weimaraner

[Polmaise]

I agree Alyson.
The OP imo is taking this young student to University before it has completed nursery school.
The issue (s) are not gundog related ,or even gundog training related,and the course for remedy can be sought at any training class or any dog trainer,or basic book for that matter.
I would offer one piece of advice however'....don't do what you are doing right now!...it obviously doesn't work.

[trekmoor]

its like she has the taste for rabbit and wants to eat it there and then.

I think it is safe to say that a dog that made any attempt to eat a rabbit would be put out of a trial for hard mouth whether or not this was down to the dogs natural inclinations or some lack of training on the part of the handler.

If the O.P. can avoid letting the dog pick up any more freshly shot rabbits until the dog is retrieving properly every time on dummies and cold game of all kinds then the dog may not develop a rabbit munching/eating habit .

That is ,in a nutshell ,what I said in my first post on this subject ..... I fink ? See underneath.

Michael , you haven't told us if you have actually trained the pup to retrieve . Did you just take the pup out shooting and hope for the best ? I know this sometimes works for some pups but it doesn't work for them all. If an untrained dog fails to retrieve or fails to retrieve properly then you have no training to fall back on when and if things go wrong. If that is what you did then the "fault" is yours and not the pups.

Do not give your pup any chance to run in for or otherwise go out to any creature you might shoot until your dog is 100% good at retrieving dummies of all kinds straight back to hand. Once you have that then you have some training to fall back on when things go wrong and your pup will have a much better idea of what it should do with the game it retrieves.

Wullie

[Judy]

Wonder what it is about small furries, one of my Flatcoats was happy to hand over feather but reluctant to part with rabbits although she never looked like she was going to eat one. I sometimes wonder if it's because the pups are encouraged to ignore rabbits and later we expect them to retrieve them this leading to confusion and a reluctance to come in with the rabbit.

Whatever, I believe the Wei is a little young for shooting over, this is likely to be the biggest problem. More training on dummies as Wullie said then rabbit skin dummies and cold rabbit before shooting over it again.

[Greymaster]

hi chaps, just a quick post, iv got a 9month old weimaraner bitch. iv started to work her a little bit in the field. when we are out doing a bit of ruff shooting she will bring the rabbit back but will only come within 6foot of me and will not drop it . its like she has the taste for rabbit and wants to eat it there and then. any tips on how to get her to drop it next to me or bring it to my hand. many thanks michael..

Shooting over a 9 month old pup. What a ludicrous thing to do.

Hunt- Point-Retrieve: So, shall we surmise that your 9 month old HPR is already hunting a pattern, is pointing fur and feather, and flushing on command, sitting to shot, remaining steady and retrieving on command?

Or shall we expect another post asking why your, say 12 month HPR is running in and chasing game, and almost getting shot in the process?

"Will not drop it" - why does the pup need to drop the retrieve, Surely the retrieve should be to hand. Where is your gun while the pup is returning with the rabbit? Is it broken.

Just how much exercise is this pup being allowed?

I have a suggestion. Join an HPR breed club and get trained in how to train your HPR.

[Naj]

[quote="Greymaster
Shooting over a 9 month old pup. What a ludicrous thing to do.

Hunt- Point-Retrieve: So, shall we surmise that your 9 month old HPR is already hunting a pattern, is pointing fur and feather, and flushing on command, sitting to shot, remaining steady and retrieving on command?

Or shall we expect another post asking why your, say 12 month HPR is running in and chasing game, and almost getting shot in the process?

"Will not drop it" - why does the pup need to drop the retrieve, Surely the retrieve should be to hand. Where is your gun while the pup is returning with the rabbit? Is it broken.

Just how much exercise is this pup being allowed?

I have a suggestion. Join an HPR breed club and get trained in how to train your HPR.[/quote]

Not wishing to get into an argument, but I don't consider it is such a ludicrous idea to shoot over a 9 month old HPR, if it is ready, in order to consolidate in its mind the relationship between find, point & retrieve. I did so myself with my young GSP & it did nothing but good in finishing that part of her education & helping her to make sense of the hunt/find process. And she didn't suddenly turn into a wild thing that chased everything on sight as a result of it. She just became better at finding stuff & holding it while working as part of a team - showed her where I fitted into the proceedings. European & American trainers do this sort of thing all the time, & could surely teach our HPR breed clubs a thing or two about training these dogs.

The OP did mention that his dog would retrieve shot birds but was not so happy to retrieve rabbits, so presumably has had some measure of training.

Naj

[lagopus]

[quoteNot wishing to get into an argument, but I don't consider it is such a ludicrous idea to shoot over a 9 month old HPR, if it is ready,][/quote]

Neither do I (sorry Nigel)

[Greymaster]

I have formed an opinion that this pup is being rushed. I see the bit about the birds, (assuming crows and pigeons given the age and shooting season). One has also to think about how much exercise a 9 month old pup should have, although I concede I am very cautious in this regard.

The OP speaks in terms of dropping the rabbit rather than releasing the rabbit which makes me think it is not being asked to deliver to hand. Personally I believe that when training a young dog, someone else should be doing the shooting.

I do not think the OP is talking in terms of introduction to shot, but full scale working under the gun, and I think there are too many pitfalls with such a "rushed" approach.

[Polmaise]

It may surprise you that I am of the opinion that someone else should not be doing the shooting when training a a dog ...young or otherwise!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moBXEEJcChs
The dog should be working with you and you should be working with the dog,for the purpose of the gun.

[Judy]

It's not about shooting over the dog but how you get there, to paraphrase someone on here...

[trekmoor]

When I had places to go rough shooting I took pups even younger than 9 months rough shooting. I had done basic retrieve training with those pups but not much else. Steadiness did not exist at that stage. Somehow I got away with it and added the "frilly bits" later on without too many problems. Despite ..... or perhaps because of this unorthodox approach those pups made better gundogs than any I can train now that I cannot shoot over them.

Very rarely do I tell others to do this because I know how wrong it could all go. I began doing it back in my teens when I knew no better and since it worked for me I saw no reason to change when far more experienced trainers than I was told me it was a route to disaster.

You have to have a feeling for when to smooth off the rough corners and begin to add on the "frills."

Wullie