[puppydogs]

My baby is now 8mos old and her prey drive has definitely kicked in. It's her breed and we can't blame her for it. I am still working on recall training and boy is it tough

So today, she CAUGHT her first bird!! I really did not think she could but the bird was slow. Luckily she only tossed it around and there was no blood. We waited and checked on the lil guy and it got up and walking, lil dazed.

This was definitely an eye opener on the fact that she can get so focused and ignore me completely. Pretty scary.

Any suggestions on teaching her to COME, LEAVE IT, and DROP IT 100% of the time? we're at about 50% right now :curtain:

 

[Orchid]

Practice, practice and more practice. That is the only thing that you can do. And till the recall is 100%, maybe you can have her on a long lease? You can let her explore but it will be easier to catch hold of the lease if she becomes all focussed again on things other than you . Good luck! She sounds like a great companion to have.

 

[Willow52]

My baby is now 8mos old and her prey drive has definitely kicked in. It's her breed and we can't blame her for it. I am still working on recall training and boy is it tough

So today, she CAUGHT her first bird!! I really did not think she could but the bird was slow. Luckily she only tossed it around and there was no blood. We waited and checked on the lil guy and it got up and walking, lil dazed.

This was definitely an eye opener on the fact that she can get so focused and ignore me completely. Pretty scary.

Any suggestions on teaching her to COME, LEAVE IT, and DROP IT 100% of the time? we're at about 50% right now :curtain:

Hard to believe, isn't it! My Maggie (RIP) was a great mouser, better than our cat.

 

[Jige]

Like the above poster said PRACTICE!!! Dont wait until she is fixated on a subject as you are walking and she is sniffing around tell her to "leave it" and call her back to you. You can then let her roam abit more and after about 1-2 minutes tell her again to "leave it" and come. Make sure you PRAISE her good very time. Even if she only looks at you when you say leave it. tell her she is a good girl " leave it" and come. I find it is best to work on leave it through out the day. I will even drop something on the floor and if my dogs run up to I tell them to " leave it" and if they look at me I praise and pick the item back up. You can do this in any room of the house out on the deck on your own walks.

 

[luvbuzz]

I practiced the "leave it command" with lots of different items. I wish I could brag that we were 100% but not true. Was successful when we encountered a skunk...unsuccessful when Buzz found a dead groundhog on the road. He decided to roll all over it. I was in a panic. That could have been horrible if a car was coming. Smell was pretty bad afterwards...I had to ride home with him!!!!

 

[BriGuy]

Someone on the forum (sorry I can't remember who) said recently to practice "Come" at least 10 times a day. Many repetitions make the command more automatic for the dog. Cookie's recall has gotten a lot more reliable since I started doing that.

 

[FinnTastic]

I practiced the "leave it command" with lots of different items. I wish I could brag that we were 100% but not true. Was successful when we encountered a skunk...unsuccessful when Buzz found a dead groundhog on the road. He decided to roll all over it. I was in a panic. That could have been horrible if a car was coming. Smell was pretty bad afterwards...I had to ride home with him!!!!

Sorry, this made me giggle. I couldn't imagine rolling on a dead groundhog. I too would of panicked. I have no suggestions for the OP

 

[Angelina]

She caught a wild bird? Is she a field golden? Can you post a picture of her? Was it here in SF? (Don't let the rangers see you, they are dog unfriendly as it is!). Would love to know more!

My red field golden does not hunt, just retrieves. My blond beauty queen hunts lizards. I didn't know they could catch a wild bird!

 

[ashleylp]

The only time I have ever felt that Remy wouldn't come back was the one time a bird decided to play with him (fly away just a bit at a time to tease him...) and Remy was hot on the chase. Luckily his training kicked in and right before he got out of my eyesight he came back when I called. Scary experience!

 

[OutWest]

Have you considered giving her some field training? I've not done it myself, but I would think it would include dropping things on command. Since she has a strong prey drive, perhaps you should harness that and work with it.

 

[ozzy'smom]

I have a hard time gettting Ozzy to drop things once he's got them. He'll "leave it" OK if I get to him before it's in his mouth but once it's in his mouth her doesn't want to give it up. I was recently running around after him in the yard in my pajamas when he found a dead bird. I was screaming at him to drop it and he thought it was a great game (and that I had lost my mind). He didn't want to give it up and I did NOT want him to swallow it. I am trying to practice it as much as I can now.

 

[puppydogs]

I practiced the "leave it command" with lots of different items. I wish I could brag that we were 100% but not true. Was successful when we encountered a skunk...unsuccessful when Buzz found a dead groundhog on the road. He decided to roll all over it. I was in a panic. That could have been horrible if a car was coming. Smell was pretty bad afterwards...I had to ride home with him!!!!

Yeah and I"m sure you didn't want to touch it!! LOL. that's how I felt. The prey instinct is just sooo strong. Good luck to you too in staying away from other rodents

 

[puppydogs]

The only time I have ever felt that Remy wouldn't come back was the one time a bird decided to play with him (fly away just a bit at a time to tease him...) and Remy was hot on the chase. Luckily his training kicked in and right before he got out of my eyesight he came back when I called. Scary experience!

Wow, that is awesome! So you're training worked!! What's the secret to your success?

 

[puppydogs]

Have you considered giving her some field training? I've not done it myself, but I would think it would include dropping things on command. Since she has a strong prey drive, perhaps you should harness that and work with it.

I haven't looked into field training, not sure if there's a facility around here or if that's just something I need to research. Thanks for the tip though. We are working on DROP ITs now

 

[puppydogs]

She caught a wild bird? Is she a field golden? Can you post a picture of her? Was it here in SF? (Don't let the rangers see you, they are dog unfriendly as it is!). Would love to know more!

My red field golden does not hunt, just retrieves. My blond beauty queen hunts lizards. I didn't know they could catch a wild bird!

It was in the south bay, and no she's not a field golden. Sounds like something I should research!

 

[ashleylp]

It worked, but I still wouldn't say that we are at 100% by any means. My trainer had my boyfriend and I stand about 10 feet apart indoors and call Remy back and forth, treating him when he came. We increased that distance and eventually moved outdoors. We started training him on "come" at about 3 months... And up until recently I made sure I had a treat on me and treate him EVERY TIME he came to me at the park, etc. we just started taking away the treats (treating every 5th time or so) and it seems to be working. Of course, Remy is about the most food motivated pup you can imagine.

However, we have had great luck because he not only comes when called, if we have a treat he is VERY willing to drop it at my feet to get a treat! So although I wish he would drop things in my hand (oh, to dream) I can still say that I am very happy with the results we have so far!

Like I said, we are not 100%. My trainer emphasized that Remy is going to go to whatever is "best" to him in the moment... And if we are not the best things, he WILL go elsewhere. I can look like an idiot jumping up and down at the park to get him to come (but at least I'm not the one chasing my dog in circles... Right?) Anyway, practice practice practice and enthusasim! Use whatever lure your dog loves and use it all the time in the beginning. Remove it slowly but remember to still treat fairly often if you want to keep it solid. That's my advice!!!

 

[bioteach]

Nugget caught a young dove around the same age. He brought it to me because he normally retrieves golf balls (we live on a course with really bad golfers) and is used to a treat in exchange. Unbelievably, the dove was wet and mad but not hurt.

Nugs has moved on to rabbits which he cannot seem to catch (thank goodness). It sounds as though your guy is just being a normal golden.