Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 10:03 pm Post subject: Multiple Dummy Retrieves
Hi!
I'm new to the forums, so apologies if this is in the wrong place!
I have a 10 month old Lab and I have been working on single dummy retrieves for a few months. He loves to retrieve in lots of terrains and of course... the river!!!
I think we are ready to start trying multiple dummy retrieves. Has anyone got any past experiences and hints they could share in starting this exercise? Marshall (the pup) loves retrieving and I am hoping to keep it fun whilst maintaining a good level of discipline. Any comments would be gratefully received!
don't have any major tips except, when you start having 2 dummies out - maybe a left and a right, start back in close to your dog. make them simple to start with. or maybe a dummy in front of you both and a dummy behind.
also remember to stretch the distance from dog to dummy and dog to handler, one at a time. don't start off at 50 paces with a dummy each way out a long distance in long grass. start in close again like when you were first teaching directions etc with dummies on mown tracks/short grass.
try to never set the task too difficult to start with, gradually increase level of difficulty so that the dog gains confidence rather than risk him failing
hope thats the kind of answer you wanted??
____________ Sam, Coal & Finn
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NO expert - only a back garden fun gundog here! but just had a teeny bit of success after taking some advice from a very helpful member on here
Luna used to very happily try to retrieve both dummies, usually dropping one en route to the other - this was before any training!
I sat her up facing me with a fence behind her. Threw a dummy to the right, a dummy to the left then backed up so about 6 yards away from her. I sent her for the last dummy thrown with approp direction then walked forward to block the path to the 2nd dummy. She delivered 1st dummy. I sat her up in position again, backed off and sent her for 2nd dummy.
Rinse and repeat! I was told it's harder to send a dog for the first dummy thrown but Luna was fine. I'm gradually starting to reduce the blocking of the 2nd dummy. I want to break her desire to collect both dummies before stepping fully out of the path to the second dummy!
If you are putting 2 dummys out, don't put them too close together either. This could lead to him swapping. Like Sam says put him in front of you and throw one to the left and to the right of him send him from one there to practice a direction and then when he's brought that one send him for the other for a memory.
I do this for learning back too, sit him up throw one over his head and one behind me. Another variable for doing back could be putting a few dummys in a line out along a track and sending him back for them. Again be careful that they aren't too close together and peep him back as soon as he has the dummy to prevent swapping.
I haven't started that exercise yet with my 10 month old, but back is the very next thing I think we'll be getting to as it came up in his puppy test!
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Its interesting Fee everyone seems to teach things in a different order. I always teach back way before I do left and right. Good thing really as I had to use it in three of the six tests on Sunday. Skip and Morse have it nailed. Left and right is not that brilliant yet .
Very interesting! I find left and right easier to teach and back trickier. I've not stretched the distances yet for Zephyr and I think thats probably when I introduce the back. I havent needed it so far I suppose?
I think I've only done it that way as thats the order it came in when we did Gundog Club training, rather than a conscious decision! Have to say though Zephyr already has a concept of back as he actually did it at the test on Sunday but I have no recollection of doing it with him. Perhaps my memory is just going!
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