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Location: Nottingham
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,477
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Between the 4 dogs, ours catch rabbits regularly, it's usually the mixy ones who are a bit slow and disorientated who get caught. TBH, I dont mind mine catching them as they dont go to waste (have you seen the price of rabbit in the shops!)
As a gundog, Flynn isnt supposed to catch anything but he'll never work properly as he's very hard mouthed so I use him similar to a running dog.
A spaniel is supposed to hunt and given an opportunity, will catch anything they come across. It's only the training we provide which interferes with this process. Even the best spaniels or HPR's will peg something given a chance and rabbits are known to be difficult to train on.
I would suggest the best route is gundog training but the trouble is once they catch something, it's hard to stop them and the longer it continues, the more of a problem it is to rectify it.
Once on a chase, it's notoriously difficult to get any dog back, even those with brilliant recall (Flynn has instant recall and a decent stop on the whistle but it all goes out the window once something starts running). I can stop him on the whistle if he holds a point but once the point is broken thats it.
It's good she is retrieving them as it shows she's not hunting for herself, she doing what she thinks she's supposed to do and views her owner as part of the hunting team. Personally, I think gundog training would be perfect, even if it's just the basics.