How to Train a Dog for Rabbit Hunting

Training Your Dog to Track

Train your dog in basic obedience. Your pup should learn basic commands like "sit" and "stay" before being introduced to rabbit hunting. In particular, the "recall" command--teaching your dog to come back to you when you call him-- is the most important part of any dog training, and you should begin training your pup to follow this command early on. Recall will be especially important during training in order to counteract predatory tendencies in the puppy and help to prevent them from injuring tame rabbits used in the training sessions. A guide to training a puppy to follow the recall command can be found here.

Begin training when the puppy is between 4 and 6 weeks old. Puppies at this age have a short attention span, so remember to keep training sessions between 2 or 3 times a day for 10-15 minutes.

Scatter pieces of treats through the yard and allow your pup to sniff around to find them. This helps the puppy learn to track a scent.

Tie a string around a piece of meat (such as a hotdog) and drag it around the yard. Every three feet or so, cut off a piece of the meat. This will help to train the puppy to follow extended scent trails. As your puppy gets better at tracking the scent trail, extend the length of the trail, as well as the spaces between the pieces of meat. Dragging a dead rabbit through the grass will also familiarize the puppy with its scent and prepare it to track live rabbits.

Introducing Your Dog to Rabbits

Introduce your puppy to a tame rabbit. When your puppy is between 12 and 16 weeks, introduce the puppy and a tame rabbit inside of an enclosure, or starting pen. Starting pens are surrounded by rabbit proof fencing (or chicken wire), and can range in size from 60 x 60 ft. to five acres large. You may choose to take your puppy to a private running pen, where you will pay for each dog that is trained. Alternatively, you can buy a tame rabbit and build a pen in your yard. It is recommended to only train up to 3 puppies at a time in the starting pen. Too many dogs can be distracting, and the rabbit's scent will be weaker to the dogs' noses.

Let the dog sniff the rabbit thoroughly while holding the rabbit by the scruff. Ideally, the puppy will become excited to chase the rabbit, kind of like a "toy." Also try tying up your puppy with a leash and having it watch you chase the rabbit around the enclosure. The puppy should become excited and try to break from the leash.

Release the rabbit. Your puppy should become excited and chase the rabbit. If the rabbit hides behind a log or bush, this is good, as it will help train the puppy to track the rabbit with its nose.

Run the puppy. Allow your dog to track and chase the rabbits around the pen for a 2-3 hours every other day, or at the very least once or twice a week. You can allow the pup to run, track, chase and investigate the rabbit on its own, but keep watch in order to prevent injuries to either the puppy or rabbit. The rabbit should be too fast for the puppy to catch, and the puppy itself will most likely not understand what to do if it actually catches the rabbit.

Remove the rabbit. Once the rabbit begins to tire from running, or if you see the puppy being aggressive, remove the rabbit from the pen. Make sure to not allow your dog to harm the rabbit. Puppies will not usually harm a tame rabbit, but you should keep a close eye on the pup and the rabbit in order to prevent injury to either animal.

Repeat the process with lots of praise every time your pup runs the rabbit to exhaustion. If your puppy eagerly follows the rabbit, it may only need a few times in the starting pen before it can move on. The length of training in a starter pen depends on the puppy's individual temperament. Some puppies will require only a day or two in the pen, while others may take weeks before they are independently tracking and chasing the tame rabbits. It is important to have cover in the pen that the rabbit can hide behind, as you want to train your puppy to use its nose to track, rather than "sight chase."

Preparing Your Dog for the Hunt

Move your puppy to a running pen. Running pens are similar to starting pens, only larger. Your puppy can track farther afield here, and continue to use its nose rather than its eyes to locate the rabbits. Running pens can vary widely in size, from 5 acres all the way up to 100 acres or more. To save time and money, join a local gundog field trial club. Most clubs will have both starter and running pens that you can use, as well as professional dog trainers who can help with puppies or dogs that are proving more difficult to train. Keep close to your puppy most of the time to build a strong team relationship.

Let your puppy run with older, trained dogs. This should occur when your pup can independently track a rabbit in the pen for around 10-20 minutes. A "brace," or two-dog pack, is often created by pairing your puppy with an older dog. Your pup will learn more advanced tracking skills from the older dog, in particular how to behave during a "check," or temporary loss of a rabbit's trail. Aim to run your young dog with a trained, but slower, female. If you only have one puppy (or puppies), you will have to run it with a friend or neighbour's dogs, or visit the local gundog club.

Prepare your dog for gunfire. Introduce your dog to gunfire training early on, in order to prepare it for the loud sounds of a hunt. Gradually train your dog to tolerate gunfire. Incorporate low-level, distant gunfire into daily activities, only moving closer as your dog becomes accustomed to the sound. Do not suddenly fire a gun near your dog if it has never heard the sound before.

Hunting with your Dog

Find the rabbits. Most rabbits will be found on dry, soft land near dense brush and other cover (thickets, briars, etc.), rather than in open spaces such as fields. Forest edges near grass and new crops are a rabbit's favourite habitat. Dawn and dusk are the best times to locate rabbits.

Let the dogs out. Well-trained rabbit hunting dogs will actually do most of the work when it comes to rabbit hunting. The dogs will search through briars, thickets and other areas where rabbits like to hide that would be difficult for you to search through yourself. When hunting in packs, a dog that picks up the scent of a rabbit will begin barking, signalling the other dogs to join the chase.

Prepare for the shot. Find an elevated spot or clearing from which you can follow the chase. Make sure to watch ahead of the lead dog, as it will be following the rabbit's scent and the rabbit will be running ahead of it. Rabbits do not stray far afield from their homes, and will eventually circle back during a chase. If the pursuit seems to be taking a long time, be patient, as the rabbit will begin to circle back to its home.

Take the shot. When your dog(s) run the rabbit into an open area such as a trail or field, or you catch a good look at the rabbit running through brush, finish the hunt with your rifle. If the rabbit puts enough distance between itself and the dogs, it will pause to look back. This is the most ideal situation in which to kill the rabbit. Always be aware of the location of your dogs and hunting companions, and be certain you have a clear shot before pulling the trigger.