Dog wont retreive his catch

[3175darren 1,102]

Dont know if I am being paranoid or not,my dog is now 12 months old,I havnt done loads with him,mainly had him covering the nets which he loves,Its 30yrs since my last running dog,I mainly have gun dogs,I got this dog as I am doing more and more ferreting/rabbiting,I am no novice with dogs and trained the little lurcher alot like the gun dog,he retreived everything I shot,

He still is very obedient this is him as a pup,he seems very adaptable, I have paired him with the pointer and he seems to have adapted his style to work with him

He will mark to ground,hunt up happily flush pheasants,he even tries to point them

His training was a pleasure to do, his general retrieving has been spot on,the only problem I have is when he chases and catches, he will not give his catch up,if I had shot it then theres not much of a problem,measured on the PAWS [Possessiveness,Attention,Willingness,and strengh of character]

He ticks all boxes,

I have not ran much on open runs,he has taken a few on the lamp

And catches his fare share,overall no problems I am happy with all but his retrieving and some parts of me wonder if he will grow out of it,I suppose its beacause I know this yr I have a lot of work allready lined up for him,one final thing he is supposed to be a bred from a cattledog lurcher Dam and a racing wippet sire I am not sure I believe that entirely,would appreaciate opinions,he is around 22 to the shoulder

If any one has had the same sort of problems and can advise it would be appreaciated,he really is a cracking dog with loads and loads of preydrive,

[Chid 6,815]

When dog catches rabbit try walking in the opposite direction , hopefully dog will start walking at the side of you , take hold of rabbit and just keep walking till dog drops rabbit then give lots of praise .

 

Done this with an old dog I had and worked brilliant

 

Or if the dogs unsure weather to come in to you try squatting down and encourage the dog to come in

[skycat 6,174]

The thing is, lurchers can be very different to gundogs, and their training should reflect this difference. There is a big gap in the dog's mind between retrieving stuff you've shot: (its already dead,) and something he has caught himself. When he goes to retrieve shot game he is not in the same zone mentally as he is when chasing then catching something. When he chases and catches a rabbit he is in high prey drive, and if you've trained him in the same way as you would a gun dog then that prey drive is switched off when he brings something to you. He doesn't want to switch off when he's caught the rabbit: he's as high as a kite with success, and bringing it to you means, to him, that he has to come down from that high, and give up what he has worked so hard to catch.

 

This is where tug training can really help. I've sent you a pm.

[3175darren 1,102]

When dog catches rabbit try walking in the opposite direction , hopefully dog will start walking at the side of you , take hold of rabbit and just keep walking till dog drops rabbit then give lots of praise .

 

Done this with an old dog I had and worked brilliant

 

Or if the dogs unsure weather to come in to you try squatting down and encourage the dog to come in

Hi mate tried that one, he has no real problem with retreiving anything other than his catch, I play games in the garden with sticks give him the stick he gives it back brings it no problem,I use this on the labs and it really developes the delivery,its when he has chased and caught when the problem starts,he will run back with the rabbit,till he gets 20yds off,then wont give the rabbit up,I have to wait a few minutes till his adreanalin has dropped,funny thing is most times the rabbits still alive,Skycat has nailled it I think with his comment on the dog being high as a kite with his success,I do notice his preydrive is higher with fur than feather,I will try this tug training anything to get this right he is worth the effort,

cheers

Darren

[beast 1,884]

a common mistake is to get the rabbit off the dog as quick as possible. remember that the biggest thrill any dog can get is to get his mouth round his prey so if you then grab it quickly you are the one responsible for spoiling his fun. practice with skins, dummies etc and shot game over the summer and whilst you are retraining dont let him hunt for himself or you will not break the habit. what you need to do is to let him keep hold of the bunny when he brings it to you and just stroke and praise him while he holds it. you can hold it at the same time and then give it back, or throw it for him to retrieve again. some dogs will even stop to let live rabbits go, and then catch them again and again if they thi k you are going to spoil their fun, so you must become part of the fun and i bet this will clear up very fast as you have obviously got the basics right

[Mickey Finn 3,087]

Nice looking pup! A lot of good advice already posted. Another thought, (even though I advocate force fetch for retrieving problems ) You might fire a blank pistol as he makes his catch. It might remind him he's on the clock, and has a job to do.

 

Good hunting next season!

[tsteve9999 456]

I don't think he'd want to be shooting a gun while he's lamping mate.

[Mickey Finn 3,087]

I don't think he'd want to be shooting a gun while he's lamping mate.

 

I wondered about that. The keeping quiet part, that is. ( not implying anything) He could do the training in a controlled situation. Which is always best anyhow.

 

ATB