Retrieving - easy to get right, easy to get wrong

I am sure the months of early spring see a surge in the sale of training dummies as everyone hurries to get young gundogs into the “classroom”. At this time of year perfecting the retrieving skills of youngsters is high on the last of every owners’ training schedule.

Considering it’s perceived as being such an important part of gundog work – and that the dogs we are all working with are inherently bred to do retrieve – why do so many owners have a problem with it?

Notice I refer to owners having the problem and not the dogs, because it’s the owners who are primarily responsible for problematic issues associated with retrieving.

Most dogs, irrespective of their breed, enjoy bringing items back to their owner. But in the case of the retrieving breeds that instinct is far more intense.

The end goal is to have a dog that only retrieves when it’s told to do so

The two most important things to remember when undertaking retriever training is that the end goal is to have a dog that only retrieves when it’s told to do so – in other words is steady and doesn’t run-in – and a dog that retrieves and delivers correctly.

Of course in reality retrieving is actually the “end point” of what may well be a whole raft of different skills the dogs needs to employ in order to successfully return with whatever it has been sent for but for the purpose of this article I want to concentrate on the mechanics of the retrieve itself and in particular the delivery.

I make no bones about it, I am a stickler for a correct delivery. But while it should be one of the most straightforward and natural parts of gundog training, it is all too often the one that causes the most hiccups.

"I am never in a rush to see if a youngster will retrieve, I always assume it will."

This article won’t be long enough to cover every aspect of what to do and what not to do to achieve consistently good retrieving skills in your gundog, so consider this a whistle-stop tour of the do’s and don’ts.

Too many young pups are given items to retrieve. Their retrieving skills are “tried” too soon in an unstructured fashion and are undertaken too many times. I am never in a rush to see if a youngster will retrieve, I always assume it will.

More importantly for me is to know whether or not it is a “natural” retriever and to get a really good idea of how much natural ability a dog has.

I want to assess how much it wants to please me by bringing something back to me but I still don’t really bother throwing anything for it until probably four to five months old.

And even then if there is the slightest hint that the dog is still a baby and has no real awareness of what’s wanted, I leave it and come back to it a few weeks later. Persisting with retrieving work with a pup that’s not ready will not make it improve any faster.

"I spend a lot of time on the floor with youngsters and pups and when I start retrieving work I want to be at their level."

When the time is right ideally get someone else to throw the dummy so that you can concentrate on the dog. I spend a lot of time on the floor with youngsters and pups and when I start retrieving work I want to be at their level – both for the send-away AND for the delivery.

Don’t tower over a youngster when it’s coming back with a dummy and don’t reach out a hand from a great height to take it before the dog has hardly come to a stop.

Initially I want to be at dog level for the earliest work with youngsters; I use lots of encouragement as well as the whistle and I open my arms wide to welcome the pup back to provide a safe docking-port.

Once “docked” don’t be in a panic to take the dummy. This is the youngster’s big moment so don’t spoil it and don’t get paranoid about it becoming hard-mouthed because you are allowing it to hold on to the dummy.

In essence that’s what you want it to do because reaching out and grabbing it will actually make it start to grip harder or will end up with the dummy being dropped.

I like to keep early retrieving lessons very short and practice them in a confined space so the young dog has come back to me before it has had chance to have any other idea about doing something else.

I don’t think enough consideration is given to the pride a young feels when it actually brings something back to its owner. It’s the dog’s big moment and is something that must be nurtured in youngsters. Once you have learned to appreciate what’s going on in a young dog’s mind when it’s learning to retrieve you will have a far better attitude to the way you train it.

Making the most of these early retrieves will lay a firm foundation that is less likely to lead to problems in the future.

And be aware of your young dog’s personality. A sensitive youngster often needs more encouragement particularly at the point of the presentation of the retrieve. You can almost see them asking “did I do that right?”

So don’t always be too clinical and precise about the way you receive the retrieve in the early stages. Make it fun first, the serious bits come later.

Never chase a young dog that runs-in to a retrieve and admonish it for its mistake. Trying to correct problem with steadiness when a dog breaks by running after it will all too often create hang-ups over retrieving rather than improve their steadiness.

Jeremy Hunt Fenway Labradors jeremy@fenwaylabradors.co.uk 07798 826179

Jeremy is the owner of Fenway Labradors has been breeding Labradors for over 25 years and is based in Lancashire, England.

Jeremy runs gundog training days offering individual or small group training sessions, by the hour, half or full day.