Happy Easter everybody! Disaster has struck,there has been a bunny population explosion over the weekend!seriously!out in the desert where we have walked off lead for the last 18 months I see evidence of desert hares but they are really timid and so have never actually seen any.,not 1!......this weekend we ( and sadly I have to say we to include Dexter) have seen 3!!!! He flushed 2 and was gone.....like gone!Chris looked at me and said blow your whistle ,I returned his look and said ' No point' :-[ ......I gave him a few seconds out of view and then blew my recall and he appeared pretty much straight away both times so it's hard to know whether he was on his way back anyway (,he's pretty good at staying close ) or did I actually make inroads into his adrenaline fuddled brain?The third one we saw he was on the lead anyway as the endurance horses were cantering past.The hare was behind a fence that closes off a pipeline so I could use this opportunity to click and treat for looking at the hare then looking back at me but this was 10 mins after a chase so he was responding but still really excited.If he stood up I blew my stop and he sat straight back down eyes fixed where the hare had gone and then as we moved away and his excitement levels where coming down I practiced some stops first on lead then at heel and he was good . Our Stop whistle is fragile....this is my fault 100% Dex can flush partridge like birds which are the only wildlife we usually meet ( he used to race off after them if I wasn't quick enough ) ,now saying his name is enough to call him off and bring him back to me ,or if he is close to me I can blow my stop and he will sit down.....or walk back to me and sit in front of me : .....so I do have something....and I know that a conditioned response will come through training but I can't ever see me having the skill to overcome that stratospheric surge he does when he sees something furry,it's just explosive ....do you think I can achieve it if I just keep practising and practising? How do all you pet owners cope back in the UK in the countryside?Are your dogs not chasing rabbits ?have you all fettled this?We are bringing Dexter back for Summer 2016 and it could be a potential nightmare if I don't get a grip on this.... :-\ Feeling annoyed at myself,bit rubbish all around and general dog training failure today ........thank goodness chocolate is bountiful today .......legitimately! Hope you all have great walks today and are enjoying a lovely long holiday weekend x
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! Ah Angela, sorry you've had a less than perfect walk, although it doesn't sound that bad to me! He did come back to you, and there was no harm done. I was thinking about a recent thread where dogs get over threshold and no longer even really hear their owner as all their instincts are focused on the chase. The one to give you advice is Debsie as Broderick is a terrific hunter. Glad Dexter didn't catch the Dubai Easter Bunny!! 8)
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! Hi Angela. Happy Easter! Go Dexter! (Sorry shouldn't encourage him. ;D) He'll probably stop chasing them naturally as he gets older and realises that the chase is futile. Lady had a go at rabbits and squirrels for a bit then gave up on them as not much fun.
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! Hares are extremely enticing to dogs. Years ago my young GSP chased a hare almost to the horizon in flat Lincolnshire! You should be very pleased that Dexter came back so quickly. I don't think you will find UK swarming with rabbits and hares and Dexter disappearing off ;D I live in the country and have seen only a couple of rabbits in the last two years, myxomatosis has decimated the rabbit population in many areas. Of course there are areas where this hasn't happened, but you would be well prepared. If my dogs came across a hare they would almost certainly chase it as it is unusual for them to see one and there is something about hares which dogs cannot resist. I wouldn't berate yourself saying you are a bad trainer, just think of it as a wonderful opportunity to train ;D
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! The fact that Dexter came back so quickly is fantastic . You have done soooo well with Dexter and you do have the skills to train him to the standard you want. Harley chases squirrels no matter what I try, she will be off. Her recall is 100% unless she sees a squirrel. The one thing I have worked on is keeping her closer so she rarely goes far even if she is after a squirrel.
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! It's good news he came back! Like Stacia, I don't come across a lot of wildlfe in the countryside. It's much more visible on Wimbledon Common, and in the London deer parks, where there are very high populations of rabbits and squirrels (and deer, of course), I see hardly anything out and about in the countryside - a few squirrels, the very odd rabbit, a badger once in a blue moon...birds of course and there seem to be a huge amount of pheasants around still. The ones that got away, I guess....
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! [quote author=Karen link=topic=10465.msg154478#msg154478 date=1428222245] Ah Angela, sorry you've had a less than perfect walk, although it doesn't sound that bad to me! [/quote] Do I sound a nightmare??!! I just feel like we are the only ones 'haring ' around out of control! He did come back...and quick! Positive point! ;D [quote author=Karen link=topic=10465.msg154478#msg154478 date=1428222245] Glad Dexter didn't catch the Dubai Easter Bunny!! 8) [/quote] So am I!!!Its was pre 7am ...there could have been a lot of disappointed kids in Dubai today! Thanks everybody else too x [quote author=JulieT link=topic=10465.msg154507#msg154507 date=1428228892] Like Stacia, I don't come across a lot of wildlfe in the countryside. [/quote] You've told me that before Julie and I need to remember it,good that Stacia says the same too but I mustnt allow it to make me complacent......Heidrun will be rolling her eyes I know ,thinking 'Well you know what I think Angela ...get the brakes on!' ;D
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! I saw three hares on a walk a couple of days ago. Shadow and Annie (their other sister) looked at them with a "WTF?!" expression on their faces, then went back to bimbling about with their pine cones. Long may it continue!
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! I think Dexter did really well to come back! Casper wouldn't come back at all....he disappears even if he thinks he saw a rabbit...we have foxes here as well, and well he just takes off! I just sit it out...fox goes one way...followed by Casper, then it pops up later....still being chased by Casper! ;D ;D You should be very, very proud of yourself and Dexter
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! I think Dexter did very well coming back as quickly as he did so rather than feel disappointed Angela you should be pleased. This was his first experience of hares so his reaction was natural. Whether he came back for the whistle or was coming back anyway it doesn't really matter you know he will come back. I'm afraid in my part of the countryside rabbits have not been decimated by myxomatosis. Despite having a plague of the furry things last year very few got myxi. I can say however that due to the over exposure to rabbits S&S pretty much ignore them. Hopefully the novelty will wear off for Dexter.
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! [quote author=Dexter link=topic=10465.msg154538#msg154538 date=1428235146] You've told me that before Julie and I need to remember it,good that Stacia says the same too but I mustnt allow it to make me complacent......Heidrun will be rolling her eyes I know ,thinking 'Well you know what I think Angela ...get the brakes on!' ;D [/quote] Heidrun would say that indeed! But in terms of walking in the UK, if you walked in similar areas to me, you wouldn't have a huge problem. Although, I don't have a dog that is hunting out the rabbits and the birds, it's possible there is a lot more than I see.... ;D ;D ;D
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! When I had my GSPs a few years ago, a hare got up in the field and they chased it, the hare turned sharp left into the wood onto to a footpath, then must have turned left again after a few hundred yards, then left again after a few hundred yards, following the footpath and was back where it started right next to me ;D Dogs in hot pursuit!
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! Sad truth is that lots of pet dogs in this country are terrible chasers. Round our way it's mostly squirrels that are the likely targets. I always watch Merla, and get her back as quick as I can if a lone squirrel is looking vulnerable. Took a friend's dog out with her a while ago though, and it was doing the whole epic full-on chase and sit under the tree routine :-[. Good performance with Dex coming back though. Pretty much the most one could hope for with no formal anti-rabbit training. That's why gundog trainers have rabbit pens, so they can walk their pups up and down next to the furries in a controlled environment. Oh yes, the other thing is to keep them busy on a walk if livestock or furries are likely so they're not finding their own fun. Last time we were in Yorkshire, I'd put out some dummies for M to find in a bit of wood bordering a field. She was rooting around when a hare took off in the other direction I held my breath, but the daft dog was too busy with the dummy-hunt to even notice ;D
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! Hi Angela As you know I'm just a newbie to this training malarkey; but I agree with Jen. If Dexter's not seen a hare before it's a new experience for him and for you. I think you need to let yourself off the hook on this one!! He came back very quickly in what was such a novel, exciting situation! In our house, we still hold Dexter up as our hero for ignoring the trinkets on the coffee table! xP
Re: Easter Bunny.......not welcome! [quote author=Merla link=topic=10465.msg154614#msg154614 date=1428263708] That's why gundog trainers have rabbit pens, so they can walk their pups up and down next to the furries in a controlled environment. [/quote] I was so lucky last Summer .before waterfowl where released onto the nature reserve lakes we walk at,they were held in pens for a couple of weeks ,I went up there loads to sit and watch and walk up and down ....we needed much more practice but they were released so we lost the opportunity but I really think it's helped around water.his recall is good and he will show very little interest in birds just bobbing round on the lake,his interest is up if they do a big surge away from him but he will call away from following them [quote author=Merla link=topic=10465.msg154614#msg154614 date=1428263708] I held my breath, but the daft dog was too busy with the dummy-hunt to even notice ;D [/quote] I really need to ramp this up,Dexters retreives aren't that enthusiastic,he will give up if I don't judge it right...so work to do there .also I've rewarded and rewarded for attention and focus on me so he basically just bumbles along beside me on a walk .....which has made me lazy :-[ he can flush a bird and I've still got him and that's pretty much all we see .....need to keep remembering our goal to take him back to the UK Conuntryside to keep me on track. I Put him on his harness today and took the longline out to deliberately go hare hunting!!!!Easter is obviously over and the bunnies have moved on...he got a good sniff and we did some stop whistle practice on the smelly area but nothing moved ..... [quote author=Bonnie link=topic=10465.msg154616#msg154616 date=1428263967] In our house, we still hold Dexter up as our hero for ignoring the trinkets on the coffee table! xP [/quote] Ha ha ha ha! X We'll take that for our accolade Phillipa ,thankyou ;D ;D ;D let's face it we are never going to be held up as a stop whistle role model ;D ;D
