# Puppy vs. duck



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I remember I gave Flip a wing as a youngster, and he gulped it down whole before I could get it from him! That was the end of his experience with wings.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Such a great, great name- love Ballyhoo


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

Oh yea! When I introduced all the pups to ducks at 4 weeks they wanted to keep the duck. It was funny to watch the puppies chase after one and that one running in circles trying to keep the duck away from brothers and sisters. 

KC is a girly girl right now. She is being the total opposite of Fisher and Remi!! I call her Miss Priss!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Ha! I can imagine his disdain for the frozen brick....


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Jackie Mertens told me she doesn't introduce young puppies to birds because you can't tell if it's meat drive or bird drive, and creates bad habits. 
I had never heard that before, but it made perfect sense to me.

edit to add....I don't know how she feels about introducing wings or feathers, we didn't discuss it. We were specifically talking about young puppies' reactions to fresh killed birds, and one that was growling like crazy when his handler was trying to take the bird away from him. The puppy was about 12 weeks old.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I find that some will show a definite reaction to feathers--they snuffle the scent back like it is perfume. And they definitely recact more to a defrosted bird or wing than they do to one right out of the freeze. The scent molecules must be less active on the frozen specimens.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Aww I love puppies! It must be super fun to start one young with field training. My friend got a new lab puppy over the winter and she seemed to think it was so much hassle and I couldn't hep but think--I'll take him!


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

hotel4dogs said:


> Jackie Mertens told me she doesn't introduce young puppies to birds because you can't tell if it's meat drive or bird drive, and creates bad habits.
> I had never heard that before, but it made perfect sense to me.
> 
> edit to add....I don't know how she feels about introducing wings or feathers, we didn't discuss it. We were specifically talking about young puppies' reactions to fresh killed birds, and one that was growling like crazy when his handler was trying to take the bird away from him. The puppy was about 12 weeks old.


Did she say why they are different? I would think prey drive for birds doesn't distinguish between the meat of the bird and the entire bird.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Maybe when they are little it is that distinction between prey drive (that interest in feathery things) and food drive. I know watching my puppies if I dragged a wing some of them would trail that scent to find it, while others were definitely more interested in using their nose to find food. Maybe her thought is that using the whole bird with that meat scent present as well it is hard to tell which drive it is?


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Oy well needless to say I think he will be OK with birds. LOL
Thanks for the tip from Jackie, at least that gives me the OK to not go crazy with birds while he's real little.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

yes, Shelly, I think that's what she meant. You can't tell if it's food drive or birdiness at that age. So when the puppy was growling, he may have been defending his "meal", not his bird.


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