need help training russell x dog

[trinder 127]

Hey guys im new to the hunting scene and havin a few probs , ive got a 13 month old russell x dog which im having a hard time with i only want to use him for rabbiting and ratting , i take him bushing quite often and he does bolt sum but to be honest i think its luck because if i have spotted a rabbit going to cover ill try n get him to follow but he jus goes in bout a metre n cums back out then other times hes in 8ft brambles going nuts n i havent even given him a comand , my next problem is he doest yap or anything [bANNED TEXT] he's on to summit this is really confusing as he goes crazy [bANNED TEXT] in his run n he see's a cat or another dog any advice on this wud be very helpfull, lastly he hasnt had his fist kill yet n i was considering catching a rat in a live catch trap n chucking them in shed is this ok to do i dnt want to put him off if the rat gives him a nip or 2 any suggestions wud be great

[shotgunny 39]

as far as i know its illegal to realease rats to dogs

 

atb

sg

[trinder 127]

Was not aware ov that thanks for that

[shotgunny 39]

no bother pal sory i couldnt be more help with the rest

 

atb

sg

[trinder 127]

No probs cheers mate

[gnipper 6,307]

Does he react badly when he gets stung by nettles? My old dog wasn't too keen on the stingers but was fine in brambles etc.

[trinder 127]

They dont bother him mate he gets stung n he gets cut by brambles quite alot n he's rough coated so he jus steams through its mainly where the runs arent that good n he runs about lookin about for more ov a gap to get in to it

[Joh of Arc 1]

How long have you had him?

 

How's his basic obedience, and other training?

 

He's still young, if he's newish to you, and/or you haven't worked a lot with him on the basics, and building trust, he might just not be ready to hunt with you, or anyone else yet. Or could just be him being a puppy and assing around! I'm more inclined to think he's still puppyish, and will do what you need when he's ready. There's a lot that's still new to him.

 

 

All the best to you both!

[Moll. 1,770]

Some dogs will yap, some wont. If you want to try to encourage him to speak when chasing you need to get him really fired up and excited. Keep him on the lead at places you know there will be rabbits out, let him see them but not get at them, he will probably go berserk on the end of the lead wanting to chase, keep him on till he starts to yap, then release him (use some sort of hunt up command at the same time). The rabbits will have probably bolted by now but he will have seen where they went and it will help him to use his nose to find them again.

 

The places you said he comes back out from, does he know these places...could be they lead straight to a rabbit set and he has learned they are not runnable? Some of my older/wiser terriers would do this, although the youngsters usually go daft trying to dig their way in.

Something else to consider. When you say he is 8ft in and going daft, can you see him and see the quarry, it could be it is not a rabbit which fires him up as much!

 

Make sure you know the land you are hunting, or be prepared to have to dig.

 

Get your level of recall as good as it can get, nothing worse than being stuck for ages waiting when the little darlings have decided they do not want to come out yet. When training for recall i found it best to use a bell on a collar with young terriers. This way i always knew roughly where they were when in thick cover when training, and where they were when they went silent! If a dog does not speak then you wont know if it is actually onto something or just messing about looking, if they are onto something then all the recall in the world will probably go out of the window and all you are doing when calling is reinforcing they dont have to come back so pointless trying, you are better training a hunt up command at these times. The bell will give you an indication of where they are, how quickly they are moving etc. If he comes straight out like you want him to, loads of praise then send him back in somewhere else with the hunt up command you use.

Don't be tempted if at any time you have been waiting for ages to get him back, to put him straight on the lead and take him home, this will reinforce to him that when he comes back, play time stops!! I know it is frustrating and you want to half murder the sods when they do this but terriers being terriers, they just wont give a shit anyway. Instead move on a bit then send him into somewhere else with the hunt up command, just like lurchers they cotton on to the fact that YOU will find the prey for them, and that coming back wont mean the hunting stops.

And don't worry for some reason the bell never seemed to bother the rabbits.

 

If you do not want your dog going to ground, whenever you see him start to dig in at a rabbit set, train him to dig (I just use the word 'digit') but then stop him after a while, especially when he has been at it for a while with no result, and train him to come away when you say......so he only digs when you tell him and stops when you tell him. It is not fool proof as i have found out myself but will help in most situations.

Sorry if this has been a bit long winded, it is sometimes hard to put into type things you just automatically know and do.

Good luck, terriers can by trying little buggars, but they do start to calm down by about 2-3yrs of age

[trinder 127]

His recall is fine no probs there unless he onto summit then thats not a problem and he to big to go to ground being as he cross lakeland

[trinder 127]

Ive trained him just to mark and not to try to go to ground but im allways prep'ed for a dig just incase

[Scallywag 78]

Great advice from Molly - my terrier only really started working in earnest at about 18 months - I thought I'd got a softy but once she got the hang of it there was no holding her back. It is really handy if the give voice when they're on something - mine yaps in a way she never does at any other time and as well as telling me what's going on it alerts the lurchers who are then ready to catch the bolter.

[dogsbollocks58 36]

well said moll can,t fault you mate, the dog sound right up my street

[rotherham 1]

trinder mine was the exact same mate, hit n miss! but these past couple of months hes come on like a good un..think hes matured abit...though he still doesnt yap when chasing. give it some more time mate and you'll pick up on little things they do...like mine gives a really stiff wag when sumerts near or youll hear him speed up more than usual...keep at it causes when they get that first kill tha'll be proud as punch pal!! moll good advice there mate!!

[steveS.Yorks 161]

Not sure about x'ing Russells to Lakelands making them to big to go to ground? but,

 

If i were you mate i would take the dog out with an airgun and shoot a few squirrels for him,encourage him to rag the dead squirrels and hopefully he will take to it,if he gets keen on them he should start looking for them,most dogs bond to squirrels easily,and the sight of one running through tree branches gets them really exicted and most will yap when they see one,hopefully the behaviour will cross over when he gets on a rabbit and he will yap.

 

Ratting wont make him yap,or at least he shouldnt yap he should be killing them on sight,if anything gets a dog yapping quicker than squirrels ive never seen it.