Looking for small dogs that hunt? Wether you’re looking for a dog to keep vermin or pests out of your home or a dog to help you catch quarry these breeds are game for the job.
Not all breeds are built for the rugged life of outdoors and depending on what time of game you’re hunting you may not want a bigger dog who may not not be able to flush out the smaller game.
The dogs on this list may be small of stature, but they’ve been bred to be good at hunting and it’s still very much in their genes. These dogs are small but mighty and can hold their own accompanying you on a hunt.
1. Jack Russell Terrier
Jack Russell terriers are named after a reverend named John Russell who bred the dog as a companion for hunting fox. They are small, energetic, tough and stubborn dogs and weigh between 14 and 17 lbs . They love to hunt and the hunting instinct cannot be trained out of them. They love to wander and are always looking for the next trouble they can get into. Jack Russell do not do well with other small animals or with pets as they see them as prey. They have been bred to vocalize to make prey come out of hiding but not kill prey. Despite being bred to hunt fox some people use them as gun dogs.
2. Beagle
Beagles are small, energetic, active dogs that love their humans. They have very strong instincts to sniff and track prey. They are a small, to medium breed and are scent hounds that were bred for hunting purposes. The beagle was bred for hundreds of years to hunt rabbits and gophers and other small game.
3. Border Terrier
Border terriers are smart, small dogs with good personalities and a lot of energy. They love to hunt and dig, are intelligent, loyal and fierce. They can also be extremely stubborn dogs as well so you should keep that in mind before deciding to buy or adopt one. Border terriers have long legs and smallish sized bodies. This is because their breeders bred them to be able to keep up with horses and other dogs on the hunts, while having bodies slim enough to fit in a fox burrow and chase it out.
4. Dachshund
Dachshunds are extremely popular dogs with many people loving their low, long profile and their brave, friendly and sometimes stubborn personalities. Dachshunds were bred in Germany for the specific purpose of helping to hunt badgers. The name Dachshund in German roughly translates to Badger dog.
Dachshunds were bred to be strong and courageous and able to persevere in order to draw out quarry. They have a bark that is much bigger than its size would intimate. Recognized by the AKC in 1885, Dachshunds immediately because an American favorite and remains in favor today.
5. German pinscher
German pinscher are medium breed dogs that are between 17 and 20 inches and weigh between 24 to 44 lbs. They are energetic dogs who are excellent ratters. They can dig for quite a long time when they’re trying to dig vermin out of their burrows. Like all terriers this breed was originally bred to dig out and kill vermin and that trait has not been bred out of them.
6. Cairn Terrier
The cairn terrier is originally of scottish descent and is one of the oldest terrier working breeds in the world. The breed is considered to be hypoallergenic and excellent with kids.
The cairn dog breed was named because of it’s function of chasing quarry between the cairns in the Scotland highlands. Though small in stature they are fearless little dogs who aren’t afraid to root out foxes and other small prey while on the hunt.
7. English Cocker Spaniel
The English Cocker Spaniel is another small breed that was bred with a very good hunting instinct. They are small and sturdy dogs who are closely related to the very popular American cocker spaniel.
Unlike the American spaniel which has become very much a house pet and lost many of it’s wild hunting instincts the English cocker spaniel has still very much maintained their instincts.
Due to their small statures they can go places where their larger counterparts cannot. They are feisty when it comes to flushing out game however they must be trained at an early age for the retrieve instinct to be fully formed in them.
Conclusion
While these dog breeds have kept their hunting instincts many individual dogs may not be naturals when it comes to hunting due to the way different breeders have bred them.
However if you want them to be able to join you on your hunting excursions or be ready to catch and kill vermin at home those instincts need to be nurtured at a young age.
