themud wrote:Have a 9 mo griff. Tracking and pointing are not a problem at all with this guy. Neither is the gun. I have hunted him on pheasants and I can shoot over him when he is at heel.
I am Rocky Mountain Chapter member and we were suppose to train swim on Saturday 4/7, but it snowed and they thought maybe too cold. My griff had a sibling there and he went in after a stick, so I was trying to get my griff in the water, which he did, but only to his chest. The water was actually quite warm as I had waiters on and was trying to get him to come out to me. I have a very strong bond with him, so thought he would come out.
Yesterday I went to a lake near by that is much colder and went out in my waiters. Again, he only went chest deep. I hope I didn't damage him, I eventally grabbed him and held him out and had him "swim" while I held him while I walked back to the shore.
He is testing June 1,2,3 for NA. That seems to be the only problem I have run into with him. I had someone tell me to get a live duck and his drive should override his fear.
Any help from here on out would help.
Themud
I dealt with something similar.
At 6-7 months my GWP was reluctant. A pro trainer advised me to buy a duck on craigslist and let him chase it on the pond. I modified that advice and took my dog to a nearby Goose Septic Tank (lake in a city park,) and turned him loose. Within five minutes, he was swimming 500 yards out into the lake.
I also tied bits of a bird to a bumper, swimming every day and removing bits of the bird til it was just the bumper. I had him reliably swimming, in streams near my house, city ponds, the pond where he would test...
And then, the day of the test, the weather turned cold and windy. He did swim, without a bird, for the judges, but took some convincing .
In retrospect, I wonder how good of an idea the whole "chase geese, chase bird bits" was. But, its impossible to say and its easier to criticize decision making watching game film than it is to know what is ultimately the best course of action.
One thought, that by June the day will be warm, swim is often done at the end of the day, and there is every chance the dog is HOT and willing to take a swim.