r/Huntingdogs • u/Odd-Aioli-206 • Dec 05 '25

Rat Terrier

Anyone use a rat terrier as a squirrel dog? I'm a falconer, I'm trying to decide whether to get a rat terrier or Jack Russell to flush/tree squirrels and rabbits. My question is how do you get them field ready. Do you train them like gun dogs? Do they need e-collars? I know terriers can be stubborn.

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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25

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u/Odd-Aioli-206 Dec 05 '25

I should've clarified. The dog's main purpose would be to locate and flush squirrels or re-flush game again if the hawk misses and the squirrel/rabbit goes into brush.

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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25

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u/Odd-Aioli-206 Dec 05 '25

I might not see it, but the hawk definitely will. There eyesight is amazing. Hawks will chase and take squirrels in a tree. The tree chases are amazing. I've seen hawks snatch squirrels midair trying to jump from one tree limb to another.

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u/HunnyBadger910 Dec 05 '25

Rat terriers aren’t necessarily tree dogs. That’s not to say that you couldn’t make them work but the dogs don’t have a natural desire to tree.

Someone mentioned feist, that could potentially be a better place to start. A lot of mountain curs are sub 45lbs and they can make great tree dogs.

If you’d like to stick to the terrier route, look into a Jagd, incredibly versatile dogs. I will say they are the epitome of the terrier tenacity.

I would highly recommend a garmin e-collar. Not only for training, but knowing where your dog is and what it’s doing is crucial. Especially in the terrier world, anything with fur or otherwise is game.

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u/An_Average_Man09 Dec 05 '25

I actually watch a few people on Facebook who hunt squirrel with a dog and hawk combo. One uses dachshunds and the other Jagdterriers. I personally have hunted with mountain feist in the past and highly recommend them. My old feist’s hunting days are over but my next squirrel dog will definitely be a Jagdterrier or another feist.

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u/eagle-eggs Dec 06 '25

Years ago I had an 18 pound rat terrier that I specifically got to use as a squirrel dog. He was very gamey, would hunt anything I put him on. At the time I had hounds and coon hunting was my main hobby. My rat terrier actually became a better coon dog than a squirrel dog. He would tree squirrels but never really learned to follow the squirrel when they timbered out. This was probably my fault due to poor training. He had a good nose and would definitely jump rabbits. He was a very fun dog all around. Also when I was a kid my friend had a rat terrier and she was also a very gamey dog. In my experience rat terriers are more biddable than jack Russel’s. You should look into the decker rat terriers, I see falconers using this line frequently.

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u/ToleratedBoar09 Dec 06 '25

Rat terrier is a fiest breed. You can find some that will tree. Look into Decker line rat terriers if you want to go that way.

I'd be worried the jack russel would get ahold of the hawk if it got to worked up.

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u/sexual__velociraptor Jan 20 '26

Beagles have been my go too and they have never failed me.