dog is 3 1/2 months old sits comes and fetches good i live more in city type setting small woods down street that i take her down and walk her off the leash to let her get used to when we go hunting i don't let her get any farther then 30 yards just started hiding wings in two feet of snow with a little bit sticking out in bushes when she gets five yards away she smells them and finds them but would rather chew them and stops listening to me didn't want to punish to bad i'm happy she found them but don't know if i should wait till i get bird launcher or just let her have one in back yard for a while don't want her to loose interest in them either first dog as an adult and learning any suggestions thank you
dog to excited with pheasant wing
- Thread starter lunchbox
- Start date
kansashunting
New member
why kind of dog do you have?
FCSpringer
Moderator
Wings can be bad unless you get all the meat off, often they have tasty tid bits right there open for them. I always fillet all the meat off the end with the most on it. Then tie wrap a couple of them to a bumper so the meat ends are covered good. Freeze and use, freeze when done. Also you may want to quit letting her dive in for finds or you will have a flusher. Not that thats bad, but then we should buy a flusher. You may want to do the hall way thing till you get the delivery down, then woah break him. If they keep it up later, the force break.
Whats the hall way thing? I have seen you refer to this a few times.
FCSpringer
Moderator
Well it is refered to by many trainers. Pups like to run away, play around ect. If you have a longer narrow area like a hall way, where you can block all escape routes except toward you. It is the best for training a pup for the habbit of delivering to you. I use a snow fence out side. A garage wall and a snow fence or something simmilar works great. This way the pup is not running all over the house or yard playing keep away. Even with a check rope they still get the idea they don't have to come straight in. So even with pups that need the cord I still do it in a narrow blocked off area. I refer to it as the "ball in the hall" training.
Gotcha. That makes sense now, if I would've just read the context! I havent had that problem, both of my GSP's have retrieved to hand right off the bat. The only problem I have had is getting the ball, bumper, etc out of their mouths! But that is a whole other story!
FCSpringer
Moderator
That is an easier fix. An ear pinch with the release comand, or rolling the upper lips under with a slight squeez while holding the bumper and a give comand should take care of that. Stand on the cord while you do it so they don't run off. At first they might try that. If that does not work. the table training is great too for the give comand as well. But with the delivery in tact the ear pinch and comand at the same time should do it.
FCSpringer
Moderator
Any time, you will get help from some good guy's on here. I enjoy helping if I can. Good luck. For your retrieves you can still attatch the wings to make it seem birdish, but like I said cut the end off with all the chicken tenders. There is the joint where all the meat is basicly gone. Cut close to that and when freeze dried you should have less trouble, just attach with tie wraps. If he screws around just go back to bumper only. Also you can get some pigeons or chuckers or quail dead whole, and freeze them. They don't chew them too often either. Just snap off the heads and legs, the head will fall off any way on a toss, then they chew that. The feet are sharp, and can jab a young dog causing the dog to be shy of picking up birds. Thats a good in between step instead of going to fresh killed or live birds. But yea, that finding them dead in the field is a good way to cure a bad flush, so not a good idea for you.
I dont understand. What are you using dead birds for?