snipers eye Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 hi folks,anyone any ideas on how i could get my whippet x collie (1 year old dog)to not be so soft mouthed on the rabbits,he can catch them no bother,but only holds them by the fur,and by the time i walk up to him he walks away on the hunt for more,then the one he caught just gets up and runs away since he applies no pressure,i have managed to grab the odd one,and when skinned,there is not a mark on them,but i want him to kill, as i dont want live ones,,thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Perhaps a rabbit skin dummy at home , rough play with him , tug of war etc so he starts to clamp down ?. To be honest it seems the problem is more the fact you are having to go to him and he is dropping the rabbit , train him to come to you while carrying the rabbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pernod Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 Soft mouthed is a good trait in a running dog.(within reason)I'd be more concerned if it was the opposite... just my opinion of course. Pernod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Joe Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 Soft mouthed is a good trait in a running dog.(within reason)I'd be more concerned if it was the opposite... just my opinion of course. Pernod Same here. To be honest it seems the problem is more the fact you are having to go to him and he is dropping the rabbit , train him to come to you while carrying the rabbit. That's the answer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipers eye Posted October 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 thanks lads,will try your suggestions, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) Think yourself lucky you wont get many soft mouthed whippets and no-one wants their rabbit carcasess covered in bruises. All you need to do now is train it to retrieve which should be easy with a collie blooded dog that isn't possessive. Edited October 24, 2015 by sitsinhedges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazb1967 Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 As said above, never go to the dog, the dog should be coming to you and if it doesn't don't lose your temper because it never will, you need to train it with a dummy covered in rabbit fur and get it to bring it back to you and give loads of praise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatsanmad Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Play tug of war with him. Get him excited with the rabbit dummy or if you can get hold of a dead rabbit tease him with it. Had something similar with my old lurcher. So ended up playing tug and even getting a rolled up rabbit skin and letting the lurcher and lab play with it. Took a while but helped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipers eye Posted October 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 thanks again lads for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) a soft mouth is a excellent trait in a mooching dog and it is not something i would try and change. the next rabbit you get skin it out and cure the skin, easy done in 10 days with salt and borax powder or watch yoodotube thing! you then take/ the dummy rabbit dropped for the dog and/or chucked out, once the dog picks up encourage the dog to retrieve back to you with encouragement and praise. when the dog approaches you with the rabbit stoop down and encourage the dog to come in to you. if you find the dog is a very small whippet and is struggling to hold or carry the catch you may have to move into the dog at a low and encouraging stance. would not go down the road of the tug of war thing as you will only make the dog hard mouthed and reluctant to retrieve and you may find yourself chasing the dog over half the parish to get it. i had running mooching dogs for half my life and training this into them was always a high priority. i know you say you want the dog to kill them but a dog mincing a rabbit is just not good, get the dog to bring/hold live, then the bunter can be dispatched by hand humanely as it righlty deserves. Edited October 26, 2015 by 7daysinaweek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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