If you could give just one tip for a puppy owner....

[pontbeck]

I'm reading this with interest as a few years ago my Lab pups first introduction to game put her training back 2 months.
She was 8 months old and doing memory retrieves of 200 yds plus, most out of sight of me. One night she didn't return with the dummy and I went looking for her. I could see movement in the long grass and eventually a head appeared holding a leveret, which she duly delivered up to me. The problem was that when ever I gave her retrieves on scented ground she would rush out but if she encountered game scent she was off hunting. It was back to scratch taking her on short grass with no scent until I was confident with her and that took me 2 months. This , like a great deal of problems ,was self induced but introduction to game should be carefully handled.

[trekmoor]

Mmmmmm ! I've got mixed feelings about this. I like dogs to be aware of and maybe act upon strong, fresh game scent encountered during dummy retrieves. I suspect my adult dogs would all have returned with that leveret too. On the other hand I deliberately give dogs dummy retrieves right through rabbit pens or through areas I have seen game move off from. I do this at much closer distances than 200 yards though in order to be able to insist the dog brings back the dummy and not the game. The game is being used as a deliberate distraction.

Wullie

[pontbeck]

I would agree 100% Wullie, I was younger and even dafter then

[Springfield Pointers]

I would agree 100% Wullie, I was younger and even dafter then

ha ha.

[Cass]

but if I was asked for a single piece of advice for a new labrador puppy owner "get him onto game as soon as possible" wouldn't be what I said.

Fair enough, and I understand your view. However, there are many people who will not train bird dogs like this. There is no good reason to keep game from dogs at an early age. There are people reading this and thinking game for a young dog is not a good idea, and this is not the case.

+1000

[pontbeck]

Cass, your a little intransigent in your views. I's already been explained to you that we can't use wing clipped birds over here. Let your mind be more open to other methods than you have been training to over the past few months

[Woody72]

install the recall now before the dog realieses he is being trained pup pup pup which will lesd to pip,pip,pip on the whistle

[trekmoor]

It is true that clip winged pigeons cannot be used here but unclipped pigeons allowed to fly from your hand just as a pup reaches you on the recall whistle don't half speed up a pups recall to whistle ! Another advantage to doing this is that your ability to get a sit to flush is considerably increased , plus, of course, the pigeon flies off completely unharmed and returns to the loft to be used again at a later date.

So far I have only done this with pointing breeds but it would probably speed up a spaniels response to the turn whistle too ?

Wullie

[Cass]

Cass, your a little intransigent in your views. I's already been explained to you that we can't use wing clipped birds over here. Let your mind be more open to other methods than you have been training to over the past few months

I said "live birds". They do not have to be clipped wing nor does the dog need to catch them. Nothing teaches a dog it can't catch a bird by letting it figure out early on that it cannot. Most of the birds I use fly away (even the ones I intend on shooting most times LMAO)

[Rascal]

Cass my thoughts are when replying to first time gun dog owners you need to be a bit more explicit with your advice so they don't get the wrong idea....And yes some pups pick up that they can't catch birds but some don't and still enjoy the chase....

An experienced eye would recognise the potential problem and adjust accordingly but a novice may not..

Just saying "live birds from day one with no structure" without explaining the process behind that doesn't exactly say much? Folk could get totally the wrong idea without the benefit of experience and ruin a pup very easily..

And if someone was to use birds initially as the only retrieve item a lot of pups would not then be interested in picking dummies and unless you have a huge freezer or an endless supply of pigeons it's not practical....

Rascal