Snake breaking

[greyghost61]

Has anyone used a python or any other type of snake for breaking? I used to have a rattle snake but he is long gone now and I was wondering if a python would work as well. I normally stumble across rattle snakes every year, but last year was bust with regards to them.

[kninebirddog]

it will work if you want to break your dogs from pythons

it will not work if your planning an rattle snake avoidance

we have a guy down south charge people 50 plus bucks and breaks there dogs on bull snakes..every single one of those dogs that have been brought here for rechecks over the years have gone right in on the scent and/or sound of a rattler

[fishvik]

we have a guy down south charge people 50 plus bucks and breaks there dogs on bull snakes..every single one of those dogs that have been brought here for rechecks over the years have gone right in on the scent and/or sound of a rattler

Knine, that's interesting because I've used gopher snakes(bull snakes) to snakebreak my dogs up here in Idaho with very good success. They give any snake including rattlers and garter snakes a wide bearth. Maybe the smell on rattlers down there is just different. Good to know though if I ever head south to hunt quail after our season closes up here.

I also think that training with even a small(less than 3') python could be rough on a dog if it got hold of it on the muzzle. Pythons have lots of sharp teeth. Anything larger than 3' could even strangle an average size bird dog.

[birdhunter2424]

My club is doing a snake avoidance clinic and the person running the clinic uses rattlesnakes that have had there fangs altered.

[kninebirddog]

That is what Bob does with our rattlers he milks and defangs them right before a session