Chickentrain's Dog Q&A

[SpotTheCat]

English Mastiffs are my favorite favorite breed of all


m open to any suggestions of ratter breeds as long as they aren’t Jack Russells.
What??! Why not a couple of Jacks?? I had two and we NEVER had any issue with any small mammals, anywhere,. Actually, when my two jacks passed we slowly had voles and bunny nests a over our yard. I suddenly figures out why people complained about the mice. Hahahaha


Yes, very expensive to feed a mastiff raw. I spent a lot of time looking at sales and driving to the stores for the meat on sale. I have gotten our raw diet to average about $1-2/lb for our larger breed and I buy organic raw grinds for the cat and senior dog. We were able to feed 220# of dogs a raw diet for less than the price of orijen! I love a challenge

I am actually switching the large 6 yr old to kibble. He's never eaten it so I'm a bit worried. But glad to see the suggestions of food. Thanks!

I don’t like the look of Jack Russell and they have too much energy for me.

 

[SpotTheCat]

We have what we think is a rat terrier/dachshund mix and she definitely chases rodents. She's killed her fair share of squirrels. Problem is, her prey drive also extends to birds...she is NOT chicken safe without constant supervision and reminders, and she is a well-trained, wanting-to-please type dog. And forget about chicks/young pullets. Small and squeeky or chirpy and she MUST KILL IT. Hope that helps? Just my experience.

My dog can’t be trusted with guinea pigs, quails or chicks, she has no interest in most birds but I still would not trust her with any small animal so I am used to keeping them a part, and she is hard to train wants-to-please-her-self type dog, she knows when I can’t reach her before she has done what she is not supposed to do, but thats one of the things a love about her . thank you for telling me your experience

Most dogs with any prey drive at all will gladly go after and kill rats. (Have had Australian cattle dogs that have been AWESOME rat killers. They are a bit (or a LOT) "extra" for most people though. My German shepherds have also been great at eliminating vermin, up to and including opossums that were dumb enough to come in their yard.

And to answer your question, yes, a Dachshund is also a nice choice. They were originally bred to hunt badgers.

My dog has a prey drive but she is very bad at finding the rats and mice, when she sees one she will go after it, but I need a dog who will be able to actually find it and kill it, is she just abnormally bad at it? Or would some breeds be better at finding the rats not just killing them?

If I get a dachshund from a rescue/any breeder would they still be good at ratting? I don’t really like the wire haired ones my favourite ones are the long haired ones which I presume are bred mostly for show/pet rather then ratting.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

I think you have a better chance getting a dog who goes after rats if you get a breed known for it, but there is always personality to take into account. Like even great herding breeds, and dogs with great parents, sometimes fail their herding tests as puppies. So I wouldn't get a puppy if you 100% only want it for ratting- I'd look around for an adult dog you could take home for a trial run and adopt if he/she is naturally going after vermin for you.

I'd personally recommend looking into rat terriers too. They are much easier to train than most terriers, and are less hyper/manic than most Jack Russells. Mine was super easy to train. She DOES have a couple things she gets terrier-stubborn about, like she will NOT go in a crate, but overall a good dog. High energy though, so needed space to run and tasks when she was younger.

Not saying a dachshund is a bad option at all, just that both could be good. Maybe watch a breed 101 type video on both.

Oh, and a rodent-killer IS going to dig holes. All the holes. They are bred to find and destroy rodents, including moles (and rat nests) underground. Just FYI, that would be a hard habit to break.

 

[SpotTheCat]

I think you have a better chance getting a dog who goes after rats if you get a breed known for it, but there is always personality to take into account. Like even great herding breeds, and dogs with great parents, sometimes fail their herding tests as puppies. So I wouldn't get a puppy if you 100% only want it for ratting- I'd look around for an adult dog you could take home for a trial run and adopt if he/she is naturally going after vermin for you.

I'd personally recommend looking into rat terriers too. They are much easier to train than most terriers, and are less hyper/manic than most Jack Russells. Mine was super easy to train. She DOES have a couple things she gets terrier-stubborn about, like she will NOT go in a crate, but overall a good dog. High energy though, so needed space to run and tasks when she was younger.

Not saying a dachshund is a bad option at all, just that both could be good. Maybe watch a breed 101 type video on both.

Oh, and a rodent-killer IS going to dig holes. All the holes. They are bred to find and destroy rodents, including moles (and rat nests) underground. Just FYI, that would be a hard habit to break.

I don’t really like the look of the rat terriers and we don’t have that much of a rodent problem that we need a dog perfect for the job, I was thinking of dachshund because my mother has all was liked them and wanted one but there was no point in looking for one, if they are good ish at ratting then when we want another dog then it might be worth looking for one.

 

[SpotTheCat]

How yippy are proper Pomeranians? Found a website which said they aren’t as noise as most people say they are, the more I see them the higher they go on my favourite dog breed list,but I can’t stand lots of yipping .

 

[black_cat]

How yippy are proper Pomeranians? Found a website which said they aren’t as noise as most people say they are, the more I see them the higher they go on my favourite dog breed list,but I can’t stand lots of yipping .

My friend has an adorable pomeranian, and I don't think she's very yippy. She's mostly just very energetic and happy.

 

[SpotTheCat]

My friend has an adorable pomeranian, and I don't think she's very yippy. She's mostly just very energetic and happy.

Thats good to hear, the people across the road from my house has a Pomeranian it can be very yippy sometimes, but I don’t know if that is bad training or how they normally are.

 

[ChassiNoir]

How yippy are proper Pomeranians? Found a website which said they aren’t as noise as most people say they are, the more I see them the higher they go on my favourite dog breed list,but I can’t stand lots of yipping .

The problem most people run into yippy Poms are that they need a job. If they don’t have one, they will find one, which one could be to make sure that leaf isn’t going to attack her family! Of course breeding also plays a part.

Pomeranians were only recently (late 1800’s, thank you Queen Victoria) bred down to toy size, thus a lot of their attitudes to work are still very strong. Originally 30 lbs (and white), they were used for guarding, sledding, reindeer herding, hunting, and any thing else needed of them.

There are people known to hook their tiny Poms up to a tiny sleigh and let them pull. They have a blast!

I hope that helps!

 

[SpotTheCat]

The problem most people run into yippy Poms are that they need a job. If they don’t have one, they will find one. Of course breeding also plays a part.

Pomeranians were only recently (late 1800’s, thank you Queen Victoria) bred down to toy size, thus a lot of their attitudes to work are still very strong. Originally 30 lbs (and white), they were used for sledding, reindeer herding, hunting, and any thing else needed of them.

There are people known to hook their tiny Poms up to a tiny sleigh and let them pull. They have a blast!

I hope that helps!

So if I where to get one how high a chance is there it would be very yippy? If it got correct training and entertainment.

 

[black_cat]

The one that I know is a teacup pomeranian, if that makes a difference.