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Watching shells

2K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Indaswamp 
#1 ·
My pup is watching the shells eject as I shoot... He picks them up and brings them to me every time I shoot. I've been just ignoring him and really not sure if there is something I can do to correct it. My buddy says every time I shoulder the gun he turns his head to the gun anticipating the shell. Any pointers will be appreciated. Pup is 15 months thanks.
 
#2 ·
That's funny!
But then not-so-funny, because pup, (depending on how long pups' been huntin' or his training history), should really be marking off the gun by now, and looking out afield when you shoot not concerning himself with empty casings.

Depends on the training history.
Does it happen in the training field,.. or in the blind, or when he's beside you, or does he move from a remote SIT from in his dog blind to come pick them up(?)
Thing is-
If you HEEL him on your left side and that's how you're training when you guys do marks, the shell casings should be ejecting the opposite direction from the dog.

Get rid of that 3-shot contraption and get an O/U :lol3:
Just kiddin' :devil:
 
#4 ·
I would not let another shell come out of your gun until this is nipped in the butt. Change guns. If this becomes a habit you will be in trouble. Dog need to be focused on bird dropping down field. Focus your dog on the bird. When bird is thrown or falling I call out "watch" when bird hits the ground call out "mark" then send the dog. When that becomes a habit and you say watch your dog will be still and looking for the birds not at you.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the input guys...to make a long story short I lost my 3 yr old lab in a car accident couple weeks ago... Needed one pass for his seasoned title.. We had bred him little over a yr ago and guy had this pup and had partially amateur trained ...steady to heel and retrieves bumpers very well... Took him to my trainer and he recommended to for me to keep him so he could get socialized with me... Dog really seems to have been only out of pen to work... But he's coming around nicely for the short period of time I've had him... Stays in house and I take him everywhere with me.. Just thought there might be something I could do to help him and me a long until jan when I take him to trainer.. This prob only happens on ground ... When bumper hits water he immediately returns focus on bumper and retrieves it properly. Thanks again
 
#7 ·
If you have the ability to use a gun that doesn't eject shells (O/U, Single Shot, Pump w/ one shell) I would TRAIN more before taking him afield again. He needs to learn "mark" and be focused on the object falling from the sky. As soon as you shoulder the gun start correcting his behavior. When you shoulder and he looks at you say NO..... "Mark"....... assuming he knows "mark" if not its time to start training with a buddy and allow someone else to shoot while you work with the dog. I would go back to square one, sounds like he's been doing this too long and thinks its okay now.
 
#8 ·
Thanks.... I did correct him when he left heel and stopped that... but he continued to watch the shells every time ....was just dead set on hunting with him this yr but I think ur right I'll just socialize him and reinforce the basics before taking back to trainer. Thanks guys!
 
#11 ·
About 20 years ago I had A 9 month old Chessie pup on his first duck hunt ... spectacular water entries to bring back my empty shell cases ... boy was he proud of himself! After that I switched to an O/U until he started looking further out for his marks. It solved the problem fairly quickly. The auto-5 just kept ejecting them forward right into his line of sight.
 
#12 ·
My lab did this on her first hunt... I just told her no, leave it. Very sternly... She doesn't do it anymore. It's kinda like when ur throwing Decoys in the morning and the dog wants to run after them. I have to tell her no, leave it. Every morning..... But you gotta love that drive and desire to retrieve.
 
#13 ·
when training the pup on marks if you don't have a buddy helping you the dog looks at you to watch where you throw it. it probably corelates the shell with that. to help solve it. have a buddy help. send him 30 yards out into the field. have your dog at heel. when you want the mark thrown have your buddy blow a duck call, throw the mark then pop a blank. after some training sessions like this the dog will start to learn to look out into the field for the marks not at you.

hope this helps
 
#16 ·
bodizapha said:
Not following u Betty...I did kill the bird but the pup was watching the shells eject from the gun
I'd get some work in with either a single shot or a O/U. set up a scenario in training, have a bird thrown, shoot a blank, then send the dog. Repeat....the dog now has the gun imprinted in his head to watch the shell eject, and not the duck falling. You need to break that.

Also agree with Rick Hall...sit and no or "leave it" can go a long way too....
 
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