Took Morse down a different park tonight full of confidence as we have made good progress with training, and he vanished again after rabbits.Found in the nearby street by SB, disorientated and soo glad to see us. This is despite the dog whistle, getting him to behave before he gets off lead etc. Im beginning to wonder what is wrong with him. Ive done all the right things rewarded good behaviour, made sure bad behaviour has consequences, played with him, etc. Yet the instant hes allowed off lead in a new place hes gone like a rocket then gets himself lost and panics. Thank God he didnt go near the road. Back to long leads.

Morse was obviously born under a wandering star, sorry to hear you will be back to the  long leads, but better to be safe than sorry :)

Karen

ooooh i know what you mean, how i envy those on walks who have their dog happily wandering along with them its just not fair

a very worn out jojo who's dog has just taken her for a walk,well a run really!

Nothing is wrong with Morse.  Some dogs have such a strong prey drive that they can never be fully trusted off lead.  Nothing in heaven or on earth could ever be as attractive as the scent of prey and a chase. 

Stacey

Thanks Stacey.  Think thats him to a tee.

Don't they just make you mad at times???   And isn't he just SUCH a guy???? Gets the scent of something interesting and all training goes out the window!

So - it's back to the long lead at night for poor ole Morse, is it?    Still - we are over the shortest day now, so it should be getting lighter in the evenings again soon.....

Margot

Margot I wouldn't worry about the "lighter nights" coming Morse obvously sees well enough to get lost in the dark :D

Karen

Thats what I mean about something wrong with him - he just will not eat his veggies and I keep telling him if he really wants to hunt well, he needs to eat carrots for his night vision:D We went out to the woods tonight and he was a very obedient little dog, waiting for me at the gates, coming to get his lead on when called and coming away from the road. Only 3 months Kevin-ness to go! SB, or Morse Finder General as hes now known, is away from tomorrow so the Manic One is definitely on lead at night till his lord and master returns.

Any tips on channelling this prey drive thing, especially fellow Members of the Honourable Lurching Order?

     I know what you mean. If Penny gets one sniff of a bird, cat, rabbit, or another dog, off she runs ( just as Stacey says, a very strong prey drive). We also practiced recalls everywhere, dog whistles, we even tried walking her with Lucy ( who is wonderful off the leash, she never wanders 15 feet away from you) and other friend's dogs who are reliable off the leash because we thought that with a well behaved dog close to us she would like to stay and play. That method usually doesn't work, she just runs off without a backward look, the only dog she will stay close to is a GSD male (I belive she is in love with him :D, she won't let him out of her sight). So we now walk her on a flexi.

                                                                                                              Kate

Hi Lorelei

Look on the bright side - you've raised a really confident doglet! If he was a scaredy wuss he wouldn't be so willing to wonder off on big adventures ... so don't be too hard on yourself!

Jo :) :)

No don't be hard on yourself just wrap his sarnies in a road map :D

Karen

Erm,

Ive consulted a fully fledged member of the Lurching Order...his hairy pointyness himself Dill.......

Sadly he does not know the answer to prevention of getting lost.....he does it himself frequently and unlike Captain Sensible (aka Rocky) cannot be trusted to find his way home......unless of course you are banking on him NOT doing so, like the other day when it started to rain, and Dill took off....i searched for ages, only to find the little git waiting on the doorstep (yes, in the front garden which under normal circumstances he cannot stand to be in for more than two seconds before jumping the pathetic fence to freedom and other ppls bins)...

Errrr, take him out hungry, adn make sure u have sausages and cheese in ur pockets, errrr put lead boots on him so he cant run that fast, replace feet with castors which dont cope with rough ground and will go in different directions at once, thereby slowing down the vanishing of the Morse dog....?

Anyone finds the answer, lemme know please!

Em

Hi Lorelei
Snap. Sparky was, I think, born to live on the end of a long line. Just when I think we're getting there he goes hell for leather across the field to something new and interesting. As Jo says though, at least you have a lovely confident lad!
Keep the faith!
Tracy

Thanks for the encouragement chaps! :) We got on better this morning playing fetch without treats and coming back when called - except when presented with cute little 4 month lab pup to play with, but no ill effects to either party. Secret is take him out hungry - yes do that, and have sausage in pocket but DONT give it out too early make him work for it very, very hard - one  sausage reward out of every 5 good things done. I know exactly what you mean, Tracy just as the bits fall into place they get skewed again. Im now limiting off lead time, play with other dogs as SB is away and this is a good time to do fun things outside with just me and hope this works. I did laugh at Ems Honourable Members of the Lurching Order :D