I have had puppies since March 24 until Monday. The last puppy went to his new home, new owner, in North Carolina. June and I have been wanting to go to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky for a while so we took the puppy and met the new owner in Louisville. It was still a long drive but it was much shorter for the new owner than coming all the way here.
The set up on the retrieving bench.
Abby with a dowel dummy.
Sally waiting for me to take the dummy and give her a treat.
Before we took the puppy to Kentucky the guy that had Boss, Bodie and Gus in South Dakota had called to tell me that Boss wasn’t eating. This was the second time but this time he hadn’t eaten in 3 days. He had a friend leaving his camp that could drop Boss off to me in St. Joseph Missouri. I met the guy. Boss was skinny and when I got him home, I fed him. He ate just fine. Evidently, he was just home sick. He’s cleaned his food dish every day since he came home.
When we got back from Kentucky, I had no puppies and was at a loss for something to do. I decided I would work the grown dogs on retrieving. It seems like the dogs forget or try to make me think they have forgotten. I worked Sally first. I threw a Dokken dove dummy about as far as I could throw. Sally ran out, picked it up and returned. She held it until I could dig a treat out, hold my hand under the dummy and say, “give”.
I threw the dummy 5 times for her and she was perfect each time. She had not forgotten or even tried to make me think she had. It may be that she likes the treats too well. And she doesn’t get a treat if she doesn’t do it perfectly. I put her on whoa, got on the 4-wheeler, started it and put it in gear. I then said, “okay” and she made a couple of laps around the yard with me following on the 4-wheeler.
Mann was next. I work them on retrieving right outside the kennels where the other dogs can see. Sally and Mann are my best retrievers so I work them first just to let the other dogs know it can be done. Some people think, and I don’t disagree, that hearing me praise the other dogs makes the ones not retrieving jealous and causes them to want to retrieve too.
Mann doesn’t really like the treats which are a hot dog cut into about 20 pieces. But he really likes the petting and praise. I threw the same dummy for him that I had for Sally and he retrieved it perfectly and holding until I took it from him. He took the first 2 pieces of hot dog but dropped the next ones. When he had retrieved 5 times I picked up the treats on the ground and fed them to him. He ate them then. I put him on whoa, got on the 4-wheeler, started it and put it in gear. I looked at Mann and said, “okay”. He made a couple of laps around the yard. My yard is about a quarter mile deep so they get a pretty good run.
Abby and Boss I work a little different. I have a stump near the kennels that I make them stand on until I throw a tennis ball. Then they have to go get the ball and jump onto the stump and hold until I say, “give”. Abby really likes to retrieve the ball but she likes the treats better than anything. I told her to get on the stump but she was too excited to stay. She would jump onto the stump and come right back off.
Boss pointing a single.
After several times having her get back on the stump I said, “whoa” as soon as she got on. That stopped her. I threw the ball and she bounded after it. She jumped onto the stump and spat the ball out. I made her get it and she spat it out as soon as she was back on the stump. We went through this 3 or 4 times. Finally, she held it after I said, “hold”, forcefully. I took the ball and gave her a treat.
We went through the same process 4 times. She didn’t get a treat until she did it right. On the fifth throw she never saw the ball. Mainly because she ran in the wrong direction. I had thrown the ball about 45 degrees to my right until the fifth ball and I threw it to my left. When my arm came forward she went right. I walked near it while she looked all around for the ball. She found it and went to the stump jumped on and held the ball until I reached for it. I whoaed her on the stump, got on the 4-wheeler, started it, put it in gear and said, “okay”. She ran a couple of laps around the yard.
Boss was next. Boss doesn’t care about the treats and doesn’t like retrieving. But he does enjoy being petted. I heeled him to the stump and whoaed him when he got on it. I don’t expect him to ever be a good retriever but this gives me an opportunity to have him obey some commands and gives me the chance to pet him a lot.
Bodie honoring Sally.
I whoaed him on the stump and only tossed the tennis ball a short distance. He ran to the ball, scooped it up and came back jumping onto the stump. He held the ball until I reached for it. He dropped it into my hand. I thought, wow. Better than I expected. On his fourth retrieve when he went to pick the ball up I thought he was going to refuse. But he picked it up and came back and jumped onto the stump. He even ate a slice of hot dog with each retrieve. I didn’t want to get in a fight with him so we ended the retrieves at four.
I whoaed him on the stump, got on the 4-wheeler and before I could start it he was running toward the back. I yelled, “whoa” as he came by me and he stopped. I heeled him back to the stump, made him jump on and said, “whoa”. This time he stayed until I got on the 4-wheeler, started it and put it in gear. At my okay he headed to the back.
All of that happened yesterday morning. This morning I wanted to have all of the dogs retrieve to a place board instead of Abby and Boss hopping on the stump. I worked Mann first and he retrieved really well, held the dummy until I took it but wouldn’t get on the place board. After his retrieves I led him onto the board and whoaed him. I got on the 4-wheeler, started it and put it in gear. He took off when I said, “okay”.
Sally on point, Mann closest to the camera, Bodie next to Sally and Abby in the back.
Sally was the same way. She retrieved just fine but wanted no part of the place board. But I started her on it and finished, as I got on the 4-wheeler, with her on it. It may take a little time for them to get used to it.
I brought Abby out and she went right on the place board. I have worked her a lot with place boards. I have been throwing a tennis ball but this morning I threw the Dokken dove dummy. I thought she would pick up anything but that wasn’t the case. She ran to the dummy picked it up, dropped it and came back. I walked her to the dummy and said, “fetch”. She acted as though she had never heard the word before.
I had an electric collar on her but no transmitter with me. I have only been using the bark collar feature on the e-collars. I had started her with the toe pinch and converted her to the e-collar. I squeezed her foot and she took my hand in her mouth but didn’t bite down. Three or four times she took my hand. But never a bite. Finally, she picked up the dove dummy. She didn’t hold it long. I squeezed her foot and she picked it up and held it. I took it and gave her a treat. I made her take it several times from my hand but if I wanted her to pick it up from the ground I had to pinch her foot. I put her back in the kennel.
Vince kicking the birds up for Bodie.
I took Boss to the stump. Nothing new for him today. Four retrieves is about all he is comfortable with. But he is eating the hot dogs so that a break through. I let him run a couple of laps around the yard as I followed on the 4-wheeler.
I came to the house and got the transmitter for Abby’s e-collar. I drank a cup of coffee and thought about what I needed to do. Last year I had worked her on about 8 or 9 different dummies and while she had some that she would rather retrieve she would get them all. I decided to put her back on the retrieving bench with several different dummies.
I took the Dokken quail and the Dokken dove with me to the retrieving bench. I got another 5 dummies and spread them out on the bench. I told her to fetch and she just stood there. I held the button on the transmitter down on level 2. She slowly picked up a dummy. The transmitter shuts off in 6 seconds, maybe 8. But anyway I didn’t want her to learn that if she just waited the transmitter would go off so I started walking down the bench with her.
Bodie with a nose full of quail scent.
She got all of them but then it dawned on me that she had taught me to walk down the bench. She wouldn’t go unless I did. Well that’s not the way to teach them to go get a bird. So I shortened the distance to the dummies. I had one of the Dokken dummies as the first one and she stepped over it to get an easier one. A couple of times I had to turn the transmitter to level 3 but each time I went right back to level 2. She got all of the dummies. I will work her for a while on the bench then we will go to the ground just like we did before.
Last year I should have stayed with several different dummies until she would retrieve whatever I sent her for. But I evidently didn’t do enough so we will start again. I may put Boss back on the bench, too. At least I will have something to work on, on these really hot days.