New to forum, lurcher pup questions.

[shadowfax 0]

Hi, I've been reading articles on this site for some time, so I thought it would be wise to join and ask some questions of the many knowledgable posters here.

I've got a 5 month old lurcher pup, that I'm looking to train to catch rabbit, I think her parents were both grey x bedlingtons but I don't know for sure. I'm a complete newcomer to any form of hunting so any advise would be welcome.

She is good as gold on the lead and usually comes when called, but I'm still perfecting that. The main concerns I have with her are as follows.

 

Firstly, she isn't great with retrieve, I've tried a few different ways of doing it in the house, I usually sit on her favourite matt and throw the dummy away, I'd say 7 or 8 times out of 10 she'll bring it back into my general area but tries to run past me or turns her head away. The other 2 times she just either runs of or sits down and chews it. When I get her near to me she hands the dummy over really gently so I don't think she'll be hard mouthed. I've read up about forced retrieve, would anyone recommend trying this, I'm a bit loathed to use treats for retrieve training as it seems to encourage her to drop it at my feet rather than delivering it to me. When I do throw a ball or dummie she seems to get bored really easily. It's strange for me because I had a CollieX lurcher before and he would retrieve a ball all day long, but this one doesn't seem bothered with it.

 

Secondly how can I train her to behave around livestock? One of the good places for rabbits where I live is a wildlife trust park and they have sheep grazing on the hills, twice now the dog has chased the bloody sheep and I don't want her to do it for obvious reasons. She only chases them for a few seconds and then returns to my call but I'd rather she knew not to do it.

 

Thirdly, is she too young to chase rabbits yet? She has come close to getting a few but I don't want her to lose confidence because she is not quick enough. I just walk her across a few fields and usually take her where I know I'll see some bunnies, more to get her used to the scent but I can't help shouting 'fetch' when I see one close by. Should I just concentrate on her training first?

 

Like I said, she's a good dog, she seems really keen to learn but I'm not experienced enough to train her as much as I'd like. Any help would be really appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Cheers Jamie

[scotty2306 37]

walk the dog through the livestock on the lead and correct the dog each time it looks at them you want it so it takes no notice of them.as for retrieve try not to sicken the dog,make sure the recall is spot on before you start with trying to learn it to retrieve.the dog is to young to chase bunnies at the moment imo and if you are going to lamp with it i would not let it chase bunnies to ground in the daytime as this makes them want to hunt up on the lamp which can be a real problem i would start it on lamping first thats if you are going to lamp it.i would get the dogs basics sorted over the summer months bonding ,recal,and retrieve and then start with the bunnies at sep time

[shadowfax 0]

walk the dog through the livestock on the lead and correct the dog each time it looks at them you want it so it takes no notice of them.as for retrieve try not to sicken the dog,make sure the recall is spot on before you start with trying to learn it to retrieve.the dog is to young to chase bunnies at the moment imo and if you are going to lamp with it i would not let it chase bunnies to ground in the daytime as this makes them want to hunt up on the lamp which can be a real problem i would start it on lamping first thats if you are going to lamp it.i would get the dogs basics sorted over the summer months bonding ,recal,and retrieve and then start with the bunnies at sep time

Thanks Scotty, I appreciate the comments. I'll try her with the livestock on the lead from now on.

Yeah, the recall isn't perfect at the moment, she comes most of the time but there is always times when she is more interested in sniffing at something, I try not to call her then, so that I'm not training her to ignore me, but I don't know how to snap her out of it. She always comes if I call her when I'm walking away from her, this is how I manage to get her to stop chasing the sheep. Maybe I need to use that somehow.

It's weird because it's not like I try and make her retrieve all the time, I've tried to lay off a bit and may only throw something once or twice a day, but she still isn't that interested in it. I think I'll follow your advise and stop completely until she is recalling perfectly.

BTW your dog is a beauty, I'll post some pictures of mine when I get time.

Thanks again.

Edited April 4, 2010 by shadowfax

[stroller 341]

Welcome to the forum mate.

 

yes i would agree get the pup on a lead and walk her through livestock until she becomes blase about it all.

 

The retrieve should never be forced and always fun just keep doing what your doing but tie a cord to the dummy and rag it about make it into a real game.Make sure you get her re call and stay spot on thats the commands that may save her life one day

 

and five months is way too young just leave it until next oct/nov before she works live game.

 

let her be a puppy and enjoy her youth time moves on quickly enough,

 

regards

Stroller

[shadowfax 0]

Welcome to the forum mate.

 

yes i would agree get the pup on a lead and walk her through livestock until she becomes blase about it all.

 

The retrieve should never be forced and always fun just keep doing what your doing but tie a cord to the dummy and rag it about make it into a real game.Make sure you get her re call and stay spot on thats the commands that may save her life one day

 

and five months is way too young just leave it until next oct/nov before she works live game.

 

let her be a puppy and enjoy her youth time moves on quickly enough,

 

regards

Stroller

 

Cheers bud

 

That's a good idea about tying a cord to the dummy, I'll give it a go.

 

I've got one more question, I have bought a load of chicken wings for her, but she still has half of her baby teeth, should I wait until they are all out before giving her raw meaty bones or will she be ok?