FAO anyone who has a dog that bogs off hunting

twiggy2 said:
I think the notion that owners need to interact with their dogs is an eye opener for many dog owners and that in itself is a worry.
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I was having a conversation about this with another local gundog person I bumped into yesterday. There is a lovely spaniel that I often see being walked. Its owner is glued to her phone with big headphones on. This dog is desperate for her attention but she just ignores it. It’s well behaved for now but I do wonder how long it will last.

I’ve read a few of Simone Mueller’s books and they are interesting and I like a lot of what she does, but I do wonder how well the methods would work for really high drive hunting dogs. I don’t necessarily agree with her advice to let the dog practice elements of the predation sequence on wildlife but then distract them from the actual chase part. If you let a high drive hunting dog stalk an animal and it suddenly moves, then it doesn’t matter how many treats or toys you have, the dog will be gone before you’ve reached for whatever you were hoping to distract it with. Turning hunting into a game you do with your dog is great in theory, and with dogs that are typically bred to hunt small areas or close to their owner (it’s something I do a lot on walks with my Lab), but how would this work with an HPR or similar?
 
CorvusCorax said:
I just passed someone walking a Toller which was staring adoringly at her face. Engagement we would all kill for. BURNING her. She didn't appear to notice 🤣
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A woman has just gone past our house with a little one sitting in a pram facing her and a lab on a lead. Woman with face in her phone.
 
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Morwenna said:
I was having a conversation about this with another local gundog person I bumped into yesterday. There is a lovely spaniel that I often see being walked. Its owner is glued to her phone with big headphones on. This dog is desperate for her attention but she just ignores it. It’s well behaved for now but I do wonder how long it will last.

I’ve read a few of Simone Mueller’s books and they are interesting and I like a lot of what she does, but I do wonder how well the methods would work for really high drive hunting dogs. I don’t necessarily agree with her advice to let the dog practice elements of the predation sequence on wildlife but then distract them from the actual chase part. If you let a high drive hunting dog stalk an animal and it suddenly moves, then it doesn’t matter how many treats or toys you have, the dog will be gone before you’ve reached for whatever you were hoping to distract it with. Turning hunting into a game you do with your dog is great in theory, and with dogs that are typically bred to hunt small areas or close to their owner (it’s something I do a lot on walks with my Lab), but how would this work with an HPR or similar?
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And with dogs like whippets where they breed independence into them so they work alone at speed, and return once they have caught the quarry even if they have to go a significant distance to catch it.

I do really want to read the book though as it sounds interestingnow I've read some of the comments here and I'm always looking for things to do to keep my little firecracker engaged and on board. I wish they would do an audio book though as my eyes are bad at the minute and reading normal text isn't going to be happening.

If I remember I'll ask the whippet specialist trainer I work with and get her thoughts on it. I've seen ads on my FB but never seen a post about it from sight hound owners.
 
Haha! You have a basset? I had 2 😊 2 very different characters , one was a ‘good’ girl, the other was VERY naughty 🤣 the good one was only good by default because the other was so naughty 🤣🤣 the naughty one was as you describe, if she had a scent (or was just bored of our company) she was off and no amount of calling would entice her back. She was eventually not allowed off lead as she nicked off one too many times! I remember once, she had been lost over 2 hours, i was crawling through undergrowth where she had been seen. I was calling and calling, i spotted her a couple of meters away and she still acted like i wasn’t there!!!! Total disregard for the stress she had put us through! Bloody bassets 🤣🤣


Yes, i agree with you ! Having a Basset requires a big sens of humour ! Still, I wouldn't have any normal dog, too boring !
 
CorvusCorax said:
I just passed someone walking a Toller which was staring adoringly at her face. Engagement we would all kill for. BURNING her. She didn't appear to notice 🤣
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I give myself high blood pressure twice daily just to get the youngest to acknowledge I’m alive on a walk, let alone look at me for direction. I wish it was out of stubborn/defiance/headstrong like Mini Mugabe was up until the age of 3. It’s not, he’s just not very bright/has zero attention span.

I would say I’d sacrifice some years of my lifespan to have it, but I think walking him each day is doing a good enough job of that!
 
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P3LH said:
I give myself high blood pressure twice daily just to get the youngest to acknowledge I’m alive on a walk, let alone look at me for direction. I wish it was out of stubborn/defiance/headstrong like Mini Mugabe was up until the age of 3. It’s not, he’s just not very bright/has zero attention span.

I would say I’d sacrifice some years of my lifespan to have it, but I think walking him each day is doing a good enough job of that!
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What breed is your dog ?
 
We have a spaniel that does this. He's a chill little guy and very obedient, pootles about on walks and is very attached to his people... until he catches scent of a pheasant. Then the red mist descends, his ears stop working and he will go for miles and be gone for hours at a time. We've tried many recommended training methods but his instinct overrides everything and nothing works. He always comes back feeling very sorry for himself. But he has now earnt the reward of never, ever being let off the lead on walks despite appearing very well mannered.
He's a rescue with PTSD and I truly don't believe he's trainable in this area.
 
Janique said:
What breed is your dog ?
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A spitz crossbreed so obedience isn’t his natural inclination anyway, he’s lovely but very very easily distracted by life/not one of those dogs naturally motivated by stuff long term. He’ll come right in the end, and until then I have much fun being mr tumble level of enthusiasm over the small wins!

The other two are corgis, they are biddable but the old adage about ‘quick to learn, slow to obey’ isn’t without merit with the bitch. She took a while for us to find our groove of what works for her/motivates her - part of which was accepting that she’s more intelligent than most humans.
 
pistolpete said:
Mine won’t even recall in the house despite hours of training. Unless there’s food involved she’s a typical saluki Lurcher. Totally self obsessed. We saw a lovely big buck deer on our walk today. She is always on the lead in open land. She watched him bound away and stared longingly in his direction. Sorry mate! Can’t afford the vet bills when it all goes wrong!!
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Mine is exactly the same, we're currently on a long lead in the garden as he's learnt to scale the fence and next doors cat is brazen as hell.
 
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