Missed shots

[scoutlover]

First, it is a blessing and a curse to have a dog with such a high drive. I know, Gunner was one of those. Second, there is a huge difference, to a dog, between a training area and actual hunting. Gunner was steady as a rock on the training field, not so good on hunts. Now, at 2.5 he is doing damn good, he just needed to mature a bit and get more training.

Third, You are rewarding bad behavior by throwing bumpers, rocks, logs etc. Stop that! Listen to Rhett, take your time, let the dog mature a bit. You have a great dog, don't do stupid shit and fuck it up!

Thanks for that and I feel like you are spot on about the difference in areas. For the record, I wasn't the one throwing sticks logs or anything like that! That was a huge no-no in every book I read. I am curious, what was your hunt to sit-at-home ratio in your dog's first year?

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[QuackerSmacker75]

TOT gave some good advice , If you want to hunt then let your buddies shoot and you work your dog . I remember some of my first hunts with my dog i didnt even carry a gun . I focused on the hunt and that she was Obedient . Not sure where you are located but the folks at Cherokee Foothills Hunting Retreiver Club hold training days every month and you could probably learn alot . These folks enjoy helping new dog owners and its not all about running tests , also there are some really good dog trainers in SC if that is something your looing into . I train every night ( under Lights ) and on the weekends when I am not hunting . Feel free to send me a PM be glad to give you some pointers .

[Moonlight Hunter]

For the record, I wasn't the one throwing sticks logs or anything like that! That was a huge no-no in every book I read.

"That was something I tried because all the training books I have say it's crucial in the development stages to make sure you never miss and if you do, throw a bumper. That's in at least 2 of the 3 books I have."

?

[scoutlover]

"That was something I tried because all the training books I have say it's crucial in the development stages to make sure you never miss and if you do, throw a bumper. That's in at least 2 of the 3 books I have."

?

Read it again, and slower this time. No where in what you quoted is there any mention from me about throwing sticks. That was a different person that said that and was involved in the short discussion afterwards. I have never thrown a stick for my dog to retrieve.

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[scoutlover]

Re-read this from the top and I see now where your confusion is coming from. Someone on here had posted a suggestion of throwing sticks to help ease the dog. They got blasted for it and apparently all of those posts have been deleted and it looks as if I was the one who said they have been doing it

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[buckpro]

No amount of yelling, screaming, shocking, choking, or any other act stops her.

A lot of good points in here, but either you have the wrong collar or it aint turned up high enough if you can’t stop her. This is assuming the dog is conditioned, force fetched, but I’m doubting that. Short leash, choke collar, and focus on the dog for a while, not the hunt.
Teach her to sit, on command, anywhere, because if you don’t know what to do when she screws up, making her sit there while you think about what the best route is, is your best bet instead of confusing the dog and making matter worse. Get help on obedience, because what you do now with her will be hell to get out of her later.

[LabLuvR]

I thought about this a little more and thought I would throw this out there. I would take the dog and just shoot the gun some without anything to retrieve. You can get poppers very cheap from any gun dog supply store.

Gunner used to get all jacked up, much like your dog when he heard someone on a duck call. I cured that problem by sitting on the porch and blowing just the call until he got bored and no longer associated that with a retrieve. Worked like a charm, he was so used to it he never whined in the blind again.

[scoutlover]

I thought about this a little more and thought I would throw this out there. I would take the dog and just shoot the gun some without anything to retrieve. You can get poppers very cheap from any gun dog supply store.

Gunner used to get all jacked up, much like your dog when he heard someone on a duck call. I cured that problem by sitting on the porch and blowing just the call until he got bored and no longer associated that with a retrieve. Worked like a charm, he was so used to it he never whined in the blind again.

That sounds like some excellent advice!! With my current work schedule, I know I could have some time when no one is around on the 5 stand, trap, and sporting clays course close to the house. Do you think that marking, seeing the impact and not getting to retrieve help with this, or is that a little too much and could possibly have negative affects?

I'll definitely expose her to calling more at home too. I very rarely call when hunting, and almost everytime I do we end up shooting so I've noticed she's gained some anticipation towards that too.

[LabLuvR]

I wouldn't throw a damn thing at this point. You may have a two fold issue. She gets excited about the retrieve and/or the gunshot. My "guess" is the gunshot is hyping her up. I would just shoot the gun and forget about marks for now. Leash her us so she has to get used to being in one spot. I much prefer trying things like this before using discipline. It may not work every time, but I try to start out soft and get progressively harder with discipline.

[Griffin]

You know why lab is being so nice right?

[LabLuvR]

Why pray tell????

[scoutlover]

I wouldn't throw a damn thing at this point. You may have a two fold issue. She gets excited about the retrieve and/or the gunshot. My "guess" is the gunshot is hyping her up. I would just shoot the gun and forget about marks for now. Leash her us so she has to get used to being in one spot. I much prefer trying things like this before using discipline. It may not work every time, but I try to start out soft and get progressively harder with discipline.

Gotcha. We've gone back to working hard on the place, sit and stay commands and she's made a lot of progress this week. The timing of this years season in combination to both our drives and inexperience definitely caused us to rush a little, but nothing permanent is done and we'll slow it down and get back to basics.

[scoutlover]

You know why lab is being so nice right?

I'll let you keep the hook, line and sinker this time.

[LabLuvR]

Nothing wrong with taking a step or two back.

[scoutlover]

TOT gave some good advice , If you want to hunt then let your buddies shoot and you work your dog . I remember some of my first hunts with my dog i didnt even carry a gun . I focused on the hunt and that she was Obedient . Not sure where you are located but the folks at Cherokee Foothills Hunting Retreiver Club hold training days every month and you could probably learn alot . These folks enjoy helping new dog owners and its not all about running tests , also there are some really good dog trainers in SC if that is something your looing into . I train every night ( under Lights ) and on the weekends when I am not hunting . Feel free to send me a PM be glad to give you some pointers .

I was able to make it to one training day this year and loved it. That was our first experience with several scenarios and wanted to make it to others but she missed one day due to recovering from surgery and they haven't had many others since due to hunt tests, hunting season and the holidays. We definitely plan on attending more when they resume. I'd love to find more people to train with even more than once a month once the season ends, especially when we get into some of the more difficult parts of the training. Lack of close access to swamps and water is a hinderance.