breaking when hunting

Is he trained to stop or sit on a whistle ? I am currently working on my dog with similar issues sort of, I keep him staked but before I did that if he broke I could almost always stop him immediately with a whistle but I know that is a lot to ask when you have a call in one hand and a gun in the other sometime you don't think fast enough to grab the whistle. Hunting with friends and working your dog on a lead is a good option I did that with my first retriever and he caught on really quick. Now I do a big correction with the ecollar if my new one braks or attempts it. Trying to replicate it in training is always better than the field. It took me a while to get mine to do it in training but eventually he did it then you can start from there good luck

[QUOTEWhat do you do if the dog breaks and by the time you get your gun down he is 15 yards out charging towards a downed duck? If I don't shoot.....he is steady when I am whispering to him to sit, sit sit. It's mostly when I then decide to pick the gun up again][/QUOTE]

I don't do anything if a dog breaks. ( While hunting) Its usually not a big deal. I definitely don't view it as a set back. I use that as a gauge to where I'm at. You need to take a different route in your training. Live birds live rounds,,,and work your way over the top of the dog. I load a winger in the reeds and play might hunter a few times.
There are ways of doing this pretty quick and you don't need help. There are many ways to steady a dog. I don't know how you went about it. How you go about it will determine what you do when you are hunting. I seldom correct for breaking anymore.

I think you should take the time to develop a strategy in the yard how to deal with this. and move it to the field. re-eforcement to me is way more efficient for this than corrections and generally more gentle.
pete.

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Originally Posted by JoeOverby

Leave your gun in the truck and work your dog. Let your buddies shoot your limit. Its well worth sacrificing your shooting in your dogs first season for the long-run payoff. I tell every one of my clients this exact thing.

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For real, the dog is two. Op sounds like a hunter. Dog in truck equals no waterfowl experience. Not the course I would take.

Dog can't break when tethered. Check cord! Simple--and you can hunt with your buddies. I would trade real life dog swamp scenarios in a heart beat for leaving the dog in the truck.

Good luck.

Joe--- just re-read. Agree leaving the GUN in the truck makes sense--not the dog.

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Originally Posted by cj6530

My 2 year old lab is starting to break in duck hunting situations. Its his first season. He is 100% reliable in training. He really only breaks if I shoot. Should I correct him with the collar if he breaks? How much stimulation? Do I keep on the collar even if he keeps going? I am worried that to much of a correction will hurt his desire to retrieve in a hunting setting. What do I do?

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If your correction ( pressure ) is not enough to stop him you are not doing any good applying it ...turn it up until he will stop...It has to be greater than the distraction....There is a lot of prework before you crush a dog on a break ..He must know what a verbal sit means ....Have you shot flyers for the dog in training ..? Snubbing with a short rope and tie out is good advice, If he will only break when you shoot...He is very wise to the whole situation....Steve S

Buy some poppers (gundogsupply.com) that are primers only. Train in simulated hunting situations using a shotgun and poppers. Then the dog will be used to seeing the gun go up and being steady. This is what happens at HRC hunt tests. See video below.

http://www.retrievertraining.net/for...colored+golden


I don't know how you hunt but try to recreate the hunting situation.

You can make it more realistic by building a fake duck blind front and practicing over water or practicing out of a boat.

http://www.retrievertraining.net/for...highlight=Boat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoeOverby

Leave your gun in the truck and work your dog. Let your buddies shoot your limit. Its well worth sacrificing your shooting in your dogs first season for the long-run payoff. I tell every one of my clients this exact thing.

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Let your buddies do the shooting while you work on the dog. Letting your buddies shoot YOUR limit means your buddies are over their limit. Not a good thing.

You need to steady your dog before you go hunting

Make sure your collar is always tight. You always want to know your dogs correction level before going into the field. Do some yard drills with him and learn his level on the collar there in the yard,intice a break or anything that will work in the yard , if you burn him too hot in the field depending on his resistance level then you could burn him into a no go. After that sit burn sit if he acts like he wants to break in the field make sure you have implied sit before the burn

We train to go hunting, we don't go hunting to train! A dog that breaks during the shot is out of control, no one wants to be around a dog that won't mind. these arethe rule my buddies and I hunt by concerning dogs.
1. If your dog breaks while hunting , you tie him short and make him watch. No retrieves.
2.If you have the only dog, then you don't shoot. You hold/work the dog.
3.No returns with that dog till breaking is fixed.
If you don't know how to fix it get help from a pro!