Best dogs for rabbiting

[runforyourlife 361]

best dogs ive saw were colli types ve got especaily the bitches fast fearless and good fetchers and got nose to boot but can be controled had a5 month pup out last nite she caut afew and is desperate al ready

 

 

5mths old! Thats crazy, We are not talking red or horn now whin, so why does a rabbiting dog have to be fearless....

 

They need to first of all give you a good mark(one you have 100% faith in) Then be still while the nets are laid... Also be silent, Then work the warren on tip toes, knowing where the next rabbit will bolt. Not stick its head into the nets, and most importantly nail any bolters that have missed a net, then get on with the job at hand...and be good with the ferrets...

 

If you talking rabbiting dogs, as running them, well every lurcher i have owned has caught rabbits. Ok there are much better dogs at it than others but they usually arent allrounders. Meaning, reds, big ears and horners.....

[weasle 1,119]

I'm trying to work out what the best dogs for rabbiting are. Searching on the internet it always says the beagle is the number one choice but I'm not convinced purely because I don't think they'd be fast enough. I basically want 2 dogs that would be good for driving rabbits from brambles/undergrowth and quick enough to catch them in the open when my ferrets bolt them from the warren.

 

Having done loads of research I was thinking along the lines of a bedlington terrier combined with either an irish terrer or a lakeland terrier....or possibly a bedlington and a whippet lurcher. Does anyone have any advice?

As some ones already said, if you want two dogs you might as well get one to complement the other,Spaniel xs take some beating when it comes to working cover,They put there head down and plough through it,The rabbits dont get time to think they just have to bolt, as for lurcher you can take your pick,but something very quick of the mark helps,when bushing.

[doga 50]

best dogs ive saw were colli types ve got especaily the bitches fast fearless and good fetchers and got nose to boot but can be controled had a5 month pup out last nite she caut afew and is desperate al ready

 

 

5mths old! Thats crazy, We are not talking red or horn now whin, so why does a rabbiting dog have to be fearless....

 

They need to first of all give you a good mark(one you have 100% faith in) Then be still while the nets are laid... Also be silent, Then work the warren on tip toes, knowing where the next rabbit will bolt. Not stick its head into the nets, and most importantly nail any bolters that have missed a net, then get on with the job at hand...and be good with the ferrets...

 

If you talking rabbiting dogs, as running them, well every lurcher i have owned has caught rabbits. Ok there are much better dogs at it than others but they usually arent allrounders. Meaning, reds, big ears and horners.....

hasnt the guy got to get a dog before its learnt all that or are you saying youve got that ready made dog waiting to go.his original thread sounded to me like he was after advice as to what type of dog would be good to suite his needs,not an argument and whos got the best dogs.my idea for what it sounds like you want would be whippet based pure, or lurcher types great in small short spots for quick snap ups.if your looking for more ie something to take lamping as well and not just for rabbits then bigger is better,youde have to decide what breed suits best,bull,saluki,collie deerhound,beddy or a mix to much choice but thats yours to decide.atb.

[Sorley x 32]

If you are looking for a dog that is going to be great in and around brambles then forget anything with too much whippet in it unless you are a vet and intend to have a few dogs.

 

You need a dog with a great coat. You need a dog with some drive and noe. For ferreting you want a dog with sme brains that camn learn everytime it steps out and for ferreting you have to have a dog with concentration. Lots of dogs will leave the ferrt alone and catch bolted rabbits. Not many dogs will stand over a burrow in a biting northerly waiting for a bolt when things are pretty quiet. Ferreting dogs need lots of experience to become really good but if you have one that gets bored then you'll never get beyond passable.

 

Everyone has a whole load of opinions, thats life. The basic physics of the job mean you want to look for a dog somewehere between 21 and 24 inches to the shoulder. I've seen good rabbiting dogs of all crosses, but the best ferreting dogs have all had a heavy dose of collie in them. That said BEWARE of half crosses unless you know the exact breeding of the collie. Collies vary a fecking lot and there are some goddam useless ugly half crosses out there.

 

More importantly get a dog you are going to get on with, collie types aren't everyones cup of tea.

[whin 463]

run for your life she is 7 months old not 5 months and ye i like them fealress , like then to go in nettles brambles jump a fence lie any were the rabbits going to bolt i dont have easy rabbit land nowadays so a dogs got to want it , had your man out ldr with my old bitch and a few other lads , no matter what qaurry is like a dog that goes in and catches and works were ever , not got the luxury of good land as much for rabitss so the dog has to want it , rabbitsare not a hard qury to kill but they do get into cover and have ahabit of bolting in awkward places at times so you need adog thta wants to get them

[whin 463]

nothing worse than working a hedgrow and you cant net it well ,but you have a good dog who will lie in the runs coverd in whatever and catch whatever , this sit and wait carry on i like my dog to position her self and me to correct her if needed ,but if you are out alot they soonn learn were to be for abolt

[theferreter 311]

id say a collie x greyhound best dog for ferreting

[buggsbunny 4]

There will be plenty of info on this site for you mate... from people who hunt the rabbit for food/sport and pest control. I fall into all of the above.

Id say that to get the best results, you should go for a bushing dog, and a lurcher, instead of trying for a dog that will do both. As the busher is hunting the cover, the lurcher will be waiting for the quarry to break out.

The dogs I use for bushing or hunting the rabbits in cover are spaniels and spaniel crosses. beagle/spaniel/terrier are an excellent cross for hunting the cover, and will likely speak on a hot scent, so alerting the lurchers or waiting guns.

I dont use pure terriers, even though they will do the job, as firstly, they could go to ground(not good if badger setts where you hunt), and secondly, it would likely ruin them working bunnies, as I need them to work fox regularly for the shoots in my area.

The types and crosses of lurcher that make good rabbiters is huge, so id say the best bet would be to select a pup to bring on, that is bred out of dogs doing the job you require. As a first lurcher for rabbiting, you wont go far wrong with a well bred collie based lurcher. Hope this helps.

All the best

 

DnN

thats good sound adice fair play but u wont go far wrong with a little beddy whippet personaly that would be my first choice as a lurcher an for something to work the cover u wont go far wrong with a little springer!! as long as its well trained!!!

[poacher3161 1,766]

As been said you carnt go wrong with a spaniel or cross for bashing cover.The lurcher on the other hand could be any cross as long as sharp enough and not to big.I grew up around whippets that were hunted with mongrels and terriers on pit slagheaps and other undesirable places and have never come across much better for catching flushed rabbits and amazingly never sufferd any major injurys.atb dell

[luke 2]

As been said you carnt go wrong with a spaniel or cross for bashing cover.The lurcher on the other hand could be any cross as long as sharp enough and not to big.I grew up around whippets that were hunted with mongrels and terriers on pit slagheaps and other undesirable places and have never come across much better for catching flushed rabbits and amazingly never sufferd any major injurys.atb dell

spot on mate whippets are the sharpest tools in the box when

it comes to agility and guts my lurchers suffer way more injuries

in tight spots than the whippets do. not saying whippets havent got

there draw backs but for all out rabbiting they take a bit of

beating

[runforyourlife 361]

whin, on 13 November 2009 - 07:52 AM, said:

 

best dogs ive saw were colli types ve got especaily the bitches fast fearless and good fetchers and got nose to boot but can be controled had a5 month pup out last nite she caut afew and is desperate al ready

 

 

sorry whin but i am sure it says 5 mth old.....

 

And by fearless i thought you meant taking prey..... most dogs will go into brambles and nettles if there is something to move......

 

And as for hard ground, lol, you want to come to the north of england........ Dogs are found out here...

 

 

And to the guy that says you dont want a dog with to much whippet in it because you want a thick coat, well what do you think a beddywhippet is, these have some of the thickest coats you can get on a lurcher......