HunterMike32

Hey, My friends dog is going to have a litter of akc purebred redbone hounds soon. He was going to sell me one at a much cheaper price of $250. I would like to get one but would like to know if i could possibly train it to hunt rabbits and coons. I also like hunting coyotes, squirrel, and other critters. Please Help. Thanks

recurver67

I don't know much about them but I think they would be a little slow for bunnies.

SWOSUMike

If they have any of the hunting drive, they could make coon dogs. It all depends on the breeding. For that same price you could find coondogs that are bred strong for hunting. If you have the money to buy a puppy and you want a hunting dog, then I'd do some looking. Does your friend's dog hunt coons, and does the other parent dog hunt coons? These are the questions you have to ask. As for bunnies, I would think the opposite of Recurver67. I think they'd be too fast for rabbits. People use beagles because they are smaller and connot usually outrun a rabbit (not to mention the main reason - they excel at searching out rabbits). You put the legs of a redbone on a beagle, though, and you're likely not to have any chase at all becuase with those legs they'll catch that rabbit instead of run it to the gun. Not only so, but redbones are not so much a running breed, they are a treedog breed, meaning they like to chase something up a tree and bark, not run something to the gun. I could be wrong, but I'd focus on letting a treedog be a treedog, and if you want a rabbit dog, get a running breed.

HunterMike32

Thanks for all your help. I really dont do much rabbit hunting but my uncle has a huge field next to his house and he likes me to do cleanup on the rabbits because he has a nursery and the rabbits just make it a mess. I would like to know if i could just have the dog sent them without training so he could find me brush piles and what not. Also my friends dog goes coon-hunting alot, I've been. She is a really good dog. Also what about duck hunting. I was thinking i could train a redbone to duck hunt on account that they are incredible swimmers and duck hunting isn't about sent as much but by verbal commands and swimming. thanks again

SWOSUMike

Remember a Redbone may be able to swim, but do you want your redbone diving into icy water several times a morning to retrieve a duck? A creek crossing or two in the winter coon woods is one thing, but Redbones don't have the coat of a lab or golden, and jumping into cold water over and over again could take its toll on the pup. I think if you get a Redbone, you're going to have what's called a meat dog, and you're going to have a gritty dog that wants to kill and be rough and be an old rascal hunting dog, not so much one of these "gentleman's" retrievers/pointers. We treedog hunters are a little different breed and we expect different things from our dogs becuase they require different abilities. Treedogs aren't bred to retrieve so much as they are bred to aggressively push something to a tree. Tracking and treeing should be what they want to do. Now, I have a mountain cur that will point quail, but it was never expected of him. He just did it one day. However, curs have a lot of mix in their gene pool - they've been around a long time and don't have the same refined origins as some of the hounds, but I guess you could still get lucky and have something that want's to do it all. Good luck.

drfatguy

Huntermike32,
If I had to choose a breed for the hunting you are describing I would say a terrier of some sort. An Airedale from hunting lines could do what you are asking, rabbits, coons, and duck hunting. The coat is enough but the training involved would be time consuming. To get reliable delivery without much damage, you would defintely have to force train your dog to retrieve. Other terriers would work as ling as there is a strong hunting line in the breed. The best would be a Jack Russells', fell/patterdale, jagd, border, or a wirehaired dachshund (a teckel) from hunting lines. The Airedale and jagd could run wiht the hounds ok. Remember these are compromise dogs, so they won't do as well as a specialist in it's game, but can do all thing well enough.

Dr Fatguy

shpines

We only have redbones and beagles in our kennel. I don't think that I would ever really try to take my redbones out for rabbits, just the beagles. We use our redbones for coons. We bought one with pretty good bloodlines a few months ago for $200. Not to say anything about your friend, but I'd look around. Find out what kind of hunters the parents are and if there have been any other pups that they have thrown that hunt. good luck.

doghunter

Redbone definitely a good coon dog, but I can't see one on a rabbit. As for the akc papers, they don't make a dog. Sometimes their best use is toilet paper. You can get a good running/treeing hound for around $150-200, and a started pup cheaper if you shop around, but some people are just more proud of a piece of paper than their dog.

Big Al C

HunterMike, Redbones will probably not have any desire to retrieve. It is just not bred into them. They may do it as pups, but as they get older the desire to run by scent will become so strong that they will forget almost everything else.
As to running rabbits, they will probably do a good job, but they will push the rabbit so fast that you may not be able to get a shot. Some individual dogs will run slower than others, so this will be a case by case situation.
Good Luck whatever you decide.