Have you ever wondered what dogs think about and do on a countryside walk?
For the most part, breeds that are slightly less lap dog and human orientated, or those who have been specifically bred and selected for hunting ability like terriers, pointers and retrievers are on a hunt.
They usually have a favoured prey - squirrels or rabbits are good ones, cats often trigger the same response and bigger dogs may happily hunt deer if allowed and spaniels and labradors may be particularly naturally bird focussed.
There is a formation in movement that enhances a groups of dogs ability to flush and catch prey. You'll often find smaller dogs in the group run on flush and circle out around the moving group, with the intent of pushing prey into the path of the main group. They will always know where the main group is moving to and will track the group noise and motion. The main group will usually know where the flushing dogs are too and you'll find they meet at points along the path they are following. The purpose of the main group is to stalk, ambush and chase down anything the flushers push into their path.
You'll often see a lead dog that the others watch in the main following group. They will hang back and watch for the key to run like the clappers from the lead dog. The ones that hang back tend to be lower to the ground or less able to flush or sprint, but enjoy the hunt just as much and want a part to play.
How does this relate to a person walking a dog I hear you ask? Read on :)
If you're walking a dog in the woods, he will likely be on the flush pattern purely because you're on the main line, particularly if you're with other people. He will track you as he loops out and around, popping out in front of you, probably checking to see if you've accidentally caught anything in his absence.
If you call him the entire time whilst he's on a loop part of the flush pattern, he will do one of two things - ignore you, continue on his loop pattern and pop out in front of you at the agreed spot independently of your calling. Or, he'll take the noise as an easy way to track you as he always knows where you are, and will make his loop pattern longer, as he feels no need to check in with you.
How do you know which one he's doing? If when he appears, he looks all happy at you and comes to visit, he may have been on the second one. If he appears in front of you, looks at you (or doesnt even look at you), and continues on ahead, he was on a predetermined loop pattern and is about to disappear back into the undergrowth onto the next loop.
If you change it up and turn around without calling him, when he notices you've changed things, he will make his loops shorter to check where you are more often.
The more you call him, the longer his loops will be and the more worn out and ineffective your recall will be. You are effectively burning the brakes by continually applying them a little bit, all the time.
Play with it and see if you can see which pattern your dog chooses, main group stalk, ambush and chase down, or loop and flush.
If you're in an open space with no obvious prey available, like the beach, or open fields, your dog will likely head for an edge if he feels comfortable being that far away from you. If he is Fenton and you are in Richmond park, he is on ambush and chase down, irrespective of your wishes.
The owner joins in the hunt accidentally, chasing along behind Fenton, confirming that Fenton should indeed, chase the deer. Whoops!
Ideally the owner could have prepared Fenton better by ensuring he knew he wasn't allowed to chase deer, but once Fenton's on the hunt and running, there aren't many dogs that are trained enough to be interrupted at that point, so the only ONLY thing to do, is go in the opposite direction. You'll never catch him when he's running. Standing still and watching it unfold would put you on the stalk pattern of the hunt, so that's no good either, the only way to communicate 'not this prey' is to walk away.
Has anyone got the brass tacks to do that in that situation?
Brilliant video though. Thanks Fenton!
Comments