Not catching

[Clip 0]

Hi,

 

I've found a great place for rabbits, a little field not far from my house and just as its getting dark the place comes alive. I have been going there each evening for the last couple of days to give my dog a few slips. I've been taking cover and waiting for a few rabbits to come out of hiding and biding my time for some easy slips (or what i think are going to be easy) We've had a couple of close calls but the rabbits are hitting cover before he picks them up. I was wondering if i keep going there and he doesn't make a catch soon will he loose interest. I can't imagine this as i just can't imagine him not wanting to chase but i'm sure i've read of this in the past.

 

Thanks

 

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[snoopdog 1,256]

abit more info would help clip ....i.e. how old is the dog are you lamping or just going at dusk ????

[Guest JDF]

have you tried getting between the rabbits and the cover?

[Clip 0]

abit more info would help clip ....i.e. how old is the dog are you lamping or just going at dusk ????

Sorry, just going out at dusk. He's round about 2 and a saluki X, he's quite a big lad for a saluki/grey coming in at just under 29". He has a tendency to disappear and hunt up for himself and has become quite good at it but dew to the ban i'm having to keep that in check as i don't want to get in trouble. So as a training exercise i've been taking him out on the slip after some rabbits, slipping him and then calling him back and its been working great so far(touch wood)he's caught on quick that he gets another run alot quicker if he comes back to me and waits paitiently than trying to find another himself. So in that part things are looking good but i just hope i'm not causing another problem for myself in the mean time.

 

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[Guest alastair]

if lamping mate,dark windy nights,short grass is not good cause them bunnys can motor on it,try longer grass,wheat etc and choose a bigger field and try a sitter right out far from cover,and regards hunting up it may be ok in the day ,but at night lamp goes off dog must come back,this time of year you may find a youngish bunny to let the dog catch to build up its confidence,runing it on impossible catches will not help.regards ali

[Clip 0]

have you tried getting between the rabbits and the cover?

I've been trying to but the cover runs down one side of the feild and then along the bottom sort of like an L shape if you catch my drift. I hide right in the corner of the cover and watch the young ones come out from the side, i can get between them and the cover they come from but then they get to the cover along the bottom.

 

if lamping mate,dark windy nights,short grass is not good cause them bunnys can motor on it,try longer grass,wheat etc and choose a bigger field and try a sitter right out far from cover,and regards hunting up it may be ok in the day ,but at night lamp goes off dog must come back,this time of year you may find a youngish bunny to let the dog catch to build up its confidence,runing it on impossible catches will not help.regards ali

No way could i lamp him, he's far to eager ot use his nose, i just couldn't trust him. This place is short cut grass so maybe isn't the best place to try him on. They are young ones that are coming far out of cover but they're still making there escape.

 

Thanks guys

 

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[OldTrapCollector 377]

He sounds like a biggish dog and probably won't get into his stride in a short blast on young rabbits, which will inevitably cause him (and you) to get frustrated in the medium term. You would do better listening to the other guys and give him a long run on rabbits over stubble or longer grass to get any results or risk ruining him.

 

OTC

[Guest Frank]

Agree, get a decent lamp and battery, pick a good windy night ( if possible) walk into the wind, get between cover and bunnys and try pick a far out silly rabbit, prefrably a squater.

 

Frank.

[jacob 28]

have you tried getting between the rabbits and the cover?

I've been trying to but the cover runs down one side of the feild and then along the bottom sort of like an L shape if you catch my drift. I hide right in the corner of the cover and watch the young ones come out from the side, i can get between them and the cover they come from but then they get to the cover along the bottom.

 

if lamping mate,dark windy nights,short grass is not good cause them bunnys can motor on it,try longer grass,wheat etc and choose a bigger field and try a sitter right out far from cover,and regards hunting up it may be ok in the day ,but at night lamp goes off dog must come back,this time of year you may find a youngish bunny to let the dog catch to build up its confidence,runing it on impossible catches will not help.regards ali

No way could i lamp him, he's far to eager ot use his nose, i just couldn't trust him. This place is short cut grass so maybe isn't the best place to try him on. They are young ones that are coming far out of cover but they're still making there escape.

 

Thanks guys

 

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try him on the lamp,you wont know till you try.hes bound to pick up some squatters,give it a go.

[Clip 0]

He sounds like a biggish dog and probably won't get into his stride in a short blast on young rabbits, which will inevitably cause him (and you) to get frustrated in the medium term. You would do better listening to the other guys and give him a long run on rabbits over stubble or longer grass to get any results or risk ruining him.

 

OTC

Yeah, he's not the quickest from the start. Well thats the end of that game then, the search for new training ground continues.

 

Thanks again

 

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[Clip 0]

OK, can anyone recomend a decent lamp and battery.

Also, how do you train them to return when the lamp is off? Is there any really good methods or is it just simply recall training at night with lamp on, lamp off, call him in.

And for retrieve, a simple retrieve exercise but again at night, throw dummy, find with spot light, release dog, lamp off, come to hand.

Don't know if i've got the bottle to go out at night with him, he really is keen to get his nose to the ground and when he's on one theres no way in hell of getting him back.

 

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[maty j 6]

just a few ideas to get you going...... on a training dvd ive got the fella gets the dummy on a string first, gees the dog up with it then gets the lamp on it and gets the dog to chase it in circles around him....only enough to get the dog keen. then when its keen i used a tennis ball with my pup as she prefers moving things to still things. i chuck it follow it in the beam and give her plenty of encourage ment to get on and catch it. once she's caught it lamp off and recall whistle. then once she gets the idea of following the thing in the beam try throwing the dummy....few of them then get some tin foil on the dummy to look like the rabbits eyes and do a couple like that with your dog. again once he's picked it up lamp off asap and recall whistle. then oonce he's figued it out let him see some real squatters....game on

[Paul in North Lincs 15]

Its sounds as iff you are slipping a big do onto rabbits as they emerge from cover....................at 29" he's just not made for that sort of work where as a wippet x of some sorts would use explosive acceleration at close range.

 

I mirror some other chaps views.......................get him out in darkness in open spaces, and try on the lamp.....he's going to need a ;good 80/90 yards to hit top speed.

 

You need to get between them sitting and where they want to get to to escape...............once cut off and confused.......................it should make easy pickings

 

If you dont trust hime to come back then you might want to concentrate on basic commands abit more....the instinct is already inbred.

[brock 11]

hows the dog bred mate,any pics of him?where did you have him from?

[Meerihunter 7]

Being a salukX I'd think he would get idea of lamping and returning to you ready for you to "provide" him with the next rabbit to chase fairly quickly.

 

My own saluki's will only hunt up their own game if I am not providing game to them ie spotlighting rabbits so they can see them, they are quick to learn that they have more of a chance with the lamped rabbits than when they go off on their own in the darkness. Just keep getting out with him picking the easiest rabbits to slip on initially. :thumbs-up:

 

Everything about Saluki's says efficiency, when he gets the idea you will see that in his work.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Meerihunter