training a lab for rabbits

[winner30]

i got a white lab pup a couple of weeks a go, he is still a pup, about 12/13 weeks old, i'm trying to train him to rabbit hunt, also, my friend has a beagle, were trying to train them together. any help.

[Bearfootfarm]

A Lab won't have the instinct to trail scents like a hound.
The best way to train a rabbit dog is to let it hunt with PROVEN rabbit dogs, but I wouldn't get my hopes up for a Lab

[JasoninMN]

Sure you can train a lab to hunt rabbits. They are going to push the rabbit a lot faster then the beagle is though and push the rabbits a lot harder so its going to mean less rabbits for you to shoot. Also running the two breeds together is also going to increase bad habits in both dogs. Keep in mind that dogs don't have a switch that you can turn off, you take your lab rabbit hunting then decide to go pheasant, its going to hunt whatever it smells first. Your dog may be chasing rabbits instead of birds for you. I use my lab for upland game birds, I don't shoot or let her run rabbit, squirrel or deer ever while we are hunting.

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

A Lab won't have the instinct to trail scents like a hound.
The best way to train a rabbit dog is to let it hunt with PROVEN rabbit dogs, but I wouldn't get my hopes up for a Lab

nothing runs like a scenthound.
scent hounds were invented for sport & they adapted well to game that is hard to get w/ hot nosed dogs like cats. they are also good for low game populations & hunters that aren't game savy. silent trailing, hot/medium nosed dogs are meat dogs for the hunter who knows how to put the dog where it'll find tracks they can run. labs run like a good cur dog. the only issue will be their instinct work birds.

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by winner30

i got a white lab pup a couple of weeks a go, he is still a pup, about 12/13 weeks old, i'm trying to train him to rabbit hunt, also, my friend has a beagle, were trying to train them together. any help.

keeping in mind what Jason said
if you really want to make a rabbit dog out of it, first teach it to love using it's nose. drag a hotdog across the yard on a string. then walk the dog across the track. give him a chance to choose the right direction. when he gets to the hotdog let him bark at it out of reach for a second. then love him up & let him eat the hotdog. start w/ short tracks up to 5 yards long. as he gets older switch to rabbit scent on a rag. don't let him chew the rag but do love him up & give him a piece of hot dog. over time cut back the hotdog to every other track, then every 3rd track and so on, but love him up after every good find. also as you go make longer tracks w/ cirlce & backtracks. at about 6-9 months go ahead and let him run live rabbit tracks.
don't train the dogs together, don't run them together untl both are finished and stock/trash broke. running two pups together is counterproductive. they will skip the training & hunting to play.
this is just a rough guide. a good primer for you would be "a walk with wick" by Mike Wick, it's about training coonhounds but it is a good foundation for any hunting dog. also basic obedience is the MOST IMPORTANT foundation training you can do. get that down before you go beyond the hotdog & leave the yard.