trained retrieves- bumper to birds

Force to the pile, single T’s, casting, blinds, all done with bumpers. The dog is responding nicely to your trained retrieve drills. well hunting season is not too far off so we decide to take the dog out on a hunt. The first bird is downed the dog goes on the retrieve but decides the bird will make a good snack for himself!
The point I am making here, is the dog is may not react the same on birds as he does on bumpers. This hold true especially if the dog has not seen alot of bird work.
Here is something I have added to my drill that may help you out. I do it on marking drills and also on single T’s. When doing the drills, I will place a bird among the bumpers. Lets take a look at marking. What I will do is three marks. I toss two bumpers and a bird while the dog is heeled. I line the dog up on the last thrown bumper. I then send him on the retrieve. Upon his return, I then line him up and send him for the next retrieve, this one can either be the other bumper or the bird.
At first the dog may delay just a bit on the bird but after a few times he will retrieve the bird the same as the bumper. The next few session, mix it up on what retrieve he gets the bird. When I do this, I use a frozen bird.
This drill gives the dog a little more motivation on retrieves and he will soon understand that birds are retrieved in the same manner as bumpers. This is also going to give you an advantage when you do hit the field.