Because I mainly ferret I take my pups along as soon as they can follow, it's never put one off missing them. If I was doing as much as you do I'd probably go for a sturdier type instead of straight running dogs.
Don't really agree, even creeping up, down wind to warrens without dogs. Depends more on the rabbits environment and their wariness to local dangers what I've seen but I always try to be quiet.
Plenty of land but the rabbits are getting scarce around here in NSW. I agree with the UK breeding, cattle dogs and dingoes as lurchers and I'd starve to death.
They seem to hole hop most when the warrens are near humans, the worst property I ferreted had a dozen sheep dogs chasing them constantly and none bolted, the ferrets killed them in the ground in every warren there.
The saluki obviously, they are closest to the wolf in trainability, lol. Thousands of years of evolution refined them to the ultimate speed machine, the mighty whippet ?.
Nice looking bitch and not knocking her or her performance but she looks like my mates 3/4 whippet 1/4 kelpie. Longer body and not as deep chest as the whippets here in Oz.
I like dogs that can jump fences for reasons mentioned but I had one that wouldn't jump any height fence, he was good when doing pest control near highways and busy roads. When I got one of these jobs I left the other dogs at home.
I don't expect my dogs to do party tricks and don't tell them how to hunt or sool them on. I do pull them up if they fck up so I suppose that's training. I've learnt more off working bred dogs than I could teach them.