Another problem... GSP won't retreive dummy in 'game' areas

[Michael Kontou]

I don't want to be seen as a serial thread starter with training problems, but I this is my first proper hunting dog and I am learning a lot, part of it is asking people who have experienced the same issues. I am very grateful for those who offer comments or suggestions, and I hope one day I can offer similar advice to others when I gain enough experience.

Anyway, I am sure the title of the thread requires some explanation. I am having an issue with my girl retrieving in scrub areas where there is other game present... basically, the distraction of all the other smells is way more exciting than fetching a dummy.

I know this is the problem, as we can take 10 steps away from this area and she will work perfectly. Back to the scrub, she doesn't want to know the dummy, even if I walk her right up to it and instruct fetch she will stare blankly at other things or look at me like 'that is boring dad'.

I am really struggling with this, I have tried a couple of things but I am not progressing like I had expected.

I know I need to restore her concentration on my instructions and her drive in retrieving the dummy instead of hunting for herself, but I am not sure what I can do to overcome the problem? Please help

[Mark Greenhalgh]

Watching with interest. I had a similar problem with my dog swimming after ducks while training out of season at the local lake. After a few frustrating times, he realised that the dummy was what he was there for. I had to really get him excited and focused on the dummy before i threw it. Goodluck.

[Michael Kontou]

Mark,

I had a bit of a win this morning after a horror day yesterday. I suspect the area we were training in was too distracting to start off with, there are literally quail running around that she points and flushed. While I know that this will be a reality one day, I think it is too much of a big step at this point.

Things that have helped:
- using my starter pistol to mimic gun shot
- very tasty soft treats that she gets instant enjoyment from (i.e. nothing hard or chewy)
- duck wings strapped to dummy

We also tried a different area, still lots of pigeons and magpies plus some scrub and trees.

Also, and I am not sure if this is just a coincidence but I switched her food on Monday night. She is definitely more alert and more energetic, seems to focus a bit better?

That is where we are at the moment.