I have a black female lab, she is 8 months old that I have spent many hours bonding and working with. She will fetch and I have also started working with her on duck scent but now she is very stubborn and will not fetch unless the dummy is thrown close to her. I have tried a few things but none seem to work. All help will be appreciated

8 months is when they get hard headed just keep working her is she forced fetched

X2. Force fetch

She could be teething seems alittle old but i know when my lab was teething she didnt wanna retrieve

No I haven't started force fetching yet but that's what I was thinking also. Can y'all give me some tips and pointers on how to get her started.. Thanks again

This is a stage she is going through. Trying to test you to see what she can get away with. Don't let her win. Stay with it and end every session on a positive note. This is probably a good time to introduce her to live birds, her instincts will overcome her hard headedness.

Ok, I've been working with her for a few hours and I can get her to run for a long retrieve she just won't pick up the dummy or have anything to do with it when I'm holding it. Is there any way that it could have a bad taste or smell that she dosent like? She's formilliar with the smell and taste of the scent I've been using

X3 wait at least 4 months and then force fetch. If her maturity level, you think, is high you can start sooner than a year. Imo 8 months is too young for force fetch.

Noticed any blood on bumpers? It might be her teeth. Try a puppy bumper that's soft. Mine went thru a stage like this. Make sure and make it fun. Let the retrieve be a reward. Do not let her get in a habit of not retrieving. Try to stop before you get a refusal. If she keeps refusing polish up on your ob and start ff or get a trainer to ff her for you. You following a prigram?

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You stated in another post that you've been working with her for a few hrs? Work with her 15-20 minutes and put her up.

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Ok, so I'm only suppose to work her for 10-15 mins a day? I was told 45 mins to an hour

I have a soft Remington dummy that I'm using and I haven't noticed any blood. The past few weeks she would come running up to me with the dummy in her mouth wanting to play and I've always threw it to her and rewarded her after every retrieve but now she won't have anything to do with it, so I'm wondering if I maybe over done it or didn't do something right

Are you following any kind of program. If not get the Chris Akin dvd or get FowlDawgs. Yes 15-20 minutes and call it good..especially in this heat. If you want to work her more do it 2x a day. That way you are keeping her attention.

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No, I'm not following any programs, il see if I can find it, I'm glad I posted this I've been working her for an hour twice a day

had mine retrieving snow geese by 5 months old u dont need to wait to force fetch. she was in a blind at 12 weeks its never to soon if they are williing to do it

Order the akin vid. You will be glad u did.

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I just found one in macks pw is it duck dog basics?

Go back tot he basics and keep the training sessions to less than 30 minutes. An hour is way to long for a young one. In this heat I wouldn't go more than a couple 2 or 3 retrieves a day and the rest work on the sit, stay, heel, type stuff.

Yea, I'm gonna start over with her tomorrow and il order that DVD tomorrow also thanks

At this stage in her life she is most comparible to our terrible two's, when your child is two or three, they will constantley test you. She will more than likely go through this again when she is about two, which would be about like our teenage years.

I have never had to force break one of my dogs, I wouold recomend this as an absolute last resort.

I would take her out of her kennel, and make her do one good retrieve for you. Then i would put the bumper up and play with her for a minute or two to reward her for the good retrieve. Then put her back in the kennel and do it again the next day.

I once had a female that did the same thing to me, was right on track and learning like wildfire, then just just wouldn't go at around the same age. I did the above mentioned with her for two months before she came out of it.

It has worked great for me in several situations when training dogs. Then dog develops a real sense of drive and want to please you when they only get one chance a day. After a few weeks you can do a few more retrieves each day, just remeber to alway end on a positive note with the dog. Make her want to please you every time she has then opertunity, and don't give her any slack to do otherwise.

I have a two year old male right now that lives on a leash because he wants to bolt on me everytime i give him a chance too. He is almost fully trained on hand signals and everything, just have to keep them honest when they show there stupidity...

Hope this helps!

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention get this book. DVDs don't teach you near enough.

Amazon.com

Water Dog -- Richard Wolters

I kno a book isn't as easy as a DVD, but if you are spending two hours a day with your dog right now, and you cut that to about 15 minutes, you will have plenty of time to read this book. It's old school, and the best for referring back to if you come across any bumps down the road...

Sounds to me like she needs to be forced. Alot of females clam up and get bitchy at this age. Its no big deal if you know what to do. Go find you a pro and pay them to force the dog or show you how to properly bring the dog through a solid forcing program. (Hold, Fetch, Walking Fetch, Force to pile etc.) Do not throw anymore marks or anything. You don't want to teach her its her decision weather to pick it up or not. Dogs learn from repetition. If you are repeating failure, that's what she'll learn. If you wanna drive to Baton Rouge, I'll be glad to give you some help. I have a female in the kennel very similar to yours and she's progressing just fine. Consistancy is huge with these little dramatic bitches. You have to be very black and white. The good news is usually these little females that are a bear to force, have turned out to be some of the best finished dogs i've trained.

Listen to Med on this imo.

does the pup have all the adult teeth in, blood showing up at all from loose teeth that havnt dropped etc? This can shut a dogs retrieving down at this age.

Should be it obvious!?

Do not start any Force fetch till ALL THE ADULT TEETH ARE IN.

Stubborn at this age?
What program are you following?
If So , Where are you at in that program?

If no program, there are many but Id suggest to look into Evan Graham Smartworks. Easy to follow and layed out well.

I've slowed down with her and took meds advice and ordered a copy of chris Akins duck dog basics, she is back to fetching now and I've been working her slow for 5-6 retrieves a day and commands for 15- 20 mins a day. I'm waiting on the DVD to come in and il start going by it.

2 things come to mind.

1. She is teething. Solution, put the bumper inside a couple tube socks.

2. You're working with her too hard when you do work. Make it fun first, then once you see her drive is improving start your force to let her know that its her job.

Biggest thing is to not overwork them.

Outlaw states dog is 8 months old. All adult teeth should be in by now. You can check her gums but I doubt that's the issue here. These little females are usually either very soft and bitchy, or clammers. They usually get very inconstistant with marks during basics, and force you to force them alot untill they know that you will stay the course. If the video doesn't help go find you a pro to give you a hand. Being able to read a dog is pretty important here and most videos don't teach that skill. This type of dog can be a tough train even for a pro, to much force/wash out , too little and the desired response won't be obtained.

Are you trying to steady her(make her stay till you tell her to fetch). If so stop and let her have fun. X2 of FF. I had the same female 12-14 yrs ago that was awsome when I got through FF. Work her a few times and always end w/ a few retrieves just for fun. Let them play and have fun. You have plenty of time to teach her to wait for her call. Fun, Fun, Fun right now!

you need a live pidgeon and a bird harness. get her going for a real bird that flaps and runs . best thing I ever saw for training puppies. remember, she has the attention span and memory that you had at 3 years old. but I bet you would have a ball with a live bird then.. get a trap or just buy one. you will be amazed.

I 2nd the motion on waterdog. Get the book and they now have it in DVD. They also offer other dvd's based with other trainers that used the Richard wolters method but they go a step further with things like the e collar etc. Those dvd's are top dog 1&2 I think. I have not been doing this long but I have trained dogs with this method and it works. I tend to disagree with newer trainers that u have to wait longer in life to teach a dog something. If u r new at this like me, the wolters method is absolutely great to use.

I second the Wolters book. I started my 1st at 6 weeks and she was the best trained dog I've had. Whistle is paramount. Short sessions in this hot weather and end on a good note EVERY TIME. Make dog stay on a few retrieves to start this but keep it fun at the end of every session. If you only have time to take dog out in the afternoon and heel, sit and stay you will be teaching. Then let them retrieve a few bumpers for fun. I can sit my dogs at heel while working and say the word FUN and they start to jump. You will need to FF your dog at some point but remember to keep them having a good time while they are young. Take my advice and don't try to steady to quick.

Ok, I've bought a DVD from mpw and watched it, I've been working her for short sessions daily and she's back to doing good, I've also been working her with commands and she is doing very well

Richard wolters water dog is a great tool as well as Chris Akins DVD, keep it short and be consistent.

Kwicklabs........The word “stubborn”, in
a human sense means, 1) there is known response and 2) you refuse to do it. When a
dog doesn't do the right thing, it's because he hasn't been taught well enough."

How'd you get to be so dang smart? Now what about "Hardheaded"? Duckdon

Do yall realize this thread is a year old?