STARTING YOUR PUP TOO EARLY!

[Ossie 11]

"a year for bone, a year for muscle: let them grow, then let them go". wise words from an old traveller i once met. i have a friend who likes to start his dogs at about 9 months. my boy didn't get his first rabbit til he was a year old. before then i'd let him have the odd run in daylight, just to get the idea, and usually on rabbits i knew he wouldn't catch. it just made him keener & more determined, so when i took him out on a lamp at a year, he caught the first one he chased (an august young'un, hell of a run around, but i was chuffed none the less!). i didn't get him til he was 7 months old, he's 18 months at the mo', and i don't intend to start working him seriously until he is 2. he's still very puppyish, a great big bounding loony, and has a bit more muscle to put on. still working on the recall, but he's getting better all the time. my mum has always warned me against starting dogs too young, it's better to wait til they've developed properly. there's no sense in starting a dog too early & f**king it up, when you can wait a while, be patient, and have a dog who will give you many happy years of working.

[highlander 0]

Well my dog is 18months now. I didnt start him on game until he was 12months old. I had spent all the time up to that working on everything else like stock breaking, sit stay and all the usual bits and pieces. I wasnt going to do jumping till he was atleast 9months but the little bugger learned how to jump the fence to get into my neighbours house. He chased a few rabbits when i was out and about in the summer but i wasnt trying to get him to they were just wrong place wrong time. It waited till the end of august and to get the perfect night before i was willing to go out and start him on the lamp. I had spent 4 weeks trotting him behind the bike to get him perfectly fit. I also kept in contact with some of the boys that had pups out the litter to see their progression. I knew the time was right and thats when i started him. My new pup is alot slower at progressing she is far quieter than he was at this age but we will see how she gets on this season coming. Every man has there own way and every dog should be given time to have a puppy hood. These are only my views not everyone elses.

[brock 11]

you will find that majority of the dogs that are started early wont have much lung and will suffer muscle and joint problems later in life,as they havent had enough time as a pup to fully develop.

[Guest Lurcherbitch]

Wow!!! great thread. Am getting a 7mth pup tomoz, She is being handed in cause at 7mth old she wont work she just wants to play with older dog that is working. She will be staying with me.....So i will be needing advice (cragman/fellman/ect) I will let you all take me out and show both me and pup the ropes .

The reason i am keeping this pup is my dog swifty came in pregnant, the pups was born last july, the black bitch went back to swifty's old owner, as soon as i heard she threw broken coat i knew she would be coming back. Swifty 10yrs ago was the begining of a line for this guy, the pup i am getting back is the last born, so it was just ment to be.

 

Socks!!!! it was the one you was gonna get.xx

Edited February 17, 2007 by Lurcherbitch

[tote 843]

It's good to get lots of opinions

Edited February 17, 2007 by tote

[pilgrim1982 0]

She runs harder on the beach chasing the terriers than she has done chasing the rabbit

 

Its the same situation with my dogs. They are very intense when chasing each other. I have two whippet dogs (8 1/2 months and 11 1/2 months). The often chase each other extremely fast. We also have a large yard and they are outside most of the time, i can't stop them having a chase. The younger dog is a very tough dog, he was raised with our australian cattle dog which used to chase him till he tired and they used to wrestle all day long. There was not much i could do to stop them. I think this hardened him up alot. He had no difficulty whatsoever catching his first rabbit. It seemed like a piece of cake to him, he wasn't even tired or worn out from it. I am trying to hold him back though to a certain extent. When i'm out hunting or walking him he is very good and doesn't wonder off very far and comes when called. He is different at home though, sometimes he ignores me and just wants to do his own thing.

 

I think both my dogs are ready for rabbits but i'm not going to let them chase hares for some time yet.

 

happy hunting

[juckler123 707]

A lot of dogs get ruined by early work they catch one or two and before you know it you end up working em flat out and as Brock says this can lead to heart and lung trouble later on. I like to let em grow and also ive found the later you start em the less nesh they are of cover and seem a lot more determined

[jpt 284]

I have got a pup coming upto 6 months now and she wont do any sort of work untill next season. When she is about 14 months she will have a little go but nothing serious untill the season after. She needs time to be a puppy and for her body to develope fully. If you want to f**k a dog up start them young but if you want a good 7 or 8 seasons out of them then wait! Thats what I have been told by many men who have been running dogs for more than twenty years. Who do you trust, the one who has been there and done that or the one who says it wont do any harm, just a quick slip here and there? The choice is yours. JPT

[Guest Frank]

I have got a pup coming upto 6 months now and she wont do any sort of work untill next season. When she is about 14 months she will have a little go but nothing serious untill the season after. She needs time to be a puppy and for her body to develope fully. If you want to f**k a dog up start them young but if you want a good 7 or 8 seasons out of them then wait! Thats what I have been told by many men who have been running dogs for more than twenty years. Who do you trust, the one who has been there and done that or the one who says it wont do any harm, just a quick slip here and there? The choice is yours. JPT

 

Hi jpt,

Fair comment.

 

If you dont mind me asking, what X is you dog?

 

Thanks,

 

Frank.

[Guest Nightwalker]

Well, I'm one of these terrible people who enter dogs early and have done for the last 30+ years without ruining one yet. Mine come out and about with me as soon as they have had their jabs, they see lots of game while out and about with me and gradually take more and more interest as they grow. My dogs have always self-entered and have been none the worse for this, I just try to keep them out of trouble and stop them severly over-stressing themselves or getting badly mullered by dangerous quarry. This works for me and always has done.

[nightmanneil 0]

I agree best to take your time, we rushed our first whippet years ago listening to advice from them what knew best by the time she was 2 both her bow tendons had gone and she had to retire, we know take things slowly, and had to retire 2 of our other oldies at 9 years old.

you like wippets here is my 4 year old bitch

[Guest Frank]

nightmanneil, your whippet bitch is similar to my whippet pup.

 

Frank.

Edited February 18, 2007 by Frank

[jpt 284]

She has got Greyhound, Deerhound, Whippet, Saluki, Collie and Beddy in her. She will be about 23 1/2 - 24 inch to the shoulder.

 

JPT

[Guest Frank]

Thanks JPT, the best of luck with her.

 

I think the smaller breeds like whippet mature quicker then bigger breeds ect.

But, i wont be doing any seriouse work with my pup till she is around 12 months old and then only slowly build her up.

 

Untill then she will have the odd mornings ferreting and from 8-9 months, the odd night catching the 1 bunny.

 

Frank.

[gaz 284]

As i thought when i first posted this thread it would throw up a few different opinions,some even took it a bit too personal as if the finger was being pointed at them as they have started their pup at 6-7 months ect.This was not what this thread was all about.The thread was to hear different opinions which i made clear when it was wrote,Anyway good to hear peoples thoughts on the matter and see were there coming from with their thinking. I also think some took it the wrong way as when i said starting a pup, which i meant by running the bugger a bit too much for its lack of development in muscle,bone and brain doing damage to the pup physically and mentaly, and then before you know it the sappling is sold as it has been ruined by its incompetent owner who will blame the breeding or the lack of heart ect.... to cover his or her own failures as a dog trainer,this ive saw many times before by so called good dog men.I didnt mean exposing the pup into the place of work to see what its all about,and if it gets in behind a rabbit and makes a effort to catch it so be it,this is all good aswell as this is the pups breeding doing what its meant to do,but on the other hand if this same pup doesnt see its first bunny until say 12- 18 months it will try just as hard because we dont learn them to chase, the breeding takes care of this.What we must train is a good degree of obedeince in our dogs for obvious reasons, and also it makes owning and working lurchers a more enjoyable expeirence.i think if bread right a lurcher will chase at any age when started but when started but not trained to a good standerd eg stock,retrieving,recall ect you are fighting a uphill battle.So on that note good hunting to all no matter how they choose to start their pups as ive said, this is just my opinion on this matter.