Gundog Training Forum

One of my wcs wasn't interesterd in the dummy at first and eventually I bought one with a zip . I put a cocktail sausage in it and tied a long string on it . I then went to open grassland and ran in all directions trailing the dummy . As you can imagine I had a mental wcs in hot pursuit ! He loves dummies now whether there is food in or not ! If your lab is food orientated (as I think most labs are) this might help . Good luck

Not sure if this will help but i have a 9 month old cocker that would only pick up a dummy in the house! no interest at all in a hidden or thrown ones outside? she seems too preoccupied with other more interesting smells and just ignores them, so i tied i pair of pheasant wings to the dummy to give it a more realistic scent and feel...... it was an instant success! i hid it in a ditch on a morning walk and let her find it herself, that was two weeks ago now she will retrieve it thrown or hidden! it could be worth a try?

I'd assumed it was a given that 'interesting' dummies were being used.

If you are using a plain dummy try something like a Tail Spinner or a Fanatic Ball;
http://www.workingdogcompany.co.uk/resu ... category=9 Something, anything, from a flat cap to a pair of socks which might get the dog interested and only try retrieving exercises once a week, just a couple of retrieves at a time, make the dog want it. As others have said, nothing serious, let the dog run in, come back and climb all over you before you take the retrieve off her, it needs to be fun for her. Once she wants to have fun with you you can start to formalise the retrieve.

What kind of training are you doing? You say 4-5 retrieves, what kind? Marks in different cover or long fun ones? Semi blinds, hi lost, left rights or a combination? It might be that you are making it too difficult for her but i would rather guess you indeed indeed aree boring ber half to death by repeating too simple retrieves?

Helene