded him to 'drop it'. After this he gave the duck a few sniffs but when I tried to get him to hold it again he wasn't at all interested in the bird. Is this normal, good, or bad? He was interested in the other live ducks during the rest of the shoot but not in anything he retrieved. I apologize for dragging this thing out but I'm beginning to realize just how far out of my league I really am.

Thanks again.

[Ruffshooter]

What you are experiencing now is the Dependability issue that was mentioned earlier. Many dogs will refuse a command if there is no enforcement and the training is not complete. That is why, when you are ready, you will do the formal retriever training. The hold, fetch, simple blinds, single and double marks. The FF is the basis of this. I just noticed, you mentioned that you thought your dog was ff. If so there are maintence drills you can do.

Gone Huntin or Evan Gram or others can get you through some of these. Other wise, if it were me I would start at the begining with the ff. But as I stated I would wait after hunting season to do that training.

Now, he made a good 35 yard retrieve, (did the duck swim around or just twitch), brought the duck back, held it until you commanded drop. Sounds great. Then you wanted to see if he would hold the duck a second time. How was you going to enforce your command to hold? If you do not know, then you should not make a command you can not or do not know how to enforce.

Can you find out who trained your dog? If so find out if they have a good reputation and find out what he did to train the commands and how he enforced the command. Other wise enjoy the season,during evenings and after hunting season, learn how to train via the video that GH or Evan Gram mentioned and make a plan to train, for after hunting season. You should not TRAIN, ff during hunting season, if you are hunting your dog.

Did this make sense? I am trying to keep up with what is happening as you hunt and keep you focused on what to do and understand what to do when the season is over. If you find out who the trainer was you can use his enforcement tools for compliance if he is reputable and your dog was definately ff trained and it was truly completed. (I don't think it was, in which case I would just hunt and cheat as you need to get your birds back.

Please keep in mind this is what I would do and am not seeing with my eyes what is happening and the attitude of the dog.

GH, Evan if you see this, please don't worry about stepping on my toes. I am thinking hunt now train later.

Good luck.
Rick