Hey guys, I have a nearly 2 year old lab that is obediance trained, but not trained for retrieving birds. She enjoys playing fetch, but isn't bonkers about it like a lot of dogs. I've taken her dove hunting with me once before, but we didn't have any shooting opportunities, she just slept at my feet the whole time. So, my question is, do any of you have any experience with hunting with an untrained dog like this? I'm not worried about her ruining the hunt for anyone by acting out, but is it possible that she'll turn into a decent retriever with minimal training?

Has the dog been exposed to gun fire at all?

Yes, she doesn't seem to think much of it.

What do you mean by that? Doesn't pay attention to it or doesn't like it?

Remember there is a big difference in one person shooting and all your friends blasting away at once.

Also, does she watch for flying birds?

Haha. I guess I could've worded that differently. She doesn't pay any attention to it and she has been around a lot of people shooting at once. As far as watching for birds, I think she will, but she hasn't had much of an opportunity to.

If you are asking if it is possible for a dog with only some obedience training to turn into a decent dove dog, purely because of her natural drive, then yes.

Will she become a reliable retriever, capable of performing more complex marks and able to run blinds... I doubt it.

IMO you set her up for failure if she does not have some basic retriever training. Has she ever been exposed to birds? She may not even want to pick a feathered critter up. My dog had training and it took her getting use to having the feathers in her mouth. Her first dove hunt this year, the doves she retrieved were practically plucked out.

Get a canvas dummy and tape some bird wings around it.
When she fetches it, make a super big deal about it, plenty of atta girls.
A few hand fed treats wouldn't hurt either. Repeat often for a few weeks.

She wants to do it, they all do. Encourage her.

IMO. You need to train the dog before taking it out and expecting it to learn on the fly.

Start with getting the dog on some live birds, ducks, quail, pigeons, whatever. Just get the dog on some birds. If the dog has the drive the birds will help bring it out and make it crazy about retrieving.

Like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it. If you don't spend the time teaching the dog then you probably wont get much out of it.

You would be doing the dog and yourself a favor, if you DO NOT to take her hunting. You can not expect her to know anything about hunting with out training. Plus there is the safety factor of her reacting to something, (shot, excitement, etc..)and creating a dangerous situation. Plus , remember no one wants to be around an obnoxious dog or for that matter, an obnoxious kid. If you want to hunt with a dog use a trained dog!

I appreciate the advice and opinions. For the most part, the responses were what I expected. First and foremost, she's a pet and that's the way I want it. I will never train her enough for a blind retrieve, but just want her to go pick up the ones she sees fall... if she even wants to. I will try to work with her on some basic retrieving skills in the upcoming weeks. I may take her out there tomorrow and just leave her in the truck. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

I would take her, doesn't sound like you expect much & you never know, she may haul butt to the first bird she sees go down & bring it straight to you.

I found out one of the best way to train the is to take them hunting
I toke Zeva for he Frist tine pheasant this year and she picked it up great
So I say take her hunting

I would take her. Be respectful to other hunters or hunt with very understanding friends. If you knock a bird down . Walk her out there and let her see you pick it up. Let her nose it a few times. On the next one you knock down take her to the close vicinity of the bird and let her sniff around with you excitedly encouraging her . Let her pick the bird up. They tend to mouth them some so don't beat her for doing that. Just be close so you can get it before she does. Use commands that you tend to use while playing fetch. Like drop it , go get it, where's the ball or bird and here. I'm by know means an expert . But this has worked for me and my dog I have and ones I have had. My first expectation of my lab is to be a great family dog and anything above that is gravy. I just started hunting mine this past September . She has exceeded my expectation . We have now changed to duck hunting and I'm very proud of how she's performed. They are very smart dogs. Have a open mind and a lot of patients .

I would guess most hunted retrievers are not trained field trail hunt test dogs and have never been trained by a pro or with a packaged training method. They are just family pets that are taken hunting, see bird fall, run or swim to bird, pick bird up, and run back with bird. It can look ugly and be far from perfect compared to a trained finished retriever, but most are happy with that.

Every dog I have ever owned has had on the job training with a lot of different first time experiences. Use common sense so as to not create problems you would have to fix later. Make sure your in full control during the first retrieves. Perhaps use a lead and walk him out on the first ones. Give lots of praise when things go right and have fun.

Thanks guys. I'm headed to the field after lunch. I'm going to take her with me and see how she does.

Turns out I have the most polite dog in the world. She let me pick up every one of my birds. Here she is watching for birds.


She ran about halfway to the first bird and stopped. I excited wen out there to grab it. I then threw it to her. She was definitely not into the feathers. I then let her get after a wounded bird.

We had a decent shoot and I had a good time out there with my girl. Don't know if she'll ever make a decent retriever, but she's still a good hunting partner.

Positives: she seems to enjoy herself and didn't bother anyone. Plus, I like having her out there with me.
Negatives: I already knew this, but she seems to lack the drive to retrieve. Oh well, she's a heck of a pet and a great fisherdog.

I think I may have let her spent too much time right here.

Cool pics

Someone once said, "Don't spoil your hunting dog."

I spoiled the heck out of mine, and I have a half-bird dog to show for it.

I wouldn't have changed a thing, though.

All may not be lost as far as a hunting dog goes. Get a few pigeons, clip their flight feathers and toss them for your dog. Let the dog chase them and play with them once it catches them. If the dog has some prey drive that will really bring it out. My oldest Lab was trained without birds for the first couple years. I never thought he had much drive or would really hunt hard. Little did I know, once he came in contact with his first birds it lit a fire under him.

I don't like to let doves be the first birds a dog handles. They are very fragile and the feathers come off in the dogs mouth, they also don't have much scent. My dogs that are force fetched hate putting doves in their mouths. But they love every other bird.

Get some pigeons and you will know pretty quickly what kind of drive the dog has.

Either way you still have a great family dog.

A little bit of an update. I got her to retrieve one of the doves from the hunt in my yard when thrown, so we've made a little progress. I'll give the pidgeons a shot too. Thanks

Awesome, man. Don't give up on her yet...she might surprise you.

Things you may try, if she has had some obedience training, then take her back to "school." Just work with her a bit in the yard. Keep the sessions short. If she has a favorite toy, use that to start playing the fetching game. Don't throw far, and get her excited before you throw it. When you throw it, let her react to it. The throw that my dog loves is my fun bumper throw. I tease her with it, no command, and then try to skip it as hard as i can across the ground. The bumper only travels about 30 feet. If she likes the chase game, then add a wing on to the toy. If she still likes the game, soon you can change toy to the bird. I used duck wings that I had saved last year, and she really loved to play fetch when it was strapped to a bumper. When I used a thawed out duck that I had saved, she really really loved it. By the way, sessions don't have to be long, 5-15 minutes a day, and finish with the dog still happy (watch for tail wagging, and body posture). Oh yea, always make a big deal when she brings the toy back! After all of this, if dog still likes to retrieve, then you can get more advanced if you care to.