Stop Terrier Marking Rabbits

[SHAM1979 2]

Im hoping someone can advise me on how to stop my terrier bitch from marking rabbits. I hunt the bitch with a pack of teagles and she has recently started to mark rabbit burrows. She wont come away from them. U need to locate her and pull her out. We only hunt foxes so as u can see this is a mjor problem. There is also the fear that the teagles will pick up the habit. This bitch is a very good bitch underground and would hate to have to get rid of her. She is a 4 year old border patterdale bitch. Any advice is welcome.

[alan626 305]

keep her on a lead

[SHAM1979 2]

A lot of our game is found by the terrier, so its a big help to have them hunting with the pack.

[hedz31 1,308]

A lot of our game is found by the terrier, so its a big help to have them hunting with the pack.

I would get rid of the pack then on a serious note though mate ye are gonna have a job stopping ye terrier marking if it is already doing it, she is going to come across bunny's if she is hunting cover,i would keep her on a lead for a while or keep her away from them i wish you well trying to stop her if she has already got a taste for it

[SHAM1979 2]

Thanks Hedz.

The pack flush a lot of foxes from the cover, dats there job, no complaints there.

I believe i will have a big problem aswell trying to get the terrier out of the habit, but hoping someone might had a similar problem that might have solved it. No harm in trying. If this dont work, then i think she will have to go to someone who will keep her on the lead.

[little jack 14]

never found a way to stop my terrier hunting hedghogs dureing the summer months..cant let him off the lead in most places, he can track them to a couple of streets away. he gets cut to bits but he loves it

[skycat 6,172]

It seems strange that the bitch has only just started doing this if she has been working cover all her life. My terriers work cover all the time, but they never stop and mark a rabbit hole or try to get to ground on one. The only time they go to ground is on fox.

 

Did someone inadvertently encourage her, by digging when she marked, thinking a cub or small vixen had dropped to ground in a rabbit warren? Or maybe another dog tried to get to ground on a rabbit when she was present, which would have encouraged her to do the same? Or did she actually manage to pull a rabbit out of a shallow hole after she'd run it to ground?

 

The only thing I can suggest is to set her up: take her to somewhere you know only holds rabbits, let her mark, then tell her off. I do this with young pups: they get dragged out of the hole they're trying to get into, given a little shake (not a damaging bone rattling shake but enough to let them know it is the wrong thing to do), told 'No!" and sent on their way. As they grow bigger and older they soon learn that there's no point in trying to get at a rabbit they can't reach when there's plenty more game to be found on top.

[Francentey-FTB 29]

I believe the habit is there now mate, and you will really struggle to stop it, if you want to work to "Charlie" only - I would consider parting company with her to someone who will make great use of her, and buy in a tried and tested fox dog...

 

Its horses for courses isn't it, and I also find it odd how she has only just started giving solid marks on rabbit, like skycat i run a pack which hunt rabbit above, thats our main sport but not one will stop and mark when a rabbit has sank, they will only mark or drop for something which has teeth...

 

hope the issue is sorted and skycats advise is spot on!

[jawn 449]

This isn't as hard as some would have you believe. Get out and shoot a rabbit. Firmly grasp the rabbit by the back legs. While stepping on your dogs lead beat the snot out of the dog with the rabbit until it seperates from the legs or the dog will no longer have anything to do with it.

 

Then hunt the dog. You may every so often have to repeat the process to insure it's effectivenes... or you could just buy an e-collar.lol

 

There is also a third option

 

By wohleb12 at 2011-12-09

[SHAM1979 2]

The bitch was bought 8 months ago, the place i got her from has very little or no rabbits. It seems that this is a new thing to her. She has only starting doing it in the last few weeks. She is a great bitch and doing everything the seller told me. I will just have to see if i can persuade her not to mark them up.

 

Thanks for all your replies

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

 

There is also a third option

 

 

Whats the 3rd option?

[jawn 449]

Ohh sorry! lol I thought the picture gave it away.....hunt the rabbits!

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

Ohh sorry! lol I thought the picture gave it away.....hunt the rabbits!

Oh ok. Pic probs should have, but I am feeling unusually stupid this morning...

[skycat 6,172]

That makes sense: if she isn't used to running rabbits she won't know any different. Mine are only so trustworthy because they grow up knowing that there's always another rabbit round the next corner, or in the next bramble, so no big deal if they lose one to ground. You might just have to get a bit tough with her until she learns that is not what you want, but of course how well she learns also depends on your relationship with her. If she's never been taught to respond well to human control you may have a bit of a problem. A lot of people don't do a lot of training with terriers at all: just take them out and let them get on with things. If you start getting rough with a dog you've not had for long and have no solid relationship based on trust, you could lose any control, or make her scared of you, or simply make her think that all hunting is the wrong thing to do. A lot depends on her temperament and how she's been trained/treated in the past.

 

First thing to do is train a good 'Leave it' response, followed by a good recall. Get both of those ingrained in her and you should be able to call her away from a rabbit hole, while encouraging her into the next bit of cover to look for more game. Might take some doing, and a lot depends also on your skill as a trainer. Get the trust and bond first, then work on the 'leave it' command.

[jawn 449]

No worries friend. When stupid shows up in Texas it stays a while so I am no stranger to those mornings.

 

When it comes to the dogs I hunt..I never discourage them from finding them while they are young. They are too young to handle anything else and I believe it makes them better locators later on. Usually as they get some age on them and get bit a few times they start ignoring the rabbits in favor of a fight. Not all of them.. but most of them. If they they get to an age where I will hunt them on a target species I will break them off all unwanted game with an e-collar. Works like a charm. Just my experience with the dogs I feed.