Quick Question - Please Help!

[mucky-pup]

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I'll try to cut a long story short!

I want Ash to come to the stables where i work to get rid of some rabbits. He's caught A few before, but my mum said that if he kills rabbits it will be hard to stop him running off after evey rabbit he see's (at the moment he is very good off the lead and if he see's something we distract him and it's fine) But my argument is that's what he's bred for, it's what they do!!!! And FINALLY to the question.... Have any of you had a prob with your whippets running off constantly, because they have been allowed to chase rabbits?

 

[jayp]

I'll try to cut a long story short!I want Ash to come to the stables where i work to get rid of some rabbits. He's caught A few before, but my mum said that if he kills rabbits it will be hard to stop him running off after evey rabbit he see's (at the moment he is very good off the lead and if he see's something we distract him and it's fine) But my argument is that's what he's bred for, it's what they do!!!! And FINALLY to the question.... Have any of you had a prob with your whippets running off constantly, because they have been allowed to chase rabbits?

Yes, once they have caught and killed, I know its their job, then they will be more intent, its like someone giving you chocolate youve never had, once you know how great it is you want more .....

Im not saying dont just that you will probably have to work harder to train him to recall when he knows rabbits are about

Mine will run straight to the place in the field they caught one even if they havnt been there for months

 

[rls22]

Yep I agree with Jan.

Frankie is a profilific rabbiter and he never forgets where he has caught one before.

A couple of ours have never caught a bunny and although they show some interest, it's not to the same obsessive level of the others

 

[mucky-pup]

Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[affieluver]

i have to say angel does it all the time she really does enjoy the chase and nothing i do or say stops her you will just have to work hard on the recall although i have to say i still fail miserably with angel

 

[john gregory]

Milly and Poppy nearly got one today, it just made it into its hole. Once they see one they are off and out of control and it takes me ages to call them back. When Milly got her first one the other year she ran off with it because she knew I would take it off her. She ran up a footpath and crossed a busy main road, how she was'nt hit I will never no, when I got home she was on the path with it. Now when I see one I do'nt tell them.

 

[owengirl]

My Connie who is the daughter of Rachel and Jo's Frankie is also a very adept catcher of rabbits (and more recently squirrels). She hunts the entire time she is off lead unless it is somewhere she knows there is nothing to chase. She knows exactly which fields are the ones with rabbits and never forgets.

Her recall is generally pretty good but if she is on a bit of a scent she is 100% deaf to my calls. It is a bit of a pain if I am walking with my small children and puppy so if I need her to keep close I keep her on a lead.

 

[mally]

What a load of cobblers.

I've had running dogs for 25 years, trained them all and never had a problem with them running off looking for rabbits if i didn't want them to. I just tell them to heel. What a dog should be trained to do from the day it's allowed out after it's second vacination. Like sitting and staying.

You may need to be a little more forceful with your voice commands at times but a dog should do whats it's told to do. If it doesn't it has no place in the working field. At the end of the day people who work there dogs regular on someone elses land needs there dogs to be under control at all times, the land owner trusts us around his livestock and property it's our responsibility to have our dogs trained to the required level.

A dog that doesn't do as it's told is a liability

If your frightened your dog may run off on his own, go back to basics with his training. With a little time and effort i'm sure he'll get the hang of it.

 

[eve]

Some interesting comments!

My whippets can go deaf on the hunt, but once the kill is made, they bring it to me and it is exchanged for something tasty

It is improtiant, that if you let your whippets hunt, you work harder on recall.

 

[owengirl]

Some interesting comments!My whippets can go deaf on the hunt, but once the kill is made, they bring it to me and it is exchanged for something tasty

It is improtiant, that if you let your whippets hunt, you work harder on recall.

Well said. I need to work a bit harder on the recall bit.

Claire

 

[uggybugs]

What a load of cobblers.
I've had running dogs for 25 years, trained them all and never had a problem with them running off looking for rabbits if i didn't want them to. I just tell them to heel. What a dog should be trained to do from the day it's allowed out after it's second vacination. Like sitting and staying.

You may need to be a little more forceful with your voice commands at times but a dog should do whats it's told to do. If it doesn't it has no place in the working field. At the end of the day people who work there dogs regular on someone elses land needs there dogs to be under control at all times, the land owner trusts us around his livestock and property it's our responsibility to have our dogs trained to the required level.

A dog that doesn't do as it's told is a liability

If your frightened your dog may run off on his own, go back to basics with his training. With a little time and effort i'm sure he'll get the hang of it.

Got to agree with Mally 100%, my dogs (except the retired ex-racing greyhounds ) will happily bring back rabbits if asked but if they are told to leave them and come close thats what they do.

 

[john gregory]

What a load of cobblers.
I've had running dogs for 25 years, trained them all and never had a problem with them running off looking for rabbits if i didn't want them to. I just tell them to heel. What a dog should be trained to do from the day it's allowed out after it's second vacination. Like sitting and staying.

You may need to be a little more forceful with your voice commands at times but a dog should do whats it's told to do. If it doesn't it has no place in the working field. At the end of the day people who work there dogs regular on someone elses land needs there dogs to be under control at all times, the land owner trusts us around his livestock and property it's our responsibility to have our dogs trained to the required level.

A dog that doesn't do as it's told is a liability

If your frightened your dog may run off on his own, go back to basics with his training. With a little time and effort i'm sure he'll get the hang of it.

What you on about, "what a load of cobblers" you trying to say that when a Whippet sees a rabbit or a fox just say heel or stay :lol: you have'nt had many Whippets then :lol: I have permission to go on private land where there are no livestock and they are not "working dogs" just pets.

 

[Nicola]

What a load of cobblers.
I've had running dogs for 25 years, trained them all and never had a problem with them running off looking for rabbits if i didn't want them to. I just tell them to heel. What a dog should be trained to do from the day it's allowed out after it's second vacination. Like sitting and staying.

You may need to be a little more forceful with your voice commands at times but a dog should do whats it's told to do. If it doesn't it has no place in the working field. At the end of the day people who work there dogs regular on someone elses land needs there dogs to be under control at all times, the land owner trusts us around his livestock and property it's our responsibility to have our dogs trained to the required level.

A dog that doesn't do as it's told is a liability

If your frightened your dog may run off on his own, go back to basics with his training. With a little time and effort i'm sure he'll get the hang of it.

What you on about, "what a load of cobblers" you trying to say that when a Whippet sees a rabbit or a fox just say heel or stay :lol: you have'nt had many Whippets then :lol: I have permission to go on private land where there are no livestock and they are not "working dogs" just pets.

Mally's got high standards...he's a gamekeeper and works his dogs. I guess it's something we should all do if we own whippets, but as a fellow pet owner I too am guilty of not teaching perfect recall. :b

 

[john gregory]

What a load of cobblers.
I've had running dogs for 25 years, trained them all and never had a problem with them running off looking for rabbits if i didn't want them to. I just tell them to heel. What a dog should be trained to do from the day it's allowed out after it's second vacination. Like sitting and staying.

You may need to be a little more forceful with your voice commands at times but a dog should do whats it's told to do. If it doesn't it has no place in the working field. At the end of the day people who work there dogs regular on someone elses land needs there dogs to be under control at all times, the land owner trusts us around his livestock and property it's our responsibility to have our dogs trained to the required level.

A dog that doesn't do as it's told is a liability

If your frightened your dog may run off on his own, go back to basics with his training. With a little time and effort i'm sure he'll get the hang of it.

What you on about, "what a load of cobblers" you trying to say that when a Whippet sees a rabbit or a fox just say heel or stay :lol: you have'nt had many Whippets then :lol: I have permission to go on private land where there are no livestock and they are not "working dogs" just pets.

Mally's got high standards...he's a gamekeeper and works his dogs. I guess it's something we should all do if we own whippets, but as a fellow pet owner I too am guilty of not teaching perfect recall. :b

I do'nt care if he is a gamekeeper or not, there is no need to say "what a load of cobblers" when another owner is asking for advice. Anyway I had my first Whippet 30 years ago so that beats his 25 years :lol: :lol:

 

[rls22]

I think most of us who post on here have whippets who are 'pets only' but who are more than capable of catching a bunny. Admittedly our whippets are not trained to the best standard, they all have exceptional recall, but I would be lying if I said they did not go deaf once they have begun to chase a rabbit.

For this reason we will only let them do this on one particular walk where we know it is 100% secure.

I know Mally's dogs are trained to an exceptionally high standard that would put most people's to shame!!

 

[julie123]

I'll try to cut a long story short!I want Ash to come to the stables where i work to get rid of some rabbits. He's caught A few before, but my mum said that if he kills rabbits it will be hard to stop him running off after evey rabbit he see's (at the moment he is very good off the lead and if he see's something we distract him and it's fine) But my argument is that's what he's bred for, it's what they do!!!! And FINALLY to the question.... Have any of you had a prob with your whippets running off constantly, because they have been allowed to chase rabbits?

"Get rid of some rabbits" - I love rabbits! Why do you wish them harm? They deserve to be on this planet just like the rest of us!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry:

 

[mally]

What a load of cobblers.
I've had running dogs for 25 years, trained them all and never had a problem with them running off looking for rabbits if i didn't want them to. I just tell them to heel. What a dog should be trained to do from the day it's allowed out after it's second vacination. Like sitting and staying.

You may need to be a little more forceful with your voice commands at times but a dog should do whats it's told to do. If it doesn't it has no place in the working field. At the end of the day people who work there dogs regular on someone elses land needs there dogs to be under control at all times, the land owner trusts us around his livestock and property it's our responsibility to have our dogs trained to the required level.

A dog that doesn't do as it's told is a liability

If your frightened your dog may run off on his own, go back to basics with his training. With a little time and effort i'm sure he'll get the hang of it.

What you on about, "what a load of cobblers" you trying to say that when a Whippet sees a rabbit or a fox just say heel or stay :lol: you have'nt had many Whippets then :lol: I have permission to go on private land where there are no livestock and they are not "working dogs" just pets.

My dogs do as there told period. They don't go chasing rabbits over busy roads thats an accident waiting to happen that could cause fatalities to anyone traveling down that road.

I've had running dogs for 25 years if my dogs don't do as there told then it's my fault no one elses and i can assure you they do as there told.

 

[TillynPip]

Oh hell. Just read all this and Gracie (15 weeks, One of Ruby's babies from Jo and Rachel) killed her first squirrel in the garden yesterday morning. Guess I'll have to work hard on recall but, as she won't walk on the lead yet, we are a way off that at the moment!

Gracie's well earned rest

 

[mally]

I think most of us who post on here have whippets who are 'pets only' but who are more than capable of catching a bunny. Admittedly our whippets are not trained to the best standard, they all have exceptional recall, but I would be lying if I said they did not go deaf once they have begun to chase a rabbit. For this reason we will only let them do this on one particular walk where we know it is 100% secure.

I know Mally's dogs are trained to an exceptionally high standard that would put most people's to shame!!

Thanks for that Rachel,

Dog training doesn't happen overnight you have to keep at it all the time. Whippets are difficult and head strong ( i could of trained 2 labradors in the time it's taken me to train vixen). I got more pleasure out of training Jess and vixen though, than any other dog i've trained.

 

[mally]

Oh hell. Just read all this and Gracie (15 weeks, One of Ruby's babies from Jo and Rachel) killed her first squirrel in the garden yesterday morning. Guess I'll have to work hard on recall but, as she won't walk on the lead yet, we are a way off that at the moment!
Gracie's well earned rest

She's georgous, simular markings to my Vixen. Can't fault her for killing the tree rat though she sounds like she could become a usefull dog in the field. Try a bit of cheese with her recall it works wonders for pups.

They always seem to go through the deaf stage between 7-9 months you just have to persevere with them.