Quick Question - Please Help!

[john gregory]

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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.

Mr Mally, my girls do not go chasing rabbits over " busy roads", that incident happened over 3 years ago as I was walking down a footpath thru the fields about 300 yards from the road when Milly saw her first rabbit. Perhaps we could meet up so that you could train mine better.

 

[Janimal]

Mally I think you should post some of your recall videos of yours that weve seen in the past on here...

just Brilliant... :thumbsup: wish mine were as well trained in recall as yours.

 

[~Annie~]

I think there's an important distinction here between calling a dog to heel that's thinking about taking off after a rabbit and calling a dog back that's mid chase ... the latter being so much harder to achieve than the former.

My whippet Finn (bred by Mally for those not in the know) is a worker by nature and having at first considered developing his hunting instinct I have ultimately worked hard to keep it in check (sorry Mally). I did this because on our daily walks we see most rabbits in a very large open area that ends on the other side in a 50 ft cliff that runs for easily half a mile and the thought of one day losing him over the edge hot on the heels of a bunny (as happened to another dog locally) was beyond bearing, and I really didn't want him to spend half the walk on a leash. Unable to achieve Mally's degree of control with a whippet already flat out after a rabbit (at which point I'm lucky if their ears are still switched on) I've gone for not letting the chase happen in the first place. Imho however many rabbits your dog has caught you should be able to command it not to chase, but if like me you're not as skilled a trainer as Mally you'll struggle to get it to stop chasing once it's actually up and off.

Annie

 

[Suerose]

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.

Would be very grateful for some tips on making a whippet always pay attention to you! Having had border collies in the past, who only had to spoken to quietly to get obedience, I'm finding training a whippet really hard work. Good advice always welcome

 

[affieluver]

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.

Mr Mally, my girls do not go chasing rabbits over " busy roads", that incident happened over 3 years ago as I was walking down a footpath thru the fields about 300 yards from the road when Milly saw her first rabbit. Perhaps we could meet up so that you could train mine better.

in mally's defence john he has also lost a dog in very tragic circumstances as i have and as you know none of us can fore see these things and if i have learnt one thing from losing daisy its that if my dogs are not trained properly i only have myself to blame angel is still a nightmare from time to time and im still having the odd problem with her i for one wouldnt mind hearing how people have gone on to train their dogs to have the perfect recall and how theyh have ironed out any problems :thumbsup:

 

[Richard/Kobi]

whippets love chasing rabbits, kobi chases them all the time, the most important thing is the recall. it needs to be reinforced. if we are out lamping he always come back when the lamp is off, just keep practising the recall.

 

[mucky-pup]

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:

I DONT WISH to harm them, I like rabbits too but there are soo many that they are eating all of the crops and grass and everything else.

 

[Donlin]

Yes, if those who work dogs and therefore train to a very high standard could give tips to us pet-owners for improving our recall that would be really helpful. I'm sure we would all like to improve but it seems that it's one thing managing a reliable recall when there are no or minimal distractions but how do you take it to the next level and achieve 100% recall with major distractions around, particularly the sight of running rabbits or bitches? It feels like the dog doesn't translate the reliable behaviour to a different environment. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[~Annie~]

Well I'm not one of the experts and I don't work my dogs, but I can command my dogs not to give chase, although I have no chance of stopping them if they take off before I realise that there's a need to call them to heel (but no problem recalling them once the chase is over). If we are walking where I know there are bunnies/other dogs/etc. and I want them close to me I call them to heel and they stay there (well 99.9% of the time they stay there). It's just a question of making yourself so interesting that they always want to come back to you. I see so many people frustrated with a dog that won't come back to them who when it does turn up just grumble at it or even turn away and carry on walking. My dogs know that the space close to me is safe, that they will always be petted there, or verbally praised, or given a food treat, although which of those things they get is completely random, which also makes them more likely to return as they never know when there might be a big fat beefy chewdle in the offing. If they are at heel but start to move away again I just reissue the command and reward their obedience all over again. And admittedly if as happens occasionally I feel that whatever is distracting them is just too tempting once they are back with me I will put them back on their leads. Also even if I don't want to leash them I will often just hold their collars for a moment when they first come back while I reward them so they don't associate having a hand on their collar with the end of play but rather with something good. In fact part of their training is to be called back to me for a moment just so I can briefly hold their collars and then be released and told to go play again.

Another important point is that they expect to be given permission to move away from me. The release command is one of the most important in your repertoire. When mine are fed they sit and wait with their bowls in front of them on the floor and only eat when told ok (something they soon learn if everytime they move before being given the release command you pick the bowl up). When let off lead as my hand leaves their collar they are always told 'go play', having done that since they were puppies they now don't move away from me until I say 'go play'. So if I let them off lead but want them close I don't say 'go play' I say 'heel' (which I'm assuming is a command you know how to train).

Also mine are agility dogs and are trained to turn on my command when at a distance from me so sometimes if I shout early enough I can deflect them from there object, but never once they are flat out. As to stopping them in mid chase, well I'm working on finding a whistle that will penetrate when they are running as they certainly seem to be deaf to my voice and my human whistle.

Hope this helps, but I'd also be interested in tips from the experts as once Finn is off at full pelt I'm lost.

Annie

 

[Le Clare]

A very interesting subject..............

Here's my two penneth worth.........Out of the 3 dogs in my pack i find my Whippet the most biddable and certainly not "Hard headed",In general i have found Whippets the most eager to please dogs i have ever owned.Yes as Mally has said it takes time,patience and finding what makes your dog "switch on".

I do find it unbelievable that people are comparing training a "lab" to training a Whippet,Its like chalk and cheese!.

I do feel that when training a Whippet the hardest punishment should be the raising of ones voice.

There are lots of statements on this thread that are making me scratch my head lol,but i'm sure if this thread continues it will help to solve any confusion.

 

[fritzogone]

Hi,

I too have failed to train my dogs recall when in mid chase. He is 18mths old and will heel if he hasnt started the chase yet ie has just sighted something, but once running he doesnt seem to hear me at all. He doesnt look back at me or prick his ears .....no signs of hearing me at all. It is only after he has stopped running full speed that I can get his attentin. :b Can anyone suggest how to get his attention in this situation. I have trained with food/treat rewards, vocal praise and physical rewards such as pats and rubs. Open to any suggestions.