Saluki x pup testing my patience!!

[MrsChamp606 553]

In answer to the question: is it because of the Saluki in her, or her age? The answer is both! I'd forget about trying to get her attention when its a choice between young rabbits or you, no matter how many toys, treats, whistles and bells you may resort to. Nothing compares with real live prey. End of. And unlike some other types of lurcher, failure to catch won't make her quit, it will just make her more and more determined to catch one: that's the Saluki side of things, providing she comes from the right sort of lines.

 

I know this might sound like heresy, but I never try and do training sessions with a pup any more. I incorporate all their training into our daily walks, so the training is dropped in from time to time, leaving the pup blissfully ignorant of what it is actually learning. It might be walk to heel, for even a few yards, before sending the dog on again.

 

With the young dog I have at the moment, he is now about 13-14 months, and he's been very trying. Only this month have I started walking him to heel off the lead for a few yards!Yes, it has taken that long, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. He simply wasn't ready for obedience stuff in the field before. There's an old saying which means give them lots of rein, then gradually draw them in. It's like any young animal: you can't expect it to be all good and obedient when there's a world out there to explore, especially if you take them places where they see rabbits, smell them.

 

In an ideal world, you will have already been ferreting with this pup of yours. It will have learned how to put its mouth round a rabbit in a controlled situation, and it will have learned to give them up to you.

 

What I would do, in your situation, is to get a fresh rabbit skin, (a really high value item) wrap it round a dummy, and encourage the pup to find it after you, or preferably a helper, has hidden it in the hedgerow. Do your training with that, but don't be surprised if the pup wants to run off with it: she really is at that age where the independence kicks in.

 

Add the independent, high drive Saluki blood to an adolescent bitch whose hormones are changing her into an adult, and its not surprising that you have a dog which really wants to hunt and catch: that is, after all, what she's been bred to do. I honestly don't believe that it is possible to get such a dog to do submit to the master/slave relationship which so many people expect with their dogs, unless you deprive them of their drive by severe punishment, which effectively frightens the dog into obeying you.

 

BUT they also need to learn the limits of your patience. Do you ever get really angry with her? How does she react if you shout at her in a voice which sounds as though you are going to kill her? (Not really of course) This might sound nuts, but my dogs respond to my 'very angry voice', a voice they learn means 'no messing about', and they learn to respond to this voice at home first: Come out of there, Get off there etc etc

 

Some Saluki types take a long time, a very long time indeed, to accept that you are the leader, the boss and he or she who must be obeyed. Only once they see you as the means to hunting and catching do they seem to regard you as anything other than a provider of food, which is way down the list in terms of value to a dog which lives to hunt.

 

The trouble with trying to give any advice on a forum, is that without seeing the owner and dog in the flesh, and knowing in detail the relationship between them, that advice may be wrongly placed or not applicable to the case in question.

 

Hope this helps to understand the dog a bit better.

Thanks for the reply Penny! I have awaiting your post haha! Yes when you explain things like you have then it opens my eyes to a few things I hadn't considered.

She pretty much shits her pants if I give her a serious deep shouting at, it seemed to push her away from me bond wise so I havnt done it again.

She has been ferreting a few times and mouthed a couple of netted and bolted bunnies, I have a number of dry skins I can use for a dummy.

She found a bunny carcass (buzzard left overs) and ran around the field with it like a victory lap, what's the best way to react to this?

[MrsChamp606 553]

some good answers, if it was me try to take her where there aint to many rabbit sents, or where there is other dog walkers.We all know most young lurchers will want to play with other dogs or go deaf when on a sent, there no rush with her with the hunting side as as S/C said its bred in them its there, just take her out with (less) distractions think Simo said the same , just keep up the training with few treats, you got plenty of time with her till sep .

Cheers Ray! I got a couple of spots I can try with less bunnies

[barnslyben 74]

a friend is having the same problems as you, similar age pup too ,some good info to be read

[beast 1,884]

There is some good advice here already, attack fe;ll terrier and skycat and others. dont ever try to call the dog when it obviously wont come, wait till it is not particularly focussed on anything else then call it. otherwise it just learns that your voice menas nothing. even if you have been waiting an hour, when the dog comes back you must praise it and get it really excited and happy to be near you, then let it go again. and again, and again. the hard bit is to get her attention, if she is actually running you will probably not be able to, but if she is sniffing or just staring then a strange noise (squeaky toy?) can work, or sometimes i chuck a few tiny pebbles or carry some dry rice in my pocket to throw by her. when she looks at you then run about, roll on the floor, anything to get her to come over. rewards are great, but you can only reward the dog once it has done what you want, no p;oint running after it waving a bit of food, she must choose to come and get it.

[skycat 6,174]

Did you get my pm?

[dpb82uk 138]

mi pups doing same thing was ferreting to day took the pup she bin ferreting before and got a bolter but she kep walking off i kep calling her back she just do her own thing most of the time then a rabbit hit a net i shouted ,getit reta whats this getit, dont no if it coz i say that to her before i slip her on rabbits but she stoped and ran back to me looking reddy for anything after if she did not cum back id call her like ther was sumthing to get and she wood run to me in hunting mode

[MrsChamp606 553]

Did you get my pm?

Yes I wil reply now