# Socialization & the Realization of a Hunting V



## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

PIKE is well socialized - family - friends & other pups - but in the field or drills with other pups - if it is in his mouth - it is mine - and he does get nasty - he honers & never challenges a pup that has a bird or bumper in their mouth - I let it go - he works hard & feathers in his mouth is his reward - not the best idea - a well bred V will protect that what they worked so hard to have - just a thought when your V acts protective !


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

PIKE is just doing what he was trained to do, bringing it straight to you. The pup that tries to take a bird from his mouth, is interfering with his job. They do take their jobs seriously.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Hunting Sunday and after about an hour I joined up with a guy I came across out in the fields who had a Lab. Bailey and I had our birds, (wanted only three) but he had had no luck finding any.

About 10 minutes together hunting along a ditch, I took a pheasant and it dropped in the reeds in the ditch. Bailey went in after the bird, blazing right by the lab that was very close to the bird and looked like the lab was going after a retrieve of the bird. Bailey came out from the water with the bird. 

The owner of the lab bent down so Bailey might give the pheasant to him (He was 100 feet closer to where the bird was retrieved than I was). Bailey hesitated for one second, looked up at the man, and went around the other hunter and brought it to right to me.

After that, the man's lab started to hunt and found and retrieved three birds in the next hour. A little competition is good for hunting dogs. 

I guess we are the "team" I thought we were. 

RBD


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

I love watching how dogs work in the fields. Although my husband is the hunter and I am not, I really enjoy the interactions of the pups. Our dogs will always retrieve to my husband or to each other. Our chocolate lab, who hunts only out of desperation to be with her "dad", will bring a bird to our younger lab who in turn will bring it to one of us. She will do this with toys as well - lazy! Last fall we had trouble with another hunter and a new lab. She would go after any of the dogs in the party if they had a bird. Her owner encouraged this. She would do anything in her means to get the bird out of the dogs mouth. This was our vizsla's first day in the field. This hunter has hunted with us before using our dogs to retrieve for the past two years. My husband stepped in and corrected the new dog, causing friction with the dog's owner. I just don't get some people. Wow - that was a rant that really didn't mean to be.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

When we have multiple dogs in the field I try to be fair, and have them take turns on the retrieves when waterfowl or dove hunting. Even let a young dog do a little more than the others. If it has trouble marking the downed bird, I can always send the more experienced dog to handle it. On upland hunts, the dog that has the find, gets the retrieve. A dog that tries to steal a bird out of another's mouth, may find themselves in that dogs mouth.

Cash will allow a female dog to take his retrieve, but will show teeth if a male thinks he has a chance at taking a bird from him. June will even growl at another dog that does not honor her points, one to many times.
Lucy is carefree, and its all about the find to her.
She will retrieve if she has too, but would rather move on to the next find. If a dog busts one of her birds, she just takes off searching for more.


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