rat terrier pups

[single action]

I have a rat terrier female that trees well but was abused before I got her and is very gun shy. I have tried to cure her of this problem with no success. I found a local man that raises rat terriers and hunts with them and he let me breed my dog to one of his. Any suggestions about training the pups?  One other problem with the mother is if I let her out without a lead, she runs off and is very difficult to catch. ( those little buggers are QUICK!)  I  got this dog  when she was 3 years old and she allready had these bad habit ingrained. Any tips on how to not have these problems with the pups? Thanks.

[wJAKE19]

shock collar.
I have a rat/beagle mix and he is very stubborn also, the collar helps a lot.

[Gary G]

Give them plenty of exercise and keep a snack in your pocket for when you call them.


About gunshy, I broke one once using the progressive louder noises method at feeding time.
[clap hands, bang feed pan, slap a flat piece of wood on something flat,  bb gun, 22 rifle)


I heard a man say he broke one by tying it out and then shooting a box of shells (target practice) from about 50 yards away. Then give the dog a snack and put it up.

Repeat this a few times, each time getting closer. Don't pay any attention to the dog while doing this.

Like he said: what have you got to loose?


Calling the old dog, like Jake said, shock collar.

[Skillet]

Try using a cured squirrel hide as a 'drag' to create scent trails leading to a tree, put the hide up in the tree and then take the dog and put him on the trail. (you'll keep the dog out of sight, in the garage etc. while you make the trail).

Once he's sorted-out the trail and 'treed' the hide, use an air pistol to shoot it out of the tree and let him maul on it a bit. Praise him profusely. He'll learn to associate the sound of a shot with good things and you can work him up to louder guns gradually.

For pups, you can also sew a cured squirrel tail to a tennis ball. Throw it and let him chase/chew on it.

Curing hides with the hair on:

take a mix of half baking soda/half alum and rub it into the green side of a damp hide. Let it sit in a dark, dry place for two weeks.

Hair won't slip. Alum can be found with canning supplies at the grocery store or in the pharmacy.

If your hides are dried-out before treatment, soak 'em in salt water for awhile first.

Skillet

[ironglow]

  You have received some good advice from others here, but I'll give my $.02..

   I have never hunted squirrel with a dog ..but aim to start.

   I have however, raised, bred & hunted Airedales on coon and Jack Russells on coon and earth work..
  I have never had a gun shy dog that I raised, can't say for sure that any would have been, had I not trained them as I do.
    I keep in mind that a gun shot should be accompanied with pleasure for the dog..so, in their early months often give the pup a treat while you fire a mild round (CB cap)
   some distance from him. Do not fire nearby..stay some yards away, you will usually will be some distance from the dog while you shoot under actual hunting conditions .
    Gradually increase the rounds you use until you have the pup working through the sound of your regular squirrel round. i prefer to use subsonics, so i only have the one jump from CBs to subs.
   As the pup starts training shooting mild rounds some distance away while he is excited by the hunt or catch strengthens his ability to ignore shots..even if the "catch" is just a squirrel hide..
     That has worked for me..

[Hodr]

I used to break upland game dogs of gun shy when I was growing up.  Up near Clearlake California is a small Borax lake.  It was the main source of borax for the west coast until they opened the Boraxo works down south.  It was a really shallow sloping lake.  I would put on a pair of chest waders with a dog  on a 25'  lead..  The dog would have to swim, drown or stay with me.. After the dog settled down i would fire a starting pistol.  Dog would take off in panic but always came back to me as it was still either swim, drown, or come back to me for affection and a treat.  After the dog got used to the starter pistol I worked up to shotgun.  Never had a dog take more then the second day before he realised that I was where he wanted to be when the big loud noise happened.  Just remember to wade out with plenty of treats in your pocket, and work towards shore slowly so dog always thinks of you as the best palce to be.

blindhari

[ironglow]

  Never did it that way..but sure seems to be a logical method..