Do you have a ratting terrier on your farm (especially in Northeastern US)?

[pkarkos]

Hello!

I am having a serious rat and mouse problem on my farm and therefore I am considering getting a terrier to help with the rat problem. I have tried other methods of rat removal (cats, poison, plaster of paris, glue traps, electric traps, traps, digging up their nests where I find them, using smoke bombs, keeping animal grain in steel bins in a secure shed, Irish spring soap in the tack room, and others) that just haven't worked or we get a new batch soon enough so I am not super interested in other methods because chances are I have tried it. I am also looking for something preventative not just getting rid of them in the short term.
Therefore I am looking at getting a ratting terrier. I am not picky about the breed but I would like to get one from a working line breeder or another farmer who keeps or breeds terriers that hunt rats. So to any of you who have terriers (or other dogs that hunt rats) on your farm, do you find that they help keep the rat population down or keep them away entirely? Where did you get your terrier? Did you get them from a working line breeder and if you did, would you be willing to tell me what breeder? What kind of training did you do to get them to hunt? I would also be happy to hear anything else about hunt rats with dogs.
(Also just for reference, I am quite knowledgable about dog training as I work with hunting hounds so I would be up to a training challenge if need be)
I am located in southern New England so I would be looking for a breeder in the northeast or probably no further south than SC.

Thank you!

 

[Offshoreorca]

Jack Russells are wonderful for rodent control if you can find some from working lines. I’m in Canada, but the breeder I got my most recent pup from does have other breeders she works with in the U.S. so I know there would be some around. Look for ones that are part of the JRTCA - there has been significant effort made by many folks to keep this breed working. Our dogs have always just taken to it like a duck to water, but there are training groups and ratting events held via the Jack Russell Clubs. There will be other areas of training that take time and patience with terriers, but it’s well worth the reward as they make great companions in addition to workers.

Our jacks were efficient at hunting both rats and mice, but leave anything that isn’t a rodent alone.

 

[pkarkos]

Jack Russells are wonderful for rodent control if you can find some from working lines. I’m in Canada, but the breeder I got my most recent pup from does have other breeders she works with in the U.S. so I know there would be some around. Look for ones that are part of the JRTCA - there has been significant effort made by many folks to keep this breed working. Our dogs have always just taken to it like a duck to water, but there are training groups and ratting events held via the Jack Russell Clubs. There will be other areas of training that take time and patience with terriers, but it’s well worth the reward as they make great companions in addition to workers.

Our jacks were efficient at hunting both rats and mice, but leave anything that isn’t a rodent alone.

Thank you! So that is one vote for JRTs so far, lol. I just looked up a JRT few breeders on the parent club website and a few listed working JRTs on their website so that may work. Thanks again!

 

[RojoMarz]

Our jacks were efficient at hunting both rats and mice, but leave anything that isn’t a rodent alone.

Do you still have Jacks? We just acquired a 7 year old JRT on Sunday. His owners wanted him to have more space and hunting opportunities. We have both...70 acres, mice and chipmunks.

I was literally in this subgroup to post about JRTs. I don't want to take the OP off topic though.

 

[RojoMarz]

We just adopted a 7 year old JRT, for mouse and chipmunk control. He seems to be a threat to the pine cones that are under the two feet of snow. We'll see in Spring, what he is like, but I anticipate he will enjoy his new playground.

I did see that he is from Hereford Hills Jack Russell Terriers and they are in MO.

We were looking for a Rat Terrier, but this opportunity with the JRT happened.

 

[Offshoreorca]

Do you still have Jacks? We just acquired a 7 year old JRT on Sunday. His owners wanted him to have more space and hunting opportunities. We have both...70 acres, mice and chipmunks.

I was literally in this subgroup to post about JRTs. I don't want to take the OP off topic though.

Yes! I have one that’s just over a year old. My last one passed last year around New Years just a month short of his 17th birthday. He could catch over 20 mice in an hour when he was at it - he frequently helped us clean out the aviary and barns. My new little one hasn’t done much hunting yet as we haven’t had any mice or rats around for him to get

 

[Mmanist]

My grandparents had a little Carin terrier, Wizard of oz terrier dog. That dog would run the farm and get any thing from mice, to dragging a ground hog the size of her out of a hole. Very fearless little girl!

 

[Punkybrewster]

I had a Jack Russell.
Excellent for keeping rodents away.
Very smart dogs.
She was friendly, left the chickens alone and hunted down any rodent that moved almost to the point of obsession.

 

[Offshoreorca]

My grandparents had a little Carin terrier, Wizard of oz terrier dog. That dog would run the farm and get any thing from mice, to dragging a ground hog the size of her out of a hole. Very fearless little girl!

Awesome! Yeah, it’s a terrier trait to be fearless like that. In South Africa Jacks often tackle snakes (even cobras) and I’ve seen videos of them going after boars in the States. I think there are quite a few terrier breeds that would be good rodent hunters, but my experience is limited to the jacks.

 

[Offshoreorca]

We just adopted a 7 year old JRT, for mouse and chipmunk control. He seems to be a threat to the pine cones that are under the two feet of snow. We'll see in Spring, what he is like, but I anticipate he will enjoy his new playground.

I did see that he is from Hereford Hills Jack Russell Terriers and they are in MO.

We were looking for a Rat Terrier, but this opportunity with the JRT happened.

Our newest terrier came from Inseguire Terriers in Saskatchewan. Yours should provide great rodent control - we’ve never had a jack that hasn’t been hellbent on catching mice and rats (and anything else that fits into that rodent category).