Newbie Questions

[lurchergrrl 1,441]

I'm totally green at this hunting thing, and I could use some basic tips on getting into this with my lurcher. So just a few questions to start with:

 

1. Is there a way to train him to kill his rabbits cleanly and quickly, instead of him skipping excitedly over to me carrying the bunny by it's back?

2. What am I supposed to do when I get to where I'm goin? I went out with him yesterday and found myself standing around at the edge of a field while he lept through the long in that lurcheresque style... bunnies? [bANNED TEXT] bunnies? I felt like a plonker standing there doing nowt.

3. What's the best (and econimical) type of slip lead and where's a girl to get her gear :kiss:

 

J x

[JollyPoacher 3]

1. Teach him to shake it, best to carry a priest as well - make your own or pick one up in a fishing shop.

2. Work as a ateam or just enjoy the show???

3. Binder twine off a hay bale - cheap as chips.

[lurchergrrl 1,441]

For every answer ... more questions! What is a priest (I'm assuming I don't need to abduct one from the local RC church)? How do I teach him to shake the bunny by the neck?

 

How do I do the team thing with him?

 

I don't mean to be a pain asking all these questions but the truth is I've got three very young kids so my reading time is limited - I know the info is out there if I can spend the time looking for it but whenever I sit down at the puter the kids climb me like monkeys Makes concentrating a bit difficult ...!

[Guest FOXDOG]

For every answer ... more questions! What is a priest (I'm assuming I don't need to abduct one from the local RC church)? How do I teach him to shake the bunny by the neck?

 

How do I do the team thing with him?

 

I don't mean to be a pain asking all these questions but the truth is I've got three very young kids so my reading time is limited - I know the info is out there if I can spend the time looking for it but whenever I sit down at the puter the kids climb me like monkeys Makes concentrating a bit difficult ...!

Why would you want your dog to shake rabbits!! It will only ruin them, if you have a dog with a soft mouth then you should kill the rabbits with your hands. If you dont like the thought of that well then you shouldnt be hunting in the first place!!

[lurchergrrl 1,441]

Erm, it's just my ignorance on the entire subject really - how do they kill them when the do it properly? So far he just brings them to me and drops them, but this is after he's done his lap of honour with them in his mouth, hanging by the back. Someone told me that ruins them? Don't know mate, just have to ask! I'm not at all bothered about killing them myself but I do want to do it in the most humane way. Believe me, I've got three kids and used to be a vet nurse, there's very few things in this world that can make me squeemish

[Guest FOXDOG]

Erm, it's just my ignorance on the entire subject really - how do they kill them when the do it properly? So far he just brings them to me and drops them, but this is after he's done his lap of honour with them in his mouth, hanging by the back. Someone told me that ruins them? Don't know mate, just have to ask! I'm not at all bothered about killing them myself but I do want to do it in the most humane way. Believe me, I've got three kids and used to be a vet nurse, there's very few things in this world that can make me squeemish

Well then when you get the rabbit with one hand grab its back legs and with the other grab it around the kneck and just under the chin, then pull as hard as you can, this is the quickest way to kill them

[crinky 0]

i have always killed them by hanging them upside down with one hand, gently pull there head forward with the other to expose the neck then karate chop the neck.

[Scallywag 78]

i have always killed them by hanging them upside down with one hand, gently pull there head forward with the other to expose the neck then karate chop the neck.

 

crinky have you got three hands mate

 

Lg a priest is a cosh you use to bash things on the head to kill them. Necking them's easier and doesn't require equipment which, if you're anything like me, especially if you've got children to distract you, you'll forget anyway!

[juckler123 707]

Sounds like the dogs doing his job just relax and enjoy the spectacle of him hunting and catching give him loads of praise every time he retrieves his catch to you.

Dispatching will come easy for you to do with practice all you need to do is get the dog out.

You can get involved controlling him as you round the field corner and sending him on to hunt or just encourage him at something youve seen and he hasnt he will soon learn to trust your judgement as much as his own.

As for a slip lead if you really need one a length of nylon band or bailer or even your lead just threaded under the collar will work hold both ends and when the dog is sighted let go of one end easy.

Edited July 21, 2007 by juckler123

[Guest SJM]

Why dont you just get out there with your dog and figure it out as you go along? Experience is the best teacher in the world, for both you and your dog. You could ask questions on here and get a different answer from each and every person, why not find your own answers.

Edited July 21, 2007 by SJM

[Kane 2]

Why dont you just get out there with your dog and figure it out as you go along? Experience is the best teacher in the world, for both you and your dog. You could ask questions on here and get a different answer from each and every person, why not find your own answers.

 

The most immportant thing is to make sure your dog comes back to you when you call it.If its catching rabbits and bringing them back to you I think your doing well very well already.Just get out as much as possable with your dog and enjoy it you will learn more in a week of watching and being with your dog than you will from any book or question answer session.

[skycat 6,174]

SJM is right: you will get, as you have already done, a load of different answers: IMO the karate chop is for kung foo experts or amateurs who have never learnt to do the job less violently: pulling the neck is the quickest and easiest way for someone to kill a rabbit if they aren't a karate expert, or the rabbit won't keep still. As with all things it takes practice.

 

As far as being a team is concerned, its down to you to take the dog where you want it to hunt. To be a lead member of the team you need the dog to understand that you will take it where there's rabbits. IMO half the problem of the dog hunting for itself (which isn't a problem at all once the dog is a sensible and well trained adult) is that it learns that it's going to find rabbits by going off and hunting up: so you are nothing in this equation in the dog's mind.

 

Try actively engaging the dog in YOUR hunt: keep it on a slip as you creep round a hedge corner, talk to it quietly, teach it the word 'LOOK'. Watch where a rabbit runs into a bramble or hedge bottom. Take the dog there and ask it to 'FIND IT'. Of course it you had a ferret your life would be a lot simpler as you'd bolt a few bunnies for the dog, and the dog has then learned that to mark holes and stay with you is the road to reward.

 

I could go on and on but I hope you get the picture.

[crinky 0]

i have always killed them by hanging them upside down with one hand, gently pull there head forward with the other to expose the neck then karate chop the neck.

 

crinky have you got three hands mate

 

Lg a priest is a cosh you use to bash things on the head to kill them. Necking them's easier and doesn't require equipment which, if you're anything like me, especially if you've got children to distract you, you'll forget anyway!

no one hand holds the back legs and hangs it upside down while the other smacks it at the back of the head breaking its neck. everyone i know kills rabbits this way.