Posted by admin | Posted in Spyderco Ying Yang | Posted on 18-08-2007
Tags: dachshund hunting badgers
How do you train a dog to hunt?
I have a Dachshund and I know they are natural bred to hunt badgers, but how do you train them properly.
There’s nothing wrong with the badgers, I’m not even sure I have badgers. I just want to train him to sniff things out. Not for hunting, more of like a trick for him.
In Europe, dachshunds are used to work (European) badgers, fox, and rabbits. The European badger is smaller than the American badger and most dachshunds would really get hurt if allowed to go after a full sized American badger. And the different sized dachshunds are used to hunt different types of animals. The miniature, for example, would never be used on either fox or badger, only the full sized standard dachshund is used on that type of game. The miniature dachshund is also called a “rabbit dachshund” in Europe.
In the US, dachshunds can compete in two different types of working events, field trials and earthdog tests. In the field trials, dachshunds are worked on brace on rabbits. The goal is to track the rabbit, not catch it. In Earthdog, the dachshunds (and small terriers) are worked below ground in tunnels on rats. You can go to the AKC site and get the rules and descriptions for each of these two types of events.
If you are interested in learning about either field trials or earthdog test, your dog first must be an AKC registered dachshund. You can locate your closest dachshund club and check with them about training sessions and events. People will travel pretty far distances to compete in these events, some will even travel clear across the US for a particular field trial or earthdog test. Not every dachshund club hosts working events and you might have to locate a dachshund person who does compete in these events for help in training your dog.
Dachshund Hunting & Killing
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Dachshund Dog Badger Hunting by L Beckmann, antique engraving, original 1872 $22.50 |
