New To Ratting.

[ferret20 1]

well lads, im looking to start up ratting. ive never hunted rats before. a family member of mine has a massive farm and as you can imagine it comes with a lot of rats. ive a few questions about ratting with terriers. if anyone could answer them it would be great help and i would appericiate it.

 

do the dogs have to be checked over by a vet after a ratting trip.?

is a rats bite hermfull to terriers?

what would the best breed be for ratting?

equipment needed?

 

and any other tips that would help locating the rats would help

thanks

Edited October 9, 2016 by ferret20

[eastcoast 4,199]

ferret 20, no one has acknowledged you so I will take a shot. Maybe you would be better off in the Bushing Dogs section or maybe it's the question about dogs needing to be checked by a vet after a ratting trip that has caused a reluctance in people to respond ? There are already many threads on THL regarding ratting if you search. Anyway :

 

Before any dog comes into contact with rats it should have been inoculated to help protect them from Weils disease .This will be part of the normal vaccine shots that every pups gets when you take them to the vet. A life threatening disease to dogs and you and your family. Do some research.

 

Rats do bite. If you hunt them with a terrier they will get bitten. A dog will sometimes refuse to hunt rats after it has been bitten. Respect that and accept that it's not cut out to be ratting dog. It's rare for a terrier to quit as long as you don't expect a pup ( up to a year but they are all different ) to do too much too soon. After every hunt the dogs should be inspected and any bites cleaned and treated if necessary. This is where my advice must stop regarding bites. I am writing from my experiences in the past. Maybe a vet should check them over after a hunt ? I'm no expert on the present laws but I know that the rspca prosecuted someone recently for something very similar. Do some research.

 

Almost any type or breed of dog will catch rats. The terrier breeds are best though with the possible exception of whippet sized whippets. Almost any type of terrier will catch rats. How many you want to catch and how often you will be hunting though ? Some terrier types are more suited than others. Do some research.

 

If you are wanting to get into hunting rats with terriers you are already off to a good start thought. You already have a place to hunt them !

[Haiddheliwr 1,911]

Well done eastcoast for answering the lad! I can't understand where the "ratters" are! Maybe too busy well ratting!!

[Mary 352]

Maybe put out an invite to some lads that do it and see first hand what's going on, learn about equipment, dogs, first aid on dogs, and general practices really, you may realise it's not for you and it will save you from rehoming dogs or ferrets. Best of luck either way, I've yet to meet any dog man that didn't enjoy watching their dog hunt and kill a rat, no great achievement but brilliant to watch.

[leethedog 3,071]

A warm detol bath is what mine get after ratting never had a problem just get out and have a poke about once your dog has all its adult teeth

[ferret20 1]

thanks for the replys lads