Retrieved wounded birds causing hard mouth?

[That1uncle1776]

Im not having this issue right now, but ive been contemplating switching to steel and I know what the out come is with me behind the trigger. My question is if my dog is constantly bringing birds back that are spurring and scratching at her important parts would that cause her to get a hard mouth. We didnt really go through the entire hold procedure bc it hadn't really been and issue and neither of us wanted to go past the introduction.

 

[cyclonenation10]

In my experience it seems the dog "knows" when they need to grip harder or not.

 

[birddude]

Possible. Many years ago, my buddy's young shorthair was a great dog with a soft mouth. One day he got spurred in the mouth enough to make to bleed. From that day on he made dammed sure they were dead before he brought them back. No attempt to eat them just a couple hard bone crushing chomps.

 

[Powderhorn Jim]

Every lab (I'm on my 6th generation) I've had would/will "chomp" a pheasant if they feel it move. They don't like getting pecked/spurred. I don't blame them. Unless you are an exceptional shooter you will wound birds and if you have a good dog, they will retrieve them. Goes with pheasant hunting. Not a problem with lighter birds like quail, grouse or chukar.