Hound, Bird-dog, JRT owners??? Help!

[Stevenzachsmom]

You guys are just awesome. You have no idea how much you are helping me to solve the puzzle. Nancy, You are a riot - as always. Loved your story. Y'all are confirming my belief that the growling is coming from the JRT part of Natty Boh. So many of the traits you describe fit him perfectly - like the toy destruction. Fortunately, his make up does not include the JRT prey drive.

BrennasMom - do you do nose work with Mollie? If so how did you start? I think Boh would enjoy that.

Thanks again!

[LARHAGE]

Lol, I've had JRT's for years, they are very vocal and very self confident, to a fault, mine have always got along with my other dogs and all my cats, but their prey drive is such I would personally never let them off leash, I had one jump out my car window at the drive through bank after a ground squirrel, another time he jumped through the window at the drive through at Jack in The Box after a huge moth , life is never dull with one.

[BrennasMom]

haha the words "work" and "Mollie" don't usually go in the same sentence. She is just a big couch potato. She enjoys going for walks and her nose will get going but I can't see her doing it for a living.

[Lilie]

Sorry Jan, I meant to come back to this thread sooner, but hubby is keeping me busy.

I wanted to touch on the 'hound/bird dog' part of your new dog. Training my Lacy has been as new experience for me. I've had all sorts of dogs, but this Lacy has been different from all of them. Not a bad breed, they just think differently. My job has been to try to get inside his head and find out how I can use his drive to my advantage. Onxygirl (sorry if I spelled it wrong) has been a great help with that.

With out a doubt 24/7 NILIF for this dog. I am the human pez dispenser for him. I never go anywhere without a pocket full of treats. He doesn't get a morsel without doing something for me first. The first thing I taught him was to 'look'. That way I can get his attention before he focuses on something that he is going to react to. Now (a year old) 'Look' & 'Sit' are 100% solid.

Because he is trained to track on a long lead, I am still working on not pulling on the leash. I won't punish him for natural drive. So, what I do is make sure his working lead & collar are different than his walking lead & collar. He knows the difference. When we are walking and he starts pulling (nose to the ground), I'll play the 'look' game. After 3 or 4 times, he is walking at my side watching me. No amount of correction (for this dog) could have worked better. When I have requested for him to follow a scent, I never use the 'look' word. In fact, because he is handler sensitive, when he is on a scent, the only word I use is the command to find it.

For this dog, I only use positive training methods. It is taking me longer to get a solid dog, but he is a thinking dog with a lot of self confidence. I rejoice over little things and never expect perfection.

I play a lot of mind games with him. And at least once a week, I'll lay out his evening meal making a track through the house or out in the yard. I utilize the flirt pole a lot. A lot. We play a lot of fetch. We play a lot of tug. He is 100% on his release command. I still reward for wanted behaviors, but using a lot more vocal and physical rewards.

Using positive training and NILIF really works for this dog.

[x11]

i have both hounds and a herder.

herder says - what next
hound says - what for

my herder is no match for my hound in the brains department, but he sure is a whole lot easier to train if that makes sense.

not sure yr plans but please do not try to fit round pegs in square holes that is just not fair in the dogs.

the herder is making a surprisingly good strike dog, they are starting to compliment each other well out hunting, many would be very surprised.

here is my girl doing her thing

critter hunting - YouTube

critter hunting - YouTube

[Stevenzachsmom]

Thanks to all of you for all of your input. Nancy, I have implemented many of your suggestions. Your help has been invaluable.

x11, No worries. I take my direction from Natty Boh. I pick up on things that seem to come to him naturally and he enjoys. I definitely have a circus dog on my hands. I told Nancy that if I am ever in a situation where I need my dog to sit up and beg, dance, or walk on two legs - no problem. And....that combat crawl will come in real handy, when he has to crawl under barbed wire into enemy lines. Once there, absolute chaos is sure to erupt.

He is just one fun, smart little dog - whatever he is.

[CelticGlory]

Looks like a red/white colored beagle, love that coat color of the beagle! Along with lemon/white as well! So I wouldn't be surprised if Boh is a JRT/Beagle mix.

http://cdn-www.dailypuppy.com/media/...1.jpg_w450.jpg

I totally love beagles! My sister had a GSD/Beagle mixed puppy that she ended up given back to the shelter because she couldn't handle the time it took to raise an active puppy.