Starting your lurcher correctly

[Guest WILF]

As a rule of thumb though its cock on TJ, I know what you are saying..........but in a lot of cases we are talking about retards who will be trying to run a 4 month old pup on January daytime hares

 

I know that yours and Ms started early, but that was in the right hands..............not many dogs are in the right hands pal.

[labsnlurchers 39]

cant say i agree wholeheartidly

 

if the owner has an ounce of sense about them then starting to take a young lurcher out to run an easy rabbit or watch the beam imo does no harm at all, mine caught its first at 6 months old, and then one a month up until about a year and its done her no harm whatsoever.

 

the problem rises when young dogs are slipped over and over again and not winning, as long as a young dog is winning its the making of them imo!!

 

a lamped rabbit is easier for a young dog than a ferreted one imo.

 

As i said, it was just a basic over view for in experienced lurcher owners

Taking your pup out to watch the beam does no harm aslong as it doesnt get wound up, running a puppy can do harm physically, mentally aslong as the puppy is catching then no i dont see too much of a problem, it is just physical damage that they are susceptible too, this may not be evident straight away either, it may be 3 or 4 years old before it suffers and im not talking about the odd run, im talking about working a puppy hard

[Meerihunter 7]

.I don't think for one minute anyone who starts their dogs early is working there 6 month old pups ragged.

 

I'm a firm believer that exercising/hunting with pups develops stronger dogs, bones need to stressed to a degree as they grow to increase density. They need to trip and fall and bump themselves to learn to negotiate the very ground they will spend their lives hunting on. In my eyes it's more risky to take a 12 month old that's done nothing but played about in a safe bowling green type field out when they are fully up to speed with no sense on how to use it, with bones unaccustomed the riggers of running un even terrain.

 

As kids we aren't sheltered away from strenuous exercise in case we damaged growing bones. Just look at the shaolin monks for a human example.

 

A little common sense is all that is needed

[labsnlurchers 39]

This is someones post on a thread about a 6 month old puppy

keep taking it out and give all the work it can handle ,other wise you will not be that happy with it in a year or 2 ,and you will be looking for a better dog ,take it from some one that has seen this happen a lot of times ,[just remember fed it well and work it hard ,the only tried and tested method .]a dog is only as good as the work it is given

 

Like i said it is just a basic over view for the inexperienced who decide to run their 6 or 7 month old puppy without proper preparation and expect it to bag 20 rabbits a night. Im not saying dont exercise them on the fields you hunt, what im saying is dont take them out before 12 months old and expect them to work like your mates 2 yr old dog. Yes alot is common sense but just recently ive been seeing many many posts from people who obviously have none when it comes to bringing a puppy up to work.

I have just editeds the original post to put in about the pups getting experience on the terrain they will hunt x

[T78 4]

cant say i agree wholeheartidly

 

if the owner has an ounce of sense about them then starting to take a young lurcher out to run an easy rabbit or watch the beam imo does no harm at all, mine caught its first at 6 months old, and then one a month or so up until about a year and its done her no harm whatsoever.

 

the problem rises when young dogs are slipped over and over again and not winning, as long as a young dog is winning its the making of them imo!!

 

a lamped rabbit is easier for a young dog than a ferreted one imo.

mine are all started young(not daft young though!) the important thing as has been said is to keep the dog winning.

[Guest MY LAW]

As a rule of thumb though its cock on TJ, I know what you are saying..........but in a lot of cases we are talking about retards who will be trying to run a 4 month old pup on January daytime hares

 

I know that yours and Ms started early, but that was in the right hands..............not many dogs are in the right hands pal.

4 month pup on hares ,who do you honistly know does that

[Guest MY LAW]

This is someones post on a thread about a 6 month old puppy

keep taking it out and give all the work it can handle ,other wise you will not be that happy with it in a year or 2 ,and you will be looking for a better dog ,take it from some one that has seen this happen a lot of times ,[just remember fed it well and work it hard ,the only tried and tested method .]a dog is only as good as the work it is given

 

Like i said it is just a basic over view for the inexperienced who decide to run their 6 or 7 month old puppy without proper preparation and expect it to bag 20 rabbits a night. Im not saying dont exercise them on the fields you hunt, what im saying is dont take them out before 12 months old and expect them to work like your mates 2 yr old dog. Yes alot is common sense but just recently ive been seeing many many posts from people who obviously have none when it comes to bringing a puppy up to work.

I have just editeds the original post to put in about the pups getting experience on the terrain they will hunt x

it is my post and if ever you want to see what this method does produce then let me know im not far away from you and i would like nothing better than to see you[ EAT HUMBLE PIE] and what might i add makes you so certain you are correct in what you say ,you got proof of all the so called damage working them hard at a early age does to them if so lets have a look .

[Guest MY LAW]

correct me if im wrong ,but is it not said that a year in the life of a dog is equal to seven in ours ,if so then a 6month old pup is equivelent to 3and a half years old acording to that . so mother nature has seen to it that it will start to chase and catch it food early on in life just in case its parents are not there to look after it , other wise it would starve to death , and do you think at that age it will just try to catch a meal and if it misses it will think well i missed that i had beter not try to catch any thing untill tommorrow in case i cause my self some harm ,or will hunger make it try untill it either catches or dies trying .it is only human interfearence that stops them doing what comes naturaly .[pet owners turning a working breed into a cruffs show hound]

Edited November 17, 2008 by MY LAW

[DEERMAN 1,016]

After a number of posts about puppies working in the field i feel compelled to write this in the hope that a few may read it . All the following statements are just my opinion based on 26 years of living with, breeding, working and showing different breeds of dog. It is only a general overview with very basic advice but i hjope it helps those less experienced.

 

0-8 weeks

The puppy should ideally be with its dam and will get the start of the necessary social skills expected by most dog owners. Choose the breeder you buy from carefully and ask to see both parents and see the puppies in their normal environment.

 

8 weeks - 12 months

The time spent with the puppy should be concentrating on providing the puppy with the necessary obedience and skill that it will require in the field and building a relationship where the puppy will trust you and listen to you.

Recall is an important one and if you will be lamping the puppy when it is mature then you will probably require it to return when the lamp is turned off, practice these things in your garden or in the park or even on the house once or twice a week for 5 minutes is plenty otherwise the puppy will get bored.

Heel work as in walking on a slip or off a slip at your side no matter what the distraction. Practise this with the pup while your walking it, if it pulls for a cat or a fuss off someone then give it a sharp tug and say heel till it gets it (a pocket full of treats helps!)

Stay this one is important in most aspects of working a dog. gradually increase the distance you go away. To start walk away and then walk back, do not call the dog to you because it will anticipate this and edge forward to you, you should practise the recall seperately from stay imo.

Retrieving Play with the puppy and encourage retrieving. give the puppy its toys to chew and keep a seperate on for retrieving practise, discourage chewing of this toy.(i'd use a gundog dummy wrapped in a rabbit skin). Dont over do it, 2/3 retrievals then leave it for another day.

 

Reward with ONE small treat and a pat on the head, dont go overboard on the praise.

 

I take my pups out with one of the adult lurchers working from about 8/9 months old but this is different for every dog. We go ferreting and lamping etc but the pup is not allowed a slip, i allow them to dive on the netted rabbits occasionally but opther than that the pup watches and thats it at that age.

The first run comes at about 11-12 months old usually when ferreting a small easy warren. the pup will soon get the hang of predicting which hole the rabbit will bolt from this is when stay comes in handy so the pup doesnt have its nose down the hole putting the rabbit off bolting.

 

12-18months

The first slip on the lamp comes when the pup is about 12-13 months old.

Make them easy, give the pup the advantage over the quarry so that it gets its confidence up.

2/3 slips maximum 1 outing a week, if the pup catches on the first slip go home and end on a good note. if it doesnt catch at all dont be tempted to go for one or two more slips, that will just provide more knocks for its confidence.

Increase the slips given to the puppy by 1 or 2 every month by 18 months you will be slipping 10-15 slips in a night and may very well be going out more than once a week or going ferreting in the day too.

Increase the difficulty of the slips gradually and by 18 months the puppy should be well on their way to learning to predict the rabbits behaviour

By about 16/18 months old your lurcher should have reached maturity and the workload they can withstand is far greater than when they were 12months old.

 

In my opinion the dog should be at its best by about 2 years old

 

 

 

These are some quotes ive found on the internet from professional

 

"If you are starting a lurcher from a pup, and you concentrate on building its working confidence by taking it out and about, letting it follow scent, waiting when it is puzzling something out, being patient while it investigates buries and so on, you will be laying good sound foundations."

 

"Waiting until a dog is physically and mentally ready for each job is one of those common-sense things that isn’t so common"

 

"the dog might pull on the lead and seem all eagerness when it sees quarry run but being able to catch is a matter of maturity"

 

"When you start to show the dog its job, do everything in your power to give it success, and be free with your praise when the dog catches. End each session early so that the dog does not become tired, lose concentration"

 

 

I do not want to start an argument, and i understand that there are differences between every lurcher, even those of the same breed and even those from the same litter but in general, 12-13 month of age is a good age to start physically working in moderation, before this age there is much that can be done to adequately prepare your lurcher for its life of work.

 

I have edited this to say....Although i dont take my young dogs out working until 8/9 months they are exercised on the fields around my farm and are 'free range' through the day, often tearing round the fields like tazmanian devils reeking havok. Its important for a puppy to have experience of the terrain you expect them to work x

lol lol Thought i was reading a cooking recipe ,first do this ,then do this next

[mccroryart 0]

Thanks for taking the time to write this. There is a lot of conflicting views out there from people who have long experience of keeping running dogs. Some advice seems only suitable for the more experienced and anyone bringing on a dog will have to make their own decisions on what is best in certain situations. The best a novice can do is follow a rough plan that seems sensible and rational. The ‘take your time’ approach that you advise is not going to damage the dog and looks like a good starting point. I have a pup at the moment and will cut out the advice and try to keep to it.

 

Eamonn

[thurso jack 3]

cant say i agree wholeheartidly

 

if the owner has an ounce of sense about them then starting to take a young lurcher out to run an easy rabbit or watch the beam imo does no harm at all, mine caught its first at 6 months old, and then one a month up until about a year and its done her no harm whatsoever.

 

the problem rises when young dogs are slipped over and over again and not winning, as long as a young dog is winning its the making of them imo!!

 

a lamped rabbit is easier for a young dog than a ferreted one imo.

 

As i said, it was just a basic over view for in experienced lurcher owners

Taking your pup out to watch the beam does no harm aslong as it doesnt get wound up, running a puppy can do harm physically, mentally aslong as the puppy is catching then no i dont see too much of a problem, it is just physical damage that they are susceptible too, this may not be evident straight away either, it may be 3 or 4 years old before it suffers and im not talking about the odd run, im talking about working a puppy hard

 

 

of course 99% of what you have written is bang on, its all down to the owner and if it stops one plebe ruining a dog then its worth writting

[undisputed 1,664]

It's a sad reflection on this site when someone is offering advice to inexperienced lurcher owners and has to add he's not looking for an arguement. It's true everyone has different methods of bringing on a pup but from what I can see from this post it's sound advice and beginers could do far worse than to take some of it on board.

[undisputed 1,664]

correct me if im wrong ,but is it not said that a year in the life of a dog is equal to seven in ours ,if so then a 6month old pup is equivelent to 3and a half years old acording to that . so mother nature has seen to it that it will start to chase and catch it food early on in life just in case its parents are not there to look after it , other wise it would starve to death , and do you think at that age it will just try to catch a meal and if it misses it will think well i missed that i had beter not try to catch any thing untill tommorrow in case i cause my self some harm ,or will hunger make it try untill it either catches or dies trying .it is only human interfearence that stops them doing what comes naturaly .[pet owners turning a working breed into a cruffs show hound]

 

 

you only need to watch video footage of wild dogs or wolves/foxes to see how inaccurate that statement is...they learn from their dam and dont usually leave their pack until theyre old enough to look after themselves, it's a lot different catching mice/voles/ worms to running rabbits.

[Garypco 2]

there are experienced guys who start pups a little earlyer but they know what theyre doing....this thread is aimed at the novice who has no clue or mentor to guide them there are so many youngsters on this site taking up the sport with nobody to guide them i think a thread like this is essential....it will save dogs from being sold on pts sleep or dumped and shoved into rescue centres!!!

 

all pups can be schooled from an early age but i use the term schooled loosely....sit stay heel retreive walk on a lead etc... serous lamping should not be attempted till the pup is between 10 and 14 months....i used to know some local gypsies who always ran young dogs... i never saw many make the grade.... and those that did were always moved on through injury etc ... they were nice lads but never really knew how to school or bring a dog on...they still dont and wont learn! now i keep myself even closer to myself its less hassle!! school and bring on pups at more mature age i always have sapling are not even lamped until at least 12 months ....my oldest bitch is 6 and still running well she has a little foot trouble now but still does the job for me!

 

i think amanda shud be commended for this thread she went to a lot of time and effort to write it!...anyone with an ounce of commen sense can see its good practice..

[Guest MY LAW]

correct me if im wrong ,but is it not said that a year in the life of a dog is equal to seven in ours ,if so then a 6month old pup is equivelent to 3and a half years old acording to that . so mother nature has seen to it that it will start to chase and catch it food early on in life just in case its parents are not there to look after it , other wise it would starve to death , and do you think at that age it will just try to catch a meal and if it misses it will think well i missed that i had beter not try to catch any thing untill tommorrow in case i cause my self some harm ,or will hunger make it try untill it either catches or dies trying .it is only human interfearence that stops them doing what comes naturaly .[pet owners turning a working breed into a cruffs show hound]

 

 

you only need to watch video footage of wild dogs or wolves/foxes to see how inaccurate that statement is...they learn from their dam and dont usually leave their pack until theyre old enough to look after themselves, it's a lot different catching mice/voles/ worms to running rabbits.

probibly to the dogs that are brought up the way most of you are doing things ,but take it from me the dogs i and the people that i associate with find catching rabbits at a early age is like shooting ducks in a barrel ,[like you say the young dogs learn from their dam and stay with their pack untill they LEARN for them selves [to my young dogs I AM THE DAM I AM THE PACK IT IS ME THEY LEARN OFF ]