Woo Hoo, Cuillin has got the Retreiving Bug! I used to find it quite difficult to get her to retreive things as she is so playful, she just wanted to run off with whatever she was supposed to be retreiving and get a Game Going with Brodick with it. Anyway, have taken her through Pippa's brilliant Clicker Retreiving, and picked advice up here about just using Dummies for this so she knows it is 'work', and she LOVES it! She is spot on in the house and will do for hours if allowed, we have just moved outside now and yesterday she was retreiving her dummy and although she had to do a triumphant run round a tree before looping back to me with it it was brilliant to watch her running towards me all happy and excited and triumphantly depositing it at my feet (not done to hand yet!)....a month or so ago she would have hared off with it, raced about, then drooped it about three miles away and run back for a treat!! Really proud of her, and she obviously loves working to direction....and thanks for all advice Ive picked up here!
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Thats brilliant to hear , its so good when they get that eureka moment and it all clicks into place , the sudden realisation that " Right , so this is what I`m meant to do and its great "
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Great job. I could try dummy work inside as Charlie didn't have a clue outside - bless!! How do I get started with inside work? Thanks Helen x
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Hi Helen. Im very much a novice at dog training so I followed Pippa's Clicker Retreive course to the letter! Once they were used to the idea of the Clicker meaning good thing, I started with them learning to 'touch' the Dummy in my hand, then 'touch' it on the floor, and once they got these two stages sorted we just kept to the programme, building it up slowly. they didnt get the Dummy to play with, only to 'work' with so Cuillin got the idea it wasnt toy...what I did do with Cuillin for ages was have her retreive from a narrow hall with all the doors shut so there was no distraction and nowhere for her to go apart from back to me...i might have been lucky as well in that they have both always been very drawn to Dummies - from the first time they saw one they seemed fascinated by it. which is odd given its a bit if canvas filled with sand but fascinated they were...and Rabbit Skin Dummies sent them into a frenzy!(that instinct thing I guess) so it was more a matter of showing them what I wanted them to do with them (ie not hooly about flinging the Dummy up in the air and savaging it together!). Brodick is a complete natural at gundoggery, he seems to know what to do without being shown so he was retreiving in no time and Cuillin picked up the idea from him I think...she still has her mad moments with it outside mind you! good luck with the lovely Charlie
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Well done Debsie, that is great news! The link is here Helen : Clicker retrieve
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Hello Debsie, Well done for getting your two on the road to retrieving. Great job. How did you get on seperating the dogs whilst training? I manage to get my two year old watching and waiting for a short while before he gets jealous but it is harder with the one year old as she is so giddy. I toss treats to the waiting dog to reward their patience. Sharon
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Hi Sharon, I've had the same issues! Its taken a while but I spent ages in the house where everything is a bit more relaxed teaching them about turns...Like you I built on the Wait command, spent a while getting one to just sit and wait while the other came with me to another room.. Cuillin (16 months) is super obedient so she was fine, Brodick (ten months) took a little longer but he got the idea. Like you, I rewarded the one who had Waited with huge fuss and a treat. Then I got going with it with treats, chucked one on the floor and worked on getting one to wait while the other trotted off to get it, that was much harder for labradors! They also got to understand 'Turn', so they know when I say Brodicks Turn and Cuillins Turn what it means....however I've found with that one that timing is everything because if Cuillin is anywhere near a Dummy and I say Brodicks turn she will grab it and try and leg it! Interesting further twist to the jealous thing with Cuillin as well, Brodick is excellent at Water Retreiving and adores it, Cuillin isnt so fussed, she likes to swim and play in water but prefers her retreiving land based..... I noticed that when we were on the beach and he was retreiving from the sea to much praise from me she would try and run after him and take whatever he had retreived off him and then leap on him and try and pin him down. she had stopped doing this with land retreives (probably humanising them far too much but my theory was she was good at them too amd got much praise so no jealousy!) and they will take turns nicely on land . Once I got her doing sandy land retrieves to much praise at the same time as Brodick was swimming off for his, this stopped. If I don't have a pal with me it means I have to be very coordinated and have a water retrieve going on at the same time as a land retreive! All great fun tho....
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Hello Debsie, You are right it is a slow process. I too try to get them both retrieving seperate dummies but they always want the one that the other has got! So teaching them 'turns' is good and helps with improving steadiness. As you say all good fun. It is rewarding to see them come on and improve. Need more hours of daylight, two pairs of hands etc.... Like you I am working on training in the house and then gradually proof it outside.. Thanks for your feedback.
Re: Cuillin is retreiving!! Thanks Debsie, I am thinking of clicker training Charlie to heel as he finds that tough enough so may try the dummy work in the near future. It's never ending but I love to see the progress made. Helen x
