Labrador not retrieving game from the ground

[NeilD]

Can anyone assist with some advice

I have a 19 Month old Labrador that will not retrieve game from the ground, but she will retrieve pheasants that have been shoot over a river and land in the water with no problems, she will retrieve dummy's from the ground and water, I also have a dummy with a pheasant pelt stitched to it which she will retrieve from the ground and also a large bunch of pheasant wings that she will also retrieve.

Thanks Neil

[walleyejim1216]

She probably got her but kicked by a crippled pheasant!

[NeilD]

No she has not been caught by a pricked or running bird, if this had happened I would have had an understanding what the problem was.

[JJ Scully]

What training does the dog have? It sounds like the dog knows what to do but is not doing it. Sounds more like a training and obedience issue. You may want to read up on force fetching.

[NeilD]

Originally Posted by JJ Scully

What training does the dog have? It sounds like the dog knows what to do but is not doing it. Sounds more like a training and obedience issue. You may want to read up on force fetching.

I have spent a great deal since she was 10 Months old on training, also from March to October 2011 I was going once a week to gun dog training with her, she works very well to the whistle and will not run in when you shoot a bird unto you send her for it, but if the bird is on the land she will just push it with her nose or move it with her paws and come back without the bird, but if the bird is in water she will retrieve it.
One of the shoots that I go to has a drive over a river and any birds that fall in the river she will retrieve them with no issues, but any pheasants that fall on the ground by the river she will not, even though she may have retrieved 4 or 5 from the water just beforehand, as this is her first season and I have been very careful to only send her for dead birds and she has not been caught by a pricked or running bird, also both her parents are very good working dogs.

[JJ Scully]

That is what I thought you are comanding her to retrieve and she is not doing it. Look into force fetch if you tell the dog to get the bird it should. It knows what to do but you are not forcing it to do what you tell it to. Force fetching is not something I would do myself. I would recommend an experienced pro that knows what he is doing. If you want a truly finished dog it is necessary sometimes

[NeilD]

Originally Posted by JJ Scully

That is what I thought you are comanding her to retrieve and she is not doing it. Look into force fetch if you tell the dog to get the bird it should. It knows what to do but you are not forcing it to do what you tell it to. Force fetching is not something I would do myself. I would recommend an experienced pro that knows what he is doing. If you want a truly finished dog it is necessary sometimes

Thanks very much for your input and suggestions, I have thought about Force fetching, but also as you have mentioned it is something that I did not want to resort to, I do not know if you can shed some light on this but I do not understand why she will retrieve from water and not from the land, I send her for the birds in the water just the same as I do for the ones on the ground, the thing is it is not as thought she will not retrieving at all as she will from the water.

Thanks, Neil

[WallyNut]

Your dog retrieves from water and fetches dummies because she feels like it not because you gave her a job to do and she has to complete it. Force breaking makes it a job. It takes some time to force break to retrieve but is time well spent. I used the ear pinch method on my dogs. Force breaking sounds worse that it is.

[NeilD]

Originally Posted by WallyNut

Your dog retrieves from water and fetches dummies because she feels like it not because you gave her a job to do and she has to complete it. Force breaking makes it a job. It takes some time to force break to retrieve but is time well spent. I used the ear pinch method on my dogs. Force breaking sounds worse that it is.

Thanks for the input, it may sound stupid but can you advise where I can find some info on exactly what is required to complete force breaking correctly, as this is something I have not used in the past.

[Phil T]

I used to have a Brittany that would only retrieve if the bird landed where I couldn't easily get to them. That included water, really dense brush, etc. He'd just sit by them or if wounded, sit with his front foot on them until I grabbed them. I didn't worry about it because he fetched the birds I couldn't get, and he found so many.
I think his first retrieve of a sharptail grouse (lots of loose feathers) took the joy out of retrieving for him.