Won't Share Her Prize!

[coneykenny 98]

my 11mnth old whippet bitch is doin my nut! she's retreiving everything from a ball to a rabbit skin covered dummy all perfectly ,3 times now and shes caught her rabbit and runs 2 to 3 hundred yrds away playing with it.when i walk towards her she runs off bunny in hand or so to speak.very frustrating .shes absolutely sound in everything else she does .what you reckon guys

[brendy mc l 694]

shes a young bitch shes playing u up when she catches stand your ground she sound get fed up and come back u going after her might same like a game to her

[AirgunGuy 362]

At 11 months she's still a pup. Worst thing you can do is chase after her...she'll see it as a game. Give her a rest for a couple of months and stick with the dummy's ;-)

[nothernlite 18,077]

just start walking away from her

[jamesmc 582]

just start walking away from her

NO MORE LIKES...

[Lee H 1982 60]

just kneel down and just wait for the bitch to relax abit and she will eventually

bring the bunny back its the excitement from the chase take your time and

don't rush her shes still young best of luck with her bud.

[spiderfly 111]

Happened with my old bitch I just say down for 5 mins no lamp on an she came back with our the rabbit , caught another did the same thing and after 4 nights of waitin for her she finally just brought em back when I called her :L

[Lee H 1982 60]

Happened with my old bitch I just say down for 5 mins no lamp on an she came back with our the rabbit , caught another did the same thing and after 4 nights of waitin for her she finally just brought em back when I called her :L

it works the dog is that excited from catching the rabbit its is her prize as

you put it she just worked for it the dog will settle eventually when she realizes

that there is more to catch than the one she as. As said let her take her time

if you chase her your making more problems for yourself she will get it eventually.

[Lee H 1982 60]

spiderfly dont know why i attached that to your post soz

[lewyboy 11]

Walk away from them hate out like that been out with dogs that do it

[birddog 1,354]

above advice all good and the more it catches and sees the less the excitement and novelty factor will be, as its still a pup i'd keep up the retrieving practise and plenty of bond building tug games, plenty of patience and it'll come good

[JAE B 545]

my 11mnth old whippet bitch is doin my nut! she's retreiving everything from a ball to a rabbit skin covered dummy all perfectly ,3 times now and shes caught her rabbit and runs 2 to 3 hundred yrds away playing with it.when i walk towards her she runs off bunny in hand or so to speak.very frustrating .shes absolutely sound in everything else she does .what you reckon guys

stay calm mate that's the best thing you could do

[skycat 6,173]

There is a big difference between retrieving something you throw for them, a low value item like a ball or dummy, and a real live rabbit which the pup has chased and caught with no involvement from you. The reward for her in catching that rabbit is so great that she doesn't want to give it up, and how a pup reacts with its first rabbits often depends on how you taught the retrieve in the first place.

 

Most people throw a ball, say fetch, and the pup runs after it and comes back wanting more. Natural retrieving, a game, fun which involves you. BUT the big thing is that most owners don't realise that the drive which makes the dog chase in the first place is often shut down when the dog returns to you with the ball. That's OK in a way, and a lot of dogs are happy to retrieve rabbits in the same way: prey drive when chasing, and giving it up to the owner with no problem, but when it comes to a really high value thing like a rabbit, one which you've not thrown for the pup, then she really wants to keep it, so much so that she won't give it up easily.

 

If you train the retrieve so the dog stays in 'drive' as it brings you the rabbit, you'll not have a problem. The way to get the dog to stay in drive is to train it through tug games, ones which are played strictly by the rules you put in place. If this is done correctly, then instead of having a dog that runs off with its rabbit, you have a dog that comes belting back to you, rabbit in mouth, because it has been conditioned to think that there is as much fun in bringing the rabbit back as there was running to catch it.

 

It's all about what makes a dog feel good: stuff in mouth, grabbing, pulling, tearing. Before you shake your head and say 'no way! I'm not having my dog playing tug of war with a rabbit', it doesn't work like that. If the rules are taught correctly, the dog tugs when you say it can, and gives the tug up the moment you command it to.

 

I've sent you a pm.

[coneykenny 98]

thanks for all that .ill keep you all updated on any progress

[AirgunGuy 362]

above advice all good and the more it catches and sees the less the excitement and novelty factor will be, as its still a pup i'd keep up the retrieving practise and plenty of bond building tug games, plenty of patience and it'll come good

Would you recommend tug games with a dog that you want to retrieve and pass something to you? :-)