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Rottweiler for hunting
#2729783
11/08/11 12:42 AM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 436
drag13honda
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 436 |
I recently just rescued a 3 to 3-1/2 month old Rottweiler puppy. Long story short, my cousin's neighbors moved out and left him in the backyard. I've heard multiple people on the Rottweiler forums say that they tend to be pretty natural retrievers and pretty easy to train as a tracker. I'd really like to try to train the Rott puppy to do some smaller game hunting (Mainly bird, but rabbit, squirrel, etc. would be nice as well). This would be my first hunting dog, so I don't even know where to begin. I'd love any tips/reading material you have to suggest.
I know there are places that can train the dog for you, but I would like to maintain a part in training the dog so I can learn how to do it myself for future reference.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions you have.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: drag13honda]
#2730089
11/08/11 01:58 AM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 698
duckkhunterr
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 698 |
I have heard the same thing. I guess you can start like most folks that have labs and so forth. Find yourself some really good books and start there.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: duckkhunterr]
#2731852
11/08/11 05:18 PM
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 643
Black Horse
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 643 |
There is a lot of chatter out there re: what they did w Rotts way back in the day. I am sure that it would depend greatly on the genetics of the dog...very similar to any other. But I bet you could do it with patience and repetitive training. Now that, would be cool!
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: Black Horse]
#2731874
11/08/11 05:25 PM
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,900
txshntr
T-Rex Arms
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T-Rex Arms
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 35,900 |
I grew up with Rotts and love the breed. Great dogs and when I have land again, I will own a couple of more. With that said, I am sure they can be trained but mine were not "natural" retrievers. I would throw a ball, he would go get it, I would throw it again, he would go get it, I would throw it the third time and the look on his face was pretty much saying "dude, I got it twice...you can get it this time." As far as tracking goes, the ones I had weren't very good at it. My German Shepards were ten times better than the Rotts. They tried hard but weren't great. They were all "high" bred dogs, so maybe they bred them for build rather than ability One thing I can assure is that they will kill a coyote quickly and if you turn your back, they can take down a cow. Good luck and congrats to acquiring a great dog
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: txshntr]
#2732165
11/08/11 06:48 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,918
JakeinTX
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,918 |
I grew up with Rotts and love the breed. Great dogs and when I have land again, I will own a couple of more. With that said, I am sure they can be trained but mine were not "natural" retrievers. I would throw a ball, he would go get it, I would throw it again, he would go get it, I would throw it the third time and the look on his face was pretty much saying "dude, I got it twice...you can get it this time." As far as tracking goes, the ones I had weren't very good at it. My German Shepards were ten times better than the Rotts. They tried hard but weren't great. They were all "high" bred dogs, so maybe they bred them for build rather than ability One thing I can assure is that they will kill a coyote quickly and if you turn your back, they can take down a cow. Good luck and congrats to acquiring a great dog my Rott was an awesome dog, but he didn't like to go outside if it was raining! He would turn around and go right back to sleep if raining! As far as fetching anything. He loved to chase a ball, but wouldn't bring it back to you. He would chase the ball and then lay down and start chewing on it. Great family dog, and he was awesome with my kids. But not sure about tracking, I never trained him for it...but maybe with enough time.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: JakeinTX]
#2950458
01/22/12 06:53 AM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 436
drag13honda
OP
Bird Dog
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OP
Bird Dog
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 436 |
Just a little update, my Rott is about 5-1/2 months old now (best estimate). I'm a total noob at training a hunting dog, as mentioned above. I've tried a few things just trying to get a feel for how he seems like he would do with certain things. I bought a canvas bird dummy (with wings), some bird scents, and a cap gun (hear me out). I started out putting the scent on the dummy and throwing it, having him return it and drop it in front of me. He LOVES this, has WAY more interest in the dummy than he does tennis balls. Then I started throwing it more difficult places where he'd have to look for it. So far I've hidden it from him twice (not throwing, that way he has no idea where it's at) and had him sniff it out (since i've had him, his nose has always been going a million miles an hour). The first time I just placed it where he didn't know where it was and let him sniff it out. The next time I made a slight trail with the scent and had him follow it to the dummy. Both times he found it with little effort. I've made sure to handle my shotgun on a regular basis since i've had him. I bought a cap gun to start shooting here in the city to start getting him used to the bang before taking him out to my family's house to start training him with a real gun.
Does it sound like i'm partially on the right track with him? Where do I go from here? Like I mentioned, I was just testing the waters with him to see if he even seemed interested. So far he seems to be doing really well (to me atleast). I'd like to take it to the next level now. Thanks for reading, and any advice you may have.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: drag13honda]
#2954159
01/23/12 08:43 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,411
Mud Shark
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,411 |
yep. Keep up the good work. Sounds like you're doing a great job
Mud Shark
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: Mud Shark]
#2954176
01/23/12 08:49 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,370
kindall
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,370 |
You could most likely find some live rabbits on craigslist if you plan on using him on small game.
Shopping with your husband is like hunting with the game warden. Experience is what you get, when you didn't get what you wanted.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: kindall]
#2960325
01/25/12 09:59 PM
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,369
Bildo
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,369 |
Look up the author wolters has a few books such as water dog game dog gun dog etc all the same training method. I ordered some from half price books and saved. his books are easy reading and have been around since the early 60 s I believe good stuff
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: Bildo]
#2970932
01/30/12 12:25 AM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,085
Don Dial
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,085 |
My hunting buddy has two, one which came from his sisters dog that was 160lbs...I understand that they were orig. stock dogs and war dogs...His give the squirrels and house cats a fit..DD
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: Don Dial]
#2971040
01/30/12 01:11 AM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 17,117
MikeC
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 17,117 |
Our female Rott will fetch most anything you throw and most likely you'll give out before she will. She loves it. She's also a "high" bred dog that we paid more for than I've ever before given for a dog. Her sire weighed 145#. She's just turned two and she weighs 92 pounds and doesn't have any fat on her, just solid as a rock. She is our third Rott with the other two finally going from old age. I seriously doubt that I'll ever own another breed of dog again. I have a male lab too and even though he's a good dog, he's just not a Rott.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: MikeC]
#2996068
02/08/12 03:28 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 157
rb85cj7
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 157 |
Dear God I would hate to be the one to force fetch a Rott.
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Re: Rottweiler for hunting
[Re: rb85cj7]
#2996085
02/08/12 03:33 AM
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 366
coonie
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 366 |
the Rott might force fetch you!
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