Winning and Wimpering because of excitement....

[FPA Ammo]

I have 1^st year pup that I have been goose hunting with. He is really getting the hang of it now that when we start calling that he is so excited he starts winning and whimpering. He is great at marking great at retrieving and hold geese great at being steady but do not want to deal with this long term. What do I need to do to break him out of this?

Thanks
Mike

[Breck]

Solid, zero tolerance obedience. Imagine you're that no nonsense Marine Corps Drill Sargent from hell who kicked ass if you even breathed wrong.
Be careful with harsh e-collar corrections and heavy handed heeling stick as problem can worsen.
Re-teach obedience to a high level then favor dominance and finesse over harsh corrections.

[Robert]

I have 1^st year pup that I have been goose hunting with. He is really getting the hang of it now that when we start calling that he is so excited he starts winning and whimpering. He is great at marking great at retrieving and hold geese great at being steady but do not want to deal with this long term. What do I need to do to break him out of this?

Thanks
Mike

"When we start calling" is when Fido knows something fun is going to happen for him/her. Blow calls while doing more OB and reinforce being quiet. I teach this early on in basic OB due to a whiney dog many many years ago. A quiet dog is much more enjoyable in the blind. If the dog does it in the blind correction and no bird.

[FPA Ammo]

So when training outside of hunting do I want blow my goose calls around him when working on obedience work? Or just blow goose calls/duck calls a lot around him so he understand that not every time something will happens when blowing on my calls? Just an idea

[hawker]

I have the problem with 11 month old pup. Right now he has just one more seasoned pass to get his HR title. While training he whines a little but in the hunt test its really hard to control. We started to just take him off line while training and not let him get any birds at all it has helped some, hopefully a little age will help.

[GG]

Your dog seem to have redeeming talent which makes such an effort worthwhile. The majority of the time this problem will not be fixed, it has to be controlled for the remainder of your dog's life. The above mentioned, "zero tolerance obedience" is a good start. Get creative and find ways to make your dog understand that this is not acceptable behavior; who knows you might get lucky.
Good luck
GG

[Gun_Dog2002]

Wow this thread is nothing like I thought it would be. Figured this was about all the noobs on the board upset because someone said poop...

/Paul

[Ken Bora]

And silly me, at a glance I fingered someone was meeting another RTF “face to face” as they say.
So on topic. You can de-sensitize the pup to calling. I practice while driving. Dogs ride shotgun.
But the calls ain’t the issue. It’s the hunt. Best thing is for YOU to not call or shoot. Let you hunting buddies to that and YOU only run the dog. You are face to face with a gloved hand on the muzzle and a hoarsely whispered Shush. Sucks for you but if your friends are good they may be able to drop a bird for you to take home too. Also if your dog is the only dog on the hunt. Ask the buds to intentionally miss a few flocks. For real! All the calling and geese landing and shooting and they fly away with no retrieve just you and you pup up close and snuggling no noise, good dog, shhhhhh good dog.

[FPA Ammo]

is there a point in the early stages right now if he starts to wimper and wine do you bring him back to the truck?

[HPL]

Your dog seem to have redeeming talent which makes such an effort worthwhile. The majority of the time this problem will not be fixed, it has to be controlled for the remainder of your dog's life. The above mentioned, "zero tolerance obedience" is a good start. Get creative and find ways to make your dog understand that this is not acceptable behavior; who knows you might get lucky.
Good luck
GG

I have a 30 month old that has exhibited similar behavior since he was three or four months old. High anxiety whining, panting, loud yawns, etc. Have been holding his muzzle shut and saying hush and no this whole time. Starts the minute we get in a vehicle, and has been known to continue non-stop for up to a six hour drive. Same while sitting and waiting dove hunting. took him along when I went to shoot a hunt test and had to park truck about 150yds away to keep his noise making from disturbing the hunt (wife had to stay with him to keep noise down some, but we were concerned that he was going to have a heart attack. He cried and howled the ENTIRE day, virtually non-stop.

Now that the weather is ameliorating some, I am just putting him in the truck and letting him sit there for an hour or so, and have been taking him on ride alongs when I run errands so that maybe he won't associate the vehicle with going to hunt or train. So far not much improvement.

GOOD LUCK. If you find a way to cure this, PLEASE let me know.