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I have 2 quick questions. #1. i have a 1 yr 3 mo old black lab that minds better than I do. He sits, fetches, speaks, shakes, brings back bumpers straight to me all with no problems. He is the most pleasant friend I have to be around, but he will not fetch a dead bird. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to break the ice and get him to start fecthing birds. I have not really been able to work with birds around him except for the few i have brought home from a dove hunt this yr. when i throw the bird for him to go fetch he will stay until i send him for it, he will dart out full speed to retrieve it but when he gets there he just smells it and leaves it along and comes running back to me. any suggestions. Have I fetched with bumpers to long? Is there no hope? Please tell me other wise!!!!! My next question is about the extrema beretta. Would it be a good duckhunting gun.

Listen, I once had a lab that would fetch ducks like there was no tomorrow, but you couldnt make that dog pick up a dove. Never did figure it out, my old dad said they must have tasted bad to that particular dog.

so blackdux, do u think this yr when i kill some ducks i should try playing fetch with him in the yard with the ducks or what, what is the best wake to make the transition from bumper to real bird.

It's fairly common for a Lab not to fetch dove. They don't like all the feathers. I taught mine to fetch dove by putting a dove wing on a bumper. Next thing I teased the dog with a whole dove by swinging it around the dog's head. Also, if you can put the dove in the dog's mouth and make the dog hold the bird for a few minutes, this worked for a friend after he did it for about a week.

Has your dog been Force Fetched. I was going through the same thing with my black male. He is at a trainers being FF now. If he has not i would get it done. Find some one who can show you how or take him to a trainer. I have a couple of tapes that shows how if you PM your address to me i'll make you a copy and send to you. But i would recomend a trainer who knows what they are doing. Good luck.

One thing that I would try to do is getting a live bird that has his wings clipped or bring home a dove that has not been killed from the field. This has seemed to get the dogs that I have "birdy". It will give them a little excitment on the retrieve.

duckhunter203, I can tell you what I do every year. I am gonna catch some flack over this, but what the heck. It has never failed me or any of my buddies. Toward the end of each years duck season, I will save a couple of ducks, whole, and freeze them in those big zip lock bags. I will usually keep a teal or two or a woody or two and always at least one mallard. I will remove the breast meat and then close the skin flaps back over and freeze 'em. A person never knows when they will have to replace their hunting dog due to accident, etc. Anyway, depending on the training situation, I can pull one of those ducks out and get a pup really birdy. I have seen pups that wouldnt even hardly go pick up a dummy, all of a sudden find a new interest in fetching after being introduced to a real duck. I start with the teal and work my way up as they get more birdy. I also tie a duck wing on my dummies. It has worked like a charm for me and my buddies for many dogs back. I guess my idea on this is using the dogs natural instinct to overcome some hurdles. As opposed to forcing the issue.

1) I have a friend who has a dog who will fetch anything as long as it isn't a dead animal. He'll get beerbottles or sticks or cinder blocks but don't put a duck out there. The dog won't even fetch his bumper if it has a rabbit hide tied to it. My friend tried and tried but the dog was a wash out. More than likely it will just take a while to getting him used to dead animals

2) The extrema is a sweet gun. I shot several doves with it this year and never missed a lick with the light loads. The synthetic stock and rubber inserts make it pretty handy. I highly recommend it.