Retriever ain't

Tom
I have been training dogs now for over 40 years and I have always done my home work and got the dogs with the best genetics I could, I will also say at this stage that I have never had a dog that has failed me. I am not going to get into a argument reference the collers but I still hold the same view, I surpose if it was Tod he could put one on a flapping decoy and burn it. I may make jokes at times reference Tod and the flapping decoys but I do respect his views. Our training meathods here in the UK are some what different to what you guys train in the states and I think we take more time to train our dogs and enfercise more on the OB side of training. After Christmas I will be in the process of making a DVD on training my pup Amber and when it is done, Lou is going to put it on the furum for me so this should give everyone some idear the way we go about dog training here in the UK.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Try playing fetch with a tennis ball. The reward for giving it to you is another toss. Check out Robert Milner's Duck Hill Kennels web site, some great info there on this type of thing (the tennis ball thing is his method, not mine, and it works great). You don't have a big problem here, it just seems that way. Treat with a toss or food when you get the behavior you want(giving up the dummy or ball). A lot easier to reinforce the dog doing something correctly than to try and and "teach" it something. The dog will retrieve on its own, how you want it to retrieve is what you shape. Forget all of the correction stuff, you will just make it harder on yourself. Check out "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor and the clicker training methods. Take your time, your dog is young.
 
Greg
By doing that you you are going back to Square 1 and just creating another problem for yourself at a later stage, OB training from the start is the basis of all gundog training, thats why I surgested that kieth go,s back to the begining and start all over again with the training and enforce every command.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
The dog needs respect. How you get it is up to you. You are the boss. He is a companion and a hunting partner, but at the same time he is there to retreive for you. If not,you dont need him. I bought a collar, but I have not used it. I do however believe that some sort of force fetch training needs to be done. John
 
Somewhere along the line, a few of the kindergarten classes may have been bypassed--Training is a series of steps, which build both confidence in the owner and with the dog--The early ones, like sit, heel , come, and no MUST be thoroughly instilled before upper grades are even begun, and, when upper grades begin, you CANNOT neglect remedial work with the underclass teachings.
Might be good for both of you if you go back to basics, and discover where the perceived problem began.
At eleven months, the dog is still a pup, and this may be the best for both of you!
 
Retrieving is unnatural. We have modified their normal behavior to suit our needs. We achieve this by taking advantage of their natural prey drive, gregariousness, and willingness to please. When starting a pup retrieving how do you do it? You control the environment, so he can only return to you. You make a fuss over him, so that he thinks he's a big deal, the object isn't the reward, but bringing it to you is. You remove the retrieve object as unobtrusively as possible, so that he doesn't really realize it has happened. You continue doing that until he begins to think it is his idea. You eventually, modify his behavior, so that the greater reward is coming back to you.
Refusing to give up a retrieved object, can be a result of playfulness, or posessiveness, or anxiety. It can range from an annoyance, to "stickiness", to "freezing" on a bird. It can also result in "hardmouth".
My suggestion would be to suspend retrieving and solidify you OB, to the point, your dog is solid on and off lead. Re- introduce retrieves, using only objects that you can easily grasp (bumper, wood buck). When he returns from a retrieve, have him sit, quietly at your side before you making any attempt, to take the bumper. If you reach for it, and he shows any avoidance, do a short ob session right then, with the bumper in the mouth. If he avoids again, then press his gums against a tooth and remove the object. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
 
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