getting 7 month pup to retrieve

[moose203]

hey every one, been gone from the site for a while, anyway i had a pup come back a couple weeks ago from a buyer that was relocated for his job and was unable to take the dog so he gave the pup back. the pup has excellent obedience but his drive just is not there, the guy never did any retrieving with him. what would be the best plan of action to bring it out.--let him run with one of the older dogs, treat him as a very young puppy let him chase pigeons? his litter mates that went to hunting homes are doing great and one full brother and two of his half siblings went to a detection dog company. I need a new project things are finally calming down with mothers health issues so i have some time on my hands. any ideas ?

Jason

[blakegober]

I would see how he acted around a pigeon, in my opinion that is the best way to get the dog to reach that level of exitement. If he shows no interest in birds, and still does not want to retrieve if may need to be a good pet for someone.

[DSMITH1651]

i am working with a dog that had the same problem. i put her i dog jail for 2 weeks ( only out for quick walks on a lead then right back in the kennel.) the dog was 10.5 month old. I then did some fun bumpers with her but she still wasn't big on them. so back to jail, after the second time in jail she turned on in a big way. hard charger and cant get enough bumpers. i also did this with a dog that did not want to retrieve birds so i had the owner jail him and every 2 weeks he was given the chance to retrieve live birds, after 6 weeks in jail the dog decided that the birds were allot of fun and now he is a incredible pheasant dog, out hunts his pointers every weekend. what i like about this method is the dog choses to retrieve and work, i am not forcing it on them, both dogs had the same problem as yours little to no work when puppys.
Duane
PS 2 pro trainers said second dog would never be a hunter and would not work with him, the dog was 14 months old.

[Leddyman]

I do something similar to what DSmith is saying,(here goes) I use a tennis ball. It rolls and hops and I believe encourages chasing more than a bumper. Also easier for a running dog to pick up and carry. Sometimes it helps to do it in the water, sometimes not. I find I get the best results in a mowed yard, rolling the ball on the ground. If they don't want to play put them in the kennel. If it is the only game in town it gets fun in a hurry. make a big fuss when they chase it,

[etfremd]

Just like to add something...Don't they put the dog on the "chain gang"...flat collar and chained so they can watch other dogs run...I have also used the tennis ball- hitting it with a racket bouncing along the ground...this particular dog was from the pointing lab line...I won't do that again...He turned out to only be interested in live birds and I did not have the heart to "force him"...I washed him out before he ran his first Junior- he was a great hunting dog though and had great moments both pointing and retrieving to hand- although he declined to go duck hunting- his first hunt he stood on top of the decoy bag to keep dry and out of the water- talk about agility...

[moose203]

cool, i was thinking along these lines, all but the tennis ball it never crossed my mind

Jason

[Howard N]

The ball in the hall does work if he's got some prey drive.

[moose203]

he will chase after a dummy but loses interest when he gets to it

Jason