Teaching a Deerhound To Retrieve

[Helen 2]

How do you teach a Deerhound to retrieve, I can't get mine to reliably, if I cut a slit in a tennis ball and put food inside I can get him to bring it back once or twice but then he just looks at me as if to say you threw it you bring it back. I've had him doing search squares, he is fine locating items but he just stands there looking at them, I've had him on a long line but as soon as it comes off nothing.

[Guest chook]

How do you teach a Deerhound to retrieve, I can't get mine to reliably, if I cut a slit in a tennis ball and put food inside I can get him to bring it back once or twice but then he just looks at me as if to say you threw it you bring it back. I've had him doing search squares, he is fine locating items but he just stands there looking at them, I've had him on a long line but as soon as it comes off nothing.

 

 

Have you tried anything else other than a tennis ball?

 

my bitch wont even bother with a tennis ball, to her there boreing,

she does however love either soft toys or toys on ropes,

try making it in to game, as before you can even teach the retrive,

you need the dog to think what its doing is fun.

[skycat 6,174]

I taught my Deer/Grey, who had no inclination to pick up and carry whatsoever, to retrieve by dragging a small dead rabbit around on a 3 metre length of string. I had to run with it bouncing along the ground behind me, throw it and reel it in, all the time pretending like this was the most exciting game I'd ever played, and after about 20 minutes of doing this she finally dived in and picked up the rabbit: from then on it was all down hill: she always retrieved her catch and I even did obedience comps with her, but by the time she was 4 she had refused to do any dummy retrieves in comps and would only retrieve what she had caught.

 

Be prepared to make a complete prat of yourself when winding the dog up to play retrieving and do use either a dead rabbit or at least a rabbit skin covered dummy.

[Catcher 1 639]

Hi seems to me its the pick up your having probs with.The dogs getting bored.Try dead bait.Most working dogs will pic this up instinctively after that its down to you to get the retrive.atb

[Helen 2]

I am ashamed to say this of a "working" dog, I have tried the dead bunny on the end of a rope - he chased it, grabbed it, heaved in a truly horrified fashion and walked off!!!!! Have also tried every other sort of toy, the only thing he will bother with is the bloody ball, it is on rope as I'd worry he'd swallow it other wise.

[Catcher 1 639]

I am ashamed to say this of a "working" dog, I have tried the dead bunny on the end of a rope - he chased it, grabbed it, heaved in a truly horrified fashion and walked off!!!!! Have also tried every other sort of toy, the only thing he will bother with is the bloody ball, it is on rope as I'd worry he'd swallow it other wise.

 

 

Hi Helen.You have to forget the rope.Try close up training you have to keep the dogs attention at close quaters

[Guest chook]

I am ashamed to say this of a "working" dog, I have tried the dead bunny on the end of a rope - he chased it, grabbed it, heaved in a truly horrified fashion and walked off!!!!! Have also tried every other sort of toy, the only thing he will bother with is the bloody ball, it is on rope as I'd worry he'd swallow it other wise.

 

 

Sounds a bit like my deerhound bitch,

although she tried to bury the dead rabbit,

 

unfortunaly with my bitch, she has no pray drive at all,

so i know she will never work.

[Annmarie09 5]

I don't know anything about Deerhounds but there are lots when we go lure coursing. They are always good for a laugh because they will only chase the lure when they want, one will run one month and not the next, some of them pack it in half way round. They certainly seem to be very strong willed, do what they want dogs, but really great all the same! Last month the lure was soaked in tripe which seemed to help.

[mackay 3,739]

Some dogs won't retrieve and never will, that's a fact and nothing will change that. Some refuse dummies but will retrieve the real thing, to be honest it's difficult if not impossible to teach a dog that shows no inclination to retrieve to do so.

[SCOTTY1 3]

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO TRAIN IT AS A PUP INSTEAD OF WAIT TIL ITS AN ADULT TOO. MACKAYS RIGHT SOME WILL NEVER DO IT

[Guest chook]

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO TRAIN IT AS A PUP INSTEAD OF WAIT TIL ITS AN ADULT TOO. MACKAYS RIGHT SOME WILL NEVER DO IT

 

Theres no need to shout!!

 

 

Have you ever tried to train a deerhound?

deerhounds have a verry strong mind set and if they dont want to do something they never will,

they are the type of dogs in that if theres nothing in it for them, they dont see the point-

so even if you train them as pups, theres no garentee that as an adult they will still retrive,

my bitch is now 15 months old, and will retrive toys, every now and then,

thats after shes had her fun, once shes had her fun with the toy, its you chucked it

you can bleeding well get it.

[Helen 2]

Thanks for the advice,he was trained from a pup, he tracks very well and has done some scent detection work which he is very good at slow but very thorough. I wanted to do working trials with him but he wont bring out the search articles. I think I will give up it's too annoying.

A very famous dog trainer wrote that he was the best Search and rescue Deerhound in the universe. Pity the git can't retrieve.

[my hounds 316]

HELEN GET IN TOUCH WITH DOXHOPE ON HERE.I AM SURE HE COULD GIVE YOU SOME ADVICE.