How do you train a rabbit or squirrel dog?

[SWOSUMike]

Hey guys. Does anyone hunt rabbits or squirrels with just one dog? Can you do that? If I started with a pup, how would I train it without an older dog to run with. I don' t even know what hunting rabbits or squirrels with a dog looks like or how it works in the woods. Does the dog run a fence line until it jumps a rabbit or what? When do you shoot? What about squirrels? Can you use mix breeds? Beagles? Will spaniels do it? Thanks

Michael

[liquidorange]

what i did with my dog is to take her out to local areas or parks that have rabbits and put her on the scent and get her excited and tell the dog to find it or get em. i also bought some rabbit scent in a bottle from cabelas and make trails. there arent many areas to hunt my dog where i live but i know she will do fine when i get a chance to take her out. deer can be a problem though so you might want to keep a hide near the dog house or kennel so the dog might ignore the smell out in the field. another thing to consider is does the dog have the desire. some dogs rather stay indoors and have little desire to hunt. you will know fairly quick. you dont need more than one dog to hunt and there are no rules. some people like to run a young dog with an old dog but i think it shows the dog little. let us know how its coming