texashuntingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
nmmuledeerhunter, Dzia-Dzia, TraeMartin, Beatixre, MooseSteed
71989 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
dogcatcher 110,788
bill oxner 91,416
SnakeWrangler 65,417
stxranchman 60,296
Gravytrain 46,950
RKHarm24 44,585
rifleman 44,461
Stub 43,769
Forum Statistics
Forums46
Topics537,031
Posts9,719,631
Members86,989
Most Online25,604
Feb 12th, 2024
Print Thread
Lab, does great but cannot do cold water #5428851 11/18/14 05:46 PM
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 45
J
Jordan249 Offline OP
Light Foot
OP Offline
Light Foot
J
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 45
So my lab retrieves, is not gun shy, is extremely obedient, but cannot stand those days when it is 25 degrees and the lake is cold. I bought him a vest, and it seemed to help a little, but he just refused to retrieve when its cold. He will get in to about chest depth but wont go further. If it's about 50 outside, he does great but with the colder weather I don't know what the problem is. I've hunted with other labs that do it without any equipment and have no problem, so I'm not quite sure what to do at this point. Any suggestions?

Re: Lab, does great but cannot do cold water [Re: Jordan249] #5428991 11/18/14 06:34 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19,165
J
Judd Offline
#1 Creedmoor Fan
Offline
#1 Creedmoor Fan
J
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19,165
A good trainer can fix it. Force to water will most likely be their tool.

He can do it, he doesn't want to. Have you force fetched him and tried the "fetch" command? Not saying that will work but it could?

Another trick you can try is have a buddy bring his dog...that sometimes will fix that issue too. The dog gets amped up enough that there is competition for his birds he will pay not attention to the cold water.

Good luck.


Originally Posted by Phil Robertson
Don't let your ears hear what your eyes didn't see, and don't let your mouth say what your heart doesn't feel
Re: Lab, does great but cannot do cold water [Re: Jordan249] #5429662 11/18/14 10:26 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,903
Sniper John Offline
gumshoe
Offline
gumshoe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,903
The same dog you had this trouble with last year? Should have done your water force during the summer when it was warmer. As Judd said get him out on a play day on a very cold day with some other dogs that love the water and get him socialized to the cold water. Then do some repetitive training when it is cold in the same weather and situations you hunt.

Re: Lab, does great but cannot do cold water [Re: Jordan249] #5430188 11/19/14 02:07 AM
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 514
M
maximumintensityretriever Offline
Tracker
Offline
Tracker
M
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 514
What they said ^^^^. I would recommend not reinforcing bad habits. If the dog has not been force fetched work on that at home but don't continue taking the dog. If your dog has been force fetched but not water forced then start wading out with the "here" command and when you get to the bird command "fetch". Enforce the standard. If you have not force fetched do not attempt this and understand that you are going to be limited to water you can wade. You must also enforce EVERY time. That means taking the dog out to all birds until they finally go when sent.

Your other option is to forgo the season and water force next spring.

Good luck.


Tony Marshall
Maximum Intensity Retrievers
https://m.facebook.com/maximumintensity.retrievers
(903) 720-6842
Re: Lab, does great but cannot do cold water [Re: Jordan249] #5436695 11/22/14 01:19 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 15,413
R
reeltexan Online Content
THF Celebrity
Online Content
THF Celebrity
R
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 15,413

Dogs are competitive, that's for sure. They get jealous. Especially if the other dogs are getting all the praise.
Use that.

He'll come around.


[Linked Image]

"Give me an Army of West Point graduates and I'll win a battle... Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war." - General Patton


Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 2004-2024 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3