Afraid I might lose my dog

[waortah54]

Hey guys I have a 1 1/2 year old pointer/ blue heeler. I want to take her bird hunting but afraid she will let the nose get the best of her and not listen when I want her to come back. The reason I'm kind of Leary of this because we have 5 acres and if I let her out not on a leash she just goes out and hun'st rabbits and birds all day and not come back when called. Any good ideas on how to correct this behavior? Because I really want to take her out in the field.

[Goldeneye]

I would say use a check cord at this point.  The one I'm giving you a link to is 40'.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Check-Cords-ft/720277.uts?productVariantId=1696697&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=60035635&rid=40&channel=GoogleBaseUSA&mr:trackingCode=7EDE1BCD-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=30920504831&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=57964943111&gclid=CPiihoeN-bgCFQ9dQgodlRIAaA

[Fowlweather25]

 

[waortah54]

I'm liking the check cord the best. I thought about the shock collar but I think the way she is it would do more damage then good.

[Don Fischer]

She wants something to hunt, give her something to hunt. Get a bunch of birds, pigeons, quail ect and salt a field so she can't help but run into birds. Only let her go when there's birds down.

[Houndhunter]

Really long leash, 50' or better than when she learns what your wanting her to do, switch to a shock collar  . Dogs like that need lots of time spent with IMO. More time you spend with them, the more they want to serve you. If shes got a strong drive to hunt, than hunt her. I know when it comes to my hounds, if i neglect them they become a real pain and do what they want and not what i want

[Stilly bay]

Forget about hunting and focus on BASIC OBEDIENCE! Otherwise you have no business even letting your dog off the leash, let alone taking it hunting.

[steve04]

 

Forget about hunting and focus on BASIC OBEDIENCE! Otherwise you have no business even letting your dog off the leash, let alone taking it hunting.

[waortah54]

Posted by: Stilly bay
« on: Today at 08:13:38 PM » Insert Quote
Forget about hunting and focus on BASIC OBEDIENCE! Otherwise you have no business even letting your dog off the leash, let alone taking it hunting.



She is very obedient with everything else. It's just when she puts the nose to the ground and smells rabbits or any birds it's game on and that's what I need to correct.  I was asking for opinions on how you guys fix that problem with yours dogs? How to get them out of he hunting mood and listen to what you ask.

[KFhunter]

sounds like a total basket case - just keep it on a lead and call it a family pet.

[JODakota]

Stilly bay had sound advice, if that dog isn't recalling on command right away no matter what's going on, then your basic obedience is not down. I wouldn't care of my Brittany was balls deep on a pheasant point, if I say come, he better forget what he's doing and come. If not, he's back to the check chord. My little guy is 4 and a half months old and he will drop whatever hrs doing whether he is chewing on a pigeon or taking a piss, he recalls on command.

[Stilly bay]

If she doesn't come when called she is not very obedient. Thats like saying my "car's power windows and door locks work great but the engine won't turn over".

all it takes is consistency, The most important thing to remember is if you know the dog can hear you, calling her name ONCE should be enough, if you   feel like you need to call it a second time its best to correct the dog instead.

get a long check cord and an a E collar.
work her in the yard with the check cord and the collar around her neck -BUT NOT ON.
once she knows what is expected of her you can turn the e collar on and use the check cord and low setting nick from the Ecollar at the same time as you call her.
Then once you do that for a few days you can lose the check cord.

Call the dog ONCE and then nick her with a low setting.
Don't give her a chance to obey the command, don't wait to see if she heard you, just call and nick at the lowest setting your transmitter has that will get a response from her. This will put the idea in her head that she has to get back to you before getting nicked, but since you are calling and nicking at the same time it should create a great sense of urgency in your dog to get back since she will try to beat the e-collar to the punch.
Try to practice this at as many different locations as possible.

don't ever let her out in a situation that you have no control over her with that ecollar. IF she gets away from you and ignores your first call and you don't have the collar and transmitter available, don't bother calling a second time, run her down. Calling the dog back repeatedly with no way to back it up will only reinforce the idea that she doesn't have to listen when the collar isn't on.  Most dogs get collar wise fast especially if their owner is inconsistent.

when your dog stops what ever it is its doing and returns to you like her life depended on it,she is ready to take hunting... or at least more ready than she was.

Don't feel bad about using the E collar, this will save your dog's life someday.

[Machias]

Great advice!!

[jennyfell55]

If she doesn't come when called she is not very obedient. Thats like saying my "car's power windows and door locks work great but the engine won't turn over".

all it takes is consistency, The most important thing to remember is if you know the dog can hear you, calling her name ONCE should be enough, if you   feel like you need to call it a second time its best to correct the dog instead.

get a long check cord and an a E collar.
work her in the yard with the check cord and the collar around her neck -BUT NOT ON.
once she knows what is expected of her you can turn the e collar on and use the check cord and low setting nick from the Ecollar at the same time as you call her.
Then once you do that for a few days you can lose the check cord.

Call the dog ONCE and then nick her with a low setting.
Don't give her a chance to obey the command, don't wait to see if she heard you, just call and nick at the lowest setting your transmitter has that will get a response from her. This will put the idea in her head that she has to get back to you before getting nicked, but since you are calling and nicking at the same time it should create a great sense of urgency in your dog to get back since she will try to beat the e-collar to the punch.
Try to practice this at as many different locations as possible.

don't ever let her out in a situation that you have no control over her with that ecollar. IF she gets away from you and ignores your first call and you don't have the collar and transmitter available, don't bother calling a second time, run her down. Calling the dog back repeatedly with no way to back it up will only reinforce the idea that she doesn't have to listen when the collar isn't on.  Most dogs get collar wise fast especially if their owner is inconsistent.

when your dog stops what ever it is its doing and returns to you like her life depended on it,she is ready to take hunting... or at least more ready than she was.

Don't feel bad about using the E collar, this will save your dog's life someday.

  Absolutely fantastic advice!

[AspenBud]

Follow Stilly's advice and check this link out as well...

http://www.dobbsdogs.com/library/pointing/index.html

I'll only add that this is something you should not rush. Take it slow and get it right. If that means the dog doesn't hunt this season, so be it.

Side note, is the dog gun conditioned yet? If not, you'll need to very carefully do that as well.

Also, buy a Garmin Alpha or Garmin Astro. They are not a substitute for training however.