Can I stop my gun dog running off? | The Shooting Gazette

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Can I stop my gundog running off?

Basic training will improve your dog's behavior.

By Jeremy Hunt

Thursday, 12 November 2009

I'm worried that one day he'll go and not come back.

The dog is part-trained and bought from gentleman who lives around 150 miles from me. Everything seemed okay when he demonstrated the dog's ability. However, since the problem has surfaced the gun dog has shown no signs of improvement. The seller says that he cannot take the dog back and I'm worried I'll lose him.

JEREMY HUNT SAYS: I think it's important to make sure that if you're going to buy from an online seller out of your area that you should try and find out something about them.

It might just be that the dog is struggling to fit into his new home, or that he has a tendancy to run off, hence the reason he has been put up for sale.

You seem to have warmed to the dog and it sounds like you want to rectify the problem.

I don't see why you can't do that.

You suggest the dog is a kindly sort so hopefully you can build on this, if he was hot headed you'd have a bigger problem.

Don't allow the gun dog to be loose in an area where he can run off, this might mean restricting exercising space.

Undertake basic obedience training and lavish him with praise throughout.

Make sure you feed him personally and do as many menial tasks as you can to strengthen the bond between you.

Progress to simple retrieves to build up trust then extend the distances, still in a safe area of course.

Whistle him back from time to time too.

I'm convinced this will do a lot of good and don't be afraid to ask for professional help.

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Comments

d chapman

Mon, 21st Jun 2010 18:56:32

I have a 12 week old chocolate lab, what age should we take him shooting?

gordon thomson

Sun, 7th Feb 2010 10:58:22

my labrador is 13 months old, i got her at 8 weeks.her training has come along well, apart from 1x problem.sometimes she would run around me or even go towards someone else if they are walking past.she ignores the whisle and my commands, i call it taking a mad turn.she may do this maybe once when training, but it is very frustrating,i would tend to stop retrieving work and go back to basic sit, and come commands.its hard to know what to do when she takes this mad turn, as if i go after her she takes it as a big game,so i tend to just walk away from her. she then decides to come back to me when i walk away.but should i punish her or what should i do. i am novice at training gundogs, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

dave collier

Fri, 15th Jan 2010 18:50:27

I have a working cocker spaniel bitch. She has been very well behaved, but on the last couple of walks she has just taken it into her head to become deaf. she just goes and does not respond to calling or the whistle. She is normally very good. I praised her on her return and gave her a titbit as a reward for returning. It was so hard not to shout at her, but I resisted knowing it was useless. I also went the other way and on the second occasion she did it I hid. She eventually came back, but with her head down and going at a rate of knots she was heading towards a busy road. Please help. What can we do. Any suggestions gratefully received.