Teaching dog to fetch

[BIGINNER]

i got a question for you dog people 

i got a weimaraner about 1.5 months ago...  well he was given to me by a friend who found him. (somebody dumped him)


well, the dog has been doing really well, learning fast, and has all the commands down already.  i haven't shot a shotgun over him yet, but he does awesome around .22 rifles and handguns.

so.. thats the update,

now my question is.... how important is it to you guys/gals that your dog knows how to play fetch?
i take my dog to the park and walks by the river alot, and it would be pretty fun to be able to play fetch with him.

i've tried all kinds of toys/bumpers, and he shows absolutely no interest in them.  no matter what i try.   he'll retreive birds, (i tried useing a frozen bird),  but i think it would be weird if i went to the park and was throwing around a dead bird.. 

i know its a good thind that the dog is crazy about birds,....  so am i better off not teaching the dog to retreive toys, and just let him retrieve birds when we're out on the feild?  or is there maybe a techneque i haven't tried yet to get him to reteive toys?

also.  he has a tendensy to sometimes when i let him out of the kennel to just litterlly tell my f%^k you!! and go wander the streets. (wich freaks me out because there's cars driving by all the time).  is there a techneque to teaching the dog not to go out of the yard? or am i just better off getting a shock collar?

[runamuk]

I've been told its not necessarily good to "play" fetch with a bird dog that works, working him on bird retrieval is a bit different from playing fetch so not sure its a must to do. 

[BIGINNER]

I've been told its not necessarily good to "play" fetch with a bird dog that works, working him on bird retrieval is a bit different from playing fetch so not sure its a must to do. 

lol  you're right on that,  i kinda worded it wrong.  i didn't really play fetch with a bird,  i just worked on retreval with him yesterday, 

thats actually why i froze it,..  help teach them to be soft on the bird.

[runamuk]

I've been told its not necessarily good to "play" fetch with a bird dog that works, working him on bird retrieval is a bit different from playing fetch so not sure its a must to do. 

lol  you're right on that,  i kinda worded it wrong.  i didn't really play fetch with a bird,  i just worked on retreval with him yesterday, 

thats actually why i froze it,..  help teach them to be soft on the bird.

honestly I'd stick to doing that and skip the whole stick or ball thing  if he doesnt like to fetch for no good reason can you blame the guy 

[Shannon]

Buy a video called "Smart Fetch" by Evan Graham. A chihuaha would fetch if you followed his methods.

[BIGINNER]

Buy a video called "Smart Fetch" by Evan Graham. A chihuaha would fetch if you followed his methods.

funy that you mention that.  lol  my chiwawa is an awesome retriver.   

thanks 

[pianoman9701]

Try putting some duck scent on the bumpers for a while and he may be more interested. Don't throw sticks. Sooner or later, he can tear his esophogus picking one up on the run. Bumpers and kongs.

[wildweeds]

Your lucky,,,,,,,,,,,,, one of these days you'll be screwing around and muzzle blast him and then your in for a heap of trouble, birddogs handguns and .22's should never be used in the same paragraph IMO.Seen more than one that was totally ok with shotguns for years and a chance encounter with handguns and rifle reports caused the red wire to touch the black one

i got a question for you dog people 

 but he does awesome around .22 rifles and handguns.

[BIGINNER]

Your lucky,,,,,,,,,,,,, one of these days you'll be screwing around and muzzle blast him and then your in for a heap of trouble, birddogs handguns and .22's should never be used in the same paragraph IMO.Seen more than one that was totally ok with shotguns for years and a chance encounter with handguns and rifle reports caused the red wire to touch the black one

i got a question for you dog people 

 but he does awesome around .22 rifles and handguns.

really??    never heard that before.  i only use .22's for the first stage of gunbreaking.  just to start off with something not so loud.. 

[BIGINNER]

oh,  and on a different note.... i came home last night from work, and let the dog out of his kennel,.....  he ran strait to his toy that he never fetches,.. picks it up and brings it to me..       i took it and threw it across the yard,  and he took off like crazy after it,... and he brought it right back and gave it to me.        i think the dog might have logged into my hunt-wa accout and read this post.   

[ghosthunter]

I raised my lab from a pup. On the Game dog book. And than I read about 30 other books. Many trainers after a training session used a play period to keep the dog up at least for retrievers.
However there had to be a switch of mood and tone to single the dog that it was now play time.
For me i went from training her heal at my side to a cool down period and than I would hey hey hey with a bumper and just throw them as fast as she brought them back for about 5-6minutes. No rules. And than cool down before going home.

I am not a trainer. But you are lucky to have a pointer that wants to retrieve in my experience.

[runamuk]

oh,  and on a different note.... i came home last night from work, and let the dog out of his kennel,.....  he ran strait to his toy that he never fetches,.. picks it up and brings it to me..       i took it and threw it across the yard,  and he took off like crazy after it,... and he brought it right back and gave it to me.        i think the dog might have logged into my hunt-wa accout and read this post.   

I am thinking henis reading your mind better wear that tinfoil when around him

[wildweeds]

22's CRACK, plush they whirrrrrrrrrrr subsonically from the rifling,just like a silent whistle..................... shotguns of every bore make a "BOOM", for less noise use a smaller gauge and aim the muzzle in the opposite direction if it's too much noise use just a primer in a shell that really makes no noise. My best guess is that you don't get the dog fixated on a live bird either when gunbreaking.How many dogs you gunbroke? I'm thinking about 3 at maximum, I've got 25 of my own under my belt and a whole bunch that I helped with........ a long time ago I gunshyed a couple and it was my fault for doing stupid things, like shooting around their feed dish,gunclub the usual advice given by people that got lucky........... need to have birds in the picture and the dog has to show you things in attitude and how they carry themselves.

really??    never heard that before.  i only use .22's for the first stage of gunbreaking.  just to start off with something not so loud.. 

[Happy Gilmore]

Your lucky,,,,,,,,,,,,, one of these days you'll be screwing around and muzzle blast him and then your in for a heap of trouble, birddogs handguns and .22's should never be used in the same paragraph IMO.Seen more than one that was totally ok with shotguns for years and a chance encounter with handguns and rifle reports caused the red wire to touch the black one

i got a question for you dog people 

 but he does awesome around .22 rifles and handguns.

I've only ever used a .22 blank pistol with yellow loads? never seen a problem. Introduced 5 chessies varying in age from 4 months to 8 months to gun fire and ducks two weeks ago at the Evergreen Chesapeake Bay Retriever Club training day at Carlsons.

Every dog had retrieved a duck by the end of the day....used properly you shouldn't have any issue- I wouldn't shoot it right over their head but, I'd never do that with any gun when introducing a dog to gunfire- always with two people and always away to start and move closer as long as the dog is excited and not showing any shyness- wing clipped pigeons are the best for this- dogs forget the gun completely at a flopping bird.

[BIGINNER]

Your lucky,,,,,,,,,,,,, one of these days you'll be screwing around and muzzle blast him and then your in for a heap of trouble, birddogs handguns and .22's should never be used in the same paragraph IMO.Seen more than one that was totally ok with shotguns for years and a chance encounter with handguns and rifle reports caused the red wire to touch the black one

i got a question for you dog people 

 but he does awesome around .22 rifles and handguns.

I've only ever used a .22 blank pistol with yellow loads? never seen a problem. Introduced 5 chessies varying in age from 4 months to 8 months to gun fire and ducks two weeks ago at the Evergreen Chesapeake Bay Retriever Club training day at Carlsons.

Every dog had retrieved a duck by the end of the day....used properly you shouldn't have any issue- I wouldn't shoot it right over their head but, I'd never do that with any gun when introducing a dog to gunfire- always with two people and always away to start and move closer as long as the dog is excited and not showing any shyness- wing clipped pigeons are the best for this- dogs forget the gun completely at a flopping bird.

yep.. that what i did