Hi !

I would very much appreciate your opinions on the behaviour of my labbi mix bitch, Polly.

She is originally from Crete (on the street) and that mixed with her lab blood makes her love food of any description. She is 2 1/2 years old and has been with us since May 2002. She gets complete in the mornings and raw in the evenings (I changed from complete only about 2 weeks ago). I have always had a problem with her picking up garbage, but I know most of the places people seem to like to throw food away and can keep her to heel now with the help of treats.

In May she "caught" a very small rabbit which was zigzagging accross her path. I actually got her to drop it, to my amazement. However, last week she caught a small rabbit which was no more than a metre from the path in the foot high grass (can't have been very well to let itself be caught so easily) . She refused to drop it and kept moving away from me just so that I couldn't get hold of her (had I been able to I am sure I could have taken it off her). She ate the rabbit. I didn't see too much difference in that and half a loaf of bread, which happened a good while ago but with the same game.

When we are in the woods we sometimes see deer. Usually I see them first and can put her on her lead. If she then sees them, she is very slightly adjitated for about 30 seconds and then back to normal. 2 days ago deer surprised us all by running accross the path. Polly ran after it but returned to me, I would say within 30 seconds of me whistling when she went out of sight.

I am not sure if I have a real problem here. One trainer at school who had a lab warned me that I would probably never be able to stop her picking things up. I could keep practising "drop it" but would probably have to live with it. A different trainer, yesterday, was horrified and said that having caught and ate the rabbit would be the most positive confirmation a dog could have and that Polly would probably go after all sorts of wild animals.

Are we doomed to a life of leads, or is catching (or at least running after) a rabbit all part of the fun ? I will certainly keep on perfectioning my recall ! This afternoon we will go where there are neither rabbits nor deer.

Sorry this got a bit long-winded, but I am a bit unnerved.

Regards from Germany

Carol

Hi,
I don't know what the rules are in Germany, but my dogs regularly catch and kill rabbits, which they bring back to me (unless they're very small ones, which they eat on the spot) and I take home for their dinner. The landowners locally are delighted, as they need to keep the numbers down.

Our labs have always caught rabbits (Purdey, at 13, caught one a few weeks ago!) They generally bring them back to us first, but we had one who had the disgusting habit of catching them, bringing them back into the garden and (especially when we had squeamish visitors) crunching them up in full view (and hearing :().

They have never attempted to kill chickens, or for that matter, the semi-feral kittens that used to live at the edge of the wood, years ago.

With only the most basic gun-dog training, they all will pick up game & bring it back, live or dead! They've trained the Aussies to do the same thing as well!

Margot

Have to agree with other responses in that if it isn't breaking any laws, then the only worry is getting the recall, or 'drop' or 'fetch' etc training to try and prevent/minimise the running off with the rebbit. That all said with a breed that has been breed to hunt , then as owners we have to accept what years of breeding and cross breeding has generated. Guarding breeds guard , and hunting breeds hunt! I have a breed which was breed to hunt and guard - so life is interesting at times!
Nikki

Thank you very much for your kind words ! I was beginning to think I had a wild beast on my hands who having once tasted blood would go mad when let off the lead (exaggerating somewhat, but you know what I mean)

The laws here in Germany are very vague. Common rabbits are regarded as nuisances the same as in the UK, but hares are a protected species. It has been known for legitimate hunters to shoot dogs and even cats if they are worrying the wild game be it deer, boar or whatever, and apparently they have the right to do so. However, one must consider when the hunters are around - certainly not at 3pm when so many people are walking through the woods, more likely at 5am when the game is awake but no-one else. I had a chat to a very nice lady hunter recently, who, after giving Polly some treats, said that a dog couldn't catch an adult healthy deer if it tried (certainly not my dog anyway), the time of year to be careful is in the Spring when the deer have their young. Even then a hunter will only shoot a dog if it has actually caught or cornered the deer and he is not able to get the dog away by any other method like shouting or shooting into the air.

I was more afraid of what a "success" would mean to Polly, that she would gradually chase more and more wildlife.

I have started a more intensive training (just finished cooking som beef heart as treats! UGH!) in recall with a whistle, and drop using a ball and treat.

Wish me luck !

Carol

honestly cant see how a dog can associate having caught an killed and eaten a rabbit, with something like a deer..........if my very dumb lurcher pup knows teh difference between his own cat and a rabbit.... (and he chases both in the field cos the cat comes for walk with us) then i think your lab is going to be fine.......just work on the recall, in case she ever gets caught up in a chase and heads towards a road or something.

Em

Em - I had a quick look at your homepage and saw that your dogs are fed raw. I started about two weeks ago giving Polly raw in the evenings and I must admit I did wonder if that had had any influence. I don't think so tho.

Went for usual walk with Polly this morning and practiced recall with beef heart as treat, wow!, immediate reaction from Polly and she only had eyes for me the whole walk ! They were really only very tiny bits too.

Wonderful dog !!!

Carol