Ginger

[Judy]

Sounds like he is gaining in confidence now, well done you two.

[PRH]

He is getting there Judy. He remains a neuro-diverse dog! We had friends over last weekend and he decided he didn't like the look of one of them. He was quite vocal about it then went off to bed and refused to come out of the house or go anywhere near the offending guest for the rest of the day. You could argue he's a good judge of character but it was odd!

He is definitely slow to mature, but he is 2 now and it feels like he is settling and getting the idea we are a team, he's checking in on walks a lot more and generally being better company. A long 2 years

[PRH]

He is an odd dog. I can safely say it is entirely down to me having bred him. Last evening I took the two labs out for some training, working on their ability to mark, hunt and deliver. I also took the .410 and put a few carts through it to work on steadiness. He is focused for the first couple of retrieves and will go out hard but then he just switches off, everything is done at half pace. This is on dummies. If I get a ball out he is absolutely dialled in, he marks well and hunts tightly. Question - do I just accept that is how he is, switched on by some things and not by others?

I'm trying to get the dogs to work together, going out for retrieves not at the same time, but sending one dog for one and then the other a few moments later. This works ok if the retrieves are a distance apart - say 30m+, but if I narrow the gap they can't compute. I assume this is because they've been trained individually and this is something new. The outcome I'm looking for is to be able to send each dog in turn to retrieve a dummy on the same line, passing each other on the way out / in. Any suggestions re how to progress or at 7 and 2 have I left it too late?

[newf]

On sending the dogs, more or less, on the same line, have you tried the short distance, say 5 metres? Also, is one dog less tolerant of not sharing a retrieve or vice versa, timid?

As to your first concern, lack of interest, imo, it can be just the dog. Good breeding, doesn’t guarantee a great gun dog, it just improves the chances. After all, dogs are still autonomous creatures with instincts.

However, I’d say work with what you got, chances are nothing put the dog off, probably prefers checking scent at times. I would leave the ball altogether and train with only dummies and scale back his retrieves. Let him sit and watch the other dog or dogs do all the work. This way, at least, you will see his true nature.

[PRH]

Thanks Newf. When I try to send them one after the other on the same line they just stick. Point taken re scaling back the retrieves, thank you.

We went to a group class yesterday morning and he was on good form. The only thing he didn't like were the plastic dummies and one shaped like a woodcock, it impacted the quality of his delivery. With more exposure to different types of dummies he will be fine. We were at the class for 1h 45 minutes and I think he had 6 retrieves in total. A simple mark, a memory, out and stop at a marker then a retrieve either left or right, a separate hunting exercise with a marked, a memory to the same spot and then a mark followed by turning the dog away and the dummy being dragged 20yds along the ground. The last one was interesting, I sent him out to the mark and asked him to hunt, which he did, initially turning away from the line but then making his way back to it, dropping below it for a bit before getting back on it and finding the dummy. I was silent apart from the initial hunt whistle. It is nice to have confirmation that the dog has a nose and a brain and can work independently i.e. without stopping and asking me for help. Really pleasing. He was super chilled when other dogs were working, no hint of aggression although we keep our distance.

[Naj]

I think you’ve answered your own question … you assume it’s because you normally train the dogs individually. I always trained my dogs together when I’ve had more than one, once the basics were there. This also develops self control and an off switch because they are always having to wait their turn rather than everything being focussed on them. Cuts out the anticipation factor. Regarding the going out on the same line for retrieves, I used to do long memories by wanging out a couple of retrieves in opposite directions and then walking the dogs off a few hundred yards before sending one back (usually the slower/youngest one to give it a chance) and then when it was out 100 yards or so I’d send the other. Ideally, the least experienced dog gets there slightly ahead of the other one so it has two dummies to work on before the other one comes. Not quite the scenario that you’re looking at but it’s a great confidence booster and a bit of competition helps speed the dogs up.

[Judy]

Have you started this by throwing two widely spaced and sending them one after the other? Also throwing a dummy out, sending senior dog, when she is on her way back chucking one over her head or nearby then sending the boy? Also you could try a pile of dummies, as long as they don't swap, send one dog then the other, once they've done it separately then you can send one while t'other is coming back.

If he isn't wildly keen train less often, vary the places you train, vary the 'games' and make them less predictable, use rabbit fur dummies, differently shaped dummies. Having said all that my youngster isn't wildly keen on dummies either but she loves a frisbee and the "raggy" toys and will happily retrieve them. Dummies are for working tests, if you want to do WTs then you have to get 'em keen on manky canvas things one way or another.

[PRH]

Thanks Judy. I don't think Ginger will do working tests. I'm looking to do more picking up this season now I've got two dogs ready to go.

Because he is much taller than previous labs, I've had to get a new dog box to.....happily I managed to pick up a second hand TransK9 box to fit the Disco, I just had to drive to Mansfield last night to get it! Good kit though, its the third TransK9 box we have had over the years to fit different cars. I still think the best combination was the Discovery 4 and the box that filled half of the boot. The Disco 5 boot is a smaller usable space albeit a bigger vehicle.

[Nickheref]

My mentor had a lot of labs and his standard way was to take them picking up for a season as part of his team when young and he only really had stop, start and recall trained then polish them on handling after they had got keen on retrieving and had learnt to use their nose.

[PRH]

That makes sense Nick. I need to find more picking up this season, get the most out of the older bitch and give the youngster plenty to think about.