FAMILIAR PATTERN

Consistency is vital – hunt, flush and sit/stop need to become the normal pattern of behaviour for your dog. If you build up the dog’s experience of this gradually, all will fall into place.

Rabbit pens are helpful training aids but they can also be overused. Dogs soon learn to hunt from stick pile to stick pile and lose any hunting pattern, and they can become sticky in their hunting, especially if there is too much game in the pen. It is better that they learn to hunt to find their quarry rather than falling over it.

Don’t overuse the pen – it is better that the dog learns to hunt to find its quarry

A consistent pattern of behaviour – hunt, flush and sit/stop – is vital