I'm wondering about getting a 'bolting rabbit' for training but at nearly £50 (inc postage) I thought I'd first see if anyone here had found them useful - or not?!!
Re: Bolting rabbits We mentioned them in another thread......not all dogs like them : My trainer has a dog that absolutely hates them so if I ever thought of using one I'd ask at my gundog lessons if we could try theirs out before I bought one.
Re: Bolting rabbits Well - we've used them at training sessions, but the dogs are never, ever supposed to touch them. So I don't know that they are very useful to own. Good for training steadiness!
Re: Bolting rabbits Hi and welcome to the forum. Yes, I have a bolting rabbit and occasionally use it for training my spaniels. Is it a labrador you are training? Working spaniels are trained to sit to flush when hunting and for that a bolting rabbit has got its uses, even though at the moment there are enough real rabbits in my field! : For a labrador's training I can't see as much use of a bolting rabbit really, apart from using it as a distraction during retrieving.
Re: Bolting rabbits That's what it was used for at our training sessions Heidrun - a distraction, which the dogs are supposed to ignore. Of course one of them ran after it, grabbed the 'rabbit', and ran around and around and around with it… The owner was mortified, the rest of us were in hysterics… But afterwards I thought it was actually fairly unsafe, since the 'rabbit' is attached to a strong elastic cord, and the dog was pulling on it. If the dog had suddenly let go, it could have injured someone.
Re: Bolting rabbits Thanks for all the comments. I should have said that it's for group training sessions - recall with distractions (not gundog training). But maybe we'll play with stuffed toys on string first and save a few bob
Re: Bolting rabbits Like Barbara, said it can scare some dogs. I have seen a great big spinone running off petrified.
Re: Bolting rabbits Dog seem to be aware of the rubber elastic and can get scared or concerned about that.
Re: Bolting rabbits [quote author=Stacia link=topic=5806.msg74545#msg74545 date=1399469202] Dog seem to be aware of the rubber elastic and can get scared or concerned about that. [/quote] Yup, trainers bold, open standard, stud dog legs it back to the car as soon as he hears the click locking the elastic in......
Re: Bolting rabbits We used one of these at my gundog lesson last week. Bella was frightened by the elastic moving and tbh I think she immediately realised it wasn't the real thing so it wasn't worth running after anyway. If it was the real thing, that would be a different story!! Like today when she flushed out a young rabbit in our garden. Her prize possession was guarded under a large shrub until my daughter managed to crawl under and chuck a slip lead over her head and get a reluctant spaniel out. My poor daughter then had to go back under to collect the dead rabbit, bless her, she's only 9 years old!! Chloe
