SENSE OF DIRECTION

[socks 32,253]

as the heading says what are your dogs like ??? i pondered this question as i stood watching my lurcher frantically trying to find me when i was only around 20 foot away ..... my terrier bitch can take off after game through the thickest of woods and i can only just hear her barking away in the distance ... i dont even brak my stride and carry on with my walk knowing that within minuets she will be back at my side as she has a fantastic sense of direction and can find me eberytime .....

 

the lurcher however can get lost in an open field ... i have watched her after a hard course that has had her up and around the field turning around and around trying to get her bearings and work out where i am ... its not untill i whistle that she can set her direction and get back to me ......

 

there is a dramatic difference between the 2 dogs and i am sure that the lurcher could easily be lost if the course took her a long way and out of sight, especially if the wind was howling a gale and distorting noise ....

 

i allways take a gundog whistle with me when we are out so that if she does end up a long way then i have a means getting the noise further out to her ......

 

it is easy to see why some dogs can lost when out working especially on the lamp ............

[Guest smashygadge]

i had a simmilar problem when he was young once i found him whinning away in some trees lost but since then he has always kept me insight .id say if he goes out of sight one day and you no where he is leave him a bit longer to think about it and that should do similar in giving the idea he or she to keep an eye on your where abouts .and with the lamp i do not move from spot i first let him go and just keep giving it the od flash on the ground next to my foot brings him back anyway good luck lol as iam no trainer in anyway

[socks 32,253]

i had a simmilar problem when he was young once i found him whinning away in some trees lost but since then he has always kept me insight .id say if he goes out of sight one day and you no where he is leave him a bit longer to think about it and that should do similar in giving the idea he or she to keep an eye on your where abouts .and with the lamp i do not move from spot i first let him go and just keep giving it the od flash on the ground next to my foot brings him back anyway good luck lol as iam no trainer in anyway

 

cheers but i wasnt after advice LOL ... the bitch is 20 months old and just hasnt got a sense of direction LOL ... the thread was meant to point out the differences in some dogs directional ability compared to others ........

[Guest smashygadge]

i had a simmilar problem when he was young once i found him whinning away in some trees lost but since then he has always kept me insight .id say if he goes out of sight one day and you no where he is leave him a bit longer to think about it and that should do similar in giving the idea he or she to keep an eye on your where abouts .and with the lamp i do not move from spot i first let him go and just keep giving it the od flash on the ground next to my foot brings him back anyway good luck lol as iam no trainer in anyway

 

cheers but i wasnt after advice LOL ... the bitch is 20 months old and just hasnt got a sense of direction LOL ... the thread was meant to point out the differences in some dogs directional ability compared to others ........

 

sorry as i said iaint a trainer just thought id add the simmilar problem i had with mine

[jacob 28]

i had a simmilar problem when he was young once i found him whinning away in some trees lost but since then he has always kept me insight .id say if he goes out of sight one day and you no where he is leave him a bit longer to think about it and that should do similar in giving the idea he or she to keep an eye on your where abouts .and with the lamp i do not move from spot i first let him go and just keep giving it the od flash on the ground next to my foot brings him back anyway good luck lol as iam no trainer in anyway

 

cheers but i wasnt after advice LOL ... the bitch is 20 months old and just hasnt got a sense of direction LOL ... the thread was meant to point out the differences in some dogs directional ability compared to others ........

[Guest markbrick1]

I dont have a problem with sence of direction with mine,like i said before as soon as i catch on the lamp, lamp of dog back to your feet,..............and they do get long slips,lately i have been doin somthing i have always frowned upon lamping with one of my terriers to foot,only because its spring and i have now held back a lot with the lamping 3 times a week at the average just to keep em well and i like mine to see stuff on top 1st and by god she is....................but she runs for miles with a lurcher and her sence of direction is fantastic a lot better then most young lurchers,mark

[TerrierLad 0]

mines a pup well 1 yr old and can get back to me no problem, but she goes that far out i think some times she just runs around till she finds me, i give the odd toot on the whistle so she can find me.

[Guest markbrick1]

I dont have a problem with sence of direction with mine,like i said before as soon as i catch on the lamp, lamp of dog back to your feet,..............and they do get long slips,lately i have been doin somthing i have always frowned upon lamping with one of my terriers to foot,only because its spring and i have now held back a lot with the lamping 3 times a week at the average just to keep em well and i like mine to see stuff on top 1st and by god she is....................but she runs for miles with a lurcher and her sence of direction is fantastic a lot better then most young lurchers,mark

BUT IS IT NOT STUBINESS FROM HER AT THE MOMENT???????????MY BLACK BITCH WHO CAN BE FUNNY SOMTIMES HAS TO BE TOLD MORE THEN ONCE,ITS HER AGE AND KEENESS,MARK

[rusty 0]

no problem with my dogs, ive,been calling my older dog in the past and he,s been stood next to me.

[Meerihunter 7]

I guess it depends whether as pups they have had any need to develop their sense of direction, mine are brought up/started in woods and over rough ground and being Saluki and having a running style that is likely to take them further away than some faster types when running certain quarry so I've never had problems with it.

 

I just keep walking and they generally come out the exactly where I am regardly of how long they have been away

[socks 32,253]

I guess it depends whether as pups they have had any need to develop their sense of direction, mine are brought up/started in woods and over rough ground and being Saluki and having a running style that is likely to take them further away than some faster types when running certain quarry so I've never had problems with it.

 

I just keep walking and they generally come out the exactly where I am regardly of how long they have been away

 

all my dogs are brought up the same i dont wait for them when on walks encouraging them to find me but this bitch just hasnt got a sense of direction ..........

[Guest joe ox]

I have noticed it tends to differ from dog to dog in all honesty I have no idea why. It can be a right pain and a constant worry if they dont find there way back easy!

[Meerihunter 7]

Iwonder if it's to do with a collies need to be directed/handled? When I was training and working gundogs you sometimes came across dogs (usually trial dogs) that were overly dependant on their handler and as such went to pieces when out of sight of the handler. Terriers and Salukis being more independant types are maybe better equipped to cope when they find themselves alone?

[Meerihunter 7]

this bitch just hasnt got a sense of direction ..........

 

I had a friend that used to hunt with alot and he was hopeless he would of died up at harwood forest never able to find his way back to the car. I guess some dogs are just the same.

[socks 32,253]

Iwonder if it's to do with a collies need to be directed/handled? When I was training and working gundogs you sometimes came across dogs (usually trial dogs) that were overly dependant on their handler and as such went to pieces when out of sight of the handler. Terriers and Salukis being more independant types are maybe better equipped to cope when they find themselves alone?

 

a fair point but doesnt equate to this bitch as when sent out on a long run she will cast out like a collie and use the dead ground to come up on game which she cant possibly see but she always comes up right on them ... the problem occours if she has been led on a bit of a dance accross the ground or if there is even a sparse woodland involved ... i can honestly be 20 feet away from her in a wooded environment and she will be spinning wildly panicking that she cant find me ..................