So my 4yo female lab has taken to eating my downed dove. She progressed rapidly from nothing to eating heads to eating the bird and not retrieving at all last Saturday. She did not go on Sunday. How do you remedy this problem?

Im curious too. My 2 yo black lab chews them when he retrieves them, also if I pop the head off, he will eat the head whole.

Have your dog retrieve wire brushes, and also try sticking several long nails through a dead bird, freezing it, and then have the dog retrieve that. They will learn to carry things gently.

Once they learn it is a food source, good luck stopping them.

I don't know why but this came to mind as a solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNEplaYZtpI

quote:

---

Have your dog retrieve wire brushes, and also try sticking several long nails through a dead bird, freezing it, and then have the dog retrieve that. They will learn to carry things gently.

---

Was told a little differently.... Wrap the dove in barbed wire.

We used to skin the bird and stretch it over a pine cone.

but my guess is the better advice would be to not have a lab.

Dove are tough for labs. the feathers are sticky and cause them to gag a little bit and their reaction is to eat them. It isn't necessarily a disobedience issue as much as a natural reaction. This can be overcome, just keep that in mind.

Shalackin is right on. The doves are so small and with the feathers and blood their instinct is to eat them.

My lab chomped one the very first time we went. I let him know he shouldn't do that with the shock collar. He hasn't chomped another one since then.

I shot a couple pigeons and have been working with those in the off season and that has helped as well.

[This message has been edited by GatorAg03 (edited 9/4/2012 3:41p).]

quote:

---

I don't know why but this came to mind as a solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNEplaYZtpI

---

That's badass, damn brilliant for guys who probably didn't have a formal education of any sorts.

I had a Heinz 57 once that did this. I tried nails. I tried barbed wire. Both of those methods did not work....she would begin to pick up the bird and then just leave it alone.

I still used her to find downed doves. I just made sure I was with her all of the time.

Have you ever tried to wrap a dove in barbed wire? It's not the easiest thing to do.

My FIL's Golden burries them. Nothing but tail feathers sticking out of the ground by the time I walk over there.

My GSP runs over to the downed bird, sniffs it, decides it is not a dragonfly or butterfly...then runs off to find a dragonfly or butterfly.

quote:

---

My GSP runs over to the downed bird, sniffs it, decides it is not a dragonfly or butterfly...then runs off to find a dragonfly or butterfly.

---

Because of the abundance of butterflies in my back yard, my lab is also more interested in them than birds.

Force fetch your bird dogs. Teach those proper mouth habits. Not installing those in a bird dog no longer makes him/her a bird dog. Just another retriever.

force fetch isn't always the answer with dove. with their feathers, it is tough for dogs. mine are both force fetched very well, professionally, and one has a problem, one doesn't. only with dove, nothing else.

This can be tough. Shalackin is correct. If not forced fetched then this is a first step, and if already done then maybe some reinforcement on FF training. Hard mouth is something you want to control ASAP. You did right by not letting the dog have any more dove until you address the hard mouth. Be persistent and consistent it may take time but it can be fixed.

Id have a hard time believing any dog properly forced would straight up eat a bird. The hold command should be solid enough to avoid that.

I assure you both my dogs are force fetched properly. no matter how FF'd they are, if they have a natural gag reflex to the feathers, they are going to have trouble with dove. They just can't stop that reaction. FF certainly helps, and if they feathers don't get sticky and deep, then they have no problem. But when they get hot and are panting and salivating, the wetter the dove, the worse it is.

I suggest keeping the dog on a leash for several retrieves, allowing you to quickly take control if something goes wrong.
So far none of my Labs have done anything worse than an occasional mauling, but I recognize dove feathers can aggravate the situation.
I'm incredibly spoiled, as my dog saved so many birds this past Sat/Sun, mine and other hunters. Sometimes never had to un-azz the chair, the bird was delivered in mere seconds .

Thanks for the tips. I have heard of most but wanted to know what has worked for other people. I tried the e-collar when she started eating one, but she didn't want to pick up the next one and I didn't want to deter her from retrieving downed dove.

I think I will try some at-home work with the studded frozen birds before taking her out again. Now I just need to get hold of some birds to freeze.

quote:

---

My FIL's Golden burries them. Nothing but tail feathers sticking out of the ground by the time I walk over there.

My GSP runs over to the downed bird, sniffs it, decides it is not a dragonfly or butterfly...then runs off to find a dragonfly or butterfly.

---

this whole post made me