abit of help please with my pup

[dixon819 0]

hi,

in need of abit of help with my 9 month pup. the problem is the recall, when the bitch is calm she comes to the recall. but like when me and my mate were out ferreting 2day, when a rabbit bolt's she odviously chased but the rabbit went down a hole in another bury. she was searching for it an wouldnt come back she could hear me but was just being ignorant. she knows what the recall is so i gave a slap, i dont like hitting my dog and it makes me feel bad but if i dont then she is never going to listen and she gets abit funny with me when i do which i know isnt helping the situation but i just dont know how else to get it through to her. can anybody suggest anything, its when she gets excited and hyper i just dont know how to encourage her to come back to me when in this situation. its my first one and just want to meet a good standard of obediance.

cheers

Edited January 11, 2009 by dixon819

[Guest dances]

put her on a long lead say 100yards and let her run some of it and then just stop her dead. pul ther rope in only saying her name once, whilst pulling the rope in say here and good girl every so often, Praise her extremely when youve got her in and give her some treats. shell then think returning to you is better than wondering.

[Flynn 314]

dont work your lurcher with others

My Pup is 15 weeks old tomorrow and her retrieve is so far spot on!!

[labsnlurchers 39]

If recall is good other times then i would say its just the new experience and the excitewment thats making her hearing selective. Let her have a few minutes to figure out where the rabbit has gone and what everything is about. Keep practising recall, on a longline, with distractions ie other dogs running around and kids playing and things that get her excited. Praise her when she returns but only do it for a short time, say 10 mins a day, as she is still young and will get bored with it which will undo all your hard work.

[dixon819 0]

ok cheers guys for the help will get a long lead

[labsnlurchers 39]

ok cheers guys for the help will get a long lead

 

Lunge lines are good, get them from horsey shops or on ebay. I have got one somewhere i think, if i find it ill pm you and send it to you.

good luck

[Guest dances]

get some blue nylon rope and splice it to an old collar but a strong one then theyll be no accidents or dogs hurt.

[skycat 6,174]

The best thing to do is just go and fetch the pup back: don't hit it or say anything. Keep her close to you, holding her if need be by the collar. Whilst I don't like making a ferreting dog keep still (leads to bordeom and resentment) you do need to show her that the best rewards happen if she stays near you, the ferrets and the burrows where the ferrets are working.

 

Try and only work warrens which are shallow (so she can hear what is going on below ground), and in calm (not windy) condtitions or where there is little or no distracting noise, and where you KNOW there are definitely rabbits. The best thing to do is only put a ferret to ground if the pup shows an interest in the holes. That way you are rewarding her mark with a bolted rabbit (hopefully!)

 

Try also calling her with a note of urgency in your voice: I give a hiss when I'm telling the dog to get to me quickly, but you musn't abuse this trick. You need to make her understand (as above) that the best things happen (rabbits!) when she is near you and the ferrets. Don't expect her to understand everything at once, and do understand that it is a good and natural reaction on the pup's part to want to stay where she ran the rabbit to ground: that is the beginning of marking.

 

What I would have done in that situation is have put a ferret to ground where the rabbit went in, thus reinforcing the dog's marking. If it didn't bolt again and you had to dig for it that wouldn't have mattered: what is important is the fact that you end up with a rabbit.

 

Hope this helps.