Puppy just caught a blackbird

[LimburgseVlaai]

Lots of chirping and fuss in the garden, went to have a look, and there is our 13-week-old retriever pup with a young blackbird in his mouth. It looks alive. Other blackbirds are flying around him making lots of noise (I thought it was that jay prowling around again).

What next (after getting the poor blackbird off him)? Praise him for picking up the bird? Or tell him off?

We want to train him as a gundog.

Thanks!

im sure this is a bit late now but i wouldn't have praised him because you dont want him killing random birds you want him to gum dead birds. he needs to learn he time and place to pick up birds and how to pick them up.
im about to embark on gun dog training (when the puppy is born and old enough) so i dont know if my advice is right its just what id do.

Emmery - Sorry only just logged in again. It was too late to tell him off by the time I saw him so I locked him out of the house (it was raining for the first time in weeks!) so at least he couldn't bring it into the kitchen. I suppose I dodged the issue. But yes you're right - he shouldn't be picking up random birds, little bugger.

puppies will do as they wish for a time lol. i hope you get him trained into a little smasher of a gundog. i may come to you for advice in about 10 weeks ......if these puppies ever come out ha ha