HELP!! Gundog Trouble

charlie1990

Hi everyone
I bought a gundog last season he was a year old and very well trained. He retreives and flushes but when i hunt with him he goes too far i try to keep him in to about 20 yards but he drifts further. How can i get him to stay closer when we hunt?

Spunk84

what type of dog? why 20 yards in front

charlie1990

Springer spaniel, he goes out to 40 or 50 yards by the time the bird goes up i dont get a shot in, hes too far out need to get him to stay closer to me

sean raff

i dont think your doin too bad so far by the sound of it maybe consintrate on getting the dog to quarter the area

deeksofdoom

charlie1990 wrote: »

Hi everyone
I bought a gundog last season he was a year old and very well trained. He retreives and flushes but when i hunt with him he goes too far i try to keep him in to about 20 yards but he drifts further. How can i get him to stay closer when we hunt?

If he's well trained then you should be able to either recall him or stop him on the whistle, sounds like the dog isn't doing this. If so you'ld better go back to basics, teaching him the recall, walk to heal, stop etc...

Just because you bought the dog trained doesn't mean he is going to stay trained, if you don't do a bit of work with him now and again he's going to forget.

charlie1990

new to shooting not a great shot would like to have him in closer give me longer to take the shot if anyone has any tips?

blackstairsboy

There is a few solutions for your problem some which I have found work and others I have not found either practical or useful in solving the problem. You could put a check cord on him and pull him when you whistle but this is a long process and a dog will quickly get into a habit of doing perfectly when the cord is on him but will go back to his old ways once it is off. I would not use this method.
You could get a shock collar but I would only use one as a last resort. It is expensive and a dog can also get into a habit of doing well with it on and not when it is taken off. I only ever used one once I borrowed from someone and I will never use one again.
What I would do is bring the dog to somewhere that is closed in maybe a large shed or even a back yard as long as the dog is contained. Call or whistle the dog and insist he comes right up to you. Reward the dog with a soothing tone and petting and a treat. When the dog returns to you every time in the contained area you can move somewhere else such as a lane way with banks either side to restrict his movements a bit. Again get him returning every time without hesitation and again lots of petting and treats. Finally after a few weeks which it may well take you can move out to the open countryside. Put yourself in a winning position where there is less chance of the dog disobeying you so for instance don't bring him on land which is riddled with pheasants or other nice scents. I would think 5 or 10 minutes is enough time to have him out at first in the field so there is less chance of him making a mistake you can build it up gradually and also lose the treats and petting gradually so finally the dogs reward will just be a "good boy" or something. This will take time and you will have set backs but if you stick at it you will have a sound dog for next year if it is let go any further it could be beyond repair by this time next year. Using this method will also guarantee long term sucess and not just a quick fix such as a shock collar.

Spunk84

ahhh now i get what your saying;)

Did you buy off a trainer or a website and did you see the dog work before buying?
Is the dog fully trained or partially?
Have you ever worked a dog before?
Do you know all the commands that the dog was taught in training?

The reason im asking is,you stated that your new to the sport, "now dont take this to heart" but could it be you and not the dog?

charlie1990

Thanks for all the posts everyone very helpful ill try it out, i did see the dog working before i bought him was excellent and from a well known trainer, its my own fault really ive made a bit of a pet out of him was very slow to discipline the dog when he made a mistake and hes picked up some bad habbits. I can manage to keep him under control and work very well on a ditch, where i find the trouble is in an open field of kale or beet he gets over excited and moves out too far very hard to call him back.

Spunk84

i would diff work on his recall;) if he runs too far just call him back

kermitpwee

charlie1990 wrote: »

Thanks for all the posts everyone very helpful ill try it out, i did see the dog working before i bought him was excellent and from a well known trainer, its my own fault really ive made a bit of a pet out of him was very slow to discipline the dog when he made a mistake and hes picked up some bad habbits. I can manage to keep him under control and work very well on a ditch, where i find the trouble is in an open field of kale or beet he gets over excited and moves out too far very hard to call him back.

The dog is still young, I would try not to show him too open a ground or he will move out on you. The proper solution is to get the dog to quarter the ground but first you need to get control of the dog on the basics such as recall etc. If the dog was keeping tight for the trainer but is moving out on you it's because he knows your a softie and he's chancing his arm.