Stopping Terriers chasing everything!!!!

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goldypops

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Is there a way?????? I know its their instinct but my JR cross chases anything that moves to the point that walks have become a nightmare. She already wears one of those vet cones to stop her hedge diving/running and possibly disappearing down rabbit holes. Her recall is pretty good provided she hasn't got distracted! But she gets distracted by everything! If she sees birds the other side of the field whether they are on the ground, in the air, she's off thinking she can get them. People 2 fields away if they have a dog shes off. She's twice got hold of the chickens and ducks when she's managed to dart through the garden gate when its opened. Is there any hope or am I resigned to spending all our walks yelling her name and cursing or keeping her on the lead???
 
Longline for safety and get a good trainer in to teach you about proper distractions, building up the training and timing, which is key. Give her a job, obedience, agility, jogging, biking, terrier racing, lure coursing, she has a drive and it needs to use it.
 
You have to get the hang of belaying it in and out so the dog has a little slack, but not enough to plait with. :)
 
If you have a lungeline, you've lunged a horse, right? It's a similar premise. Keep your eyes open, pay attention, make sure you know where the line is in relation to your feet, wear gloves, pray, etc etc etc :p but no need to wear a hard hat :p

I let mine trail so if I start to see the dog tanking, I have enough length to be able to grab or step on.
It also means if the dog is not paying attention you can give her a little reminder warning or reel her in.

You can buy specific longlines for dogs if you don't want a good lunge trashed, I just bought 10m of builder's cord, has a bit of give in it, tied it to a G-clip, I don't care if it gets trailed through the mud.
 
Thanks. However i can see her just running to the end of the line and then just pulling on that i dont think there ever will be any slack!!!! Hmmm maybe we ought to start at walking to heel!
 
You change direction while the line is still slack, so she learns to pay attention to where you are and remain at an acceptable distance to you.:)
 
How old is she? The drive may lessen as she matures a bit. In the meantime, is she motivated by chasing balls? If so Flyball might be useful, I think another post mentioned giving her a job. This has worked a treat with our terrier x who has a high prey drive. The constant running back and forth to get the ball once or twice a week exorcises some 'demons' and makes her much less twitchy and looking to hunt when we go on walks and now she is so keen on the ball I just take a ball launcher and ball out on the walk and the minute I spot any possible distraction I just get out the ball and call her to heel and when she has walked nicely past whatever it was we play a quick game of ball. Still have to pick my off lead spots but hundred times better than before.

I feel your pain tho, when we first had her as a pup she would shoot off without warning, once we thought we were walking in a big empty field as far as they eye could see. Then without warning a hare appeared from no-where....so the hare started running round the field in big circles followed by my dog (technically hare coursing I guess...eek) then randomly another hare joined on the back following both of them...hare, dog , hare around the field with me swearing at the dog until I thought my head would explode and she finally called off when the hares got through a hedge with no harm done but me so cross and shaken....damn dog :-)
 
Oh my that sounds just like me shouting until my head expoldes!!!!!
I do take her out in the field with the ball thrower, trouble is we have a border terrier too!!! I fling the ball and then spend 10 minutes shouting at the border til my head explodes as he gets the ball first and then doesnt bring it back but just runs round and round getting more het up trying not to let the JR get it. The odd occassion the JR gets it shes really good and brings it back for me to throw again. I've tried the treat thing to entice the border back and give me the ball but his drive to stop the JR getting the ball is higher than his stomachs needs (amazingly for him lol!!!).
The ball game I tend to do is instead of a walk when i havent much time but what I will try is taking the thrower and ball with me on the walk that might work for the JR if someone can give me a solution to the borders problem!!!!
Oh boy I have 2 difficult dogs dont I!!!
 
lol, little monkeys:-) Mine also does the running off with the ball if there is another dog around. She actually tries to taunt the other dog by running close and then dissapearing off. Altho def much much less since flyball lessons. The only solution I've found to the above aswell as cheese in my pocket (and teaching the dog the word cheese - which I then shout loudly to get her attention ?!) is having more than one ball cos she'll bring the first ball back for the 2nd ball. .....they don't make life easy do they! Good luck with ur dogs x
 
Try Tuff, Orbee or Starmark. Get ones with ropes, you can lob them further and you can keep them active and tease the dog.
Tennis balls are a total no-no in this house, they are crushed in seconds.
Also - balls are for chasing, retrieving and carrying, if you have a shredder/crusher, keep balls for retrieve/playtime only, never let a dog sit and destroy a ball in front of you, there are bones and chews and Kongs and edible things for that, keep them for special times and you will get a lot better attention and focus :)
 
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Just a note about balls, i have a ball obsessed terrier who will destroy a ball of all types within seconds. He will play fetch till his legs fall off but when he gets a bit tired he will have a lie down on the way back to me and have a little chew of the ball. I bought a couple of Orbee balls and am still on the first one 6 months later. They are really tough and can be chewed at without problem.

His recall is much better with a whistle. He can be running in the woods and i whistle and he comes back straight away. Do have to be good with treats though and usual ones dont cut it not even chicken. Has to be cheese, liver or beef sausage meat. Had forgot lovely treats so just grabbed the emergency bag of crackerjacks from the car, whistled for recall, dog came back took one sniff of treat and bogged off. :D
 
Cheap pate is brilliant - this was recommended by (I think) Gunnergundog on another thread, and boy does Henry love it! I also strongly recommend Primula cheese. Both ONLY as special whistle recall treats, and once they have the hang of it, only when they start coming on the first whistle (I keep repeating my whistle until he gets to me if he's a long way off).
 
Mine is pretty good but will still run off occasionally. He was taught 'no' in a stern voice from being young which sometimes works, but the most effective method we have is 'whats this?' which he knows means treats! :D That has also been known to him from being young.
 
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