My Jack Russell is forever disappearing down rabbit holes. I live in fear that one day he will get stuck or come face-to-face with something that attacks him.
I remember Prince Charles losing one of his Jacks and was wondering is there anything that I can do to either stop him going down holes in the first place or enable us to find him should he get into difficulty?
I've thought about GPS tracking - but will that still work if the dog is underground?
Henry Lewis, Blackpool
GPS tracking in the Retrieva collar will enable you to locate you dog above ground, and has some capability underground when used with specialist kit. However, a better solution for small hole loving terriers may be a product by a French company called Num'axes (www.numaxes.com). The product is called Terrier Finder 3 and uses radio frequency directional technology that can "see" underground.
Andy Stuart, Retrieva Ltd
Editor note - the above link takes you to a site that appears to also sell electric training collars, just thought I'd flag it up as we normally don't allow links to sites that encourage the sale of aversive training devices, however their dog finding collars do seem to not be available via any other website so I have kept the link here.
Get him to buy David Ryan's book 'Stop: How to control predatory chasing in dogs'. He can also email me, I will be answering behaviour Qs and As in my petcasts on a soon to be launched Internet Radio (UKHD Radio). Muriel (Oxfordshire Animal Behaviour Centre)
ReplyDeleteTry a flexi lead. I know it's not the same as running free, but at least you know he's safe.
ReplyDeleteI have Basset Hounds and they are pretty good off lead, but sometimes they get a scent & they are ready to go and follow their noses! - handy to know I don't have to let them off if I don't want to.
A flexi lead gives the dog some freedom yet keeps you in control.
He may not enjoy being restricted for a start, but better safe than sorry.
Good Luck
Recall. Teach an automatic, non-negotiable, reliable recall and call him away before he goes down. If you can't do it, find someone to teach you how to do it. Recall is something that needs working on all through the dog's life, it's not something you train once and can then forget. I work on my JRT's recall every single time we go out for a walk.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are gadgets that track the dogs underground, but this won't help if he gets stuck or finds something dangerous down there (although I can't think of many things more dangerous than a cornered JRT...)
A friend of mine lost her Border a few years ago and she eventually located her after 24 hours; the dog was actually stuck in a rabbit hole and had to be dug out. She got her a collar that I think are usually used for ferrets - not sure where you get them but worth a google.
ReplyDeleteI actually think it's almost impossible to teach a 100% recall to most terriers (or hounds, for that matter) but you do need to constantly recall and reward on walks. Keeping a dog always on a flexi is simply not fair, unless you have access to a huge safe area for free running as well. All healthy dogs need to run free. My Airedale responds well to a whistle, but I still wouldn't let him off lead near a road. He wouldn't get stuck down a hole (that would be a were-rabbit....) but might give chase. Usually he will recall off the hunt - but it's not guaranteed, so I am very very careful.
Have just looked at the Numaxes website and they seem to sell kit for training hunting/gun dogs - not just shock collars but even devices for launching live birds! Their underground tracking system seems more for tracking a working dog then finding a lost one, such as when flushing out foxes & badgers for "sport." Think carefully before giving these people your money.
ReplyDelete