spaniel pup

[bobafet 30]

Can anyone give me some advice please

my spaniel pup is 6 months old and has been great off the lead and his recall is spot on,until he puts up a skylark then he tares of oblivios of me,im not sure how to deal with this i dont want to make things worse by doing the wrong thing

cheers B

[FightTheBan 1,147]

Can anyone give me some advice please

my spaniel pup is 6 months old and has been great off the lead and his recall is spot on,until he puts up a skylark then he tares of oblivios of me,im not sure how to deal with this i dont want to make things worse by doing the wrong thing

cheers B

 

First thing to instal is the stop whistle. Make sure this is 100% irrelevent of distractions (dummys, smells, claps, bangs etc).

Once this is perfected, when he puts something up (rabbit, pheasant, skylark - whatever) blow the stop whistle.

At this point he should be fairly close to you, so dont blow it too hard (loudness of whistle depends on urgency of the command). He should stop immediately.

 

If not - nows the fun bit

You have to run out and get him...dont make this a game - you have to mean business.

Take him forceably by the scruff (do not hit him or shout at him) back to the spot you blew the stop whistle (exact spot) and forceably make him sit and wait and as you do so blow the stop whistle gently (this reinforces the command).

This has to be done repeatedly untill every time you give the command he stops - irrelevent of what he is doing.

If he does stop, but a few seconds after you told him to - you still have to goout and bring him back to the exact spot - this is a lesser form of disobedience.

 

After a while (sometimes a long while!) whenever he puts something up he will automatically stop and the desire to chase things will not be so apparent.

This is the way I train mine and it works for me...any other questions PM me if you want.

If you are a beginner - Joe Irvines spaniel book is a great read.

Im no expert, but I hope this helps.

FTB

[FightTheBan 1,147]

Just noticed he is only 6 months - so take it easy on him, he is still just a pup.

You should install all the basics -

Sit

Stay

Heel

Stop

Re-call

 

Make sure these are perfect before letting him anywhere near live game or anywhere he has the chance to flush anything.

FTB

[bobafet 30]

Just noticed he is only 6 months - so take it easy on him, he is still just a pup.

You should install all the basics -

Sit

Stay

Heel

Stop

Re-call

 

Make sure these are perfect before letting him anywhere near live game or anywhere he has the chance to flush anything.

FTB

Thanks mate looks like i best be getting my trainers on

i will let you know how it goes in the future

 

thanks again Gary..

[Dan Newcombe 58]

Agree with all that FTB has said, especially the not whacking the dog.

 

Couple of further points

 

- Never stop watching the dog and reading the body language. After a short time you will see when the scent gets 'hot' and can anticipate the flush. It is very important to get the stop whistle in BEFORE the flush because if the chase starts then the likelyhood of the dog stopping to the whistle is very low. As always, try to avoid the situation where you have to reprimand the dog.

 

- Try and keep away from places where something will flush when you are instilling te stop. One break from the stop command will set you back. This is hard because you obviously want to move on and also you want to spend time with the dog but it is important

 

- Go steady. Its hard when you want to get out with it as soon as possible especially when its your only dog but remember there are another ~8 seasons to go. Better they be enjoyable than rush to get him ready for the first one and then sacrifice your hard work. Dont move on to quickly from the stop whistle to flushing game. Build the foundation

[jusar whippets 10]

Can anyone give me some advice please

my spaniel pup is 6 months old and has been great off the lead and his recall is spot on,until he puts up a skylark then he tares of oblivios of me,im not sure how to deal with this i dont want to make things worse by doing the wrong thing

cheers B

 

First thing to instal is the stop whistle. Make sure this is 100% irrelevent of distractions (dummys, smells, claps, bangs etc).

Once this is perfected, when he puts something up (rabbit, pheasant, skylark - whatever) blow the stop whistle.

At this point he should be fairly close to you, so dont blow it too hard (loudness of whistle depends on urgency of the command). He should stop immediately.

 

If not - nows the fun bit

You have to run out and get him...dont make this a game - you have to mean business.

Take him forceably by the scruff (do not hit him or shout at him) back to the spot you blew the stop whistle (exact spot) and forceably make him sit and wait and as you do so blow the stop whistle gently (this reinforces the command).

This has to be done repeatedly untill every time you give the command he stops - irrelevent of what he is doing.

If he does stop, but a few seconds after you told him to - you still have to goout and bring him back to the exact spot - this is a lesser form of disobedience.

 

After a while (sometimes a long while!) whenever he puts something up he will automatically stop and the desire to chase things will not be so apparent.

This is the way I train mine and it works for me...any other questions PM me if you want.

If you are a beginner - Joe Irvines spaniel book is a great read.

Im no expert, but I hope this helps.

FTB

 

 

Exactly what FTB said, you have to "get into him" straight away and drag him back to the place where you wanted the stop, and blow the stop command when he is at that point.

 

Don't mess about with him, you need to reallt get into him by the scruff and make sure he knows exactly that you want him to stop. Never whack or clout him, but a good firm hold by the scruff usually does the trick.

 

Better to be a bit hard on the dog now, rather than let him flush and chase and get hit by a couple of cartriges !

 

ATB

[bobafet 30]

Thanks for your help

im in no rush i just want to get it right

 

cheers b..

[gonetoearth 5,144]

labs are born half trained

spaniels die half trained

[bobafet 30]

labs are born half trained

spaniels die half trained

Thanks for the confidence booster gonetoearth

[gonetoearth 5,144]

labs are born half trained

spaniels die half trained

Thanks for the confidence booster gonetoearth

J UST AN OLD SAYING MATE, go and buy john holsteads dvd on gun dog training all you

need to know