So this morning I decided to brave the little strecth of water by me where the wild ducks come to have their babies every year. I knew they had arrived back about 6 weeks ago, we were walking through the hills when Brodick suddenly stopped dead, sniifed the air, and started to quiver, and quiver...he shot ahead and about 4 ducks who had been having a bit of time out in the grass up the hill shot up and flew off. He was beside himself with excitment, having not seen them all winter. We have been avoiding the watery bit since then, but decided I would go there today, as after weeks of training last summer brods had eventually managed to walk past them off lead in a normal, calm, and sane looking fashion (although you could tell in his head he was still dying with excitement) with no chasing. Did he remember this this morning?? Good grief no... On my left stood Cuillin, off lead. Looked at the ducks, they quacked at her (a little flirtingly I would say), flapped a bit, swam off, she put her ears up, ran towards the edge of the water, 'Ah Ah' Cuilli I said, good wee girl turned round and trotted back to me, sausage, and off she tootled to eat some grass. On my right I have Brodick in a straight jacket of his front fastening harness, and a long line. It took my ten minutes to walk him down to the edge of the water without being pulled off my feet. he was on his rear legs barking, whining, tongue hanging out, and doing the occassional back flip to try and get out of his harness....the winter has been too long....here we go again, summer of duck manners training : as an wee aside, isnt it odd how different they all are, Cuillin and Brods are boths strong working lines, but she isn't bothered about chasing wildlife. would rather retrieve...brods would rather hunt till he dropped!
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Oh what a good girl Cuillin was and Brods , well : : You`re right though , all have differing prey drives , all Sam wants to do is retrieve but isnt bothered about chasing whereas Millie ......... less said the better at times . I love watery walks too but am avoiding one area of the river where the ducks are nesting on the bank side , far too much temptation : :
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Brods for doggie circus ;D Bless little Cuillin, what a good girl! Lots of fun training to be had now then
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... We too encountered ducks at the weekend : : : I thought of Rachael and felt terribly guilty. I do agree they have a flirtyness about them though - flying away just fast enough to be safe but not so fast as to ensure the chase is abandoned. You are more dedicated than me though....more chance of effecting a "cure".
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Hmmm...Jac my dedicatedness aruound the Duck Frenzy this summer is because I remember a ceertain 42 Minute non stop duck chase last summer. think I posted on it...adults luring Brods away from their wee ones by flying in that flirty way a good 2-300m up the valley, B in hot pursuit, ducks turned at top of valley, and flew back to pond, but they didnt appreciate brodick's own dedication to the cause, and his fitness, he just followed them at three hundred miles an hour back down the valley, and into the pond, and they lured him off, and flew back up the valley again, and he followed....and then put that on constant repeat for 42 minutes with me getting more and more seething with him as he would NOT stop, while other dog walkers gathered to titter :. Boy that dog is fit...he only stopped because he got so exhausted I managed to rugby tackle him to the ground as he crawled past on lap 42...
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Well, I hope there are no more ducklings around for Brod to chase this time.
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Sorry, that sounded a bit terse. I just hate it when dogs chase wildlife, it is terribly stressful and can end up in death for the animals being chased whether they get caught or not, so good for you for keeping him on a lead when you know he cannot be totally trusted.
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... well there will be ducklings there soon....but he won't get to chase them, I don't like it either, the mum and dad ducks always look so stressed and the wee ones flap about worriedly peeping.. Last summer he wasn't interested in the ducklings, who were splashing about in the water, it was just the flying adults, but he won't be getting anywhere near that water this year without being under strict control. Actaully, the area where we walk is a place where a fair few rareish birds come to nest and reproduce over the summer, and as of the start of this month there are loads of signs up saying dogs can't go in loads of areas unless on a short leash or under control if they are likely to chase birds, so Brods has to be very much under control. I tend to avoid the main nesting areas, as Cuillin, while good about ducks, has a real thing about Pheasants and there will be lots of wee pheasants soon too...we spend a lot of time at the beach in the summer!
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Most of our nearby fields have young stock of one kind or another and there are nesting ducks along the riverbank so yesterday we headed for the beach. When we got there we found a big area was sectioned off with a warden asking dogs to be kept on leads because there were little terns and arctic terns nesting in the dunes. We headed back the other way and the only wildlife to be found was a dead seal which luckily we noticed before Bess. Alice
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... We wanted to do some retrieving in the long grass over the weekend, but once there we suddenly realized that would be where the roe deer have left their babies… so we headed back into the woods to do a bit of retrieving work there instead.. Good on you Debsie, and Alice, should have known you would be the responsible kind of dog owners…
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Major re-think as to where young Brodick will be going for his walk with me this week after his sleepover - we have ducklings+++ at the moment!
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Ooh, I did feel for you, imagining last year's duck chase - I could see myself being in the same position with Molly. My previous dog, choccie Lab, Rolo, lacked the hunting gene - he used to stand right next to pheasants, free-range chickens etc without any reaction at all. It's funny how they can be so different, brought up in essentially the same way.
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... With all the issues my two have chasing birds isn't one of them surprisingly. : I think it's because they've grown up with chickens wandering around the back yard. Our chickens are used to dogs. They don't bother about the dogs so the dogs don't bother with them. Same with the cats. At least you only have one duck chaser Debsie. Well done cuillin. Go for pigeons Brodick they aren't cute and there are far too many of them. On our farm anyway.
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... [quote author=debsie link=topic=5914.msg76408#msg76408 date=1399894190] Boy that dog is fit...he only stopped because he got so exhausted I managed to rugby tackle him to the ground as he crawled past on lap 42... [/quote] Oh, Brods. The trouble you give your mum....
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... He is a MONKEY whi is currently fast asleep on my lap. However, aside from his Hunting Habits around wildlife, I have to say he is the easiest dog in the world, soft, gloopy, laid back, calm, and and the most loving boy... and I love him back to bits ;D. He keeps me on my toes on walks though!!
Re: The Dreaded Ducks Are Back.... Oh my goodness, that picture of the Great Duck Chase was too realistic! Wow, I can just imagine it all... Good luck with training. Sometimes it does seem that a graceful retreat is the best and easiest option...at least you've got the beach!!
