Recently got a 9 month old rescue Springer, who is a great dog, he had virtually no recall when I got him and is doing well, however the other day we went past a sheep field and he was off, I got my other 2 and legged it in the opposite direction, blowing a recall whsitle as I went, he had a good chase and then returned to me - nobody saw him, but I have got to do something.
However what I was wondering is, can you retrain not to chase sheep, or will they always go, its just your recall is better - if that makes sense, will he always be a sheep chaser??
A friend has offered a citronella collar to try, and I am going past the field with him on a long line, and practising recalls, is this enough??
I have also been working slowly up to a stop whistle, but again, once he is off, thats it.
Any advice appreciated

With a springer as young as 9 months it should be possible to train him not to chase sheep. Many trialling springers are encouraged to chase rabbits during their early months (to encourage hunting drive) and then steadied at a similar age to your dog.

It sounds like you have got the basics of an obedient dog with recalls and stop whistle but the distraction of the sheep was just much too much for the level of training that he has reached. I'd definitely try and avoid off-lead contact with sheep until his level of obedience has been built up to a much higher level.

Try and avoid ever giving a recall or stop whistle command if you are sure that the dog is going to ignore it (although obviously if he is in the process of chasing sheep you need to try anthing you can).

My advice would be to search out a good local gundog trainer for some 1 to 1 training. Some of them may even have access to some livestock that you can practise with.

You might find the website www.dog-partnership.co.uk (or .com) useful.

This lady specialises in livestock classes and if you click onto the "continue" button she discusses chasers, bay dogs, separators etc and other pointers of interest.

Lindsay
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my friend used to have a very bossy ewe that would sort out most sheep chasers

Thanks Lindsay, that is a great site, might be worth a holiday to Somerset.

edited to say, didn't realise how far away Somerset was from Scotland, but I have e-mailed Angela to see what she says, and if she knows anybody up here who does a similar course.

Glad to be of some help :)

Lindsay
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Please be careful! If the farmer spots the dog after his sheep he make take a shot at him - and he would be within his rights.

Please be careful! If the farmer spots the dog after his sheep he may take a shot at him - and he would be within his rights.

Havoc I would dispute that trialling springers are encouraged to chase rabbits during their early months.  This certainly isn't anything I have ever come across or read about.  Most gundog owners go out of their way to ensure that their dogs don't chase anything!

No Springer should ever be allowed to "Free Hunt" although some people do encourage "Controled hunting". Most people want to get the hunting going before starting to retrieve to avoid inhibiting the hunting.

Yes, it is possible to stop a dog chasing sheep but I will say, the more it chases, the more ingrained the habit becomes and the harder it is to stop. (And also the harder tactics that will be needed to discourage the dog from engauging in the fun filled activity.)

Contary to popular belief Poppynurse. NO one is entitled to shoot a dog. That is totally wrong. He can shoot for safety reasons only and then would have to justify his actions.

Regards, John

But by the time the farmer is asked to account for his actions, you may well have a dead dog on your hands - and at that point there's little to be gained by saying 'he didn't have the right' :(

Farmers need their shot gun liciense far to much to take a chance on loosing it. Yes, there is always the odd hot head but by and large a farmer knows the law far better than the average pet dog owner.

Regards, John

Plenty of the top springer guys let their pups have a good 'tear-up' at the rabbits before training begins in earnest. (Usually in a rabbit pen)Just to make sure they are worth training. Not for the beginner - but I was just trying to encourage the original poster that it should be possible to steady his dog. ;-)

I had a 'chaser' once. My hubby took her to a local farmer and she was put in a pen with a ram. She never looked at another sheep after that. It's maybe a bit drastic, and I don't recommend it, but it worked.

I remember watching a tv programme about an Irish Setter that chased. It was trained to leave the sheep alone by using the clicker method. I think it got a treat every time it turned it's head away from the sheep, or ignored them. It took over a month of constant training, but eventually the dog could be off lead in a field of sheep and not look at them. It was a few years old at the time. So there's hope.