# goose handling ?



## jwdinius1 (Dec 14, 2006)

got a 15 month male choc. lab that weighs bout 75 lbs, hes just a little guy, he has retrieved eberything but a goose, i went out this weekend and he would run out to them try to figure it out and then just stand there and look confused, i would then call him back and he would drag themm by the beak or the wing, he would them give up and come back and look dejected. is there a way to train him to hadle large geese or does he have to figure it out himself. also there was 6 guns with us, so would a indididual session with just me work out better so he not so rushed. i know dokken has a goose dummy, but he doesn't always like to retieve dummies. any help apprecited Thanks
( i would after each hunt take a goose and throw him about 3 retreives)


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

75# ain't such a little Lab if he isn't fat. Your key is to get him crazy over birds. A goose is the toughest of all bird's to retrieve, especially when it's hot out and the geese are on land. Is he ff'd? Doesn't make much difference here. Even a ff'd dog can have problems with a goose. You have to choose your battles. I got two Giant Canada's this weekend and my Draht had a terrible time getting them back. The bigger one I met her half way and took the bird. The bird was 6" longer than she was without including the neck and head.

Remember, everytime you throw a dead goose and she won't retrieve it, the dog has won and you've lost. Has she picked up large mallards? Was it a canada, a blue, a lesser, or a snow? I work the dogs up gradually to the big birds, try to make it fun, and give them a lot of encouragement.


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## Goosehunterdog (Jun 12, 2005)

Size really doesn't make that much difference...A 50 lb Lab can carry a goose with ease..That is when Force Fetch comes in handy or keep a goose or buy a barnyard goose and tease the dog to the point of it carrying it..A Dokken goose will help as well..


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## Fosse (Jan 5, 2007)

Most dogs need a little coaxing when it comes to geese. The dog that naturally went out and slammed a duck the first time it lays eyes on it may not go after a goose with out a little training. Best thing to do is the first time you drop one with the pup around is to go out and retrieve it with him. Make it a game of keep away with allot of positive play. Soon you will be able to toss the bird and back up.


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## jwdinius1 (Dec 14, 2006)

Thanks fellas! :beer:


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

The biggest thing to remember with a goose is it's size it is alot for a dog to get in it's mouth, the dog has to learn where to pick them up. If they try to pick them up like a duck (middle of the body) they will struggle. My female will either pick them up by the butt or at the base of the neck. She hadn't picked up a goose untill she was about 3 years old, and had retrieved a couple hundred ducks. The first goose she ran out there and tried but failed. I sacrifiesed one bird that season for training and she has been fine ever since, and she weighs about 63 pounds not a big girl by any means.

I don't think FF is the cure all in this situation, a goose is a bird but it is something she has not seen nor picked up befor. Last season in Canada we had a long sailer that my dog picked up, it was a BIG goose, it looked as big as her when she was carrying it, she dropped it about 20 yards from me, did i go out there and ear pinch her back to the bird and make her deliver it to hand. Heck no she was flat out tired, and saved me a 200 yard walk in the snow. There has to be some give and take. Now if she had got out there and decided not to pick it up at all, after handling geese properly befor that would be another story.

Tyr to get a big fat farm mallard, and then maybe a snow or a lesser, then move up to a giant.

The dokkens goose dummy will help as well for size and weight.


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## jwdinius1 (Dec 14, 2006)

Browndog, thanks i like to hear stories like that, i just went out and got a dokken goose dummy( not nearly the size of a greater, maybe a snow) i just ran around the yard and taunted him with it, he finally got so jealous he tried to get it out of my hand, i then threw him a few retrieves and he figured the base of the neck is the bast spot to get it, i know we stil have a lot of work to get a real one, Thanks


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## Fosse (Jan 5, 2007)

Perfect!! I am in the same boat right now with my 16 month old YLF. She gets ducks atleast 3 times a week in training, but has never had a goose to retrieve. She went hunting with me last year, but was to young to get one. She loves the goose dokken and I need to get her a real one to let her know what she is looking for when I send her from her Ground Force blind.


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## Jungda99 (Nov 17, 2006)

I have the same problem with my 49# Yellow Lab. She pick one up for about ten yards in the wheat field and dropped it. When we hunted the corn stubble she would try and bring it back but with her soft mouth the corn stubble kept ripping it out of her mouth. I need to get a dokken dummy.


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## jwdinius1 (Dec 14, 2006)

so ur saying im not the only one with this problem, yeah i thought it was my training for awhile
Good Luck! :beer:


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Heres some Goose/Dog pics


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Good looking deke's and pic's Browndog.


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## jwdinius1 (Dec 14, 2006)

good looking dog aswell!!


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

Thanks,

The Choc. is mine the Dark yellow is a buddys and the light yellow is Waterwolfs..


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