Adult Rat terrier

xeniabuck · 07-01-2004, 01:04 PM

I just recently recieved a rat terreir. He is about a year old or a little more. I want to try and train him to jump rabbits. I've always heard that you can't train a dog when they become adults. only when the a pups. So if I really get serious about training him
, will it be a waste of time

bobcat 10 · 07-01-2004, 01:19 PM

i have a rat terrier....she is 4 years old........she will attack anything....coons,oppossums,deer,bobcats,,,,no lie......they are easy to train.......they have alot of grit for there size........my rat terrier has more grit sometimes than my coon hounds and beagles.......good luck......she also likes to run rabbits she does not give much mouth on the track.....give it a try.......he might turn out........

TREEDOG · 07-01-2004, 02:55 PM

Rat terriers are gamey dogs. They like to get after game unfortunetly that means all game, including deer. You want to run rabbits get a beagle from hunting stock. The sound of a pack of beagles on track is beutiful, realy gets the blood pumping when they strike.

Jumpshootin · 07-09-2004, 04:19 PM

They can hunt! My Rat Terrier/Feist is the best treeing squirrel dog that I have ever seen. Sometimes though they have more guts than sense.
My Buddy dog here is 15" & 20lbs.

xeniabuck · 07-10-2004, 09:57 PM

u got any tips on training them jumpshootin

Jumpshootin · 07-10-2004, 10:37 PM

You said that you want him to jump rabbits for you. I'd just get him out in the woods alot where there are rabbits. I doubt very much that any terrier is going to run rabbits like a beagle but they surely will search them out and roust 'em for you. These Rat Terriers hate any kind of furred critter.
When he was young my dog would go after most any furred game, but had a natural treeing instinct. So I would praise and encourage him on squirrels, while discourage him from treeing 'coons, chipmunks, etc.....
My dog is really from a long line of Treeing Feist squirrel dogs, but this line has the Rat Terrier traits because the breeder would line-breed and when the breeding started to get too close would use a Rat Terrier as the out-cross dog to bring in new blood. So my dog is 1/16 Rat Terrier, being that many generation away from the out-cross.