Issues with dog running off

[ruffbritt3]

Hi everyone,

I have a 7 month old brittany that I need some help with.

A month ago I had him out looking for grouse and in what seemed like a matter of seconds he went from in front of my eyes to 400 yards away on the Garmin. He eventually looped around and met back up with me when I worked down the road from him to close some distance.

Today, the first time out since that incident, the same thing happened at the same spot. This was the second cover of the day, things went well in spot #1. This time he came back my direction after I simply just worked the way he went and we met up. I thought about hanging it up for the day because I was getting nervous running him. Ended up pressing on and it happened again. This time, he was gone- like a consistent 400 yards away despite me going towards him. When I finally got to 200 yards, I could hear him yipping and crying in the bottom below me as I’m sure he was a little panicked being separated for 20 minutes.

He generally listens well and has been collar conditioned to the here command. When I have him off leash in open fields around home, he follows my lead with little to no direction and stays at a reasonable distance.

My initial thought is that he’s running deer that I can’t see because we’re in the thick grouse woods. I have had 2 experiences where he jumped deer very close to me and when he did, I used the ecollar at a level that stopped him in his tracks. Another thought is that he’s losing track of me in the steeper terrain where I hunt where finger ridges and bottoms can even throw me off after some time away from the truck.

I know he’s young, but I haven’t experienced this before with past dogs and I don’t want it to lead to any bad habits.

I would really appreciate any advice (or reassurance lol)

Thanks

[slistoe]

If I hear my dog yipping I know he has deer in the crosshairs.

[cjhills]

Very likely running deer or maybe Snowshoe Hare Boh willgeneraly run in acircle...........Cj

[cjhills]

Very likely running deer or maybe Snowshoe Hare Boh willgeneraly run in acircle...........Cj

[ruffbritt3]

Thanks for the help. I guess I'll have to take him into some more open areas where I know there's deer and I'll be able to see what's going on. Might be a tough one to crack!

[gypsy]

Lets see: a 7 month old running off.

The three main commands are whoa, whoa, whoa.

Start with a 25 foot long lead. Teach it daily along with recall.

Whoa and recall should include voice and whistle. At some point just let the pup drag the long lead.

DO not forget PRAISE and LOTS of it. Ignore bad behavior.

PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE

FUN FUN FUN

[ruffbritt3]

Lets see: a 7 month old running off.

The three main commands are whoa, whoa, whoa.

Start with a 25 foot long lead. Teach it daily along with recall.

Whoa and recall should include voice and whistle. At some point just let the pup drag the long lead.

DO not forget PRAISE and LOTS of it. Ignore bad behavior.

PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE

FUN FUN FUN

Took a trip out west a few weeks back with only 1 time where he started running off, and I was able to confirm it was because he was chasing deer. The rest of the week he handled great with no intervention from me.

In the grouse woods around home, I can't see more than 30-40 yards at best and always was told to never shock a dog you can't see. This weekend we're going back to the grouse woods. If that Garmin shows he's taking off I know its for nothing good.

[Sharon]

"always was told to never shock a dog you can't see. " forum post

That was good advice you were given, but if you see him chasing deer again use that shock at a high level.

Let us know how it goes this week end.

[ruffbritt3]

We've been in the woods quite a bit lately and I'm starting to develop more and more trust in the dog. He is learning where to find birds and dives into the thick cover to do so

The one day we must have ran into 20 deer and he didn't chase any. Yesterday one came out of the brush and ran down the trail right in front of him. He watched it go out of sight and then carried on.

He's had a good number of bird contacts this spring but pointing wild birds is happening slowly. For a dog that was pointing birds in a launcher from day one I'll admit I expected a few more points, but I understand the woods are a much more exciting place for a puppy and wild birds are not birds in a launcher. I'll probably only have 1 or 2 more outings until I give the birds a break for nesting season. Then it's back to the pigeons and yard work.

[Max2]

Cooooool ! Sounds like fun !