I have a friend (ever heard that before) that has a 21 month old female lab. She is a great marking dog and gets quite wound up at hunt tests. This summer she has run two HT's and failed both. Here's the problem, she will run out and pick up every mark we throw for her in training but she will once in a while, on her way to or from a mark get distracted by a smell or a noise or movement and has to go check it out. In the hunt tests this year she nailed the first land mark but on the second, took a nice line and got within 20 yards and took a left hand turn and then back to the handler. She had never come back without a bird before. On the next HT she nailed the two land marks but on water took a great line and then within the last 20 yards saw or smelled something and took off to the left, got to the bird throwers and didn't get back to the bird. Anyone have a suggestion to get her to stay focused all the way to the bird/dummy. She does get quite wound up in the holding blinds but not so much in training.
Loss of Concentration on the Way to a Mark
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How many are in the training group? Sounds like a dog that could use more exposure to the distractions common in a HT. If its a small training group, find a club day to attend. Also, you may want to look into some organized confusion drills to run the dog through to help teach the dog to ignore the stuff going on around and focus on the mark...
/Paul
/Paul
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·Yep, that sounds like it.Gun_Dog2002 said:
She sounds like a young dog that maybe hasn't been exposed to a variety of properties and situations... minor distractions like rocks or sticks that look like birds in the field...
I would be she just needs more experience in a variety of settings.
And maybe some continued training into more advanced stuff. THAT is part of what will help her keep focused and on track, in addition to just more general experience.
-K
Take her to a successful FT pro. If you want to get her through it (and she's young enough so it's not ingrained yet), have a pro take her for a while. If they're good, they'll understand the underlying cause and know how to correct for it. Could be caused by a variety of different things. This isn't something that can be diagnosed over the internet.
Bente
Bente
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·jBente said:
Really? This goes for EVERYTHING on here, then.
It's classic young dog being distracted. And often not something that requires a "correction" but rather help and experience.
-Kristie, just an unsuccessful hunt test wannabe... with dogs that can't mark... and never had a young dog come in for training that had this problem...
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Now Kristie, don't get all defensive we all know that only successful FT pro's can train a dog through a complex problem such as this one.Kristie Wilder said:
/Paul
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·aw, dangit. There I go again speaking on something outside my area of expertise (this part is a private family joke that is suitable here)... Some day I'll learn. Until then, I'll have dogs running all over the place at hunt tests.Gun_Dog2002 said:
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I didn't find Bente's suggestion offensive Kristie.... It was a suggestion just like yours was. Not a put down..... :?
It could be that the dog lacks work ethic and is having a good time of it in the field instead of him making the retrieve. That is a possiblity. All the BB help in Texas won't make that dog more responsible for it's marking. Leg stretching, sniffing, peeing on the way to and back from the mark could all mean the same thing. Nothing like growing up by going through the yard to change a dogs game face.
Now if Bente thinks a bonifide field trial pro is the only one that can figure it out, well he's entitled to his opinion....
Certainly isn't worth getting all prickly about......
Angie
It could be that the dog lacks work ethic and is having a good time of it in the field instead of him making the retrieve. That is a possiblity. All the BB help in Texas won't make that dog more responsible for it's marking. Leg stretching, sniffing, peeing on the way to and back from the mark could all mean the same thing. Nothing like growing up by going through the yard to change a dogs game face.
Now if Bente thinks a bonifide field trial pro is the only one that can figure it out, well he's entitled to his opinion....
Certainly isn't worth getting all prickly about......
Angie
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We had a dog that did some of that. Stunning marker in training. Would blink birds and go sniff and pee in trials. Sold him to Jerry.
I hope Jerry remembers we told him we didn't think the dog was going to come around, or we wouldn't be selling him. Maybe he'll post what happened after. I know the dog was up for sale again....
I hope Jerry remembers we told him we didn't think the dog was going to come around, or we wouldn't be selling him. Maybe he'll post what happened after. I know the dog was up for sale again....
Bubba said:
Don't worry Steve. I haven't undergone a sex change. I still enjoy looking at the guys from a FEMALE point of view....
Kristie: I was interested in this thread because I had somewhat of the same issue going on with my little black dog. She's hell on wheels but at the second FT derby I ran her in (she was 17 months old), she went part way out, stopped and started back to me on a memory mark that had not shown up very well.
It had never happened in training. At that point, I had not put her up with a pro (except for 2 months to proof my force-training and finish it off), but worked regularly with a pro in bringing her along.
Was it confusion because she didn't see the memory mark? Maybe.
Were the marks too close (they were pinched) so she thought she'd already picked up the mark I was sending her for? Maybe.
Did I not take enough time to focus her on this mark in set up? Maybe.
Was I too quick to send her and she hadn't gotten her bearings yet? Maybe.
Did I send her too loud and confuse her? Maybe.
Was there too much pressure out in the field from my training? Maybe.
Did she need to be "re-enforced" so she'd go even if confused (i.e., it's not for you to decide whether there's something out there to retrieve. If I send you, you GO, and don't ever come back w/o a bird). Actually, yes, this is what it ended up being.
(Could it have been a gazillion other things? Yes.)
Did I know this at the time? No.
When it ended up happening again at the next derby I ran her in a week or two later, that's when I decided this issue needed professional attention. It wasn't something I was equipped to:
1. properly diagnose,
2. successfully set up a situation in training that would create the same problem I'd encountered at the test, and
3. effectively (and without negative side-effects) correct and teach.
Would I have been able to effectively correct this problem (a couple of really strong corrections, correctly administered and timed, at a level of correction nothing near what she'd ever had before)? NO WAY.
I KNOW MY LIMITATIONS (mostly), and I don't pretend to begin to know what I'm doing. When I encounter a serious (and I would classify this as serious) problem I do not feel I can accurately diagnose and correct, I'm not going screw around with my dog and possibly make it worse.
IF YOU HAVE A GOOD DOG, one you want to play the big game with, and you're a rank amateur like me, it's time and money well spent to work closely with a successful pro.
Regularly on this board we advise going to the vet with a sick dog. In my opinion, this is good advise. And it's the sametype of advise I'm giving here.
And Angie is right, in no way did I mean it as a put down on any advise given. I just don't think it is the type of problem you can solve over the internet..
..oh, and after a couple weeks w/ the pro (and a couple of opportunities to set up for, and correct this issue), it seems she's on her way to getting past this. She came in 3rd in a 28 dog derby just three weeks after I put her on the pro's truck.
Bente
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Well, we like to think of her as a woman, and one hell of a Marshall.Angie B said:So Bente is a girl???
Angie
/Paul
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Now Howard, I DID NOT SAY THAT....Howard N said:Paul, are you saying she's bossy?
In a nice way of course. :wink:
/Paul
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I"m looking for that envy emoticon. Does anyone know where it is? HPW
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