Calling dog off of chase?

[JordKil 0]

Recently I've had a few problems with my collie x when out ferreting or generally chasing the bunnies. Some of the work we do is near railways and the last thing I want is my mutt running off the edge on to the railway breaking his neck! He is very keen and nothing at the moment seems to snap him out of his obsession with rabbits. Im sure if he saw them more often and they werent made a big deal of he would come round. Does anyone have any techniques they use to get the dog to stop in mid chase or even after they lose it and start using their nose? which at night scares every other rabbit off!!

He has grown out of whining while chasing as he got alot fitter and can turn a rabbit a good few times before going for the kill. While im at it he does have one other problem which is that he struggles to pick up the rabbit (not weight as he is dead strong)When he was younger he used to catch heaps of rabbits but then he'd drop them while either retrieving or just right after nailing them. Now when he catches them he pins them down and shakes them to death (which surprisingly doesnt do alot of damage as I eat the big ones and the meat isnt damaged) He will then just hold it until im there and not bring it back in fear of it escaping lol.

 

Any advice would be great

Cheers

Jordan

[Pignut 4]

Do you want him to hunt or not? Is he a pet or a working dog in your life? What is he a collie crossed with? Some collies are not brilliant at killing or catching rabbits - it is not their job in life.

 

I say this because i have had to teach my terriers not to chase. They are pets, though the collie x whippet x greyhound is much older and can be called off a bunny coz he is old and can't be arsed half the time.

 

I think that even if you are surrounded by them, no hunting dog will get bored of bunnies and just stop because they are everywhere and not worth it.

 

If you really want to call them off, I would get an electric collar. It has worked with mine. They are allowed to chase and hunt up until the rabbit leaves my boundary fence (most of our fields are 50 acres big so they get a good run). The minute the rabbit has gone through the fence, I call them off using the doorbell facility on the collar (not the electric bit) and they all know to return back to me. If they can't catch a rabbit through 50 acres, then for me, that is the point of hunting - the animal had a chance too and the dogs got a good run and some fun.

 

I must say, though, if you abuse the collar and use it to zap them at every opportunity, you can overcome their hunting instinct totally and replace it with confusion and fear which is not a good thing.

 

We have farmers who shoot first and question later when they see a dog in their fields and rightly so, coz it is their sheep they are protecting. I had to find a quick fix and it has worked. You have the threat of a railway and I would worry alot about that. Can you walk somewhere further away from the railway or is that all you have?

 

The electric collars (pac) are good in that you don't have to use the electric zap part, you can just make it go ping, ping and that gets the dogs' attention instantly. Also, if the wind is blowing (does alot here) then the dog can't hear you even a few yards away, but he hears this ping in his ear and remembers it is about going back to you. Have a small treat (dog biccie) ready to say thank you and well done when he comes back to you and do not give in until he has come right up to you. Do not walk a step towards him.

 

Also, practice leading the dog on a long line in a safe enclosed area. Change direction alot and say "this way" in a very brisk Barbara Woodhouse-like way so the dog gets used to listening to you, and following you and recognising the words for a change of direction. This might be a useful skill if he goes too close to the railway.

 

When you walk a dog, half his eye should be on you at all times. The dog is not walking you and you should not be well trained by him so that you are the one running after him.

 

Good luck

Pignut

Good luck.

[JordKil 0]

He is a springer collie cross. Dont let that make you think that he cant be a rabbiting dog as he is good in small doses. Hes my pet and companion first then Would a spray collar suffice? He hates water and the spray collar helps with his dog aggression.

Cheers

Jordan

[Pignut 4]

You could try. I he very young? I think as a dog matures into his life, they calm down and accept your ideas and expectations more easily perhaps. I can call my lurcher off and take him out riding with me but when he was a young pup (18 months), I would not have dared do that until he had matured at about 5 years old.

 

It all depends if he listens to you and if he has any attention to you on the walk. Do you walk him or does he walk you?

 

The bottle spray might stop him from hunting completely. I have never used one. I use an electric collar as it has the alternative beep-beep so that is all I need to get their attention when a) they can't hear me or don't actually want to listen. The zap is used in extreme emergencies like sheep chasing. It is used so they think that sheep bite hard (and so do chickens on a certain Westie the other day on behalf of my cockeral that he killed an hour before).

 

I also try and make walks fun for everyone. Use games with the dogs to keep their attention and to wear them out and to think of other things rather than just sniff, sniff, hunt, hunt.

[JordKil 0]

He's just over 2. While walking Im the one in charge but when a rabbit is in the picture he's gone. He gets to do lots of retrieving games and playing with some other dogs. Also some tracking games e.g. drag a toy/rabbit skin across ground to hide and tell him to go search. When walking I have a toy with me to keep him occupied when passing other dogs (especially the ones he hates!) That keeps him amused and the usual spaniel obsessivness!

 

Cheers

Jordan