I want to train my small-breed dogs to hunt rats and such... Can I use feeder mice to train them?

I don't care to hear the ethics on the matter; just if this would be a useful tactic for train. Also, I was wondering if there were any other methods people use to begin training hunting small hunting dogs.I want to train my small-breed dogs to hunt rats and such... Can I use feeder mice to train them?
Well for one if you want a dog to hunt rats or mice then get a rat terrier ... but remember if your dog eats or kills a rodent that has been infecting with pesticides like rat poison etc then you run the chance of having a very sick or dead dog ... I know this from experience .. I had a tiny chihuahua that killed a mouse and she died 17 hours later a horrible death because she ingested a very tiny amount of poison from the tiny mouse she killed .. I took her to the vet and every thing .. she bled internally had bruises on her whole body from the blood thinner in the poison ... so if you get a dog to do this for you do not put out any poisons .. and by the way the poison came from a neighbors house ... . not mine and she was never trained to hunt it is by nature in small breeds to to that ... good luckI want to train my small-breed dogs to hunt rats and such... Can I use feeder mice to train them?
The breeder of the JRT I had years ago used glue traps to catch mice for his dogs while training. Most of his were bred solely as ratters who worked around horse barns and such. The day we brought her home, ( 12 weeks old ) she caught 10 mice in about 15 minutes never eating one. We were told to tell her to ';get the rat'; and then ';drop it';. She was the smartest dog I'd ever had. Worked every time. She even tracked big grass hoppers in the yard. : )
Have you spoken to your breeder about the drive they breed into their dogs? Some Terriers, even though they look pretty, no longer have the drive they should.





I've never tought a dog to hunt rodents, but if you're looking to train your dog to perform this I would look into a breed club or some kind of mousing group. And also consult your breeder.
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okay, well...as I'm not a fan of hunting really I'm slightly disturbed...





However, I will answer your question.


Firstly, I'd have your dog complete obedience training. Come, sit, stay, take, drop, etc.





Now...I suppose you could use feeder mice and rats.... you could even breed them yourself like snake owners do... but I can't imagine ho you'd go about having them hunt them...





I also have owned plenty of small rodents, and when they bite, things bleed. Try having a dog get bit by a rat on the nose. That creates total hatred for rats forever, though that may be what you're after...





I'm still disturbed...lol
You should be able to use the litter/bedding from a rats cage, you do not need to have a real rat. You could probably learn more from the kind of training required for Earth Trials, here is a site:





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Wo鈥?/a>








Please keep in mind that real rats can be very aggressive and might hurt your dog.
Unless you have pet rats that you want them to hunt, then putting them in a room with feeder mice is not going to train them. Some dogs just don't have the prey drive required to be effective hunters. If you believe they do, then why not contact the breeder(s) and get some guidance there
get a jack russell.

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