Do you let an 8 month old ep chase rabbits or nic them

[tailcracken pointer]

I have a 8 month old ep that I took running tonight that I knew where a wild covey was ,she found the covey but took them out didn't really care she pointed a couple singles which was great !!! My question is she also pointed some rabbits which was her first time seeing them but when I walked up the rabbits took off and the chase was on , how would you guys handle that ? She has plenty of prey drive , should I have nicked her with the collar? Don F I hope you read this or Ezzy you 2 are my favorite on here and when you talk I am all ears , thanks for your responses

[RayGubernat]

Tailcrackin -

You could do that as long as that is all it was, a low level nick. I just am not a fan of issuing corrections when the dog may not know what it is being corrected for. It is a personal thing with me. I think it would be better if you took a few opportunities to teach the youngster about off game. I try to instill in my dogs the meaning of the following admonishment :

Leave it! NO FUR!!

I try and introduce it in the yard with a child's toy or a hat or something. I will put something out in the yard and when the pup goes to investigate, I holler: "Leave it." Of course, I have hold of the bitter end of the checkcord which is attached to the dog. When the dog does not comply, it gets a pop from the checkcord and gets reeled in.

In the field, that command gets used when they see a snake, go mousing, see a rabbit, squirrel or any off game. If the dog does not listen, it gets corrected, as much for failing to obey a known command as for messing with off game...kind of a double whammy.

RayG

[ezzy333]

Rabbits bring up an interesting dilemma. What are your plans for the dog? If you are a trailer then you need to correct the pup as rabbits are frowned upon in a bird trial. On the other hand if you are training a hunting dog then I want them to point everything they can find. I like to eat rabbit just as much as pheasant or quail. So my answer is train for what you want your dog to find. If you are sure you don't ever want the pup to point a rabbit then you can use the E-collar at a higher setting if the pup begins to chase but do not say a thing to the pup. You want the dog to think the rabbit turned the collar on and not you. Just a milder form of avoidance training.

Ezzy

[Stoneface]

As long as she doesn't catch it, let her chase them. If she gets on wild birds you're not teaching her to chase, you're teaching her she can't catch them. If she get plenty of contact with birds, she'll forget the rabbits for the most part. She may take out after them, but come back after she gets about fifty feet.

[rinker]

This answer is assuming that you don't want to hunt rabbits with the dog. I would do nothing, I would not encourage it, or discourage it. As the dog matures and finds more game birds, he will forget about rabbits and mice and sparrows, etc... The only off game that I would correct him for is deer.

[tailcracken pointer]

Not a trialer but a hard core bird hunter , the pointing a rabbit didn't really bother me either as I have heard they smell kind of the same ? I just wasn't sure about hitting her with the collar , she has a natural retrieve and wasn't sure if that would mess something up ? And no dought if she chased a deer we are turning the juice up a little lol

[DonF]

Just ignore it. Never ever shoot one for her. Once she start's getting game birds shot for her she will likely give them up for the most part. Biggest mistake you could make would be shooting one or praising her for a nice find on a rabbit. Probably after she's quit them, if one come's up that she bump's underfoot, she'll chase a bit, ignore it and go on.

[NEhomer]

My Brittany used to point rabbits and it was annoying.

I nicked my setter for chasing one just last week. He's smart and he'll learn to leave them alone.