Retrievers and Airplanes

Get something like a Zagi or at least a plane that is tape covered EPP. One of my flying buddies has a chocolate lab that loves to come slope soaring. You launch a plane and he tries to grab it. Same with landing. We stick our EPP slopers nose down in the sage and creosote bushes between flights and this dog just plows thru as he runs from one side of the slope to the other, planes tumbling into the air and down again in his wake. Its pretty funny to watch. Anyway, EPP is pretty indestructable and tooth punctures from a poodle wont do much more than cosmetic damage in my opinion.

Thanks. That's just the sort of idea I was looking for.

Now I gotta learn how to make EPP airplanes. I suppose I should break down and get a kit.

The dog should be trainable to do things on your whim, not his. That's more a matter of teaching the owner rather than training the dog. (You wouldn't accept your child blatantly ignoring your instructions. The same should apply equally to the dog. Some think more so for the dog, but that's a fine point.)

Definitely get a plane you can share with him if you wish. A ducted fan would be safest. Along with that comes teaching him which is which, and when or when not.

He's young, he's a born retriever, and he doesn't quite understand 'fetch' yet. I really, really don't want to stomp on retrieving in general while trying to keep him off my planes -- particularly because he seems to understand that something that really flies must be a bird, which must be retrieved. If it's not actually cruel to train him out of retrieving it'd at least make him miss out on a lot of fun.

So yes, I want to get one or several planes that he knows he can have fun with, teach him to retrieve those, and teach him to keep is mouth off the nicer ones. Fortunately he's a bright dog so I think he'll be able to make the distinction.

We're drifting off airplanes altogether now... There's a long distance between restraining his free will, which I'm suggesting, and suppressing his natural behaviors entirely. Let him retrieve when and if that's what you want -- emphasis on you, not him. It won't kill him or even break his spirit to do other jobs, too, which might include sitting at your side as you fly other toys, or even "his" toy.

That's cool, and I'm sure you'll both have lots of fun.

That's a bad trait which might result in injury to your dog, and will certainly upset your fellow flyers. It's not the dog, it's YOU that is at fault.

I had a lab that I would take up the field (for 10 years) and it would NEVER venture onto the patch or chase planes.

Have some respect for the Mutt and train it.

I have this problem. Once when flying with an Alsatian, I worked out the only way to land the thing was to take it at low level right out across the filed, with Fido barking underneath, and then a fast low level run back (it can out run him) and chop the throttle and land QUICKLY.

Hay, I have a Zagi 60 (5' wing) and I sure wouldn't want a pooch dragging it around, EPP or not.

CR