Hunting up on the lamp

[B Woodsford 55]

Iv got a kelpie bull greyhound he’s 11 months old done all the training with him and thought he was ready to start lamping. I took him out to watch a few times end of last season and took him to watch again more recent before letting him off. His recall is normally spot on even in the day time if he is chasing a rabbit and I call him back he comes back. But when I take him out lamping as soon as he misses the rabbit his nose goes straight to the ground and there is no getting him back. Been told it’s called hunting up. Any ideas to fix it? Iv been told it might be the kelpie in him as they can be head strong but Iv not really had any other problems with him. One person told me to just keep letting him do it  till the penny drops but don’t want him to get bad habits. At the minute I turn my back on him and walk out the field when he jumps the gate I put him back on the slip. or if I stand still for 5-10 min he comes back, but then all the rabbits are gone. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by B Woodsford

[Jobi 387]

Ensure you praise him when he returns  swiftly during the daytime, it might carry over to lamping. If not when he returns late after a slip don't praise the dog at all, hopefully the penny will drop. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by Jobi

[stormyboy 1,352]

So basically hope for the best jobi?

Take the dog out with the lamp where there are no rabbits and teach recall/ reward when the lamp goes off. Do it when he's near you and increase the distance until he returns every time. Get him to retrieve a dummy with the lamp.

[B Woodsford 55]

12 minutes ago, stormyboy said:

So basically hope for the best jobi?

Take the dog out with the lamp where there are no rabbits and teach recall/ reward when the lamp goes off. Do it when he's near you and increase the distance until he returns every time. Get him to retrieve a dummy with the lamp.

Yeah mate Iv done that that’s why I thought he was ready he’s even retrieved a dead rabbit. I just take him to a field over the road where there’s no rabbits.  I Will try it with just the lamp, that might be a good idea. so he gets used to there not always being something to pick up. Maybe he’s that used to the dummy that he thinks he has to bring something back. 

[bunnyboiler 1,053]

It’s still light on a night better of waiting for dark rainy windy Nights mate 

Edited August 28, 2019 by bunnyboiler

[Jobi 387]

32 minutes ago, stormyboy said:

So basically hope for the best jobi?

Take the dog out with the lamp where there are no rabbits and teach recall/ reward when the lamp goes off. Do it when he's near you and increase the distance until he returns every time. Get him to retrieve a dummy with the lamp.

In what way would a dummy benefit, he is hunting up when he misses them not after he's picked one up. 

[sandymere 8,263]

28 minutes ago, B Woodsford said:

Yeah mate Iv done that that’s why I thought he was ready he’s even retrieved a dead rabbit. I just take him to a field over the road where there’s no rabbits.  I Will try it with just the lamp, that might be a good idea. so he gets used to there not always being something to pick up. Maybe he’s that used to the dummy that he thinks he has to bring something back. 

I've used a dummy and lamp, about 1 in 3 don't throw the dummy, go through the motion but hold it, but flick lamp on and send dog, then lamp off and recall so he gets the idea of returning on the lamp going off with or without a retrieve. Best done before live game but might still help, main thing is time, experience and dark nights. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by sandymere

[poxon 5,731]

This is why I like to ferret first season dogs to nets so it pretty much guarantees fur between there mouth an builds confidence of grabbing the rabbit early on so they realise that there will always be others to catch instead of hunting up in a desperate hope of catching a missed run on the lamp young dogs are always over keen an can set there selfs in bad ways by being keen after missing runs but a lot of the time it’s down to them not being mentally ready An the owner being over keen to get them going I mean if it was me an I didn’t have use of ferrets to get them going I’d be looking at fields with stock fencing round with longish grass round the bottom I’d be looking at rabbits far out in the field that squat tight an try an get between were the direction the rabbit was heading An on top of them before slipping the dog no point in slipping young dogs on open fast moving ground were the hedge lines are clear for the rabbit to make it to safety fast 

[stormyboy 1,352]

28 minutes ago, Jobi said:

In what way would a dummy benefit, he is hunting up when he misses them not after he's picked one up. 

Reinforcement to return when the lamp goes off. See Sandy's post.

Edited August 28, 2019 by stormyboy

[Saltmoon 2,208]

Way I done it was using a rabbit skin dummy and my lamp went out few times a week at night with the dummy and lamp and got him good like that used tennis balls anything really but seemed to work for me. Pretend to chuck it aswell so he runs out but nothings there he will want to look around and run about looking for it but get him to come back like has been said praise loads when he dose it straight away maybe take some treats to start with and nothing if you have to keep asking him to do it and walk off 

[Jobi 387]

It's not about him merely losing visuals though is it, you can guarantee he's following the scent once he's lost sight. I doubt it will be so easy to fix.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Jobi

[shaaark 10,751]

The dog has the look of the devil in his eyes, your f****d

[Daniel cain 45,318]

always walk mine at night take a light,from a few months old, point torch/lamp at the floor and switch on and off get them to return to my feet.....never used a slip with my old bitch.....young bitch never more than 50 metres from me at night....lamp flicks on once,twice and she's back at my feet

[C.green 3,231]

Im no dog trainer but alot of it stems from frustration by sounds of it. Id say burn some steam off him either a night on numbers of rabbits or maybe try and retrieve couple hares when the grounds right. All the praise in the world is not gonna matter one bit to a super keen dog thats watched other dpgs run but the only thing stopping him is you lol. 

 

I like my dog to use his nose at night whether its rabbits in abit of long or finding other stuff without me hardly putting me lamp on but its gotta be under control.  Dc you say youve never used a slip will your bitch not run if another dog is running something ?

[bunnyboiler 1,053]

10 minutes ago, C.green said:

Im no dog trainer but alot of it stems from frustration by sounds of it. Id say burn some steam off him either a night on numbers of rabbits or maybe try and retrieve couple hares when the grounds right. All the praise in the world is not gonna matter one bit to a super keen dog thats watched other dpgs run but the only thing stopping him is you lol. 

 

I like my dog to use his nose at night whether its rabbits in abit of long or finding other stuff without me hardly putting me lamp on but its gotta be under control.  Dc you say youve never used a slip will your bitch not run if another dog is running something ?

Always amazes me when people say they don’t have a lead on a dog when lamping what happens if summat jumps up while your walking do they just watch it run of cuz I know my dog would be of