Have a first year lab doing well with retrieving and obedience, but she is unsure about picking up cripples. She throws them up in the air like a killer whale does a seal, trying to kill them and once they are dead she brings them back. My concern is that we have lost a few of the birds because they end up diving, never to be found. She had them and once she threw them in the air, they would dive and we lose them. I am thinking she is having flashbacks to being bit by a snake this summer? Any thoughts?

She will retrieve a dead duck in a heartbeat and not think twice, it's the cripples that makes her unsure.

Pratice with live pigeons, or try to keep some cripples to practice at home with.

Sounds to me like she is just trying to figure it out. I would not think it's to much to worry about unless she gets to rough and starts doing damage to the bird. I wonder why she feels she needs to kill it? Mine both bring them back alive. Is she Force Fetched? That can help clean up the retrieve. Also, I don't know where your at but transporting or keeping wild waterfowl is usually not legal most places I have been. Don't forget that you could be charged with cruelity to animals if you don't dispactch a wounded bird quickly. Duckdon

I know about the cripples, but sometimes they come back to life after you think they're dead. How can it be proved.

if you can go to your local feed store (if you have one) you can buy live ducks to use for training. Help some feed stores will set pigeon traps and you can get pigeons for free. If not you can order live ducks over the internet. Put them in a panty hose sleeve and let your dog get used to them being alive, trying to swim away from her and trying to grab her snout. Eventually you can shackle the wings with ribbon tape to allow for the wings to flop around and make it more realistic.

Eventually as she gets more time with feathers in her mouth she will develop a rabid taste for it and you wont be able to keep the ducks, alive or not, out of her mouth. Good luck.

Thanks for the response fellas. I will try to get my hands on some live birds. Like I said on my post, she is doing fine with the dead ones. It is the cripples she is not sure about.

Is your dog force fetched? If it was force fetched that wouldnt happen.

Have the dog force fetched. It will correct this behavior and prevent it from getting worse. Force fetching will also prevent or correct a multitude of other problems which could occur.
In the end you will have a happy dog that will reliably retrive to hand, live or dead birds without further damage.