Brindle vs Fawn?

[Caney Creek]

It seems more likely to me that brindles might have been more sought after to be used as hunters because the striped coat provides better camouflage than a solid coat. So maybe at one point people would tend to breed brindle dogs more so for hunting purposes, and breed fawns for other purposes.

Creek is fawn and not a hunter at all. DEFINITELY more suited as a companion.

Caney on the other hand is a hunter at heart... her eye patch is brindle but other than that she's all white, so not camouflaged AT ALL -- the bunnies she stalks can see her coming from a mile away

 

[trc4941]

Rocco our flashy fawn likes to chase chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, deer, etc. But Dino our brindle is a crazy maniac when it comes to that. He will spend the entire day chasing the chipmunk that for some reason still lives in our yard (I would have packed up and left months ago!). He runs from tree to tree sometimes sitting under a tree for hours waiting for the poor thing to come down. He has tunnel vision while he's at it too - don't get in his way when he's on the chase, because he'll mow you right over.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

Kilby (fawn) and Kona (brindle) both have hunt drive... especially for birds. I have lost count of how many birds Kilby has killed in our backyard and a few months ago Kona tried to go for this big Ibis.

And to add further to the confusion, Kilby is overall a much more placid dog than Kona but Kona is the by far the biggest smooch of the two when it's finally time to rest.

 

[SweetCody]

Interesting topic. Both of mine are fawn. Cody is by no means a hunter at all....in his mind if it is alive it is there to play with me . Aniah on the other hand has a major prey drive...she just isn't a very good hunter. She has never caught anything...not for the lack of trying just for the lack of skill

 

[EAO76]

I have four fawns & all of them are hunters. None of my dogs would be safe around cats. They have all caught various rodents. And the squirrels that run our back fence are their arch enemy.

 

[Cami]

Cami was fawn. She had a very high prey drive.
She managed to catch....
Opossums (multiple), mallard duck, chip monk and treed a raccoon. She went after birds but squirrels and bunnies were her favorites to chase out of the yard. Would also chase any flying bug or hopping insect.
She was impossible with critters and even after being sprayed by a skunk would still go after them any chance she got.

 

[alyssakitz]

Marshall (fawn) has Zero prey drive... and I mean zero. The only time he notices a critter is when Zoe starts after one. He is interested in the cats, but no more so than he is new dogs we encounter. He'd like to play with them and I suppose might take chase if opportunity presented itself, although he never has.

Zoe (also fawn), is an amazing hunter. She freezes, points and tracks. We believe she is 1/2 Rhodesian Ridgeback, and I always credited that part of her as being what makes her so interested in the hunt. She has been skunked, rumbled with a racoon, treed some Turkeys and landed on an Opossum in our yard. The racoon was the scariest because it fought back and I was sure she was going to get torn up - fortunately it took to a tree. She LOVES to chase the cats, although I do my best to prevent her from doing so. Had she not been socialized with them from 7 weeks old I think she would probably do harm to them. Fortunately she does know they are part of the pack and not to harm them. Her favorite thing in the world, maybe because they have always eluded her, are squirrels. When she sees a squirrel all training goes out the door - she gets this glazed-over look and there's no getting her back.

Interesting topic.

 

[samsons]

i beleive the colors also is a myth - BUT it makes since the best of the brindle's where breed with the best of the brindles... so on n so on... so maybe more about breeding then color! JMO

BUT i will play also !!!!! ( fun post )

sam is a flashy fawn.

if it moves it should be hunted, caught,played with, and possibly eaten.

this includes :
loud squealing children ( must jump on & lick ) still working on this one !!
our (wild) pet squirrel that we hand feed ( lives in the tree off the deck ) thsi one makes sam batty
bugs / ants / birds
leaves
really anything with fur smaller then him


he kinda glazes over when " mamma" squirrel is teasing him .. will sit just out of his reach in the trees - untill the day he nipped her tail ! he half climbed the huge oak !! she sitts a little higher now !!!!!!!!

 

[Steven Menk]

I wonder if there isn't some selective breeding that goes into these sorts of things...

Cosworth is an impressive hunter: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/boxer-ring/151316-coz-catches-deer.html

But isn't a killer. He'll sniff out and chase the hell out of something but in the end just wants to pet it and makes friends.

 

[sasmeow]

Marshall (fawn) has Zero prey drive... and I mean zero. The only time he notices a critter is when Zoe starts after one. He is interested in the cats, but no more so than he is new dogs we encounter. He'd like to play with them and I suppose might take chase if opportunity presented itself, although he never has.

Zoe (also fawn), is an amazing hunter. She freezes, points and tracks. We believe she is 1/2 Rhodesian Ridgeback, and I always credited that part of her as being what makes her so interested in the hunt. She has been skunked, rumbled with a racoon, treed some Turkeys and landed on an Opossum in our yard. The racoon was the scariest because it fought back and I was sure she was going to get torn up - fortunately it took to a tree. She LOVES to chase the cats, although I do my best to prevent her from doing so. Had she not been socialized with them from 7 weeks old I think she would probably do harm to them. Fortunately she does know they are part of the pack and not to harm them. Her favorite thing in the world, maybe because they have always eluded her, are squirrels. When she sees a squirrel all training goes out the door - she gets this glazed-over look and there's no getting her back.

Interesting topic.

Gus LOVES squirels too, his favorite!!! LOL. Unfortunately , he had caught several squirels and killed them. At first I thought they were falling out of the trees and dying, until I saw him do it.

I know how scary raccoons are!!! Gus actually killed one. Totally freaked me out! It was dark out and very late, and I couldn't get to him and he would not listen. It fought back, Gus got some minor scratches on his chest and 1 bite wound in his mouth, but the raccoon lost. I heard him shake it several times.... worst sound ever. Luckily it wasnt a huge one (maybe 10-12 pounds), because it could have been worse.