Advice Please

[craigy 1]

I have a 8 month old springer pup this is my first dog I have trained pup until now it has been going really well he will sit stay retrieves to hand good on the stop and return whistle The other night while out for a walk through some rough ground a rabbit got up right at his feet I gave a blast on the stop whistle but he seemed to ignore it something he has been really good with up until now don't no if the shock or adrenalin took over don't want this to become a habit would it help if I introduced a dummy with a rabbit skin to maybe help steady him any advice would be great thanks.

[jamie mc 168]

A good kick up the arse should do he will soon get the message. ha ha

[craigy 1]

It crossed my mind mate.

[fret78 87]

Your dog is 8 MONTH OLD. I wouldn't worry too much. I know keepers who don't use there dogs until they're 18mnths so they've had time to grow up a bit. seriously, don't put too much pressure on a young dog or you could undo what it's already learned pal.

 

good luck mate

[jamie mc 168]

I think that says it all.

[craigy 1]

Cheers for the replay guys have just been taking his training a slow pace I know you don't want to rush a young dog just wondering if there are anyway to try and prevent it from happening in the first place.

[ftm 3,357]

i borrowed a friends pet rabbit for 2 weeks and koda was kept on lead whilst bunny was allowed to hop about close to him .slightest pull toward rabbit was corrected with a "leave it & stop whistle" i can honestly say i could shoot rabbits all day & he would retrieve them all ,i allow him to flush them but he would NOT kill one your dog may be a bit young but further down the line this might be of interest to you mate -good luck! -billy

[jennym 39]

Dont let it get to a situation where he can get away with it this young. take him out on a long line and re-install the NO command, nevermind stop whistle. Just enjoy him being a baby, stick to basics and get him well socialised/stock proof etc.

Biggest thing to concentrate on is NO and recall. Dont be afraid to give him a shake if he cocks up as he will, hes young and daft, just train for success the now, more serious stuff can be next year.

[camokev64 36]

I have a 8 month old springer pup this is my first dog I have trained pup until now it has been going really well he will sit stay retrieves to hand good on the stop and return whistle The other night while out for a walk through some rough ground a rabbit got up right at his feet I gave a blast on the stop whistle but he seemed to ignore it something he has been really good with up until now don't no if the shock or adrenalin took over don't want this to become a habit would it help if I introduced a dummy with a rabbit skin to maybe help steady him any advice would be great thanks.

Craigy,

What people have got to be when training a dog is honest in their assessment of their dog...What some people may think is acceptable in the foundation training,can very quickly start to crack when the dog is introduced to to game.

People can read all the books they want,but what handlers require is good on the job tuition,so you and the dog can learn together and assess your dogs strengths and weaknesses ...

If you are serious about shooting or beating over your dog this season,i would seek the services of a competent dog handler who has a rabbit pen...YES at 8 months of age your spaniel is at a critical age in his training programme..One thing that you will find is if your training programme is on track...

For example,i have an 8 month old Cocker in at present, which has experienced the pen from 7 months,yesterday she was allowed to quarter tight into me and upon flushing rabbits sat instantly to the whistle and because this dog is going to used for peg dog/shooting over, i was happy with that part of the training..she will hope- fully progress to flushing and sitting without the prompt of the whistle which will have to be a requirement of this dog due to the limited handling ability of the owner..

 

Good luck and stick in...

[Casso 1,261]

Kev makes a good point there about foundation training a lot of which is pulling against a pups natural inclinations , running free hunting up and such things , early training is more about stopping and controlling things which a pup has no real reference to at that point

 

What I mean by that is the stop sound of the whistle has not evolved or evoked drive in the dogs mindset

Your pup is now compelled by the onset of sexuality to fall into line with its internal pull of drive its normally at this point that pups become difficult because any former training through treats or praise or whatever it was is left wanting in a pups New mindset

it's like trying to stop the young lad going round to shag his bird by offering him a bar of chocolate or telling him he can't and not giving him a reason your fighting against what his nature is telling him

 

The good news is that dogs are forever the optimist so much so that if you can make the pup believe that listening to a command and giving up a chase he can get to hunt another one he will happily go along with commands whatever they are, it's making the dog believe that by forsaking instant gratification he will get to hunt on with you to achieve a common goal

 

What it breaks down to for a dog is,a bird in the hand is Not worth the two in the bush that's how the dogs mindset works the two in the bush is always more exciting to a dog so in a seasoned dog the stop signal doesn't mean the finish of everything it's just an interlude between passages of work he still gets to work again

 

Why a dogs works is because of prey instinct which is a load unload type of approach think of a cat he gets loaded by the sight of moving object he unloads by chasing grabbing biting etc similar to what the pup was trying to do

but what we want is prey Drive which relinquishes the unload state at a much slower rate while at the same time giving the dog a sense of well being working in tandem with its owner to achieve a common goal which is in keeping with the true nature of the canine

Don't see the dog ignoring the whistle as a major problem see it as a process of learning, the dog wants to work with you he just needs to be shown how kicking the shite out of him will only make him wilder

 

Sorry it's a bit long winded bud but when Im dealing with folk and dog issues I try to take it to the Why, a lot of folk will say teenage years and defiance and the dog is testing you and that makes it personal and egos get bruised and in return dogs get kicked once he twigs you both have the same interest in mind he'll fall into line , it's the hunt that makes a dog social not the pack.

The very best of luck with it

[craigy 1]

Cheers for the advice guys taking everything on board won't be giving up on him in it for the long haul i just see this as a big part of the learning curve on my part will ask about to see if I could get the use of a rabbit pen which could help.