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| Rabbit Hunting Dogs | Rabbits are found in most parts of the world They are
not rodents, as they may appear, but are actually
members of the order lagomorpha. A healthy rabbit can
live fifteen years Rabbits have been eaten and also
hunted for thousands of years. Rabbit meat is an good
source of protein. The meat is lower in fat than pork
or chicken.
Rabbit hunting dogs usually fall into two categories,
and which you use depends, for the most part, on what
type of rabbit hunting you are doing. This is not to
say that only two classes of dog are fit to hunt
rabbits. Any dog that has the inclination to chase a
rabbit on the run, and that has the speed to catch
them, can be taught to "course". (Coursing is when a
dog sights a rabbit from a long way away, and chases
it down with blinding speed, and dispatches it with
it's mighty jaws, all in a matter of seconds.) Only
that some dogs have been used throughout history, by
hunters, to hunt rabbits, due to their innate
qualities.
For an open land hunter, who doesn't know the location
of a rabbit den, the best choice of rabbit hunting dog
would probably be a hound of some type. A sighthound,
such as the whippet, is ideal for coursing rabbits,
due to it's keep eyesight, speed, and natural
predisposition to chase anything that runs. A
ScentHounds, such as a blue tick coonhound, is ideal
for sniffing out the location of rabbits.
For instances where the location of the warren is
known, hunters often drive the rabbits underground,
spread a large net over the entire area, and send
terriers down the holes to flush out the rabbits or
kill them. Rabbits that reach the surface alive, and
are trapped in the net are shot.
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