Dog advice wanted

[lurkingwalter]

Hi guys,

My wife and I adopted a dog from the local humane society a little over two weeks ago. She is 1 year old and part lab and part Chesapeake. I have been working with her quite a bit and she has sit, down, and stay pretty much figured out. The problem I have been having is when playing fetch with her outside she won’t bring the dummy/ball back to me, she comes close to me and takes off running like I should be chasing her. Obviously I want her to bring it back to me and I am not sure what to do. The last time I just tied her to a long rope and threw it and when she came back by my I would tell her to come and if she didn’t I would step on the rope and she would flip over and then I would tell her come as I pulled her over to me.

The other problem is that she won’t drop and I am not sure how to teach a dog this old how to drop. I have been just grabbing her top jaw and forcing her mouth open but she holds onto it real hard and I am not getting anywhere with the drop command.

Any advice on either of these issues would be appreciated.

[smackem33]

The rope will work just keep at it. For the drop command grab the dummy with one hand say drop and pinch the ear. There ears are sensitive and won’t like it one bit. My lab is six now and drops ducks no problem but he must really like rooster stink cause he doesn’t like letting them go, but now all I got to do is touch his ear if he isn’t listening

Your down! Your down!!! Just kidding

[sandys18]

Don’t be surprised if the dog is a family dog and not a hunting dog. Not having it from a pup and being a rescue it might not turn out to be a hunter. Not being mean or slamming you, just never know what the dog has been though. I have yet to see a good hunting dog that is a rescue. I’m sure there out there and I will get jumped for saying it but that is from my experience. I hope it does work out the best though.

[lurkingwalter]

Thanks for the replies!

If she does end up being a family dog that’s fine with me. This dog was for my wife more so than for me to hunt with. We plan on getting a lab puppy within the next year or two that will be my hunting dog. That said, I still want to make sure to teach her the basics and be able to play fetch with her, she is a retriever so it should be in her blood to do at least that much.

[Kato]

Ive trained several labs though out the years and your problems are normal even for a pup.

1) Find a good book on training retrievers ….years ago there was a great book by James Lambfree….not sure on the name exactly

2) After throwing the dummy keep running away until the dog catches up to you then grab the dummy and praise the heck out her. Many repetitions and then they come to hand.

3) Drop command …when you grab the dummy pinch the upper lips down on her teeth as you grab the dummy. Easier IMHO than trying to pinch the ears. Pinch down hard enough and she will squeal but she will also open her mouth and drop.

Have fun and don’t work the dog for too long of a period of time like 15-20min a day. The more praise the happier the dog will be and the faster she should learn.

[snow]

Good info and very true,40yrs here as well with gun dogs,training tips change over the years,good book or training your retriever dvd is even better,take what info is there and use at your own discretion,nothing better than a well trained pup.In my old age I also went to a training collar on my current pup,helps with the pups selective memory and hearing in the field.Watching my dog work is what its all about for me,birds in the bag are a bonus.

[lurkingwalter]

Thank you!

I have read the book “Gun Dog” its an old book probably at least 20 years old but there is some good info in there, it just isn’t very good at describing how to correct behaviors imo. I also have Dokkens retriever training book that I am about half way through. the dokkens book seems to be a little better at describing things because there are a lot more and better pictures.

[Anonymous]

Our vizsla is about to be 2 and still does this 99% of the time. Even though he has graduated 4 levels of obedience school, 2 levels twice! We are going for the good canine citizenship award. We do use a buzz/shock collar sometimes while playing catch, using the buzz to drop it, and it works well. But my theory is that I shouldn’t have to have the collar on, outside, in a fenced in yard, to play fetch every time. And I know some dogs are just stubborn as hell! Thanks for the replies everyone, keep em coming. And good luck.

[bottlebass]

One thing to consider is to not try and take the dummy from the dog. They may consider that part of the “chase me” game. Put your hand on it and if they don’t release on command pinch the ear or the upper lips to get them to release then praise. Depending on your dog sometimes “over praising” can work quite well in the begging to get them really excited. Some dogs just get too excited then so don’t do that. And then consistently do that every time. Eventually it will just happen.

Also make sure not to push the dog so hard that they no longer like playing fetch! Take it slow. Dog has been set in their ways already and it will take some time to change it.

[Shortline]

For the drop command, I have used a trick that an old pro gainer taught me. When yu grab the dummy/bird/ball etc, with your other hand take two fingers and gently lift on that flap of skin between the rear leg and the stomach….upward pressure on that is not associated with anything negative in emir mouth, and causes no pain. It does, however, totally distract them for an instant and they will turn towards the feeling and open their mouth. Several reps and it’ll be second nature for them to drop……

It's better to be in the boat with a drink on the rocks than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.......

[Kato]

Shortline wrote:
For the drop command, I have used a trick that an old pro gainer taught me. When yu grab the dummy/bird/ball etc, with your other hand take two fingers and gently lift on that flap of skin between the rear leg and the stomach….upward pressure on that is not associated with anything negative in emir mouth, and causes no pain. It does, however, totally distract them for an instant and they will turn towards the feeling and open their mouth. Several reps and it’ll be second nature for them to drop……

Very very good! I forgot about that one!

[Anonymous]

Shortline wrote:
For the drop command, I have used a trick that an old pro gainer taught me. When yu grab the dummy/bird/ball etc, with your other hand take two fingers and gently lift on that flap of skin between the rear leg and the stomach….upward pressure on that is not associated with anything negative in emir mouth, and causes no pain. It does, however, totally distract them for an instant and they will turn towards the feeling and open their mouth. Several reps and it’ll be second nature for them to drop……

What would you do for a dog like mine, high energy vizsla? He won’t come within 3 feet. Just wants to run/talk/growl(playfully) and try to get me to chase him. We turn our back and tell him “no”. Which he often responds with what we call his “punches”. Usually 1 or 2 front leg punches to the back of our legs/body. Or he takes his front paws and grabs a ankle like he’s trying to trip you. He usually only does this with catch. But still stays out of reach of any kind. Otherwise he tends to be a halfway decent dog half of the time. ” title=”” class=”bbcode_smiley” />

[snow]

Nate,a50’check collar should do the trick,you’ll have full control of the little ****…lol.

dokken and ron shara did a darn good video/dvd on trianing your retriever,came with my Tri Tronic collar,check with cabelas,they might have other training dvd’s as well.

[Shortline]

NateP wrote:

Shortline wrote:
For the drop command, I have used a trick that an old pro gainer taught me. When yu grab the dummy/bird/ball etc, with your other hand take two fingers and gently lift on that flap of skin between the rear leg and the stomach….upward pressure on that is not associated with anything negative in emir mouth, and causes no pain. It does, however, totally distract them for an instant and they will turn towards the feeling and open their mouth. Several reps and it’ll be second nature for them to drop……

What would you do for a dog like mine, high energy vizsla? He won’t come within 3 feet. Just wants to run/talk/growl(playfully) and try to get me to chase him. We turn our back and tell him “no”. Which he often responds with what we call his “punches”. Usually 1 or 2 front leg punches to the back of our legs/body. Or he takes his front paws and grabs a ankle like he’s trying to trip you. He usually only does this with catch. But still stays out of reach of any kind. Otherwise he tends to be a halfway decent dog half of the time. ” title=”” class=”bbcode_smiley” />

Personally, I would stop right there and back up to the basic obedience portion of training. Come, sit, whoa, need to be rock solid and never optional before any advanced training can take full hold.

Don’t get me wrong – playtime is playtime – and I love playing and romping with the dogs and letting them be dogs just for dogs sake, but when I decide it’s over, it needs to be MY call, not theirs.

I love high energy dogs that can be a pain….. you CAN harness and control that energy and enthusiasm, but if the dog doesn’t have it to start with, you can’t put it in em…. Sounds like your boy has the makings of a GREAT pooch. I would take a high energy A-Hole over a slug any day of the week!!

It's better to be in the boat with a drink on the rocks than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.......

[Joehere]

snow wrote:
Good info and very true,40yrs here as well with gun dogs,training tips change over the years,good book or training your retriever dvd is even better,take what info is there and use at your own discretion,nothing better than a well trained pup.In my old age I also went to a training collar on my current pup,helps with the pups selective memory and hearing in the field.Watching my dog work is what its all about for me,birds in the bag are a bonus.

Well said,,,after 6mo. of working with my dog,not using a collar based on all the horror stories from years gone by. I read,watched the DVD,talked about with several different people then finally put the collar on and started using it as DVD ,instructions detailed,WHAM,,,without being inhumane,they work. Once acclimated,corrections are made very rarely,my main reason for using this is for safety,stop at corner,won’t eat unknown stuff when out and about,chase unwanted game etc.. plus it fine tuned basic commands. Have since encouraged several others in the neighborhood to try it out. Some do,some don’t. Got a 400 yard cabela’s collar for around home and a sport dog tech 1.0 for hunting. And he’s still happy and active ,other than age,as the day I brought him home.

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