Dog Boxing

No not in a ring with beer and nuts (although...)

Has anybody got a dog who has been taught to letterbox? ( i.e pick the boxes up and snoop around for them, not stamp the books themselves or read a compass or anything like that!) - its just that i shall be getting a dog soon (we thought "CHEWIE" would be rather apt) and was after some advice on the best ways teach him . . . any other helpful hints what be appreciated such as:

1)how not to chase sheep
2)good ways to find the car in the fog
3) and how not to antagonize the other wildlife on the moor

Thanks Everyone!

The only pet I own is a fly, and that only lastest for a day!

Any doggy owners out there that can help here? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

Dizzy

we have 2 dalmations, but neither of them are good at boxing, but they love the moor....... we did have to be careful with the younger dog and the sheep.
________
OG KUSH

okay picture the scene you have taken the dog out to a busy town centre or the beach, and the dog gets off the lead. You have to stand there and shout your dog back in a loud voice "CHEWIE". would you feel embarrassed about this, secondly every kid on the beach will turn up looking for bubble gum!

the Answers to 1 and 3 are in the Dartmoor bye laws dogs must be kept on a lead. Oh and if you think that is a bit harsh, I do believe the farmers have a right to shoot any dog harrassing there sheep

Answer to 3 leave the head and fog lights on then you will be able to find it or make a mental not in what general direction it was ie say you parked at Barn hill and walked to Pew tor generally it would be Northish or you would find the road first and follow it back to your car.

A good way to train your dog to find boxes is to take him to a box and "reward" him. A chocolate drop or summat like that.

To not chase sheep - is the same thing again rewards and scoldings when he does - get him disinterested in the stupid things. Walk him around a field or area of sheep on a lead of course and keep talking to him, make sure he returns when called - and that is every time.

I had a freind who took their dog out on the moor unleashed it ran after some sheep and then it was shot.

As for finding a car in the fog - get a gps and set it when you leave the car.

One effective but harsh way to stop a dog chasing sheep is to put it in a pen with a ram for 5 minutes. Needless to say our's hasn't been in such a pen and so now and again would chase them, hence he always stays on the lead, until I get chance to find a penned ram.

thanks to all for your input

Charlie (decided against chewie, cheers no.70!!) found his first 6 boxes on sourton down last weekend, just need to teach him to put them back now....

What then? Teach him to stamp it? While you get all the credit for Charlies hard work. ( I had a puppy called Charlie who died from hepatitus)

You must make sure he gets the credit and register him for the 100 club for dogs (yes it exisits)

100 club for dogs? Cool, 94 to go then - its when he buys the steaks afterwards i'll be really impressed!!

My labrador gets so excited when i take my little brother to look for boxes! And yes he has lead me to many before, maybe not intentionally. but he does go and sniff them out! But i recon you can train them to find them!

I bumped into a lady who goes by the boxing name of "The Auditor" today - she's found over 31,500 boxes to date (wow). She takes her dog, Harry, with her, who is absolutely fabulous. He was taught at a very young age to find boxes and is absolutely amazing.

Hello Ki Adi!

From my observations over the years, female dogs are slightly better at letterboxing than the chaps. My first dog (Jaki, Jack Russell) was great at it, but my second dog (Tess, CollieXLurcher) was unbelieveably amazing - she'd practically walk straight from one box to another without halting. My beloved Jasper (see pix in gallery) is perfectly capable of letterboxing by himself, but he has an interesting alternative tactic: he watches me until he is absolutely certain that I am on the right route to the box. Then when I am within about four strides of the site he comes barrelling in, triumphantly reveals the box (if he can) and waits for praise in a "Look at me! I found it! Aren't I fantastic?!" kind of way (as depicted in the first pic of him in the gallery). You won't believe how soul-destroying this is on a wet grey day, when you've just spent an hour and a half looking for the damn box, only for your triumph to be snatched away by a tubby Staffie... It doesn't matter where we are in relation to each other - he could be three miles away and fast asleep - he ALWAYS suddenly appears and gets to the box a split-second before I can.

I think the secret of doggy-boxing is that they can smell where humans have been a long time after the event, so they can follow a trail. Also, finding a box is usually a good excuse to have a sweetie/sandwich/etc, so they can smell that too.

As far as chasing sheep goes, Jasper did take some convincing when he was younger but he is extremely well behaved now. All it took were a few very firm "NO!"s (occasionally accompanied by a minor smacked bottom) for him to get the message. He is perfectly trustworthy off the lead, but you have to really sound like you mean it when you tell them off. The slightest hint of misbehaviour and the lead comes out - he soon twigged that the enjoyment of his freedom was directly linked to his reliability among beasties.

Finding the car in the fog - tell the dog that there's a juicy chop stuck in the glove compartment, that ought to do it. Or alternatively, park your car next to some snoozing pensioners - that way your car alarm is GUARANTEED to start going off as soon as you're out of sight. Et voila! Just follow your ears - problem solved.

As for not antagonizing wildlife - just be sure not to steal their fags and beer, and they'll be happy.

Have fun!

Hi all, I don't have a dog but I was thinking (whilst at Trago) on my way home from Dartmoor today about buying some chews for the boxes we we all be hopefully designing for this sites stamp collection.

Are there any particular nibbles that dogs prefer, such as chews ect?

Dizzy

Hi Dizzy,

What a nice thought - putting goodies in a letterbox for our canine chums! The Prayer for Peace box has a bag of peppermints in it and Jasper snaffled one of those, but I think it might have been meant for me... Although these are not particularly Jasper's very favourite, I would recommend Pedigree Jumbone Bites (small 'slices' of their large chewy stick-type product).

They're chewy, easy to pack in a small box and would be more "waterproof" and therefore durable than biscuit or chocolate-based treats. It would be a pity if the box contents became soiled by clumps of waterlogged biscuit or meaty treat (which looks like poo when it gets soaked...). That's my suggestion anyway. Jasper thinks the box should contain beef wellington, with the visitors' book made out of ham slices. The rubber stamp could be made out of cheese, he suggests. He hopes this is helpful.

Cheers Roo, I will go out a buy some Pedigree Jumbone Bites when I am due to place some more boxes on the moors, should be around Spring time. Got a few more designs made up of Dizzy with my stamp making kit. I will let you all know.

Cheers

Dizzy

Jasper will be more than happy to help with Quality Control Monitoring of box treats. He is very discerning...

Would foxes not sniff out the boxes which contained the doggie treats and destroy the contents.

Not yet found a fox who can open a ammo box or pill pot

Seriously though - if the lid is put on the box securely then the "odours" dont escape and the area will smell of people, so the country fox is more likely to stay away

Nik's right. A fox will VERY soon twig that the box is too secure for him and move onto easier game. He'll just come back the next evening with an acetylene torch and wire-cutters, that's all...

Sorry I was forgetting that all the stamps are in ammo boxes!! Have you been up on the moor lately, it's plastic paradise.

I do know that plastic rules supreme these days. But a fox worthy of the name will know that an acetylene torch will get through that plastic as if it were butter - they're busy folk, no time for hanging around...

He would also realise that the naked flame will destroy the Scooby Snax and Bob Martins!

Heh heh... Or roast them nicely for his delicate palette, a la Gordon Ramsay. Dartmoor foxes probably have discerning tastes, not like the urban lads that we used to get in the garden when I was a little girl in London. A flame-grilled markie would probably be worth the effort!