are there dogs that catch mice and rats and do they do it better then cats

My jrts have been better than the cats for rodents, the dogs will sit just like a cat waiting for the rodent to appear.

We live in the country and have a lovely old farm house (1822), the closest barn is our neighbors which is directly across the road.  That barn was pulled down last summer, then in Dec our wonderful neighbors decided to BURN it (without permits of course), I spent several nights up watching to make sure our placed didn't catch on fire as well.

Well, two weeks later I was putting the dogs out and walking through the kitchen.  Petie all of a sudden flew into the backroom/laundry room and I heard the squeak....Bobbi joined him and in the dark I knew both dogs were tugging on something............I said 'leave it!' and heard a thunk and at that point I cringed ........what was it?  I turned on the lights and there laying on the floor between my two jrts was a very large rat!!!  We were horrified, yes we had had the odd mouse but Rats??  Of course once we thought about, it was clear as to why we now had unwanted guests, thanks to the neighbors and their barn fire.

Poisoning the rats was out of the question with dogs in the house, we trapped a couple and let the dogs dispatch of them outside.

We always knew the second we had another 'guest', the dogs let us know immediately and went to work.  Thankfully it didn't last for very long and the problem is gone.

Moral of the story is, if someone burns a barn near you and that barn had livestock in it recently and lots of food etc, be warned you may have guests move in.

I was surprised at the number of people that I have spoken too since then, that had the same problem from someone burning a barn.........

Shadow's good at catching mice. As good or better than Jade. In another thread, I related the event we had yesterday with a mouse in the house. DW, I, and Jade, and Shadow were all involved. In spite of "Keystone Kops" scenario, victory went to Shadow. He gave up the spoils to me for some cold pork chop. I really am that good a cook.

ETA: Jade is a white Turkish Angora cat and Shadow is a mix of Siberian Husky and Lab, but primarily Husky in temperment, metabolism, and some physiology. A dog in any breed might have keen hunting or prey instincts. But yes, the small terriers, Like Jack Russell, Parsons, Rat, were bred to hunt rodents in wood piles and barns.

 Yeah, Basenjis are really great at that. They control rodent populations in fishing villages in Africa.

http://dogtime.com/basenji.html 

 the terriers are preferred due to their small size. hard to get something as large as a lab or husky down a hole the width of an apple - though you're lucky if its even that big lol the men i know that hunt rats for sport keep shovels close at hand!

Although the Jack Russell Terrier/Parson Russell Terrier (same bred/pedigree's/standard) were bred to hunt Fox First and foremost, they were also used to hunt Badger.  They were not bred to hunt rodents, but having said that, they are excellent at ratting.  It's my understanding that Manchesters were one of the breeds bred to hunt rats and for the sport of ratting.

far as i know they still hunt badgers and fox and rabbits lol just depends who owns them. they're still very capable dogs! i certainly wont underestimate mine!
 

DumDog

far as i know they still hunt badgers and fox and rabbits lol just depends who owns them. they're still very capable dogs! i certainly wont underestimate mine!
 

Oh absolutely they are still bred and worked to hunt fox, groundhog, coons and opossums in the earth, the only place to hunt badger here in the N.A is in the mid west.  It's illegal to hunt badger in the U.K and you can even go to jail for dogs entering what may have been an empty badger sette over there (that happened to friends of mine in Ireland, although they were hunting with Border Terriers).

I hunt with my JRT's, I don't have a dog in the house (I have 5) with the exception of my pup, that hasn't hunted and hunted successfully.  I also wont bred anything that isn't a proven worker and not a one time wonder either and of course only breed to other proven working dogs.  And the pup will get her first time in the working field this year when she is a young adult.  Actually I have to prove her a working terrier and to the satisfaction of her breeder as they only have earthworking Jrts and Border Terriers or I can't breed her (not that I would anyways if she didn't lol).  My friend (her breeder) just recently in the last few years got into *coloured* terriers, he was interested in Border Terriers and contacted every BT breeder he could find in N.A.  All claimed they had working dogs but not one would take him up on his offer for him to come to them and they go hunting...........this guy is a true working terrierman.  No takers.........so he finally got in contact with a chap from Ireland.........made the trip there from Canada, went hunting for two weeks and came home with some dogs.  The BT's are KC registered but they are from strict working lines and they don't look like the BT's that we see here in N.A, similiar yes but very different.  I have also been out hunting with them, cool little dogs that get the job done, a very hard terrier.

I love hunting with my dogs and even with all the other stuff I do with them, they are the happiest and the most content when hunting, its what they are.

If you are interested I can post a pic of my dog hunting or with a pic of him with his quarry after it has been humanely dispatched.

Lynn

My Jack Russell can hear a mouse a mile away!  He's also a snake hunter, he can kill one in a second.  But I try my best to keep him away.  I love snakes!

Ado

DumDog

far as i know they still hunt badgers and fox and rabbits lol just depends who owns them. they're still very capable dogs! i certainly wont underestimate mine!
 

Oh absolutely they are still bred and worked to hunt fox, groundhog, coons and opossums in the earth, the only place to hunt badger here in the N.A is in the mid west.  It's illegal to hunt badger in the U.K and you can even go to jail for dogs entering what may have been an empty badger sette over there (that happened to friends of mine in Ireland, although they were hunting with Border Terriers).

I hunt with my JRT's, I don't have a dog in the house (I have 5) with the exception of my pup, that hasn't hunted and hunted successfully.  I also wont bred anything that isn't a proven worker and not a one time wonder either and of course only breed to other proven working dogs.  And the pup will get her first time in the working field this year when she is a young adult.  Actually I have to prove her a working terrier and to the satisfaction of her breeder as they only have earthworking Jrts and Border Terriers or I can't breed her (not that I would anyways if she didn't lol).  My friend (her breeder) just recently in the last few years got into *coloured* terriers, he was interested in Border Terriers and contacted every BT breeder he could find in N.A.  All claimed they had working dogs but not one would take him up on his offer for him to come to them and they go hunting...........this guy is a true working terrierman.  No takers.........so he finally got in contact with a chap from Ireland.........made the trip there from Canada, went hunting for two weeks and came home with some dogs.  The BT's are KC registered but they are from strict working lines and they don't look like the BT's that we see here in N.A, similiar yes but very different.  I have also been out hunting with them, cool little dogs that get the job done, a very hard terrier.

I love hunting with my dogs and even with all the other stuff I do with them, they are the happiest and the most content when hunting, its what they are.

If you are interested I can post a pic of my dog hunting or with a pic of him with his quarry after it has been humanely dispatched.

Lynn

your my kinda people   i love hearing about people actually working themselves in order to earn the right to breed worker to worker. thats how it SHOULD be!

i know a good deal of terrier men from a UK based hunting forum. these guys are by the book only and most of them sneer at kennel clubs for the damage they have done and continue to do.

some of those guys however are admitted poachers. the foxes and badgers, even though they are protected, are still considered pests and some leap at the chance to hunt it. i dont condone it but thats them and their ways. a small handful will actually pay money to bring themselves and their dogs to the US to hunt here..

Thanks, I don't view myself as a working terrier person nor that I breed working terriers but I do try to stay true to my breed by what I do.  I don't go hunting as much as I would like, I only get a few times each year and I never called my dogs working terriers until after years of working, the working terriermen started to call my dogs working dogs..........

Sadly there is always unethical people, whether it be trainers, breeders or hunters, I just try to duck from the likes of them.  I have been lucky to have two very highly respected Terriermen that have been my mentors.

 I agree, the damage is typically huge when a working breed of dog gets into KC, I had to shake my head at the winner at Westminster of the Parsons........that bitch was too short in the back, deep in the chest and the chest looked slabbly, nice neck and laid back shoulder and not too over angulated behind but the mark of a working terrier is that chest and being somewhat stretchy in the back.  The male is short in the back, appeared to be very straight in front, tracked wide in front, crappy coat, neck tied in too low and he hiked when trotting.............and those were the best?   Good grief.

Terriers, Terriers and more TERRIERS! Usually the smaller ones are the best, such as Yorkshires or Dachshunds because they can get into their homes in the ground.

Bkimura28

Terriers, Terriers and more TERRIERS! Usually the smaller ones are the best, such as Yorkshires or Dachshunds because they can get into their homes in the ground.

Actually it is my understanding that the Yorkie were never bred nor used as hunting dogs although they are called Terriers.  And the very small are not good as hunting terriers, even though they can get in the ground, they are not formidable enough to face let alone engage quarry.  The quarry can often trash the very small and at the very least the quarry quickly figures out the dog can't hold it there or push it out, therefore the quarry turns and leaves.   Not the outcome that we want on either count, especially to have a dog get so trashed that it can lose it's life or end up with some serious injuries.  So smaller isn't necessarily better.

I think I've read someplace (I'd have to find the book again) that Yorkies were mostly the pet-ized versions of working terriers in their originating area. Keep in mind though that Yorkies are supposed to be 4-6 pounds, and that's shrunk in the last hundred years- 10-12 pounds isn't too small to work, especially if the quarry is mice, rather than rats and groundhogs.

 I suspect yorkies were originally just a slightly functional but mostly companion dog- a lot like the smaller sizes of spitz and poodle.
 

Oh, and corgis are actually quite good ratters, too. There's a Pembroke corgi who, in the 60s, caught 50-odd rats in a single day in a barn. P (Source: The New Complete Pembroke Welsh Corgi) 

 Indy has caught a few rats and mice outdoors, but he's realy good about leave PET mice and rats alone.
 

My aunt's pharaoh hound does it much better than all the cats I know...

It seems that the rodents don't stand a chance...