0 sats \ 12 replies \ @siggy47 5 Feb
Is that your dog?
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329 sats \ 11 replies \ @Enemy_of_the_state OP 5 Feb
Yes, 5 years old Epagnuel Breton, goes everywhere with me except fiat mining!
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0 sats \ 10 replies \ @siggy47 5 Feb
Does the retrieving come naturally, or does it involve a lot of training?
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329 sats \ 1 reply \ @Enemy_of_the_state OP 5 Feb
Exactly, short to keep them wanting more. Thanks for the interaction, only my second day here on SN!
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 5 Feb
Good to have you here.
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329 sats \ 5 replies \ @Enemy_of_the_state OP 5 Feb
This was my bible
https://www.amazon.com/Game-Dog-Retriever-Waterfowl-Training/dp/B002A7FQTG
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @siggy47 5 Feb
I had an Irish Setter as a kid, but we never trained her to retrieve. I did do Schutzhund with one of my dogs. I guess all training has a lot in common.
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329 sats \ 3 replies \ @Enemy_of_the_state OP 5 Feb
Yeah definitely proof of work when the you and the dog are working as a team. One of my girls wants to be a dog trainer, and she already impresses me with the tricks she’s taught them.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 5 Feb
My daughter is starting a job at a guide dog facility this week. She is training to be a trainer.
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329 sats \ 1 reply \ @Enemy_of_the_state OP 5 Feb
That would be mines dream, work with them as a career, maybe she’ll start her own training facility!
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329 sats \ 1 reply \ @Enemy_of_the_state OP 5 Feb
It’s a bit of both. I grew up with Golden retrievers and they typically are very natural, almost obsessive about it. This is my first dog of my own, and I guess it’s typical of Brittany’s that they don’t get super excited about retrieving…so we trained a lot as a puppy.
Still the practices are short, and have to be challenging or he loses interest in retrieving dummies (maybe 3 or 4 retrieves per session max.). Live birds and he is excited and never gets bored, he will hunt all day and do a dozen or more retrieves.
A Golden retriever will play “fetch” with dummies until he collapses with exhaustion.
I was lucky to have a lull in my work schedule while he was young, as that is the best time to train, between 8-16 weeks old. Just lays the foundation, rewires the brain and turns them into a learning sponge for the rest of their lives. Then just treated every interaction as a training/learning opportunity.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 5 Feb
I guess like all puppy training-short, fun sessions with rewards.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Anonymous_Hodler 5 Feb
Un faisan dans les blés… bon boulot l’epagneul ;)
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