Retrieve with rabbit

[Dan Outdoors 13]

I posted a couple of months back and got some great advise about getting my dog to retrieve rabbits, well i've gone from dummy to rabbit skin dummy out with the lamp with the rabit skin dummy its worked super well, so today i've been ferreting with him and am now trying to get him to retrieve a dead one that i throw for him, he brings it back ish more or less dangling it by its skin ragging it a bit but doesnt give it to hand like he does with the rabbit skin one drops it at about 1 meter, hopeing its not a bad start? am i going about this the right way? Thanks in advance, Dan (he's 14 months ish) how often do you lads normaly train the retrieve as not to get them boared?

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

I personally think he may be a little late in his training there.

 

I've got my 8 week pup retrieving a toy rabbit and he does similar to yours. Sometimes rags it like mad, sometimes doesn't want to give it to me. But % of the time he brings it back and gives it me with little fuss.

 

Just keep at mate. Will be interesting to see what others say.

 

Gaz

[jf1970 328]

I posted a couple of months back and got some great advise about getting my dog to retrieve rabbits, well i've gone from dummy to rabbit skin dummy out with the lamp with the rabit skin dummy its worked super well, so today i've been ferreting with him and am now trying to get him to retrieve a dead one that i throw for him, he brings it back ish more or less dangling it by its skin ragging it a bit but doesnt give it to hand like he does with the rabbit skin one drops it at about 1 meter, hopeing its not a bad start? am i going about this the right way? Thanks in advance, Dan (he's 14 months ish) how often do you lads normaly train the retrieve as not to get them boared?

 

hi mate, i done the same as you with my pup, start of with kids cuddly toy then onto a rabbit skin stuffed with straw, sometimes she would bring back to hand and other times she would bring back beside/in front about 3ft away, but she would keep hold until i got it from her, done this from 8wks - 5mths then took her out ferreting and let her have a look and a feel of the rabbits in the net, when she got to 6mths old i would let her have a few "EASY" rabbits in the middle of the field, the first 2 or 3 she would catch and mouth then come back to me without the rabbit but after the initial excitement of catching the rabbit she started to retrieve(sometimes 30 or 40 yrds). She is only 7 mths old now but every day she goes out she is learning more and getting better, so keep at it and as long as the basics are there your dog should come good, others may do it different but this way worked for me,hope this helps,cheers......john:thumbs: my wee bitch is 3/4 whippet 1/4 beddy if that helps.

[Dan Outdoors 13]

cheers chaps, gonna keep plugging away, he's a smart dog so hopeing its gonna all come good, maybe in a couple of days he might be more willing, he may have been a little hyped up after the ferreting, cant fault him with regard to the ferreting, very obedient etc, strange how the time has passed, cant quite bellieve he's 14 months, should have had this sorted months ago, thanks to this forum n all you lads on here i am further ahead than i would have been without the advise, here's hopeing he will be retrieveing grand soon.. Thanks chaps, Dan

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Keep us updated mate.

 

I cant wait to get out with my pup next year :-)