Gundog Training Forum

I'm looking for some games that will keep Oscars brain stimulated. The weekends are fine, but during the week he comes into work with me and is in his crate for most of the day. Try as I might, I can't get more than about 30 minutes during the day to interact with him, so he tends to get over excited in the evening. I'm doing little bits of training with him, as per our puppy class. Also, I'm consciously trying not to overdo the retrieving which he absolutely loves. He has now become obsessed with shadow chasing so I feel I'm not keeping his mind entertained enough. Any suggestions?

How about a frozen Kong for him to spend time chewing and eating, it does tire them out.

He does have a Kong but we can sometimes get the Kong envy going on with our BM even though Alfie's Kong is almost the same size as Oscars head.

How old is he?

5 months.

Hi Malfuss,

Is he crated alone all day?

When does he shadow chase if he's doing it in his crate then can you put his crate in a darker area where he doesn't have the opportunity?

Is he stressed by your other dog?

Do you get him out for exercise and training in a morning before you go to work?

I would say three ten minute sessions during the day would be better than one thirty minute one if you can arrange that, start clicker training him to shape behaviours you want to build in the future.

In the evening let him have a bit of a run about then work on sits stays, loose lead walking, beginning to get him hunting etc

I don't want to worry you but I would also get him checked by a vet as shadow chasing in pups can be a sign of a neurological problem such as epilepsy, hopefully not but worth checking out.

Rascal

Ok, I normally have a quick play and training session first thing for about 10 minutes. Then breakfast, he has about another 10-20 minutes running round the garden and playing with Alfie, then we're off to work. If I get to work on time, we have a quick mooch about the yard for 5 minutes then off to his crate. His crate is in the store room but is next to my office so I can hear him moving about and he can hear me talking. The half hour is broken up through the day, normally about 5 minutes mid morning, 20 minutes at lunch including 10 minutes of training, then a further 5 minutes mid afternoon. I can try breaking it into 3 10 minute sessions instead, but as I'm normally in the office on my own I struggle for more than 5 minutes because of having to answer the phone.

He doesn't shadow chase in his crate, he normally justs sleeps. He is more active in the afternoon but is mainly chewing on his nylabone. I think I'm somewhat to blame for it as I made the mistake of using a torch in the back garden and he started chasing the torch beam on the floor. I thought it was fun at first so played with him with the torch for a couple of nights until I realised it probably wasn't a good idea and stopped doing it.

I don't think he's stressed by my other dog but not sure how I could tell. Oscar attacks Alfie quite often but Alfie just stands there and takes it other than when Oscar starts on his legs. It is lessening over time so I've been putting it down to puppy exuberance.

I tried clicker training with him but it really didn't seem to work, it will keep his attention for the first click and treat then he's off looking for something else to do. I've tried all sorts of different flavour treats including home made liver cake, sausages, cheese etc, it just doesn't seem to interest him. At the first puppy class where they taught the clicker training, all he wanted to do was get back to the car, the treats were often dropped on the ground and not eaten. I've since taken him back to the breeder who is also a gundog trainer and we are getting much better results.

I really struggle with the training at home, I think I've allowed him too much freedom, so find it easier to train at work or somewhere other than home.

Oscar has a check up at the vets next week, so I'll have a chat when I'm in there.

I can see that shining the torch and letting him chase the beam has started his shadow chasing, do distract him from that. I have a friend with a Collie who is obsessed with shadows and in the summer she can exhaust herself. We took her to a sheep dog trial just to watch, there was a sheep about 1ft in front of her, but she just couldn't see it as there was a shadow behind her and that was all she was interested in. Fortunately my friend has two more Collies since then and both work sheep well!

If he likes a ball, dummy ect try hiding this around the house and garden then ask him to find it, start off really easy then get harder as he gets the idea. I did this with mine when younger to interact with him, have fun and incorporate training. You can put him in a sit stay whilst you hide it, then when he is keen on the game recall him whilst he is in the hunt, builds recall with distractions then send him off again. Just make sure when he does find it you call him up so he retrieves as well and doesn't have the opportunity to mess around whilst it's in his mouth.

Wouldn't worry about a neurological problem as it does sound like you started it with the torch. The best you can do now is distract him when he does it but don't tell him off for doing it. Don't let anyone else encourage this behaviour either it can be extremely hard to stop and not very nice for the dog at all...

Do you have a lunch hour can you break that up during the day and leave your answer machine on?

If you want him as a working dog I'd get yourself off for a 1-2-1 with a good spaniel trainer now to give you some training tips, new ideas and stuff to work on.

Rascal