retraining a chessie - not really duck related

Rocky S

Rocky S

Member
I have a 5 year old female chessie and up until this year I also had a german shorthair. When I would go pheasant hunting I usually hunted alone and would take the chessie along to retrieve and track wounded birds. Her modus operandi has been to walk with me until the GSP points, then she will rush in to flush the bird and make the retrieve. If I knocked a bird down but can't find it she has always done a good job of "hunt dead".

This year I had to put the GSP down, a month shy of her 15th birthday. (I cried like a baby for 2 weeks) Since I never took the GSP duck/goose hunting with us, nothing has changed there; but, the difference is pheasant hunting. We have gone out 3 or 4 times this year, each time with 2 other dogs (a young GSP and a lab), and the chessie has changed the way she hunts. She no longer walks with me, which is fine, but it is almost like she is competing with the other dogs to find birds. Here is the problem: she refuses to "hunt dead", she has no interest in tracking.

I am planning on "retraining" her this off-season. I am eager for suggestions! can you teach an old dog a trick she already knows?
 
Rocky,

The first thing I would do is to hunt her buy herself - NOT with other dogs. Get her past the competition stuff on back on track with what she knows to do. My chessie, Otto, is a great pheasant dog (he even points) but he shines the best when he is in control of the field of fire and doesn't have the distractions of other dogs. Your dog will come around once she understands that you are relying on only her.

Good Luck.
 
I agree with Pete, in my opinion Chessies are usually best hunted alone. My Chesapeake is a great upland and waterfowl dog too but when other dogs are around it really brings out their competitive streak, especially if there are other males around. We usually have a much better day afield if he is the only dog out there.
 
rocky, pete is giving you good advice. I will not hunt 2 dogs together until their fairly sound in their training. Dogs start or pickup bad habits easley so give your dog a chance to work on own, then try to hunt together rich
 
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