Hunting

[Suirway]

How do handlers keep their dog's keen on hunting out of season. (Rabbit pen?)

[CockerCanuck]

My experience is that if a dog is keen to hunt they are not going to lose that over the off season. The same can't be said for training or conditioning both of which deteriorate if you are not doing anything with the dog. If you can keep the dog active and keep up some level of training everything should fall back in place next fall quite naturally.

I have never seen a rabbit pen but it sounds like it could be a fun place to train. If you had one close by and you and the pup enjoy it it certainly can't hurt but I doubt if it is necessary if the dog is keen to hunt now.

[Naj]

I agree with CC. Once trained and with a bit of hunting experience under their belt they don’t forget how to hunt. I only hunt my dogs when I’m shooting over them so we do very little during the close season unless I’m shooting pigeons or rabbits. I’ve gone the whole summer without shooting over them but come the shooting season and we head out with the gun they slip into their old familiar routines straight away. I just do a bit of day to day maintenance during the off season but they’re essentially in pet mode until they see the gun come out.

Naj

[Suirway]

Thank you for your replies, I would like to keep hunting her on rabbits but unfortunately myxomatosis has raised its ugly head again.

[Nickheref]

I like to give mine a bit of a break and do some water work or dummy work in the summer, I don't take them to a lot of areas I have the shooting on as they will hunt and possibly disturb nesting birds, which as a lot of my shooting is for wild birds would be a bit counter productive. Unless the rabbit pen is really big you might find a clever dog soon works out where the rabbits might be which won't help you much. Sadly the moment the rabbit numbers seem to build up enough to be of interest VHD or myxy seems to sweep through. They don't forget how to hunt.

[Cass]

I keep a pretty strict off season schedule. Fresh bones and cuddles on the couch to keep em sharp.