Hard Mouth On A Dog.

[NEWKID 27,211]

This pup of mine has been ferreting on short morning sessions, quick walk (kept on the lead) with the lamp a few times, she's seen a few rabbits now and held them in her mouth..

[Tiercel 6,986]

 

 

 

nice them mate,we all know who to pm for some cheap nice quality coloureds next year all the best with them .

Thats what hard mouthed means surely? Most dogs will lightly bruise some rabbits at some time, as has been said it's unavoidable picking them up at speed. A dog that rags excessively once caught is hard mouthed. So what is the definition of 'hard mouthed?'

The original topic stated live to hand !! I assume the op means ....Anything not brought back alive is due to the dog been hard mouthed ..hard mouthed to me means that when a dog strikes at the rabbit he does so snapping closed his mouth as hard as he can to secure the capture of the rabbit...a dog catching a rabbit then proceeding to crunch the rabbit from head to toe once caught securely makes it ....a pain in the are (dick head dog) lol...but nothing to do with lack of trained no or..poorly trained Lurcher...or like some people are stating " the reason Lurcher men are held in low asteam ......some dogs are hard mouthed and no amount of training will change that..unless you read some the old bullshit filled books were they wrapp barbewire in rabbit skins

 

I actually agree with you post above some dogs are crunchers. But, some (not all by any means) are made that way by the lack of training that the dog received at an early age. How many times do you see posts on here my six / nine, month old pup caught it's first rabbit, then people jump on them telling them the dog is just too young?

 

If you get the basics into a pup, and it is quite a list could make 20 things, gates, water, fences, retrieving to be honest the list is a long one. Get those into place before you let the dog chase and usually (not always by any means) hard mouth does not come into it. To my mind the most important is retrieving, as Bird stated earlier a dog that just catches it's rabbit and instantly starts it's return is less likely to be hard mouthed on the rabbits.

 

I will admit it is not an exact science, but you can with a little thought and quite a bit of work reduce the chances of the dog being hard mouthed. Years ago a mate had a pure show whippet, that was mustard on the lamp, she was a small bitch and often had trouble lifting large winter rabbits. those that she did catch were invariably crunched, and she would retrieve to hand. Yet in the Autumn the younger smaller rabbits would all be alive. So size and the stick a rabbit gives a dog can and in my mind does play a part in a dog being hard mouthed.

 

TC

 

TC

 

 

Very much what I find with my little bitch TC, she's mustard around the holes nice and sharp and runs the lamp pretty well, but she is small, a lot of our land is big so it's long slips and hard work, after all that she don't always come all the way in with the rabbit, but she don't crunch them either 9 times out of 10 if I go to her the rabbits still alive.

At times I'd rather she was a bit harder mouthed and carried the whole way back, but most of the time I just enjoy her for what she is.

 

I am not saying it is, but it could be that she just cannot manage a live adult rabbit for a long retrieve, so just waits for you to come and fetch it. In my OP I stated what I regarded as my standard. That does not mean that I expect everyone else to think the same way as I do. We all want different things from our dogs, we all have different standards. my dogs did not have to take all game as long as they caught rabbits I was happy. Yet to others that would not be good enough, not saying they are wrong just different standards.

 

 

TC

[nothernlite 18,089]

What height your we bitch new kid?

[Ideation 8,216]

Nice to see a little bit of sense coming into this topic, after some of the plainly daft (or rather over the top statements) made earlier!

 

If my dog retrieves them to me, i'm happy to be honest. Alive, dead, bruised or un bruised. . . . . .

 

I never actually find out if they are bruised, as I never skin them, and I don't really care if the stomach is popped. . . . . . I get paid the same either way!

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

 

Gaz just out curiosity, you travel as bit, out some effort into dogs, what you gonna do when you travel for big bags when you got xx amount of bunnies that are full a burst stomachs and shit bags? Odd one is fair enough for dog and stinker food but what happens when hard mouthed dogs start getting big bags?

...soft mouthed trait will start rising to the top of the 20 before it I reckon...lol

Like I said earlier both of mine are soft mouthed so it won't be a problem.

 

But it wouldn't bother me if they were hard mouthed.

 

I'm out to work dogs, not put food on the table.

 

I had big bags with my old red bitch and she was a bad cruncher. Never bothered me at all. They made good ferret food so weren't wasted.

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Nice to see a little bit of sense coming into this topic, after some of the plainly daft (or rather over the top statements) made earlier!

 

If my dog retrieves them to me, i'm happy to be honest. Alive, dead, bruised or un bruised. . . . . .

 

I never actually find out if they are bruised, as I never skin them, and I don't really care if the stomach is popped. . . . . . I get paid the same either way!

You sell them to a snake man?

[NEWKID 27,211]

Around 19" NL.. She lightweight as well.

 

I agree TC, and I believe you're right with this dog, it's a fault but a fault I live with, she's a real trier and has caught hundreds of rabbits on difficult land so like I say I'll live with it..

The pup is doing well worth th her basic training including retrieve, so hopefully it'll come together with her.

It's funny the bull x I mentioned earlier in the thread had no retrieve training at all, and brings every rabbit alive to hand every time, just natural..

 

Had a collie x as a kid, which would retrieve everything but a rabbit, and a lot of effort went into that dog, later had a whippet which just naturally done everything, Spent a lot of time with that dog and I think the bond was key..

[Ideation 8,216]

 

Nice to see a little bit of sense coming into this topic, after some of the plainly daft (or rather over the top statements) made earlier!

 

If my dog retrieves them to me, i'm happy to be honest. Alive, dead, bruised or un bruised. . . . . .

 

I never actually find out if they are bruised, as I never skin them, and I don't really care if the stomach is popped. . . . . . I get paid the same either way!

You sell them to a snake man?

 

 

Catfood company. . . . . . get £1.50 rabbit, skins on, guts in, frozen. . . . . . whatever state they are in, as long as not shot. Seems a good deal to me, and they will take as many as I can get, usually a minimum of 100, but sometimes will take the odd 50 if passing. Will also pick up from anywhere in the country with a big freezer lorry. Very handy folk and they are always ringing me for more! Also take hares.

[tb25 4,627]

Spot on that is

[Guest Navek]

 

 

Nice to see a little bit of sense coming into this topic, after some of the plainly daft (or rather over the top statements) made earlier!

 

If my dog retrieves them to me, i'm happy to be honest. Alive, dead, bruised or un bruised. . . . . .

 

I never actually find out if they are bruised, as I never skin them, and I don't really care if the stomach is popped. . . . . . I get paid the same either way!

 

You sell them to a snake man?

Catfood company. . . . . . get £1.50 rabbit, skins on, guts in, frozen. . . . . . whatever state they are in, as long as not shot. Seems a good deal to me, and they will take as many as I can get, usually a minimum of 100, but sometimes will take the odd 50 if passing. Will also pick up from anywhere in the country with a big freezer lorry. Very handy folk and they are always ringing me for more! Also take hares.

Bob on that

[Guest Navek]

Every bugger will be on it now jai lol

[Ideation 8,216]

what's number jai??

 

Just about to eat my tea! Will pm you it in a bit matey!

[Ideation 8,216]

Every bugger will be on it now jai lol

 

 

Not if I don't give them the number

 

What I should do, is become a rabbit dealer. I'll give you £1 a head

[Guest Navek]

Every bugger will be on it now jai lol

 

 

Not if I don't give them the number

 

What I should do, is become a rabbit dealer. I'll give you £1 a head [/quote

 

 

Yea you should.

[nothernlite 18,089]

Same height as my we bitch new kid she will retrieve from distance if dead