The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Dogs => Topic started by: CameronS on November 11, 2009, 07:15:30 pm
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About 6months ago we re-homed a 18month old castrated rottweiler (Buddy).
We have a large variety of working dogs that go out each season beating and with dad deer stalking.
This question may seem a little silly but would Buddy make a suitable, reliable gun dog for pheasants or am i best not working with him?
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Cameron, unless he is showing signs of natural working ability you are probably to late to train him. What do you want/need him to do? Will he be needed to retrieve as a Labrador for instance - if he play retrieves now then yes, you can encourage that and train him up but it takes quite a while. Will he be needed to flush like spaniels? If he already hunts around for things then yes, you can encourage that too. That shouldn't take so long as it is natural for a dog to hunt. Presumably there will be no need for him to point and since that is an instinctive response to the scent of game you wouldn't be able to train him to do that anyway.
However, if you are to take him anywhere near guns you need to introduce him to gunshot slowly, unless he is already happy with it close at hand. In addition you need to ensure he is very obedient - from a safety aspect. He MUST stop and recall on command.
Hope that helps but let me know if I can help you further.
Annie
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He goes training with our 2 cocker's and 3 labs and dads pointer and is pretty much bullet proof,
good with sound and does retrieve, but i tend to be a beater not on the pegs,
he is reasonably well controlled stop,sit,down,heel etc getting there with come,
but he has an extremly nasty habit of ragging anything with feathers (Including my mum's cushions!!), finding it very hard to stop the habit as now my hens are in danger!
i don't think i'll make it this year but maybe next or the very end of the season
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here is a pic
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He's very handsome, sounds like you're working hard with him
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He looks really cute - quiet a twinkle in those eyes!
Right, the ragging needs to stop. If he starts doing it try to distract him - show him a high value treat, or start trying clicker training. You can read up about it on the 'net. You tube is good for gundog training.
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Hi Cameron,
Its great to see and hear of dogs doing a different job to their intended one! I used to beat on a shoot that a Boxer and two Border Collies worked. From my own experience a big thing is where will you take the dog. Some shoots as you know will pay their beaters for coming along but some don't - those that don't might be the ones to seek out. If its a local friendly shoot they may be happy to let you bring him along to try out and see. As long as you are confident his recall is sound enough then it may be worth a try as he will learn a lot from his kennel mates by watching them in action. If the shoot does formal/let days then maybe not. I am lucky in my area as there is a non paying shoot that is always short of dogs so is great to break in a youngster or novice (both dog and human). The ragging thing is a worry but if you can keep him in for a few drives till he gets the idea from watching the others then start to let him out a bit he may come on OK. Either that or the other beaters will be crapping themselves as 10 stone of muscle in a Hannibal Lectre mask bursts through the undergrowth at them.
The only person that can tell you whether he can make the grade is you as ultimately you need to be happy and confident in him.
Best of luck and let us all know how you both get on please.
Stuart
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I am lucky in my area as there is a non paying shoot that is always short of dogs so is great to break in a youngster or novice (both dog and human)
Where, where, where? I need more places to go with Allez and my pup when he starts. Al is still on a long line as I can't break him of chasing yet, so wouldn't be a pest.
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I have sent a PM with the details mate.
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He has started his basic training against the ragging, he was walked to heel right through the chickend without being able to attack them, this was them moved onto a dead Pheasant, which he was allowed to carry around and retrive, but as soon as he started to shake it was removed and he was scolded (not nastily, just enough to warn him), He is fine in every other aspect, and is going out tomorrow for the frist time with the Labs&sSpaniels as an observer, then slowly he will be let off lead.
Traning is going extremly well, better than i thought infact!
Thanks for the responses
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He got a practice run
out on sat at the local shoot, but we had to leave early so he only got about 2.5 hours on lead traing
and di really quite well
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I used to have a Rottie Cross called Bruce, he was a brilliant and obediant dog although they can get a bit overexcited a bit like boarder collies....it will be great if he turns out well, strong dog's,I never quite trused him with all dogs as he stood his ground.... Moregin! My son in law keeps asking me if there is somewhere around here he can go shooting, although not sure when he can come up!!! I would love to get my Labradors out on a shoot, I think Isaly would be great, Ben may not want to bring "anything back" anyway, great to watch working dogs!!
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Sandy, if you want to get Islay and Ben on a shoot I can help you train them - they only have to retrieve, but it has to be to hand, and many retrieves are quite complicated. You won't get on a shoot without some basic obedience training. At the very least it is walk close to heel off or on lead for quite a distance. But I went to a lab man for retrieve training so have a pretty fair idea what's required of a lab. it's a wee bit different from what mine need to do.
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Just an update, things are going well with buddys training, he was out again today, still on the lead though,
We has a minor setback mid week as he broke out of the pen and terrorised the hens.