DuckSouth.com

Here it is the end of Oct. and my dog has gone crazy. she's 6 years old and always been a good dog. but lately she's either hard of hearing or hard headed. last week I took her dove hunting the first day she did great the second she was breaking and wouldnt come when I called instead of beating her I just put her in the truck. she pissed in the house last week first time since she was a puppy. she got punished for that one. what should I do. Is she to old for a quick crash course at school. Or should I just be patient and hunt the hell out of her.
I'm leaving for arkansas on the 15th of Nov. to hunt for a week or two. I don't want to take her up there just to look stupid.

Be patient with her. If you have hunted with these people before, then they know that she was a good dog and is just probably going through a stage. Explain to them that you are trying to work her through it and get her back to where she once was if they seem to be disappointed by her behavior. I would definately give her a remedial lesson in retriever school before taking off for a couple of weeks to help expedite her on her way back.

Aw man, you will look stupid enough without the dog [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Hehehe. Psyche.

Wingman

THANKS Wingman I aready feel like a 4-year old arguing with folks on here.

Anytime a dog has a drastic change of behavior, there very well might be a physical problem behind it. Dog breaks all of a sudden, well thats dogs. But all of a sudden a calm dog suddenly ignores you, then suddenly pees in the house, their might be other factors...Worth watching her real close. And if she is simply testing the waters on you, don't be afraid to pull her ass off a hunt. A week of hunting with a dog seeing what she can get away with, you might never get your self described good mannered dog back. Food for thought. travis

Sounds to me like she's about to come in heat. My bitch used to go absolutely wacko when the hormones kicked in. Watch her close though.

My Choc. female is almost 9, so I have a little experience. You can not rule out medical problems and it is better to be safe than sorry. If she usually has half sense and minds pretty good, she is worth a visit to the vet, especially if the behavior continues. The vet should not hesitate to refer her to a teaching institution like State or LSU if he or she suspects a need.

That being said, it is probably nothing. Yes, they often get real stubborn and even crazy when the hormones kick in. Some are just moody. If you trained her yourself, you remember she would go through stages when she was still a youngster that made you wonder if she had forgotten everything and made you mad as hell. . . . .

All such things pass. Go back to the basics and the fun for about a week. Play some, but also work on drills to steady, to mark, to obey the whistle, to run a line, the baseball drill, etc. They almost always can use a refresher course before every season.

This has been my experience as an amateur, not a pro. . . . and I did not stay at a holiday inn express last night.

PS - Meeka is damn near deaf now and it took a while to figure it out. It makes you think she is ignoring you. Once you do figure it out, you can compensate, by using the whistle more and realizing that she might not be able to hear voice commands.

Lots of hunting does this to our and their ears. I suspect, unfortunately, hers is partly the result of creeping. It is a natural instinct - to get where she can see better, and made worse by eagerness. Unfortunately, us amatuers learn the hard way sometimes.