Over in The Field magazine, they have an article up on Ratting with terriers. Which terrier is top?
This about sums it up:
“Any self-respecting canine will catch rats, though terriers and small lurchers are probably the best,” says David Harcombe, editor of Earth Dog – Running Dog and several volumes of memoirs, entitled A Terrierman’s Life. “I have seen a miniature long-haired dachshund do a decent job on rats in yards and fields, and that was just a Kennel Club, toy-bred thing. They would not be good for killing rats in large numbers, however.”
For general information on ratting with terriers, see this link.
It's been decades since I read Tales Of A Rat Hunting Man by David Brian Plummer (who created the non-Kennel-Club Plummer Terrier) but I seem to remember him giving the crown, based on his own experience, to the Border Terrier.
ReplyDeleteAw, I used to keep rats. They make good pets and, unlike many other rodents, actually enjoy human company. I recommend them if you've been looking for a dog that doesn't require space, training or exercise, and that you can leave for a weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe rats in the pics seem very large.
Plummer's own terrier breed was almost 100% Jack Russell. He claim he crossed in a "pocket beagle" and a fell terrierm, and no doubt he did, but Plummer's main concern was (wait for it) coat color and pattern.
ReplyDeletePlummer himself said the dog he saw take the most rats was a collie dog who learned to sit at a choke point at the chicken batteries he hunted. The terriers would chase the rats and the collie would sit there quietly, moving only to snap them in half as they ran by. Brains is under-rated, even in ratting. ;)