healer?
03-27-2015, 03:45 PM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
03-28-2015, 09:10 AM
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,902
Heelers are herding group dogs, Rotties used to be herding dogs, but then converted over to "working dogs" in the modern breed groups (like German Shepherds). Rotties used to be used to herd cattle to market by german cattleman, then the money would get tied around their neck to deter thieves on the route back home. Then folks realized that a big, loyal, scary looking dog like that would make a good working dog, so they were eventually "repurposed"...
So you essentially have a herding dog...
Now, the fun part is this - herding dogs have incredibly high prey drives, which we've "reprogrammed" in them to be "herding drive," but it's really the same instinct - Nature tells them "hey, there's something I should kill and eat, I should chase it," and programming tells them "oh wait, I'm just supposed to chase it".
While they will never be as effective or efficient as a sporting dog, there are plenty of "good dogs" that are very trainable to do different purposes.
I've hunted rabbits with my heelers over the years. They like to run and have great endurance, so they make decent flushing dogs. When something small runs, they'll tear after it at high speed, so I had to be careful picking shots, lest I'd accidentally shoot my own dog.
My family and I used to breed Rotties, among other breeds, so we'd take one or two of our rot's along as "finishers" when we took our Jack Russel Terriers after coons during the day. The Rotties had the legs to run down a coon that would run out from under a building or out of a hole, and even though they weren't skilled at killing like hound-dogs that know instinctively to stretch and choke together, the rotties powerful jaw would crush a spine or skull or chest in one bite. We got most of our coons out of trees over treeing walker hounds, but I'd venture we killed over a hundred coons over the years with two of our rotties.
I used to take some of our Australian Shepherds and Border Collies out after rabbits and even upland birds. Being trained in herding commands, I could give them hand signals and/or whistle or verbal cues for their movements and use them as flushing dogs. They have plenty of leg to run all day and cover ground, so even though they just thought we were out having fun on a long walk, I still bagged birds.
Pretty much any dog can be trained as a flushing dog for birds. All you have to do is train them to circle out in front of you, and both a rottie and a heeler will have plenty of leg and plenty of lung to do that, so I'd assume that the cross would be just fine.
So you essentially have a herding dog...
Now, the fun part is this - herding dogs have incredibly high prey drives, which we've "reprogrammed" in them to be "herding drive," but it's really the same instinct - Nature tells them "hey, there's something I should kill and eat, I should chase it," and programming tells them "oh wait, I'm just supposed to chase it".
While they will never be as effective or efficient as a sporting dog, there are plenty of "good dogs" that are very trainable to do different purposes.
I've hunted rabbits with my heelers over the years. They like to run and have great endurance, so they make decent flushing dogs. When something small runs, they'll tear after it at high speed, so I had to be careful picking shots, lest I'd accidentally shoot my own dog.
My family and I used to breed Rotties, among other breeds, so we'd take one or two of our rot's along as "finishers" when we took our Jack Russel Terriers after coons during the day. The Rotties had the legs to run down a coon that would run out from under a building or out of a hole, and even though they weren't skilled at killing like hound-dogs that know instinctively to stretch and choke together, the rotties powerful jaw would crush a spine or skull or chest in one bite. We got most of our coons out of trees over treeing walker hounds, but I'd venture we killed over a hundred coons over the years with two of our rotties.
I used to take some of our Australian Shepherds and Border Collies out after rabbits and even upland birds. Being trained in herding commands, I could give them hand signals and/or whistle or verbal cues for their movements and use them as flushing dogs. They have plenty of leg to run all day and cover ground, so even though they just thought we were out having fun on a long walk, I still bagged birds.
Pretty much any dog can be trained as a flushing dog for birds. All you have to do is train them to circle out in front of you, and both a rottie and a heeler will have plenty of leg and plenty of lung to do that, so I'd assume that the cross would be just fine.
03-28-2015, 11:38 AM
#9
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,428
Heelers are pretty fast dogs to run rabbits with, the point of hounds is they are slow and will be safely behind the rabbits when you shoot. I once had a white mule that would point birds, however, I had to shoot her, she took to chasing rabbits!
03-29-2015, 05:01 PM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location:
Posts: 5,130
