so i have a 13 month old female lab... up until now i have not had a problem...a few weeks ago my fiance took her to the vet for a tick bite and she was put on antibiotics for no reason other than woman inniciative...since then she has refused to hunt or retrieve anything outside of the yard or nor field beside the house.....she did act different on medicine but hasnt been on it for over a week and a half.... talked to the trainer and he said to leave her at home for the rest of the season since she is a soft dog and doesnt respond to force at all.... does any one have any ideas to get her going again....i dont wanna hunt without a dog or be done with this season already any ideas would greatly be appreciated
Thanks in advance!

Is she retrieving in the field next to your home? If so I would throw her fun bumpers every day. Forget all the steadying, let her run & have fun. You do want her to bring the dummy back to you. Very informal at first to really get her worked up & excited. After a few days if she is.doing ok, take her to another location. I would mix in a few gunshots while throwing the dummies. I am not a pro but have trained one of my own that was overly sensitive & didn't take well to pressure & force. Give the dog a lot of praise & love. Let us know how this is working after a few.days. Good luck.

yes she is retreiving next to the house...over gun shots and all but as soon as the switch it area comes shes done...ive never seen a dog go from good to bad so quick....she knows what she is supposed to do just decides not to do it i think it is her testing me phase but im not sure....deffinatly aggrivating but ill deffinately give it a shot

I am missing something here......
Your dog was a top dog before she got a tick bite and now she ain't...
Has she ever been duck hunting and retrieveing ducks, or is it all bumper, training work?

I don't see her scared of ticks, rule that out.

Tick bite? Is she stiff and sore when getting up and walking? Tick bite fever can last weeks and come back in humans for years. Not sure about dogs.

No reason to go off bumpers and field retrieving after antibotics....unless she still has an infection, maybe secondary to the antibotic tx. ( eating, peeing and poopin normal?) How is her teeth and mouth?

Have no idea why a trainer would tell you to leave her home, "because she is a soft dog". What did I miss? I see no reason if a dog is not gun shy or sick to leave it home, just because it won't retrieve. I would make trips fun, try to run with another retriever and get her turned on again.

Keep us posted. Duckdon

she did awesome up unitl she was on the medicine and since then she hasnt been to active and is being really selective when to retreive....i have no idea what her deal is its fuckin weird ik but im lost i do need to get her around another dog but no such luck finding another person to hunt with....its very disappointing to say the least just time will tell... she never really went through a testing phase through training soo this may be it

my dog did that about 9 months old. just quit retrieving one day. i didnt talk or play with the dog for a week. kept him in his kennel and only seen him every morning when i fed him.

about a week later i brought a duck up to the kennel and put it on top of his kennel. let it stay there all day. when i let him out later that day he was more than happy to retrieve.


last year a friend of mines dog refused to retrieve in the middle of a hunt. we used to hunt on about a 35yd island. he left the dog on the island. the dog had to find all the ducks on the island that she couldnt find while hunting to eat. when we went back the next day she too was more than happy to retrieve and hasnt stopped since. i dont care how sensative ur dog is. dogs respond to fear, as kids. if i tell my daughter to sit she sits, because she knows what comes next if she doesnt.

well i just had the dog with a litter mate of hers at the house...once they got aquainted they both were retreiving....mine actually listening because of training tactics but non the less having a blast retreiving....as soon as the dog left...nothing...couldnt get a response out of her....she has pretty much been in solitude for a couple days and doesnt get much attention other than to be fed or let out....it seems to be getting to her she just doesnt understand what she has done wrong yet...gonna try and not play with her for a week and see how that goes...

How's the dog? Maybe it is depressed from no attention. U spend any time with it?

took her on a scouting trip yesterday....seemed to have spunk back and was runnin around....retreived maybe 30 times in the yard with other dogs and kids around....neices love her and i didnt know it was happening...hope shes back to normal soon just located several thousand birds in flood water

My dog is the first time I ever trained a dog for waterfowl hunting. He is far from perfect but has finally gotten to the point where he will reliably retrieve, just over 2 years old now. I took him out all summer hunting doves and pigeons and he would retrieve everything I shot. He would retrieve training ducks in the yard all day long. I took him out opening day this season and the first duck I shot, he swam out, picked it up, spit it out and came back to the boat. He wouldn't retrieve a single duck.

I didn't take him out for several weeks after that and every time I would get dressed to go he would wig out cause he loves being out there. When I finally took him back out, he has retrieved every duck we've shot. It's like leaving him at home an coming back with ducks(I let him smell them when I got back) made him realize what he was supposed to do. I try and make it fun for him and give him lots of praise when the brings a duck back.

thats wat im hoping happens here....got set up on alot of ducks tomorrow....its shallow so wont take her but hopefully i can get her excited when i get back...deffinatley wanna take her out again this year before the 15th good to know someone else has been down the same road...

Shock collar works wonders. My buddy has one the most hard-headed dogs I've ever seen. Worked him for a week on the collar and now he doesn't even have to charge the damn thing. When he snaps it on the dog knows it's time to work. What works for one man may be cruel to another, but it's just a suggestion. Good luck with her whatever you decide.

I seriously considered that, but I read several training books that said improper use of a shock collar could ruin a dog. I don't know anyone that has trained a dog with one so I decided against it. They are no doubt a great tool if you know someone to show you how to use it.

Ecollar is my friend. And no you dont BURN a dog, A simple Nick here and there as a reminder is all it takes.

tried that durring training...ive always used them for my pointers and setters but she has always been a great dog and listen to everything....she seems to be coming out of whatever the hell she was in but still havent hunted her...been about 2-2.5 inches of ice and lots of weekspots dont feel safe hunting her yet..but thanks for all the opinions they were greatly appreciated no i just hope she is still turned on when i take her out

did the vet check her for lyme disease?

mo but thats what the antibiotic was preventing or treating i cant remember what she said...(she looks like a spitting imagae of jenifer lopez)

this makes alot of sense honestly i know that this will happen but it never really hit me....she went on the last duck hunt of season today...might go one more time but idk....she did retreive the bird i shot today....didnt seem as excited to do it....i do have a loud voice and do try to make everything fun for her even if i fake it.....need to deffinately watch myself and not get upset....i beleive that has a big part of this whole deal

has anyone had any luck with sending the dog to a trainer so the dog gets a differrent kind of train...heard this can have a big impact on training for the dog

Kwicklabs You said a mouthful here when you said "If a dog is not behaving like I would expect them to, I first of all, look at what I have been doing that may be causing this response." My thoughts exactly. Most people just assume there dog is being hard headed or what ever but in my opinion when a dog is not doing what is asked it's usually boils down to the trainer not getting the point accross. Remember most adult dogs have the mental capacity of about a 3 years old child so take it from there. Duckdon