Lurcher Diving For Muskrat

[Minkenry 1,044]

I have been wanting to get some footage of my lurcher diving into the water after submerged muskrats, and this is the first footage I have gotten up to this point. 

 

 

[Councilestatekid 1,832]

I've never heard of people working mink before.like they say you learn something new everyday!!!

[foresterj 1,096]

Enjoyed that thanks

[Minkenry 1,044]

6 hours ago, Councilestatekid said:

I've never heard of people working mink before.like they say you learn something new everyday!!!

Yeah, I've been working with mink for 15 years now. There are very few people who do it, since they are quite the aggressive little suckers. But they are a lot of fun if you know how to handle them! 

[Councilestatekid 1,832]

Are they easy to train and do you breed them guessing line bred over years mite make them bit less wild

[Minkenry 1,044]

1 minute ago, Councilestatekid said:

Are they easy to train and do you breed them guessing line bred over years mite make them bit less wild

They are ridiculously complicated to train. If you have any falconry experience, they are like a super intelligent accipiter. Very high strung, very aggressive, and smart enough that they are often trying to train you. They really aren't that bad once you get the hang of working with them, but most people struggle in their initial attempt to figure them out. If you try to treat them like a ferret you are highly unlikely to have success. I haven't bred mink until now. I just barley started breeding a line of hunting mink this year, so I have a long ways to go before they are noticeably different from your run of the mill mink. 

[Councilestatekid 1,832]

I've had many a ferret and all I've ever done is handle them well introduced them to the dogs and then left the rest up to their instincts so I can belive there very different good to see 1 working.

[Minkenry 1,044]

1 hour ago, Councilestatekid said:

I've had many a ferret and all I've ever done is handle them well introduced them to the dogs and then left the rest up to their instincts so I can belive there very different good to see 1 working.

Yeah, because they are a wild predator, hunting with one is actually a lot like falconry, and not much like hunting with domestic animals like dogs or ferrets. Mink are surprisingly versatile, here are some videos showing the various game I have pursued with my mink.........

Trout- 

 

 

Crayfish- 

 

 

Bullfrogs- 

 

 

 

Muskrats- 

 

squirrels- 

 

 

More traditional ratting- 

 

 

lamping kangaroo rats- 

 

 

Chipmunks- 

 

 

And I don't have any decent videos of rabbiting with a mink, sorry. 

 

 

 

[Councilestatekid 1,832]

7 hours ago, Minkenry said:

Yeah, because they are a wild predator, hunting with one is actually a lot like falconry, and not much like hunting with domestic animals like dogs or ferrets. Mink are surprisingly versatile, here are some videos showing the various game I have pursued with my mink.........

Trout- 

 

 

Crayfish- 

 

 

Bullfrogs- 

 

 

 

Muskrats- 

 

squirrels- 

 

 

More traditional ratting- 

 

 

lamping kangaroo rats- 

 

 

Chipmunks- 

 

 

And I don't have any8  decent videos of rabbiting with a mink, sorry. 

 

 

 

Good  to watch them pal cheers

[bird 9,868]

great vids  again, that bitch lurcher , is  top notch at her  job  brill , i watch to squirrel vid again , the mink got to have alot of bites of that tree rat lol, them things no how to use there teeth to bite animal or man, both my lurchers have had bitten by the bloody things , cuts all over the nose

[Minkenry 1,044]

11 hours ago, bird said:

great vids  again, that bitch lurcher , is  top notch at her  job  brill , i watch to squirrel vid again , the mink got to have alot of bites of that tree rat lol, them things no how to use there teeth to bite animal or man, both my lurchers have had bitten by the bloody things , cuts all over the nose

Thanks, yeah she's a good dog, and really does a good job. I need to get some footage of her diving in on a muskrat in deeper water. This shallow water was pretty simple for her. What's really cool to watch is when the water is deep enough she has to almost submerge herself to catch the muskrat, then has to swim back with it in her mouth. THOSE are the really cool catches!

I don't know how they do it, but mink are exceptionally good at getting in and killing biting prey like squirrels, muskrats, and brown rats without any noticeable injury. Sure they get hurt every now and then, but it's not very often at all, which is amazing as it looks like they should get some pretty bad bites every time! My dog comes home with holes in her lips FAR more often than the mink do believe it or not!