Only yesterday , I was thinking how lovely it was to have two one year olds who are so good at recall, hummmmm . I never let terrier Flynn off lead at the woods and waterfall , too many rabbits and squirels to tempt him but at the local fields, he is in a safe environment . He has been doing so well for the past couple of weeks, with the help of bits of sausage , the disadvantage being that all the other dogs know what I have in my pocket and I seem to become the Pied Piper figure but with dogs This morning, the field was covered with swallows, diving down low for insects, it was all too much for the little fellow who was leaping and running, totally ignoring my shouts :-[ Then , like he thought it looked like a good game , Sam joined in , charging off like a rocket and again, ignoring my calls . After a few minutes , Sam decided that this was indeed naughty and came back , I didnt tell him off because he did come back, albeit in his own time, but I put his slip lead on and waited for the pesky terrier . The little devil flew past me at what seemed like 50 miles an hour , and all the time he was disturbing the grass insects, thereby attracting more bird activity . Eventually , he realised that this was futile and came back to me and so they were both removed from the scene in disgrace : Sam is usually everso good where recall is concerned, but this morning he was such a naughty boy, both knew that I was cross, even though I never raised my voice , came home with tails down and didnt make eye contact
Re: Does Naughtiness rub off I wonder ? Oh dear Kate, ah well that's terriers for you, once they get going on the hunting thing it's really difficult to get them to snap out of it... We had JRT's for years - and I swear it took years off my life!! I think 'naughtiness' can indeed rub off - or perhaps more accurately it could be called 'the power of the pack' - and this can work both ways. Not only can one dog instigate another to misbehave; if conversely you have a well-behaved dog he or she can help steady a rather wilder younger dog. I have seen both things happen - and well remember when I had two male dogs, if there was a female around in heat, I could only ever let one of them off the lead at a time - otherwise they would give each other a look and then they'd head for the hills, and I wouldnt see them again for hours!!!
Re: Does Naughtiness rub off I wonder ? You`re right about the prey drive of JR Karen , I had my first when I was about 7 and have a healthy respect and a love/hate relationship with them : ( love them really ) .We`ve had Flynn for almost five months now and he has come a long way , he hadnt ever lived in a house so had a lot to learn, Sam has taught him quite a lot too, especially manners But when it comes to prey, thats it, it all goes out of the window , I guess its down to him being on the streets and having to fend for himself at such a young age . I think with Sam, this morning was one of those blips that juvenilles have , sure hope so
Re: Does Naughtiness rub off I wonder ? I actually encouraged my GSPs to chase the swallows as they eventually realised that they couldn't catch them (Well, one was pretty fast and nearly did) and this self cured them of chasing anything Stacia
Re: Does Naughtiness rub off I wonder ? Absolutely it can rub off! Rusty is faultless on his own and lead astray by Barney when out together, not always but enough to know that B's influence is much stronger than pilchard treats ;D Barney adores chasing swallows and I let him as it does wear him out far more quickly than anything else, luckily Rusty isn't interested in chasing birds, I like to think it's his proper working heritage that makes him naturally steadier.
Re: Does Naughtiness rub off I wonder ? I am so pleased I`m not the only one then You`re right about it being good exercise Carole , I`ve hardly heard a peep out of Flynn today
