Well I have a question...Benson retrieves his dummies reasonably well, he will complete a nice quite long memory retrieve and deliver mostly to hand (with C&T ) OK he is not exactly a bolt of lightning, but he really enjoys it and it is a good way to spend 10 -15 mins in the day, especially for mental stimulation, he is a very active dog who I feel needs a lot of physical and mental exercise. The problem I have, is that he will ONLY retrieve on our own land? We do have a large garden, fields and wood adjoining, very lucky in that respect, plenty of space although we tend to use the same areas in order to encourage a straight line to make it easier for Benson to retrieve. We are working on casting back, easy memory recalls. also he seems to be picking up simple left and right arm commands instinctively. A typical walk consists of about an hours off lead, he is very good, obviously recall, and heel are a work in progress, however he is doing really well, and most will come back promptly on a recall, good on heel work both on lead and off lead. If I throw a ball, or dummy, he will go off after it and might pick it up, then ends up dropping it and wandering off for a sniff. Interestingly he is good at directional commands though when out and about, any thoughts anyone??
Re: Is this a confidence issue? Two thoughts to contribute: Have you trained the return in a structured way? ( I have (Charlie is possessive, so bringing the darned thing back is our biggest challenge) and it only holds up in certain scenarios. ) In which case he just might not have "got" this training applies in all locations. The second thought is if he is a dog where you need to nurture his retrieving drive along, new places are just too distracting. In which case you might alternate between rationing or stopping all retrieves (15mins a day is quite a lot), and throwing all rules out of the window and making retrieving the most exciting game ever (lots of running in after rabbit skin etc). Hope helpful.
Re: Is this a confidence issue? Thank you Julie! We have dropped all retrieving out on walks, I think you are right, just to many distractions for a bouncy young labrador I don't think 15 mins is too much, mostly consists of playing in the the garden, field etc...might have one dummy throw, and a single memory recall with a little heel work thrown in. Other times it might be finding a piece of sausage I have hidden..the sausage hunt is his favourite game! In answer to your question, when using a dummy, that is quite a structured, formal retrieve and he does this well in our field, which has a fair number of distractions in the form of deer and rabbit scent. I do think though people and other dogs are the ultimate distraction for him right now, maybe I have sort of answered my own question. He has lots of fun time with whatever he wants to play with if that makes sense? He is not really possessive, unless the ball or dummy is covered in rabbit fur. I am contemplating trying one of those Katie Bumper Bottles, something with an interesting smell perhaps, and trying with the food inside. I guess when out on walks I see other labs going bonkers for a ball to be thrown...and Benson, well he just looks at me as it to say "What's that all about then?" : Not that I particularly want to be someone armed with one of the ball thrower thingys on a dog walk..
Re: Is this a confidence issue? Well, it's true that 1 dummy throw in 15 minutes is not the same as 15 minutes of retrieving, for sure.
Re: Is this a confidence issue? I wonder whether it's to do with proofing too? Remember how with our new puppies we get told to teach commands in a fairly non distracting situation, and the when they've learnt it we have to teach it again in a new situation like out on a walk? Just thinking that maybe he's not totally sure what to do with the dummy in the new situation... Along with it being highly distracting, the retrieving he's been taught already has been in your garden and your field which are familiar places and he knows what the dummy means in those situations. Maybe he's not quite clicked that it means the same thing when out on a walk? Just a thought...
Re: Is this a confidence issue? I might be on the wrong track here but it sounds to me like it's not that much fun for him.....the dogs you see going bonkers for a tennis ball are probably allowed to chase it at breakneck speed. If you've formalised the retrieve too early and asked for him to be steady you may have dimmed his desire a little. He's still young isn't he? I would let him run in and make it a massive exciting game (ball throwers are good for this honest ) My boy is distracted by other dogs too, if he switches off from retrieving he switches into his nose but he's not looking for game it's other dogs so you're wise to understand your particular dogs drivers. You may need to find somewhere less doggy so no marking by other dogs distracts him on his run out or return.
Re: Is this a confidence issue? I had to develop scotts retrieving desire. Scout was no problem but scott could take it or leave it which he often did in favour of smells. : I didn't do any formal retrieving for a long time. I concentrated on speed and excitement there and back. I accidentally stumbled on what worked for Scott. A pigeon landed in the tree I waved my arms about shouting shoo shoo (there are loads of pigeons and they poo everywhere dogs eat it ) . Scott got really excited bouncing about so I threw his ball. He raced after it, brought it back and dumped it by my feet for another. For the next few weeks before I threw Scott's ball I shooed away pretend pigeons. : I looked daft but it worked. He now retrieves like scout. ;D
Re: Is this a confidence issue? bbrown, you might be on to something, not being fun. 2 things I have observed, when the neighbours children come to collect Benson (they adore him 8 and 10 year olds) they come in, sort through all his balls, toys pick out a couple then out the door they go, Benson is beside himself with excitement at this point, he just loves playing and they play fetch, or kick around a football. The other thing we made a bit of a mistake in the early days, well hubby did. As a young pup he was always grabbing boots and shoes from the stair and bringing them in, hubby would say "No" then take the boot/shoe and put it away in a cupboard. Not sure whether this would have any affect on a naturally driven lab, but possibly on a more laid back dog? I don't know. He ha starting to get more interesting in the chasing bit...a new thing is his excitement when he sees a ball. jumping up etc.....and if he sees me with sock bottle he is racing away before I throw it! ;D ;D He is now 9 months old, and in the scheme of things it doesn't really matter whether he retrieves or not more important that he has fun and lots of exercise Don't think he will be ever be a dynamo like Penny or Harley though!
Re: Is this a confidence issue? I think Boingo balls drive most dogs nuts for chasing something - you can roll them (on flat surfaces like a beach) super, super fast and the noise seems to add to the fun. I have two, but don't use them any more as they drive Charlie to distraction (which, I admit, is not hard).
Re: Is this a confidence issue? Kate, pretty jealous of your creativity in making your own bottle tracker toy, a new business venture I think Can you post a photo when your OH has finished it? So glad Benson likes the idea of the crackly bottle and the treats within, it's a great idea and Charlie loves hunting it out x
