i have always run beagles. my father raised them to gun hunt with and i love to hunt them, but they tend to run too fast and far for hawks. i would like to try a terrier, but i cant keep them inside. as i live in ky we do have some cold weather. any suggestions?
I used beagles for several years. I had a nice brace that tended to range a little large. But it didn't take long for the hawks, an RT for a couple of years and a HH after that, to learn to listen for the dogs to bark. When they heard them getting really excited they would stay close to them b/c they knew that a bunny was going to break at any minute. When i hunted in St Louis, the bunny capital of the midwest, i didn't need a dog at all. All you had to do was walk the field and kick the tufts. Most falconers up there who used dogs used JRTs. But they weren't very good on the reflush. Down here rabbits aren't that plentiful so we really hope for the reflush. Beagles can do that. JRTs just didn't seem to have the tools.
Post by shadowgames on Dec 19, 2008 9:55:04 GMT -5
If you think beagles are fast, come out here and I will show you some very fast terriers. THe boys in the UK, lots of them use very different crosses for hawk dogs, usually the common cross is greyhound into some type of terrier or hound. They seem very sucessful with these dogs unless they internet hunters, they also seem to like patterdale and jag terrier crosses.
:)i guess i used the wrong words. what i mean by to fast is if the bird misses. my dogs take the rabbit in a long loop and it is hard to put the bird back on the rabbit. i have looked at jrts and they are very smart but a little hyper. i think i would like a dachs but i cant keep a dog inside and as it is cold here in the winter i didnt know how they would do. i think a terrier would be great as most of the places i hunt tend to be smaller places that are less accessible to gun hunters. again the problem i have with my beagle. i thought a terrier might tend to jump the rabbit but not push them as far. thanks for the replys. i have flown a red tail for several years and am grateful for those out there willing to give advice.
Post by borderhawk on Dec 26, 2008 22:34:43 GMT -5
JRT's are great but you've got to make sure they obey call-off commands 'cause they can be really gamey. I've seen them literally bump hawks off of the rabbit they've already bound to, and you could start a completely separate game bag list cause a JRT will rack up it's own if not closely watched. I've seen mini beagles do really well, and I've seen some "beagles" that were kinda shortlegged and longbodied, almost like they were crossed with bassets, that were real slow and great at flushing, but also great at totally ignoring you unless you actually grabbed the dog and physically aimed it in the direction you wanted it to go. Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable leaving a mini dachs outside at night, but that's just me.
Actually Borderhawk, the long haired mini-doxies do fine outside in kennels. Most of the folks that I know that breed and run Teddy's stuff kennel their mini-D's. Both Teddy and Bill Boler kennel all of their stuff as well. In fact, my main stud dog Cobie was a kennel dog until I got him (in South Bend IN) and Suli, who I got from Teddy, was also kenneled until I got her. So, they do just fine. I wouldn't leave a smooth hair outside, but the longs do just fine outside. -Joby
HI I'm really just agreeing with Joby. Bill said he keeps his dogs in pairs - and has two dog houses in each run. The dog's share when they feel like it, but if one want to keep a dog house to himself, the other dog has another place to go to get warm. For a dog to keep a house warm, the house should be sized right - big enough to be comfortable and small enough to keep warm with body heat. Insulated walls or straw helps, as does a wind baffle. My harris hawks don't seem to want to stay in a small enough shed to keep warm with body heat - so they have a heater.
I added a mini-doxie (by FC Navarre Von Moritz) to may hunting pack this season. When both dogs are standing still in dry snow, the mini-doxie (long hair) stays warmer than my 5 year old Vizsla - at least the Vizsla starts shivering first. Getting wet bothers the mini-doxie more. On a slushy day in the high 30s the doxie gets cold first - the wet hair stays wet longer and she is IN the slush more.