Is It Too Late?????

[mklaver]

Hi All,

I am a relatively new waterfowl hunter (entering my third season) and I have a female golden retriever who is almost three years old. She is a fantastic dog in every way, is very obediant and loves to retrieve sticks and balls from the water.

At almost three years old, is it too late to train her to retrieve birds?

Complicating the issue is her skittishness with loud noises.

I am thinking I should leave well enough alone and love her for what she is - an awesome family dog - unless some experienced dog people think there is hope.

Thoughts?

[pnbrock]

Does she come from a hunting line ?

[Foxton Gundogs]

Does she come from a hunting line ?

Although it is indeed important (as I have preached may times) it is not always necessary to have a dog from field lines to have a hunting dog depending on what you want and will accept. As I always say about field vs show and their respective abilities "I play golf, Tiger Woods plays golf" I can have fun with my abilities on the golf course but if you want a Tiger in your foursome dont call me. lol

[Sasquatch]

I'd be more concerned about her "skittishness with loud noises" than her ability or desire to learn to fetch birds at 3 years old.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Yep proper gun breaking is the important thing at any age.

[Discoverer]

It is possible to field train a 3 years old golden, but the gun shyness won't be easy to overcome. How does she react to the shooting sound? Did you take her hunting with you? As for retrieving sticks and balls - if you want to train her for birds, you should avoid them altogether. I even stopped using the bumpers when field train my dog and use only geese/duck wings or frozen ducks. Another VERY important thing - the dog handler should NOT throw anything for retrieving. You will need another person to help you. And this came from the personal experience. The very first time I took my golden for hunting I shot the goose and unfortunately didn't see exactly where the goose landed. It was lots of open water around and a huge field of a tall grass. I sent the dog out, he swam across and tried to search, but since he never seen or smelt a goose before it was too difficult to figure out of what to look for. I tried to direct his search and threw an empty shell into direction where possibly the bird might be and sure enough he found that shell and proudly brought back http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif Luckily we have another dog with many years of waterfowl hunting behind his belt who was able to find and bring the goose back.
After that I stopped throwing anything for retrieving and trying to simulate the real hunting scenario as much as possible. If there is no other person available, I make the pup sit, then walk away so he won't see me directly and throw a wing 40-50 meters away, then came back and sent him to search. It works much better.

[Kasomor]

Hi All,

I am a relatively new waterfowl hunter (entering my third season) and I have a female golden retriever who is almost three years old. She is a fantastic dog in every way, is very obediant and loves to retrieve sticks and balls from the water.

At almost three years old, is it too late to train her to retrieve birds?

Complicating the issue is her skittishness with loud noises.

I am thinking I should leave well enough alone and love her for what she is - an awesome family dog - unless some experienced dog people think there is hope.

Thoughts?

Maybe ...maybe not. I've seen some dogs started at thatage who have done o.k.

You would train an older dog at the beginning same as you would with a youngpuppy that knows nothing. With your older dog you will have a head start withthe obedience...

Don't worry about trying to find out if she is afraid of gun fire at thistime....I don't know why everyone is so hell bent on getting their dogs aroundguns :-x .... It's like people are testing the dog and not teaching, and then they get a dog who is hiding under the truck or worse.

Getting adog crazy about retrieving BIRDS should be the first thing on the agenda alongwith obedience. If you have a dog that is crazy about retrieving birds firstand you introduce gun fire in a logical manner associated with retrieving, overmany months, it isn't going to be an issue.

You need a game plan. Get yourself some books or DVD's and learn how to teach your dog what she needs to know is a good place to start.

You need ducks for her to retrieve, no more sticks or balls :grin: Do you have asupply of ducks?

[Discoverer]

The dog will need to have a good foundation before being introduce to the field work. Desire and willing attitude are on a very bottom of this foundation, without it nothing else will work. Obedience is the second important component. Oh, one more thing - Nose! Some dogs just don't have a good nose and no matter how good they retrieving if they can't find a bird, they'll never become good hunting dogs. As of gun fire, there are many ways to properly introduce a dog to noises and banging a shotgun above dog's head to test whether she is afraid wouldn't be the one I recommend :smile:, but I got a sense the CO's dog isn't comfortable with loud noises already, so it's gonna be even more difficult to loose her tension around guns. It sounds like 3 years old dog is a little too old to begin all over, as you literally has to start everything from scratch. It's still possible but will require lots of determination from both of you and especially from the owner. Are you ready to sacrifice and devote yourself to train her, knowing that result can be negative?

[mklaver]

Hi All - thanks so much for the good advice and feedback. I totally hear Kasomer about balls and such. Maybe a good start is a duck dummy and some scent and a good dvd and book. We won't know until we try. If we can get her to be excited about retrieving that, then we'll move onto gun breaking. Lots to learn, for both of us. :-)
I don't mind putting the time in with her - if it works out it will be worth it, and if it doesn't, I spent time with my great dog, so thats good too. Pnbrock asked if she is from a hunting line - I would say "no", but I spoke with the breeder and she said some of her other pups from prev litter had become gun dogs, but I wouldn't say she is from a hunting line per se.

I know she wont be ready for this season, but if I can have her ready for next that would be awesome. It breaks my heart to walk out the door for a hunt and leave her behind.

Thanks again......

Michael

[Kasomor]

Hi All - thanks so much for the good advice and feedback. I totally hear Kasomer about balls and such. Maybe a good start is a duck dummy and some scent and a good dvd and book. We won't know until we try. If we can get her to be excited about retrieving that, then we'll move onto gun breaking. Lots to learn, for both of us. :-)
I don't mind putting the time in with her - if it works out it will be worth it, and if it doesn't, I spent time with my great dog, so thats good too. Pnbrock asked if she is from a hunting line - I would say "no", but I spoke with the breeder and she said some of her other pups from prev litter had become gun dogs, but I wouldn't say she is from a hunting line per se.

I know she wont be ready for this season, but if I can have her ready for next that would be awesome. It breaks my heart to walk out the door for a hunt and leave her behind.

Thanks again......

Michael

Great that you are willing to put the time in and that you are in no rush!

Save your money on the duck dummy. Really. They are a waste of money and stink like cat pee as they age. Really.

Just get some 2" or 3" white bumpers for her to retrieve. Much cheaper...fact is you want her to retrieve a bird...so you can take a duck wing or two and tape it on to a bumper so she gets use to feathers in her mouth and you can get her crazy about retrieving those. This year when you go hunting either breast some ducks and tape them back up or save some whole ones and freeze them to teach her that picking up ducks is the next best thing to eating :D


If you are a book person...Training Retrievers for Marshes and Meadows by James Spencer is a great beginner book.

The Golden Retriever Club of BC is hosting a Hunt Test tomorrow at TNT Kennels in Abbotsford. Google it for directions.Test runs 8 am to around 3. Come for the day, come for an hour and watch.


You train a hunting dog same way as a Hunt Test dog so this will give you an idea of whata trained dog should be able to do...leave your dog at home, wear darkcolors, bring a lawn chair, food and drink....and talk dog with a bunch of great people

[Jimbo]

If you are willing to put in the time to train, you really have nothing to lose. You may just end up with a fairly good huntin dog, or simply build a better bond with an allready good pet. I'd say it has more to do with your patience as a trainer.

I had a year & a half old male lab with unknown background that developed into a great all around hunter. I still miss that dog.

[FirePower]

As stated by a number of the experienced dog people, it is not to late, just dedicate yourself to the task and do it correctly, take your time.

[Angus]

Go ahead man, give it a shot. Just take your time and lean on some of the people on this web site. You'll get plenty of great advice.

I didn't start my lab until he was four. I got some great advice from experienced hunters and trainers (as neither of us had hunted before), put the time in time training him myself, and he picked it up no problem. Granted he's no MH, but he does a good job. Hasn't lost one yet.

Once you get your dog ready for next season, or even for later this season, get him out with an experienced dog. No real substitute for that, as he can then see how its done.

My $0.02.

Good luck.