Bird Hunting

[double_a85]

JLS- I haven't done any formal force fetch training. So far while playing with his toys, he always comes right to me and drops the ball or his stuffed toy in my hand. I imagine his attitude may change with a bird in his mouth though.

At what age did you force fetch your dog? Scotch is almost 7 months old now--- he will be a year old in September.

 

[TheJason]

You could start it this summer and likely be fine. I started Henry before his second season (13 months) but I didn't have/make the time to be diligent about it. I would make sure you have a good two months straight to work on it at least 4-5 days a week.

Henry was great at retreiving toys, but yes, his attitude changed with a rooster. That can be a trying experience for sure. He got markedly worse this year during the season, but I didn't really have the time or the knowledge at that point to correct it. I think this year will be a completely different ball game. We are doing multiple retrieves in the field with the Dokken dummies without issue.

 

[TheJason]

Yes, and as you know, these Britts are the nicest, softest lap dogs. Mine will first of all crawl on my Wife's lap for a nap,(after the romp) then when he really wants to rest up, up on my lap. Although if I don't get the energy used up, our Britt is restless, got to use up the puppy energy.

My GWP makes a great lap dog also. I have never seen a dog so crazed for human contact and attention.

Hopefully the Britts don't have a penchant for eating socks and then crapping them out a week later like Henry does.

 

[MKotur325]

If you don't force fetch, you may very well end up with a dog that will bring the bird back to you (almost), then drop it five feet away. If you think you can outrun a mallard duck or rooster that has a five foot head start, I'll wager that any day. It can be annoying to downright aggravating as all get out when your dog drops the bird, which is still very much alive and you waste a bunch of time and energy re-catching it time and again.

Our first Bird dog had no sense for retrieving... If the bird was stone dead when it hit the ground, she'd completely ignore it. If the bird had even a single gasp left, she'd rip it to bits until the bird stopped moving. We had many a sharptail that we couldn't eat after Heidi finished. It was shoot and scoot to try and get to the bird before the dog did. Here's a picture of Heidi with one of the Best days my Dad and I had over her. We ended up with 8 sharptails and 2 huns in 4hrs. Hope the picture shows the birds better than it does me...

 

[.280 Remington]

DON'T force fetch a brittany the first year. Let it get one season under its belt first. They mature a little slower than the German breeds IMO. If you dog is a good retriever and you don't plan on doing field trials, you may decide to skip the FF all together. I wouldn't though, because down the road you'll probably want it. Its a lot better to do on a 2 year old dog than a 7 year old one. That saying about old dogs and new tricks has some truth to it IMO.

And don't do it yourself the first time. Have someone show you how to FF a dog. Especially don't let your wife watch that first session...