terrier will only work rats!

[trinder 127]

Ive got a 2year old cross bred terrier which i got as a pet , when he was around 6 months i go my russell and moved them both out to a run in garden , my russell came from working stock and basicly self entered to cover work at about 6 or 7 months old while the cross bred showed no interest at all , i tried everything i could to encourage him but nothing .

Up untill a few weeks ago he was left at home while my russell and lurcher were being worked , then one afternoon as i was walkin all 3 my russell marked a rat hole and the cross bred was like something possessed and dug for a good ten min and nailed the rat .

Since that happend ive tried getting him working cover with my russell but still nothing !

I got a new permission yesterday to do ratting on so i took him along and as soon as my russell marked a wood pile the cross bred went nuts and was working it hard , it was the same in the feed shed he was going mad trying to get to them .

This dog has no focus usually even though he is clever as fk , im glad he is doing a bit but i just cant get over the fact that he wont do fk all else besides ratting .

Has anyone else ever had this problem ?

Cheers Trinder

[stripes 401]

Nothing wrong with a good ratter trinder,, he might never work anything else. Did you try him at a dig at a stopend.

[buster red 66]

if u got him as a pet originaly. and he has started to do rats for ya id say thats a bonus.if u enjoy ratting with him and hes good at it.id keep him.and if he is just starting to hunt rats , he might start showing an intrest in other stuff soon. and if not. just use him for what he is good at. atb.

[trinder 127]

Id never get rid of him as my daughter loves him and he was a pet to start with , he is just a strange dog he knows what rabbits are but doesnt seem to be interested in hunting up and finding , he will mark holes to a certain degree so i think his prey drive isnt high enough to make him search for prey and rats are not exactly hard to find .

I think ill use him alot on rats now since he loves it so much and try to turn him into a quality ratter lol

Cheers Trinder

Edited April 24, 2012 by trinder

[trinder 127]

Ive tried everything mate he will have a crack if something is put infront of him . I dont mind to be honest mate cause when my russell and lurcher are resting from hard work or healing cuts and knocks i got a dog for ratting to keep me going . I just find it strange that the dog can be so driven to get a rat from its hole or hiding spot and the next day he wont even look at a bramble bush to flush rabbit or the odd charlie