| Before you get too carried away think about the situation and how there might be differences in your training and under actual hunt conditions. One of the easiest fixes for this problem is just to stop hunting for a moment and make this "play time".
Get ahold of that bird and get excited, talk to him in an excited manner while teasing him with the bird exactly as you did when he was a pup and give the bird a throw after you have your dog worked up and excited . Do not force him to wait for the command to fetch. Let him have fun retrieving the bird. If he fails to make the retrieve don't get worried by this, remember that you are trying to make this fun for him. Steadying him to wing and shot can come later after you have instilled a really strong desire to retrieve.
I often see hunters with inexperienced dogs that have shown promise during training getting concerned when their prize pupil doesn't perform exactly as he should. Many times all that is needed is to take some of the pressure off of the situation. Remember that giving up one lousy hunt is no big deal considering that you'll likely hunt this animal for 8 or more seasons.
I don't know your animal personally, nor do I know your training program. If this approach does no good than by all means start a force fetch program. But I'm guessing that if he was retrieving birds all through the preseason training and just now decided he doesn't want to play he has scenced the added intensity that we all feel during the flush or covey rise. Slow down, breathe, relax and make it fun for him. |