Just when you think ..........

[kateincornwall]

Your dog is being everso good Reuben has been soooo good recently , no legging it until this morning when Squirrel Highway got the better of him at Golitha , they were everywhere , pesky little things , collecting nuts and teasing with blatant abandon Off he set at top speed , joyous in pursuit until common sense must have kicked in and back he ran to the main path , guilt written all over his silly face . Did I tell him off ? No, because he came back , albeit in his own time and also because he isnt a robot , but also he is a young lad who is still learning as am I , first check for squirrel activity before letting the beast off lead xx

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Squirrels are SO hard to resist. I agree with you with not telling him off. It's one of the reason I (try) to do the same with Carbon and going after someone else's balls. (Mmm...you know what I mean). If he turned around and came back to me with that temptation, I'd be thrilled.

Good boy, Reubs.

 

[FayRose]

I like your approach @kateincornwall I guess he's just doing what comes naturally. As you say, his self control kicked in and he came back to you, good lad.

There does seem to be a huge number of squirrels 'nutting' this year, I can't remember ever seeing so many and they get quite nowty when interrupted, chittering away angrily. Strangely, Molly takes very little notice until they start shouting at her, then she takes offence and shouts back

 

[Selina27]

he came back , albeit in his own time

This is really interesting Kate, when I first took Cassie to a well known +R gundog trainer I was worried about Cassie's hunting and not staying by my side. She taught me not to be afraid of it and to let Cassie do what came naturally in her case. I had been brought up to believe that a dog running free in the countryside was a bad thing and worried about her getting into trouble. The trainer encouraged me to "go with her" and actively encourage Cassie and then reward. And so that it is what I have done for 2 years, allowing her to hunt and reward heavily with high value treats for returning to me. It was very hard to begin with but it has paid dividends, there's no doubt.

Maybe not quite the same, but along similar lines as Reubens behaviour today. Interestingly Cass used to love to chase a squirrel but these days very often (but not always) doesn't bother. Other things, namely pheasants and well, I have to say it, hares are the game of choice!

 

[Lab_adore]

Maxx was off lead at the rugby park today and trotting around near us having a sniff and a wee when he suddenly shot off like a rocket towards a bloke and girl sitting on some steps. He launched into the bloke and bounced on him. Steve called and I whistled, no reaction. So I ran over and grabbed him, apologising profusely. The bloke said it was ok but he didn't really look like he meant it

Maxx hasn't done that for so long - why today suddenly?

 

[Cath]

Don't worry about it Robyn, it was just one of those things. No harm done.

 

[Atemas]

Don't worry about it Robyn, it was just one of those things. No harm done.

I agree

 

[Anne123]

This is really interesting Kate, when I first took Cassie to a well known +R gundog trainer I was worried about Cassie's hunting and not staying by my side. She taught me not to be afraid of it and to let Cassie do what came naturally in her case. I had been brought up to believe that a dog running free in the countryside was a bad thing and worried about her getting into trouble. The trainer encouraged me to "go with her" and actively encourage Cassie and then reward. And so that it is what I have done for 2 years, allowing her to hunt and reward heavily with high value treats for returning to me. It was very hard to begin with but it has paid dividends, there's no doubt.

Maybe not quite the same, but along similar lines as Reubens behaviour today. Interestingly Cass used to love to chase a squirrel but these days very often (but not always) doesn't bother. Other things, namely pheasants and well, I have to say it, hares are the game of choice!

I like this approach! Finn is a chaser too. When on lead he will chase cats and birds. He will pull and a few times I fell as the sudden pulling pulled me over....
Always on the look out for the cats and birds. Perhaps I am too strict with him and has to let him run after them? My OH will often let him off lead and he will chase, but always comes back when called.

 

[Selina27]

The thing about it is, in Cassie's case anyway, is that the hunting is in itself hugely rewarding and being released back to it is massively powerful, the highest value thing there is in her world. It took some courage on my part but it's been very rewarding and I would say has increased our bond. I'm no longer coming between her and what she wants to do the most in all the world. It's taken time to see the results, but I can.

Of course, I know that our circumstances allow for this, 95% of our walks are across privately owned woods and farmland, not public or built up areas. This does mean that there is an abundance of wildlife and game in the first place, and also that there is no danger from traffic or any risk of upsetting any people because there aren't any!

@Lab_adore , another useful training snippet was being told that when my dog is indulging in behaviour I don't want, to think about what I do want her to do instead. This too has been good to have in my head, in our case I didn't want Cass to have to walk to heel all the time, but neither did I want her to be 100yds away! Playing some games as we go with high value rewards has been effective for us I find. Don't think that we have 100% whiplash recall in all circumstances, we most definitely don't !! But what I find is that she will often make the choices I hope that she will!

Hope this doesn't come across as preachy, my intention is merely to share what has worked for me as I have required help along the way that's for sure.

 

[kateincornwall]

It does not come across as peachy at all Helen, its very interesting , gives a new angle to Reubens desire to hunt . Most of our walks are also safe , well away from roads , except for Golitha where there are two lanes . On our woodland walks , he used to take himself off up the banks to hunt , always coming back but sometimes heart stopping for me . I seemed to have ( mainly ) stopped him from running up the trail banks but have noticed that he will often look at me in a sort of anxious way, like he is looking for permission to run which he loves doing best in the world . Whilst this is less worrying for me , maybe I am supressing what he needs to be doing, his natural instinct ? I do allow him to run ahead , but he will usually stop, turn round and run back as if he thinks going ahead is wrong ? Lots of food for thought xx

 

[Selina27]

Lots of food for thought

Well yes there is, they are all so different. The thing you have with Reuben that I don't have with Cassie is a strong love of retrieving so I wouldn't think he is suppressed in anyway ! She does enjoy retrieving in the right setting, but would never choose a dummy or ball over hunting if there is game about.

She has been referred to as a spaniel in the wrong body ! So I've had to learn how to manage that behaviour to our mutual enjoyment.

 

[Shaz82]

There seems to be a huge crop of acorns this year so lots more squirrels - "collecting nuts . . . with blatant abandon"