Gun Dog Forum

Anyone have a recommendation or lesson plan for deer avoidance. My GSP has recently found great pleasure in terrorizing the local whitetail population.

He stalks, goes on point,and chases which will get him in trouble eventually. He will recall but I'm worried he will chase when I can't see him at some point.


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High intensity stimulation from e collar. No words from you let the dog think the deer did it to him.

^^^ This. Light him up.

Applying a few seconds of electricity beats the heck out of having to scrape your dog off the blacktop or train tracks, or carrying his bullet-holed body out of the woods.

You should be prepared to set him up after his first trashbreaking lesson, because he might get the idea that the first deer's magical horrible power was a fluke and try it again.

IME, done right, trashbreaking lasts for years if not a lifetime.

Go for a drive in the evening - find some deer that will allow an approach, let the dog out and work him towards them. When he gives indication that he has scented/seen the deer hit the juice. The deer run away, if he so much as looks at them hit the juice again. Repeat the next evening. Rinse and repeat until the job is accomplished. Best insurance you can get. Rabbits will run till they have absolutely lost the dog and then make themselves even more scarce. A chase on a rabbit only lasts so long before the dog is returning. But deer - they will run for a bit and then stop to see if the dog is still following. Then they will see he is and run some more, and then again, etc. till they have led the dog for miles.

I would wait on the stalk and point, the second before his brain says game on and he lunges at the deer hit him until he is running the opposite way.

I'll set him up for failure and juice him.
He runs on a level 4 in the low range on his sportdog right now. I've had him up to 7 when chasing a deer once (continuous). He yelped and spun around. I blew the whistle so he obviously didn't think the deer did it.

I'll have to step up to medium and test on my fingers to see where it's at. I'll try to give a good shock when he breaks next time. Hopefully this works!

I saw a guy hold down on his garmin once for a dog chasing a deer. He yelped and whined for 500 yards before he decided to turn around.

My goal is to make the first second count.


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Testing on myself should be interesting.


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No Need to test, just turn it as high as it goes and hold it as long as you think necessary as you just keep walking and don't say a word. Just make sure it is severe enough he will remember it for a long time.

Ezzy

Crank it up and don't worry about it. It only lasts a few seconds and can spare you a lot of grief in the future.
As mentioned, let him get into the chase and do not say a word before, during, or after. You want the dog to think that deer shoot lightning bolts.
When he returns to you (he might) or whenever the situation is over, act like you have no idea about anything. No 'whatssa matter?' or anything like that. Just go about your normal routine la-de-da.

FWIW all my dogs get trash broke off deer, we have lots of deer around here. Also roads, rr tracks, and landowners/hunters who resent dogs running deer. We know we have it right when we jump a herd of deer and the dogs do a nice stop to flush on them then go about their business.

Good luck, you'll do fine.

This is one scenario where you do not want to be in any way halfhearted about it. Unfortunately, you have let your best opportunity(first encounter) slip away, so it may take several unpleasant lessons. Perhaps not, but making the dogs very first encounter with deer a highly unpleasant experience is generally the quickest, least painful and most effective method to assure long term avoidance.

The instant, the very instant the dog starts after a deer you light him up with everything you have ...full power for the full eight seconds and take your finger off for a half second and HIT HIM AGAIN...until he is running back to you.

As others have said...you want this to be a supremely unpleasant experience for the dog. Deer chasing will get a dog killed in one of several ways. It is also actually illegal in most states and even in the states where it is legal to chase deer with dogs, I believe they must do it during the season. Deer run in sprints...dogs run, and run. A dog can chase a deer until the deer's lungs give out. Not cool.

The only other way to break a dog of deer chasing is to have them on a lead, such as when roading or exercising the dog and make the dog stop and stand when a deer is spotted. The dog MUST stand, until the deer move along and then resume the roading or exercising as if nothing of consequence happened. The deer become a nuisance to be avoided and ignored. This can take a long time, but it does work. If a neighbor has goats. they can be stand ins for deer, btw.

Oh and an absolutely rock solid recall helps too. If the dog does not recall...LIGHT HIM UP until he does. If the dog just stops and stand there...go to the dog until you are about 20 ft away, then stoop down, clap your hands and call the dog to you. make being by your side the safest place the dog can be. Might just save his life someday.

RayG

bustingcover wrote:High intensity stimulation from e collar. No words from you let the dog think the deer did it to him.

It's the same with Sheep chasers !!!

ezzy333 wrote:No Need to test, just turn it as high as it goes and hold it as long as you think necessary as you just keep walking and don't say a word. Just make sure it is severe enough he will remember it for a long time.

Ezzy

For sure. Follow this advice. (And everyone else who has said it).

"As others have said...you want this to be a supremely unpleasant experience for the dog. Deer chasing will get a dog killed in one of several ways." quote

Very true. My girl was attacked by a deer - $1300. later she survived. She doesn't need any trash breaking on deer now.

Sounds good hopefully i can create a good environment where he knows it was the deer. I should be able to get this done in the next few days.


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GSPONPOINT32 wrote:Sounds good hopefully i can create a good environment where he knows it was the deer. I should be able to get this done in the next few days.


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He really does not need to think the deer caused the problem he just needs to know it will happen. The timing is not all that important either. There will be times when you may not see it until he is in full chase. Like the deer coming out of a swamp with dog hot after it. Hammer him hard !!!!!! It takes very few times and generally where you hunt birds there will be deer......Cj

He got smoked today. We were on a long walk through some woods at my place. I noticed he started getting narrow and began focusing on a deer trail. I cranked my remote up in anticipation. Jumped a few deer about 75 yards in front and he got it hard in full sprint. He stopped immediately and raced back to me. Hopefully I only need to do this once or twice but time will tell. The rest of the walk was normal and he didn't stay abnormally close which is what I was initially worried about.


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Your results are what we would expect if you don't let the dog know you had anything to do with it. You did well it seems.

Ezzy

The only thing I'd like to add to all preceding advice is to repeat the jab from the collar in different locations. I've found that some dogs learn not to chase deer in particular locations but will still chase in other locations.

So......try woodlands, open fields, hills, marshlands.

Bill T.

Trekmoor wrote:The only thing I'd like to add to all preceding advice is to repeat the jab from the collar in different locations. I've found that some dogs learn not to chase deer in particular locations but will still chase in other locations.

So......try woodlands, open fields, hills, marshlands.

Bill T.

We don't frequent many different location with the exception being on a hunt but I'll do my best. My concern was my family recently purchased a cabin in elk county pa. There are elk deer and grouse so I was trying to set the stage for grouse next fall. Hanks for the reply


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