# Kill this, protect that.



## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

Hey I think my dog is old enough to learn how to hunt. He already knows how to protect what's his but I really want him to kill me some rabbit. I'm slightly worried he'll kill chickens if told to kill rabbits but as far as people tell me, this is mostly a non-issue since my dog does the morning chores with me and knows chickens = protect.

How do I go about teaching a guard dog to hunt? I'm not even sure where to begin at all... do I trap rabbit and go "Kill, dog" and watch him cuddle them to death? :hysterical:Clearly, I don't do that, but hey...

How does one teach a pet "Kill this, but please, for the love of your mother, don't kill chickens, ducks, geese, cats or pheasants."

Rabbits be eatin' my garden and I wants revenge. But - trapping is illegal. Not my problem if my dog just happens to grab one, right? ["Hypothetically Speaking"]


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

What breed of dog?


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## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

German Boxer. 

Edit: And OH MAN if I could get him to kill foxes I would just be pleased as a petunia.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

Ozziedoggers is a good group over there where people use their dogs to hunt rabbit and fox but have train them to be stock proof, i have been on their site some in the past and there are alot of good guys that know what they are doing, just haven been in a while,


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## Conhntr (Aug 7, 2010)

Are you planning on eating the rabbit? I doubt you would want to after a boxer has its way with it!! Genrally people hunt rabbits with short legged hounds. The hound finds a rabbit, goes nuts and starts chasing it, you head towards the noise and generally the rabbit circles back and the beagle/basset is far enough behind you can get a safe shot. 

I hunt with golden retrievers; which are much quicker (i have field trial pedigrees not the couch patatoe version) and i encourage them on rabbits as sometimes no grouse/quail/pheasant are to be found. Depending on terrain the goldens sometimes will chase the rabbit back to me, and a blast on the whistle gets them to freeze long enough to give me a shot. In open terrain they catch rabbits; and being good soft mouth dogs usually deliver it in edible condition. A screaming/sreuggling rabbitis is tough for a soft mouthed/trained retriever to handle. your boxer will probably mangle it! I wouldnt bother trying; but if i did it would be a muzzled dog 


Edit: uh i was thinking usa cottontales dont now how the aussie version acts; but the boxer wont be able to hunt it anyway


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## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

Guns are illegal here, which is why I want to eat the rabbit after the dog has grabbed it. I think my dog is within the train-ability to hunt but not destroy. I think I could train him once he killed, to bring it to me.

I saw videos of longer-muzzled dogs like mine having a good hunt. I was hoping at best he could grab the rabbit and I could either knife it or he could break it's neck before delivery.

I'll check out that site!


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## JPiantedosi (Apr 23, 2012)

I used top have a Pit x ? that was FAST for 100-200yds. I used to use her like a lurcher(?). whe would take her out and walk the fences and kick up a rabbit and at that point she would run it down hopefully catch it and dispatch it. I basically trained her (through trial and error) to snatch them up give a quick shake and drop them. It took a while and some "come to jesus" meetings to get her to quit trying to eat them after the catch but she figured it out.

I will say she was probly only good for catching about 1 in 5 that we started, so you wouldnt feed a family, but we were just doing it for fun, and it was deffinately that.

Sling shots legal there?

Jim


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## MelonBar (Dec 27, 2012)

JPiantedosi said:


> Sling shots legal there?
> 
> Jim


 For that matter are boomerangs even legal in Australia any more? That would really suck if you could not have and be proficient enough with a weapon that's native and 1,000's of years old for your country to kill a rabbit.

If even that, now is illegal than you could get a long neck scarf. Find a lucky stone and now you have the makings for a biblical sling. It will be a bad time to live indeed if they ban rocks.


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## MelonBar (Dec 27, 2012)

Here is a couple of links for ya,

http://boomerang.org.au/wp/articles/boomerang-competition-events/

The Aborigines never saw a rabbit so didn't have a weapon for them, native Americans did how ever. Here is a "Rabbit Stick" which is a kind of American boomerang.

http://www.flight-toys.com/artifacts/l77.html


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## Shayanna (Aug 1, 2012)

MelonBar said:


> For that matter are boomerangs even legal in Australia any more? That would really suck if you could not have and be proficient enough with a weapon that's native and 1,000's of years old for your country to kill a rabbit.
> 
> If even that, now is illegal than you could get a long neck scarf. Find a lucky stone and now you have the makings for a biblical sling. It will be a bad time to live indeed if they ban rocks.


 

:hysterical:ound::rotfl: Couldn't help it. This is hilarious.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

From what i saw on Ozziedogers the main breed they use is grey hound stag hound crossed with pit to hunt anything from wild hogs to rabbits and fox. They all have big opinions on breeds and crosses and their working ability but all HAVE to be stock proof


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Get spun up by the ozziedoggers running dog & terrier section. Basically your best shot at success is going to be on the lamp at night when they freeze in the beam. Start training by using a two tone ball and playing fetch at night on the lamp.


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## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

Thanks everyone

Laughing at the rocks being banned. Hilarious. When I was a kid I was big into archery. Bows and arrows are legal - perhaps I should get back into that. Once we move to the bigger property I'm allowed to hunting rifle - so I'll probably be getting on in March/June.

So there's no problem in him knowing already to protect my livestock and him killing other things? Fabulous  I'll start hunting training on him ASAP.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

No problem. In fact it's better that you have already taught him what he isn't allowed to hunt. With hounds & such that are bred to hunt most of your training is obedience & what they are not allowed to hunt.


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

Every dog I have owned could tell the difference from my pets and game animals. Dogs are smarter then people give them credit for.


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## pancho (Oct 23, 2006)

JasoninMN said:


> Every dog I have owned could tell the difference from my pets and game animals. Dogs are smarter then people give them credit for.


Many times the dog will learn something much faster than the owner will.


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## notbutanapron (Jun 30, 2011)

^ Been here a month and already you know me :hysterical:


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