n-raged 0 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hello I'm new to this forum first of all. I wanted to ask how i can train my German short-haired Pointer not to chase and kill the ferret yet i don't want it to lose all hunting drive since although I'm not going to hunt rabbits anytime soon i wish i would someday take them for a hunt since it's nice to see two of your loved animals cooperating and enjoying yourself. Plus my ferret is really dear to me and he's already socialized with dogs, which is a bit risky since he's a bit too bold for his size. The German pointer is a puppy which is gonna give me ample time. Any help is appreciated and since the GSP is a hunting hound I though I could ask the people that actually have done this all their lives. I.e. Hunters. How do you make it distinguish between prey and companion? Maybe someday I'll go do some honest rabbit hunting. Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
runforyourlife 361 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 All the dogs spoken about on here are hunting dogs mate... Its persiverence, time and effort.. The pup will soon come to understand that the ferret is friend and working companion rather than enemy. Sure it will jump at the ferret and want to play. Let the dog see you handling the ferret, let it sniff the ferret.. And my dogs realised that a ferret bites back! Theres nothing wrong with the ferret nipping the dog for being to close.. The best time to overcome this problem is while working real holes. The dog will soonj come to terms that the ferret entering a hole means bolting rabbits.... good luck , dont worry, and take your time.. I have never really heard of a pointer wanting to be aggressive or kill stuff before. Terriers yea, correct me if i am wrong but it may just be a pup being a pup.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
n-raged 0 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 All the dogs spoken about on here are hunting dogs mate... Its persiverence, time and effort.. The pup will soon come to understand that the ferret is friend and working companion rather than enemy. Sure it will jump at the ferret and want to play. Let the dog see you handling the ferret, let it sniff the ferret.. And my dogs realised that a ferret bites back! Theres nothing wrong with the ferret nipping the dog for being to close.. The best time to overcome this problem is while working real holes. The dog will soonj come to terms that the ferret entering a hole means bolting rabbits.... good luck , dont worry, and take your time.. I have never really heard of a pointer wanting to be aggressive or kill stuff before. Terriers yea, correct me if i am wrong but it may just be a pup being a pup.. Thanks for your reply. I'm socializing them as much as i can in the garden (since the ferret has free roam in the garden) but holding him back when he's trying to bolt. The pup only tried to take a bite at him but I'm not sure it was for play or not. He tries to lick the ferret from between the cage bars though, and i stop him just in case the ferret bites his tongue or ear which i think will make diplomacy a bit trickier. I was just asking since i read on the internet and although i was brought up with dogs all my life I was a bit paranoid since at 10 weeks old he's already very heavy and he's gonna be one of the larger ones. Maybe I'll try letting it examine it with a muzzle and without a leash without being that strict by not stop him and see how it goes. Hope the little bugger won't end up with a broken back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
runforyourlife 361 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Your worrying for nothing mate if it is only 10weeks old... And as for a broken back, i have stud on ferrets while in the court and not broken a back, they are hard little feckers... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
n-raged 0 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Thanks a lot for your help Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gin 498 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 I only use a white ferret with my dog, as he can get over excited when working with them,- from a pup you should have no problem, just handling the ferret in front of the dog and letting them play. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
n-raged 0 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) This is our new member in the family. On the other hand the carpet shark is this Edited December 30, 2010 by n-raged Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j davies 8 Posted December 31, 2010 Report Share Posted December 31, 2010 All the dogs spoken about on here are hunting dogs mate... Its persiverence, time and effort.. The pup will soon come to understand that the ferret is friend and working companion rather than enemy. Sure it will jump at the ferret and want to play. Let the dog see you handling the ferret, let it sniff the ferret.. And my dogs realised that a ferret bites back! Theres nothing wrong with the ferret nipping the dog for being to close.. The best time to overcome this problem is while working real holes. The dog will soonj come to terms that the ferret entering a hole means bolting rabbits.... good luck , dont worry, and take your time.. I have never really heard of a pointer wanting to be aggressive or kill stuff before. Terriers yea, correct me if i am wrong but it may just be a pup being a pup.. let your pup play with them i do mine i had 6pups all 5 to 6 weeks old in the gerden and 3 ferretes out they lean to play and work together that way my 5 year old cocker and the ferrets are one hell of a team now and my 3 year old cocker picks the ferrets up and fetches them in the house to play 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
n-raged 0 Posted January 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Hehe it seems it's working but i still don't trust them alone together cause the puppy is too rough and he's growing bigger and heavier every day. He keeps running after it and leaping on top of it and nips at it playfully. I think it's like runforyourlife said he's just a puppy being a puppy though but he better gets used to playing calmly before he gets massive. The ferret gained confidence but it seems he suddenly has developed a previously unknown love for his cage. Most prob cause the pup won't give him a second of peace. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
n-raged 0 Posted January 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 I can't get the hang of the situation he keeps on running after the ferret and the ferret is by no means having fun. :/ I'm at a loss Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j davies 8 Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 I can't get the hang of the situation he keeps on running after the ferret and the ferret is by no means having fun. :/ I'm at a loss he will run after it mate take them out to work and he will no that he needs to work as a team he will get there. he will see ferret in box means i go out Quote Link to post Share on other sites
runforyourlife 361 Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 I can't get the hang of the situation he keeps on running after the ferret and the ferret is by no means having fun. :/ I'm at a loss he will run after it mate take them out to work and he will no that he needs to work as a team he will get there. he will see ferret in box means i go out He cant take a 12 week old pup out to work! maybe its just not for you then mate, if you cant get to grips with... A ferret is as a tough little animaol, and if it doesnt like what the dog is doing to it, it will let it know!! ferrets hurt when they bite... stop being so soft with it, or they will never sort it out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
n-raged 0 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 the bowl of milk thing worked perfectly and this morning i let them play a bit with each other. Now the ferret wants to take a bite of the dog hahaha. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
matthews 88 77 Posted April 11, 2012 Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 (edited) ' Edited April 11, 2012 by matthews 88 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spazzy paddy 127 Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 (edited) ive been doing the same with my pup he is a bit older than yours he is 11 months all i do is 15 mins a day and ive been doing this since he was a bout 4 months old he is a lot better now will leave it alone when told he lets it walk between his feet no bother but i do remind him every now and again all i say is ferret or leave it and hopefully he will be ok when i start ferretting this season. ps just like to add the pic was taken when i first started training him he is a lot better now will post up to date pic later. Edited April 13, 2012 by spazzy paddy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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