Dog mouthing dummy still

[ESS]

Hi , how do you train a young cocker 6 months old to hold the dummy nicely in his mouth? He brings it back etc but hes constanly moving it around in his mouth. My mate who a traimer has shown me a way and its helped but im not keem on it. Just wondered what other peoples ways are thanks

[trekmoor]

Your pup is still very young and I probably would not worry too much about the mouthing. Perhaps if you tell us what ways of stopping the mouthing you have already tried we might be able to help you a bit better.

Speaking only for myself I very seldom ever physically interfered with such a young pup's way of carrying dummies ….but I did interfere with the types of dummies I was using quite a lot ! I tried using dummies of different shapes, different weights and different textures and when/if I found a type of dummy the pup did not mouth , I then used that until the pup was well used to carrying it without mouthing before ….tentatively....trying a standard type of dummy again.

In any case it is far from certain that a pup that mouths dummies will also mouth game.

Wullie

[chrokeva]

The heavier and bigger the bird or dummy is the less likely a dog is to mouth and roll it. Unfortunately switching to heavier objects is mostly a temporary fix but at least it stops the bad habit from becoming more ingrained.
Your pup is young and hopefully will outgrow it. Would not worry at this point.

[crackerd]

Better yet, ESS, and without incriminating anyone, what's the "way you're not keen on" getting a good hold on a dummy? Maybe it can be modified so as to make you keener.

Jackie's "the heavier and bigger the bird or dummy the less likely a dog is to mouth and roll it" positing is pretty much spot-on. Alas, there could be an ancillary "knocking on" with too much hold, i.e., macerating a bigger bird. I can tell you that good mouth habits need to be formed early on, and the way I help a pup along with them is early introduction of game, as big a game as a pup can get in its gob or in the vicinity of its gob at 9-10 weeks - thus they really can't chew on or pierce flesh to the point of "making fare unfit for the table," as they say hereabouts.

IMG_20190515_115347.jpg

Then there are the wee spanners who make their crust with big-dog retriever mouths.

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MG

[ESS]

Hi , how do you train a young cocker 6 months old to hold the dummy nicely in his mouth? He brings it back etc but hes constanly moving it around in his mouth. My mate who a trainer has shown me a way and its helped but im not keen on it. Just wondered what other peoples ways are thanks

[ESS]

Thanks for the replies,
Well at first he was always wanting lie down and chew the retreive which is now sorted, as he comes in and sits hes rolling it around i have a small tennis ball and a small paint roller as he was terrible with the puppy dummy.
I was told to squeeze his ear when hes chomping on it! Which i didnt like doing but in all fairness after two squeezes hes far better and now im trying differant dummies.
The pup always carries it at the end aswell which is annoying.
This is my third dog and never come across this issue but id prefer to try a differant way if there is one.
Hes retreiving mad and rather nuts with it aswell. Also what would people recommend if he squeeks a little when some one throws a dummy for another dog if there a few of you? Doesnt do it on his own?
I wanted do a working test but i hope this squeak can be sorted otherwise that idea is ruined! Thanks

[ESS]

Just to note he holds it in his mouth and wont drop itbut chews it left to right erc

[ESS]

Sorry for the typo effors at work lol

[chrokeva]

I have a very keen 14 month old that is extremely excitable and busy with her mouth and head on the delivery mostly with birds and to a lesser degree with dummies. I have had to get firm with her lately because she did not outgrow it as I hoped would happen. I was hesitant to put a lot of pressure on her while she was young. Keeping her head up and focus on me is key and if she drops her head or looks away from me I will give her a firm no with a tap under her chin. Timing is important.

[Springcopse spaniels]

One reason to avoid tennis balls,
You cannot in my mind install a good retrieve until you have 90% recall.
Hes making a noise because that's to far advanced for the pup and I wouldn't even dream of doing stuff like that personally.
Slippery slope if your not very careful, and without causing you problems, find a new trainer