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Training puppies

634 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Alaska7133 
#1 ·
Yesterday we went to Potter Marsh at the south end of Anchorage. The weather was warm about 30 and sunny. A wonderful winter day. The snow wasn't super deep and we could trudge through pretty easily. We had a new 10 month old boy pup and a new 6 year old girl. It's always interesting to introduce new dogs and puppies to bumpers and birds to see how they will react. These new 2 were not too much into the birds. They did ok retrieving bumpers though. I thought they would all be interested in birds immediately, but no, we had to really work at getting them interested in pigeons.

My Lucy and Reilly are really enjoying the birds. Reilly is 5 now. He has completely lost interest in bumpers. He would run to the bumper and once he realized what it was, he'd run back to me. Gosh mom why would you have someone throw something dumb like that? We tried several times and no go. So back in the vehicle he went. Pulled out Lucy and she was just fine with the bumpers, but not as good on re-calls as she should have been. We didn't get to do doubles, her re-call was just not as good as it should have been.

Later that morning we switched to birds. My dogs were over the top excited. Reilly is very patience behind the line. He just sits and pops his jaws and shakes while he's in the blind. He runs through the cover as if there was nothing there. He's great at taking a direct line. I had a little trouble convincing him to come back quickly. He was thinking about where he could go with the bird away from us people. I think it's time for the e-collar. It's amazing watching him, you would never think he's got super bad elbows. It made me sad watching him and wondering why I never started him hunting when he was younger, he's really missed out on a lot.

Lucy is 8 months old. She's all about the birds. But she has one tough problem though, she has decided to go around the cover to get the bird. So she looses the mark. Darn. She just started this behavior she's never done this before.

Lucy's brother Barney did ok. He's just not about the birds. He'll retrieve bumpers wonderfully, but he's just not that interested in birds. He just couldn't get ahold of a duck so we had to put him on pigeons, even then he would just grab a wing and drag it. Not so good.

So here are my questions for the day.
1. How do you get a new dog/puppy interested in birds when they are not really interested in picking them up or carrying them around?
2. How do I get Reilly interested in bumpers again? Is it over, do I just switch completely to ducks?
3. How do I get Lucy to run through the cover and not be such a priss?

The photo is some of the people and dogs in our group.
 

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#2 ·
1. Try a live pigeon would be best. You can also tease and play around with it. Maybe have them watch another dog want the bird. Just remember, the goal is to end the game with the pup showing interest. Don't try so hard that the pup gains, then loses interest.

2. It isn't over, and he should be retrieving bumpers because you won't always want to use birds. I would try playing with them like above to develop interest. If you are going to force fetch that will help--but should not be done until after the dog likes the game.

3. Set-up scenarios where she cannot go around the cover to get the mark. Build the expectation from there.
 
#3 ·
For the cover issue I would also do some work where the retrieve object is IN cover. Encourage her to think of it as a place where the birds can be found and she will dive in more eagerly. Then balance it by putting the bird beyond the cover so she has to drive through. But if she is thinking cover=birds that will help her to get over the cheatin' thing! Once she has more skills, a no-no drill is also good for teaching this lesson. But it is really for a dog that is already marking and advancing well in training.
 
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