# Need a little help



## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

As most of you know I have a british BLM who is almost 11 months now. His OB is nearing perfect everwhere we have trained except when we are in a training field that we have planted bird in.

This dog is what I would consider a soft dog, does not need a lot of correction relative to all presure that we have faced thus far. I finnally started to collar condition about a week ago because he was not stopping on the whistle as fast as I would have liked. He was responding perferctly to very low level stimulation.

We where out on saturday with about 12 dogs that we where planting pheasants for. My dog was last to go so there was alot of fresh sent out there, My dog would not respond to any e-collar correction when he was on a sent. would not respond to the recall peroid.

I went out and got him sat him down waked away and commanded "here" nick on a number three on the collar he was vocal and came to me right now.

I did this a few times and sent him back out in the field and he did the same thing (Ignored my recall) I had the collar cranked up as high as it would go and nothing not even a peep out of him.

In every other training situation I would have crushed this dog with that kind of correction, but I put him on birds and he becomes a fire breather.

What do I do next this dog could sit in a duck blind all day with brids droping all around him and he is steady as a rock but put him in a pheasant field and he is a different dog.

What should I do next?????


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Back to a check cord, actually it sounds like 200' of log chain might be a better idea, he may break the cord. With the sort of behavior you described I wouldn't let him have any more than 50' to start with.

Pheasents truely are "puppy cocaine"!


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## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

That is what I was thinking as well, I Guess I have no other choice than to go back to the check cord. Only problem is I am not sure he will act that way with the cord on.


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

I have to believe your collar may not be working correctly. If he yipps on 3 but shows nothing on high, either the collar isn't tight enough or it isn't working correctly. Before you get rough with him, put some conductive gel on his neck or shave it where the points rest and see if that helps. Go back to intensity 2 or 3.


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## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

Gonehuntin,

I checked the collar and the fit, Worked fine and fit tight. I think when he is on a scent he feels no pain or ignores it. Last night I had him on a long check cord and we went through all of the CC drils and he responded perfectly on a #2 stimulation. I think I will just have to keep that check cord on him for a few more days.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I have a shorthair the will walk thru any level on my e collar and I know the collar is working becuase if I use that level on my other dogs they jump out of their skin.

Some dogs just have a real high tolerance to pain, so you will have to get creative. Some of this may go away as he ages it did on my shorthair.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

I am with GH on this one. I've seen the most hardcharging labs turned around by a collar on high.

Just out of curiosity what is the brand and model of your collar?

Brian


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## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

I use a tritonics sport G2 It has has 5 levels of nick and contin.

I was thinking about this more and I am wondering if watching and listening to 11 other dogs get thier turn he was just so amped up a brick wall would not have stoped him.

As I said before we had a truck and trailer full of dogs and he was the last one to go. The antcipation might have been too much for the young dog.


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Well that's a good solid collar and if its charged and working then I don't know what to tell you.

Other than maybe the breeder should hold off on all the "soft, tractable, gentleman's gun dog, British lab" claims. Sounds like a firebreather to me. 

The anticipation probably did crank him up but it is something they need to learn to deal with. Kind of like a big flock of honkers coming in or a rooster running inches in front of him.

Good luck and let us know what you come up with. Brian


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Ryan; this is the type of problem you can run into using variable intensity collars; they build a tolerance to electricity. On your normal low setting, the dog may be playing with you. Try a sort of "de-bolting" and see what happens. Set him up at home. Walk him to the house and when he starts in the door, call him back to you with power on the collar. Same with your truck or kennel. What you are trying to do is take all of his safe areas away so the only safe place is at your side. Keep upping the intensity to see what happens. Next throw a clipwing for him, send him, and when he's nearly there stop him and recall him to you. You may need the CC on him for this one. Then when all goes well, try the same thing with a pheasant. Tape the wing feathers so he can't fly and let him run away from the pup. Now, it you do this too much on birds, you can build up an aversion to birds in him, so just do it in your training field, not in the hunting field. You may just have to go to a 4 setting and see what happens. It's a tough one to call from a distance and not actually seeing his reactions.


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## ryanps18 (Jun 23, 2006)

I think we are making some progress... Yesterday evening we went though some more Obedinace with the collar and did some of what Gonehuntin sugested, he did everything perfectly. Around dusk I let him back out to air himself and he caught wind of some of the deer that frequent the neighbors garden. He gave chace and as soon as he was at full speed I gave my whistle a toot and he stopped in his tracks with no correction, three more toots and he was running towards me again with no correction. had a tennise ball handy and let him have a retrieve.

I was a happy camper to say the least. We are getting there... I think he is starting to get the picture.

Thanks for all of your help guys


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## gonehuntin' (Jul 27, 2006)

Now that's good news Ryan.


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