Chasing the lure

[Queenie]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

One of my whippets seems to be developing the knack of chasing the other dogs in a race rather than the lure. Has anyone experienced this problem and if so can you give suggestions on how it can be cured? Many thanks

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Queenie

Best thing to do would be to take it right back to basics, hand slip him/her then retrain right from scratch to get it's mind back onto what it should be chasing.

have a bit of fun with it with a rag playing tug of war ect to make things fun for it again.

hope that helps

 

[June Jonigk]

Yes, I agree - probably best to stop him running with other dogs for the time being. Ideally you want to make him lure crazy, so as Mark says, rag him as much as you can, and let him get it and tell him he's a good boy. Then sometimes really wind him up, but put it away, and then next time he tries even harder to get it. When he's lure crazy, hopefully he won't notice the other dogs.

I'm sure others will have ideas too - sometimes they want the lure so much they try to stop the others getting there first, so it's not an easy one to answer, and after all, all dogs are different.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[John E Greenwood]

It will be keen when it's had a kill

 

[Tom Bentham]

Yes John you are probably right. When my dog (Leah) got her first kill on a Thursday she was very keen the Sunday after.

 

[Vicky]

Although it's not something i would advise people who want to race their dogs to do, i have noticed that even my very keen dogs have benefited from chasing something live!!!!

 

[Mark Roberts]

i have noticed that even my very keen dogs have benefited from chasing something live!!!!

Not the postman AGAIN Vicky

 

[Vicky]

Ha Ha yeh but when he's driving off in his van

 

[Mark Roberts]

I've been trying to get mine to chase the postman away when they see him bringing a bill

 

[Tony Cox]

but you still let him deliver the brown box's eh mark.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Ha Ha Tone but the thing in my box doesn't require batteries. ???

 

.

 

[Tony Cox]

no mark a generator would be what you need

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Tone

 

Any truth in the rumour that you have given Stephanie the Valentines present she's always wanted?

 

you going out for the day and leaving her at home alone?

 

and i've orderd an extra big bottle of mouth wash for you

 

[Mark Roberts]

Queenie

back to being sensible? :0

have you run you're dog since posting this thread hows things going?.

Mr Greenwoods advice about getting it a kill could do you're dog good as it may keen it up a bit, if you can take it to a safe place were there are a lot of wild rabbits i'm sure nature & instinct will take over and you're dog may come away from it a bit keener and it may help it's indescretions.

 

[Queenie]

Hi Mark. I have had loads of good advice on this subject and decided to revert to running the dog on her own, from the trap to hopefully get her to concentrate on the lure without any distractions. So far it is working quite well. I will do the same with her next time we go racing and then gradually try her running with one other dog and then gradually progress it from there

Perhaps I could have some help with another problem i seem to have encountered with one of my other dogs. She has taken part in 2 races recently and on both occasions i have noticed that she is apt to have a little sideways niggle at dogs that come upsides her. It doesn't last any length of time its just a split second thing but naturally i don't want it to develop into something serious and in that i also mean the inconvenience etc to other dogs. Any suggestions out there??

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Queenie

The advice unfortunatly is the same as last time, and that is to take the dog in question back to basics and get it keener.

the route of most problems with racing dogs messing about is that they are not keen enough after the lure and so have othere things on their minds.

if you take this one back a bit aswell and again try playing with her/him at home with toys/rags and get them both so keen that they are realy mad for the lure so that you feel they would happily take you're fingers off if it meant they would get it from you then at that point you should have no more problems with either of them.

when things are going wronge they often seem like the end of the world (I know) but with patience and time they will be ok if you get them realy keen.

hope this helps Mark

 

[Queenie]

Hi Queenie
The advice unfortunatly is the same as last time, and that is to take the dog in question back to basics and get it keener.

the route of most problems with racing dogs messing about is that they are not keen enough after the lure and so have othere things on their minds.

if you take this one back a bit aswell and again try playing with her/him at home with toys/rags and get them both so keen that they are realy mad for the lure so that you feel they would happily take you're fingers off if it meant they would get it from you then at that point you should have no more problems with either of them.

when things are going wronge they often seem like the end of the world (I know) but with patience and time they will be ok if you get them realy keen.

hope this helps Mark

Thanks for that Mark. I have to admit that I haven't spent as much time concentrating on the lure as I evidently should have done. I am working on it as of now and we'll see what happens Many thanks.

 

[John E Greenwood]

Hi Queenie, In my opinion in order for your dogs to run clean they have to believe that they are achieving something. Unfortunately the aveage whippet is not interested in reading the rule book of th W.C.R. A.and therefore we can discount desire to comply with it as motivation. Your dog obviously sees playing with the other dogs as a more attractive proposition than catching the lure, how are we going to change hisor her perseption? I would suggest that we offer motivation which the dog understands, number one FOOD and number two pleasing you. My previous remark may have seemed flipent about a kill but that would fulfill all the criteria. When the dog has killed feed it the liver as an imediate reward and then carry the rabbit (or even squirrel at apush) home where the dog can see it at home boil the rabbit up and feed the dog with it over the next few days. The dog has enougfh brains to know what you are doing. You have now been hunting with you and the dog forming a pa ck. When you go racing offer to carry the lure back at the end of the race and let your dog come with you, in this way he has caught the lure for you, the dominant member of the pack and you have shown your pleasure and acceptance of his catch by taking possesion of it and carrying it away with him. Inthis way all his instincts should click into place, it should all start making sense to him and the time will come when the most important thing in his life is to catch things for you, a rabbit if there is one or, failing that a lure He has been bred for 2000 years to think like this and all you have to do is awaken the instinct. All this will fall flat if he is the dominant member of the pack, because in that case he will not be interested in pleasing you and all he will want to do is dominate the other dogs on the racing field, either by chasing them or snapping at them. I hope this gives you food for thought. Rocket science it aint. Be the gaffer and work with him.

 

[Scott Frodsham]

Queenie,

all I can do is reitterate what Mark and John have said. Go back to basics and solo your dog but also if you get the chance put her on live game.

Scott.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Hi Queenie

I agree with John to a great extent about giving them a kill, as i've seen many dogs come to the club that haven't been 100% chasing improve after a kill,

BUT i've also seen dogs that were not just 100% chasing have a kill then the week after refuse to chase the lure at all.

The trouble is theres no 100% correct answer with dogs, but let us know what you do and how you get on.