Pup Eating Doves

[Banded_spooney]

18 month old female lab ate two of the first three doves I killed yesterday so I had to take her home before the afternoon shoot.

She is in heat and tends to have a ton of food aggression while in her cycle (this is her second cycle) and my dad had his older female so I'm hopeful that between doves being difficult on retrievers and her having food aggression the problem will correct itself. I am less concerned about doves but need her ready for duck and goose season. -- she's been on hand-thrown dead ducks without a problem but that was early, right after FF.

Any thoughts?

 

[*zap*]

Don't overreact, don't say 'good girl' and see what pans out.....maybe throw some frozen doves away from the hunting area for her to retrieve and see how that goes...patience.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Might need some iron supplements.

 

[slick]

Might just have to let her eat every single one until she’s full/sick.
I wouldn’t freak out, it sucks but you can do more harm then good with a strong correction.
I haven’t had to do so but buddies of mine have had similar issues just with quail

 

[TreeStandAthlete]

Might just have to let her eat every single one until she’s full/sick.
I wouldn’t freak out, it sucks but you can do more harm then good with a strong correction.
I haven’t had to do so but buddies of mine have had similar issues just with quail

Ah, the 'ole make 'em smoke the whole carton approach. This is what my local gun dog school does.

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[Banded_spooney]

thanks fellas. Hopefully this doesn't translate to big birds

 

[KurtR]

Is she force fetched? Have you used pigeon before? I have a dog the same age and if he even thought about eating a bird we would be back to ff with that bird. That’s right there with breaking a completely unacceptable behavior. Is she mouthy with bumpers?

 

[KurtR]

Ah, the 'ole make 'em smoke the whole carton approach. This is what my local gun dog school does.

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Your joking right

 

[Superdoo]

Is she force fetched? Have you used pigeon before? I have a dog the same age and if he even thought about eating a bird we would be back to ff with that bird. That’s right there with breaking a completely unacceptable behavior. Is she mouthy with bumpers?

That right there is the correct answer. If you’ve been through force fetch… congratulations! You get to do it again!
Get on it right away and work it hard. If you let it slide, your probably dealing with hard mouthed retrieves at a minimum. There’s a very real possibility your dog will just give you the finger altogether.
It’s still a pup so don’t rush through training on birds or you can do more harm than good. If the dogs not ready/ reliable for the season, you’ll need to stay positive and take the birds as the dog brings them or doesn’t.

 

[*zap*]

if your going to force retrieve train your dog you better know how to do it....you need a training table to start...and alot of knowledge.

 

[KurtR]

if your going to force retrieve train your dog you better know how to do it....you need a training table to start...and alot of knowledge.

There are plenty of programs like Freddy kings that will go step by step and are very easy to follow. Also I have found pro trainers very helpful if you have questions. My dog now is the first one I have trained to a close to running at a finished level. We got our HR title this year and if hunt test season wasn’t done I think we would get an hrch if ran a couple more tests. I used my tail gate as a table and it worked good. I used the ear pinch method with toe hitch I would say a table would be necessary

 

[*zap*]

step by step procedures with a lot of feeling for the nuances for each dog, they are all different and need to be trained differently.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Is she force fetched? Have you used pigeon before? I have a dog the same age and if he even thought about eating a bird we would be back to ff with that bird. That’s right there with breaking a completely unacceptable behavior. Is she mouthy with bumpers?

I bought her started (pre-T drill). She was FF and collar conditioned then transitioned to dead birds. That was complete in February. I got her end of March and started T drill in April. I haven’t worked her on birds since.

the two she ate were both morning doves and she was competing on the retrieves with an older female. One was in tall grass and I brought the second dog over to help find it. The other we were walking to a new spot and both dogs were running free. The second bird was a larger collard dove and she was alone with me under control. She sat steady at the shot and retrieved to hand at my command. That does give me some hope that her being ultra aggressive while on her cycle had something to do with her eating the two she did.

I froze three doves so I’ll put her on a bench and see about having her hold them before doing anything else. The local sporting club will let me come work her on live and dead ducks mid September. That could be the real test.
Thanks

 

[Banded_spooney]

Is she force fetched? Have you used pigeon before? I have a dog the same age and if he even thought about eating a bird we would be back to ff with that bird. That’s right there with breaking a completely unacceptable behavior. Is she mouthy with bumpers?

And no, not hard on bumpers. She’s usually pretty timid except when she’s in heat

 

[KurtR]

And no, not hard on bumpers. She’s usually pretty timid except when she’s in heat

If she was started by a trainer I would call them they could do a better job answering the question since they know the dog

 

[Squincher]

I'd just as soon the dog ate those disgusting things so I don't have to.

 

[Superdoo]

I'd just as soon the dog ate those disgusting things so I don't have to.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

if your going to force retrieve train your dog you better know how to do it....you need a training table to start...and alot of knowledge.

This is completely false. A table is Definitely not needed.
Bitches do some weird stuff while in heat. And dove are such a soft and delicious bird. I would try hunting her again when she’s not in heat and see how that goes. If she eats them again Back to forced fetched.
Also, fwiw I typically do not hunt my dogs when they are in heat due to their irrational behavior and respect for hunters who may have an intact male.

 

[Banded_spooney]

This is completely false. A table is Definitely not needed.
Bitches do some weird stuff while in heat. And dove are such a soft and delicious bird. I would try hunting her again when she’s not in heat and see how that goes. If she eats them again Back to forced fetched.
Also, fwiw I typically do not hunt my dogs when they are in heat due to their irrational behavior and respect for hunters who may have an intact male.

This is my 4th BLF but the first I've ever had that was intact so I'm new to this 'irrational behavior'. I took the other hunters with males into consideration but we hunt private and it's just me and my dad. His current lab is a spayed female and they are well socialized with one another so I figured that was a non-issue

 

[Tod osier]

18 month old female lab ate two of the first three doves I killed yesterday so I had to take her home before the afternoon shoot.

She is in heat and tends to have a ton of food aggression while in her cycle (this is her second cycle) and my dad had his older female so I'm hopeful that between doves being difficult on retrievers and her having food aggression the problem will correct itself. I am less concerned about doves but need her ready for duck and goose season. -- she's been on hand-thrown dead ducks without a problem but that was early, right after FF.

Any thoughts?

2 dogs (one in heat) in heavy cover is a lot of chaos for a dogs first few retrieves. Manage the situation by having the conditions controlled where you are able to monitor and focus 100% on the dog.