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Guys, how do you keep your dog on line on a long blind retrieve ?

Some have suggested using a line between trees, and making him run that line on a fetch... but the problem is that he is good out to about 75 yards, then he wants to try to use his nose. Have zapped him with the e-collar really high, told him "NO", used the whistle.... but he thinks he is doing right.

I also can't get him to stop on a long retrieve with the whistle. He will do it all day long walking beside me... I whistle and keep moving and he will stop and sit. And I can back off 100 yrds and use hand signals, and he does ok. But once I send him, he is going to find SOMETHING to bring me back before he stops.

and on the line between trees,.... I am not sure I could set one up for 150 yrds or so.

any ideas ?

This way worked for my dog.

I put a pile of bumbers(10 or 15) in a pile. I started off by standing about 25 Yards from the pile, sending my dog. While the dog was going to get the first bumber, I backed up 5 or 6 big steps. You repeat the process until you end up being a long way from the pile.

Then, as reps grow, you will start off at 100 yards and back off even farther. The dog will start to realize, if you send him, there is a pile there. You can also start putting the piles out without showing the dog and it works well for that part of the blind training.

Just a Suggestion....

I have had to just start back over on this issue off not holding the line. In the begining I used a long levee bank which was black/white for the dog to stretch him out and never had a problem, but now due to some other issues he has become self dependent. I have started over in field and have about worn the grass out in a straight line forcing to the pile. I started about 30 yards out and progressed over several days. I am assuming that I have to get reimplemented in the dogs head that he runs straight unitl he fetches are hears a whistle. I think by the time we are fixed there won't be any grass on the line where he has run it down.
As far as the whistle issue it sounds like he just doesn't comprehend the whistle means sit no matter what. If he understands that the whistle means sit up close then you will have to stretch that out to. While he is running to back pile start close stopping him and cast back. I usually say about 1 out of 5 times to the back pile. Then after he has done that whistle on his return to sit. Same as the line issue start close and space out. As the key for them to learn anything Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.
Disclaimer: I never won a spelling be, but you get the picture.

Your question was about keeping him online, but your description isn't of a lining problem. When your dog starts hunting, hes no longer running a blind retreive... he is not in control, you've simply pointed a direction for him to hunt. He won't stop on a whistle once this happens, because you werent in control already... he's hunting. Imagine if hes unproductive, after a while he'd sit on his own and look at you, a pop per sey.

Without knowing how you've trained him, I can't tell you the proper way to correct what hes doing. But a big zap with a no, aint gonna do it. Tell me how you trained blinds, and we'll go from there. Long patterns will be the answer, but depending on how you taught blinds, its gonna need some refinement. Espeically on how to deal with hunting. travis

msb, travis is shootin ya straight. the dog don't have clue what to do with that zap/'no'.. sounds like he's huntin the direction you tell him to, and giving some effort just to get that far.

wish I knew a quick way to run long blinds..

Travis,
Finally figured it out this weekend... the fat boy gets tired.
I work him on on a bunch of short runs, and by the time we get to the long retrieves, his butt is dragging.

Guess I need to get both of us in shape before next hunting season !

A dog can be tired and still run straight.

You can do some things to quick fix, like start with a pile and continuously back away until the distance is several hundred yards.

Or you can do what Travis said and figure out what was and was not taught and then figure out what to reteach.

I think on the next dog I train he will spend about 100 times more time in lining stuff. And my past experience was with a dog that lined stuff every weekend he tested, sometimes more than once, till he got to 100.

In my opinion,if he is doing good on short work, then don't try to pile all of that into a training session. If his lining is bad, spend a couple of training days just working on lining. Try to get him stretching that line out before you get him tired doing stuff he already does well. You can overwork a dog. Just make sure to reward his good efforts. jm2c.

Lee

Read and re-read SmartFetch by Evan Graham. Also, Training Retrievers to Handle by D.L. Walters. Great info in both books. You should also find a local HRC or AKC club and train with some members or find a good pro that will help you out. Good luck!