Anyone hunt with a Jack Russel?

[Michael J. Spangler]

I’ve been thinking of getting a dog for squirrels and rabbits and whatever other small game I could go for.
I have a beautiful English pointer but the stocked upland game in my state is about as bad as it gets.
I figure moving into a small game dog I could open up my hunting a little more.
Seems jack russels are pretty mean hunters.
It also helps that the wife likes them and my son wants his “own” dog and this would fit the family dog department too.
Any experience? Any good breeders?
Thanks everyone!

[white eagle]

I know the owner of Coyote Gods Forum uses a Jack as a decoy dog to hunt coyotes
but that probably isn't what you are wanting

[Omega]

I’ve been thinking of getting a dog for squirrels and rabbits and whatever other small game I could go for.
I have a beautiful English pointer but the stocked upland game in my state is about as bad as it gets.
I figure moving into a small game dog I could open up my hunting a little more.
Seems jack russels are pretty mean hunters.
It also helps that the wife likes them and my son wants his “own” dog and this would fit the family dog department too.
Any experience? Any good breeders?
Thanks everyone!I'd think a Beagle would be a better choice. Mine, with no training, can follow a rabbit trail blindfolded. I don't hunt her because she has no training and I could never get her back if she was let loose, she gets on a trail and loses her mind trying to follow it, so there is that.

[versa-06]

Great thought! I also wanted a small Fiesty dog & went with the Mountain Feist. Having a good time with her. Good Luck in your ventures!

[curdog]

I just lost my last jack russell terrier and he was a great little squirrel dog . He was a mold diggin machine. Jiggs lived almost 15 years and gave us alot of happiness and service. Feist dog are great little hunters as are mountain curs. I have a blackmouth cur female now and she is a great bloodtrailing dog. The man that i got my jack russels from was from Vienna Illinois and he raised some very gamey little dogs, bad thing is he isnt raising anymore. I am looking for another jack russel now and im not having much luck....................Curdog

[444ttd]

i used a brittany spaniel (brandy and lacie) for pheasants and grouse. they liked to hunt more than i did!!!! brandy was 10yo when she died and lacie was 14yo. i never hunted squirrels with dogs, just pick a place and my 22lr and we would have fun. my state ,PA, doesn't like to do ringed neck anymore. they go to a state game lands and release 40-50 birds and say thats good enuff. i quit pheasant hunting and small game about 15 or so years ago. i remember that the squirrel opener was just as exciting as the deer opener. oh well, just chalk it up to "those were the days".

[Mk42gunner]

We had a generic "rat" terrier (last one from a litter that got dumped behind the hardware store) when I was a kid, before anyone around here figured out what a Jack Russell Terrier was. She was death on rats in the feed crib, and loved hunting rabbits. I don't remember her ever really looking for a squirrel in the trees, makes sense, terriers are a ground hunting dog.

They are lively little dogs; if they figure out that you will throw their toy, you get no rest until they are tired. They also aren't the easiest to house break.

My best friend had a dachshund that was a good rabbit dog (they were originally bred to go in and fight badgers in the ground).

Thing is unless you get one of the hound breeds, they aren't likely to sing out when trailing, and might not bark treed with squirrels.

Robert

If you have a daughter that has Barbie dolls, a Jack Russell will take great delight in converting them into "Tragic Farming Accident Barbie". I can still remember my six year old daughter chasing Prince through the house screaming "Prince, you little blank head."

Sorry to say, I was laughing to much to get on her about the language.

R

[Martin Luber]

And then they don't get tired. For some reason, ours thought she was a big dog and would try to kill small foo dogs. Wouldn't back down against anything.

[Carrier]

And then they don't get tired. For some reason, ours thought she was a big dog and would try to kill small foo dogs. Wouldn't back down against anything.

My son has a Jack and Australian Shepard cross. They have to be careful as he will take on anything anywhere. He is going to get himself badly hurt or dead one day. But he would give his life to protect there 5, 3 and 1 year olds so I’m good with that.

[jim147]

What caliber do they come in?

[versa-06]

I Think small caliber, & way over pressure.

[skeettx]

Well I used to hunt with Jack Russel, but he got cranky and now I hunt with
his son, John Russel :)

But all that said he was one L of a guy :)

[Gator 45/70]

I saw a dachshund /Jack Russel mix the other day up for adoption, My first thought was Man I bet that's one mean little.......dog lol

[gumbo333]

skeetix, you should have been hunting with his sister, Jane!

[BMW Rider]

MJS, Have you given your faithful companion (the English pointer) the chance to hunt squirrels and rabbits with you?

[Michael J. Spangler]

MJS, Have you given your faithful companion (the English pointer) the chance to hunt squirrels and rabbits with you?

As a matter of fact, no I haven’t.
I was also looking for an additional dog but I guess I should try the girl on squirrels first.

[OldBearHair]

Well now I dont want to break any rules and I am not trying to "SELL" dogs. I have a Lynch dog bred male Duke that weighs 30 lbs. They are old style treeing rat terriers. Next we had a litter of little registered rat terriers from a registered mama elite squirrel dog. Tried to sell them off . Tried to give some away. The "pups", are nearing four years old in October and have become a part of my family. There are no two with the same personality.. Four of my dogs outrun the border collie across the street. May
have to rehome some of them as I am getting older than 86 years. I read where the Pit Bull was not as fierce as they wanted in the beginning so they introduced some Rat Terrier blood an got what they needed. Oldtimers saying " Not the dog in the fight that counts, it is the fight in the dog."

[jaysouth]

Jack russell terrorists are a special kind of dog that need outdoors. They are not apartment dogs. Beagles are good hunting dogs but terrible pets if you have near by neighbors.

My sister lives out in the country and has need for dogs to take care of vermin. She has two Jack Russells and feeds and houses them in the barn in an attempt to keep them of the yard. They have eliminated every ground hog, possum, vole, mole, turtle and snake within a quarter of a mile radius of her homestead. While useful in certain circumstances, they are not pets.

[Trailboss]

I heard about a jack russell hunting boars with a bunch of bigger dogs..at one stage the little dog was biting into the underside of a stationary really big pig And the little dog had all his four feet planted against the underside of the boar .... the boar took of running and the dogs owner watched it runaway like that ....eventually the other dogs grabbed it and the little dog was still lugged up in his original spot

[thadfz]

I’d go with a feist


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[Michael J. Spangler]

Keep the stories coming. I’m convinced a might need this dog lol. Though a proper squirrel dog might be needed.
I have to try to rabbit hunting with some guys this year.

[Markopolo]

i am not a Jack Russell fan... here in my part of alaska, there have been several folks in my area that have tried, but all have been killed. lots of stuff around here that looks at them as food no matter how fiesty and tuff they are. and they tend to wander which makes them a target for wolves, bears, and eagles. so for here... that is a no...

[Carrier]

i am not a Jack Russell fan... here in my part of alaska, there have been several folks in my area that have tried, but all have been killed. lots of stuff around here that looks at them as food no matter how fiesty and tuff they are. and they tend to wander which makes them a target for wolves, bears, and eagles. so for here... that is a no...

Like anything size matters.

[pmer]

We had a Boston / Rat mix. He looked like a 25 lb pitbull. We had him till he was 8 years old when a coyote got him. He'd go in brush piles for rabbits climb trees chasing squirrels and ladders in the barn if a cat was on the second floor (hay loft).
He wasn't a total nut job either which I think had something to do with the Boston terrier mix he even helped chase up pheasants too.

[ChristopherO]

Used to raise JR's. Great little dogs with a big personality and temperament. One is wonderful, two can be terrific, if they get along. Three or more can be a test of wills, between each other and the owner. I've seen terriers hunt, but they usually don't bark when on a rabbit trail. Can't say about squirrels in trees.
JR's can be good pets but are a fireball of energy that has to be released regularly. Watch videos of them jumping to look at what's on the table or counter top. They can keep that up for the longest time. Are you ready for that kind of activity in the home?
They are fun dogs, will go down holes, coyote dens, too. One of my buddy's was torn up pretty bad for charging a pack of coyotes into the field at night. The quip in the horse and dog circles I used to run in was that JR's highest cause of mortality are their willingness to take on dogs much larger than they are.

[Bwana John]

Local gun store/gunsmith (Reeder Custom Guns) breeds JRTs and periodically returns from Africa with new breeding stock.
The African outfitters that they get their dogs from use the JRT as wounded animal tracking dogs, that ride on a platform on the front of the Land Rover with an indigenous human tracker.

https://www.reedercustomguns.com
http://www.snowcrestterriers.com

[Jeff Michel]

Have three Feists. All of them great on squirrels, never a peep until they are treeing. The brown one (female) is about eight feet up that tree, the squirrel is just out of the picture. Had Jacks in the past, and they are great dogs, but a Feist is calmer and seem to be easier to train and not as much the killer instinct. The other two are males, (Jack and Pete) were on squirrels solo on their second trip out as puppies. My Jack Russell would never pass on an opportunity to kill every cat or anything else for that matter it came across. My Feists all sleep with the cats and they get along just fine with the other dogs as well. Good luck with your search.
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[Edward]

Leopard curs are a great treeing dog /squirrel /coon and a protective dog with brains at home or on the tree ,mine were semi or silent till they hit the tree /almost forgot great at roading too!/Ed

[robg]

jack russell terriers are great ratting dogs full of energy but will fight with their shadow if not well socialised when young.

[Mr Peabody]

I saw a dachshund /Jack Russel mix the other day up for adoption, My first thought was Man I bet that's one mean little.......dog lol

Boy I'd grab that one up!

[rbuck351]

I had a 3/4 jack 1/4 fox terrier and although it loved to hunt rabbits it had no nose for smelling them. I saw ir run past a standing arctic hare not tow feet away. It wasn't the pet we hoped for as it would never sit still. We next got a rat terrier which is what a jack russell should be. Very smart and wanting to please. Had a great nose for rabbits, grouse and squirrel. It would hunt all day and then be a good house dog/pet. It didn't chew up my shoes, my fur hat or other chewy things like the Russell would. Check out the long leg short hair rat terrier before you get a Russell.

[OldBearHair]

My "Six" rat terriers were all barking "treed" and I went quickly to see what was happening on the back porch. Had my "shepherds staff and sling" The dogs had a water moccasin about three feet long hiding next to the brick pillar behind a bucket full of landscape white rocks. Grabbed the sharpshooter shovel as the snake was making a getaway. I had called the dogs off. Didn't want them to get bitten. Placed the staff tip on it's head and then the shovel came in to good use. My wife loves to sit close to where the snake was. We have two acres adjacent to 500 acres of deer lease. We don't have problems with animals coming on the property. The dogs are now reduced to hunting lizards and toad frogs and the squirrel that taunts the dogs from his nest tree. Last night they chased something away from the front yard at 3 am.

[rockrat]

My Sister had 4 JRT's. Wasn't a bunny anywhere around her 16 acres except for a couple of real smart ones. When the terrorists were out, the bunnys would head under her shed. Squirrels they could care less about. Liked to visit my Sister, except for the JRT's. She had a dog door going outside and all night long, one of them would go barking running outdoors, so all the rest would follow, barking too. All night long. Didn't wake her up. Two nights were all I could stand.

[WebMonkey]

beagles here.

reload, my oldest female, runs rabbits for me in the fall/winter and trees squirrels all season.

now, she'll jump/run rabbits out of season but she minds me enough to move off.

good luck

[Friends call me Pac]

My boy Jack loves squirrel hunting and he will go after rabbits too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVrPTkT9IDY

[GooseGestapo]

I’m partial to the Mountain Feist. I’m about to run out on the second. She’s 15 and arthritic. Can’t climb stairs any more.
She looks likes a miniature cur. Tan and white. Took me 10min to teach her to tree squirrels. I used a bream buster pole with some cord tied to it with a squirrel tail attached. I started teasing her with it and eventually let her get it in her mouth. When she spit it out to look at it, it took off again.
It “jumped” onto a mid height limb and I jiggled it blowing a squirrel call. She went crazy, with me encouraging her to bark. I left her with it. 45min later my wife came home. She asked me what “YOUR” crazy dog was barking at. I told her I’d thought her to tree squirrels...
She’s off of three generations of National Champions (North American Treeing Feist Association). They hold their annual event at the twin lakes in west Kentucky.

She’s almost as good as the first one I had. The first one had a 20 word vocabulary and “talked”. I trained her using Pop corn! Both could (does) cold trail a wounded deer. My current one has found a dozen that would have otherwise been lost dur to bleed out. She was 12.5lbs at 4yrs. She’s 17 now.
On more than one occasion she’s whipped a dog 4x her size. Sent them running. She’s VERY protective of my wife and grand daughters.

Adds meaning to phrase “feisty little bitxxh”
My wife and I both cried when the first died of parvovirus. We’ve vaxed the current one every year. A third got parvovirus within 2 weeks of bringing it home. Even though being vaccinated. Particularly virulent strain in our area. Wreaks havoc on the coyotes.

[parkerhale1200]

Perfect feisty dogs.
I had a high legged jack, perfect to train, full of energy, intelligent, but man they suck at waiting for the bang....
At a giving moment he noticed i was breating out before placing the shot....he decided that that was his que..
Quick and silent enough to catch some birds on his own.

With best regards, Igor

Ps if you know how to train them properly, get some pure bread boxers, 5 of them will bring you a wild pig, please dont forget there "armour"

[David2011]

We just adopted a Jack Russell and Yorkie mix. It didn’t take her long to discover that she had squirrels in her yard and they have kept her attention since. She’s fast and very strong but we’re not going to hunt squirrels in the neighborhood.