Looking to get back into ferreting

[chilly 59]

Hi all as you can see this is my first post so be gentle with me lol,

When I was younger I vary much enjoyed ferreting with a friend and kept ferrets and worked them for years thro comp and up until I was about 19 , I'm now 25 with my own familly and have been thinking about taking it all up again but haven't been ferreting for about 6 to 7 years.

 

I still have my old nets and ferret box over my mams house , and have a decent place in the garden I can keep the ferrets with a little work

 

So I will need to get some materials to house the ferrets, the ferrets them selves and few bit , finder, shovel , bags etc none of this will be a problem.

 

The problem I have is that my close mate who i used to go out working with was alot older than me and had been doing it for a vary long time , and it was him who had the permission on the few bits of land we used to visit , and sadly he is no longer with us passed away 4 years ago , so as I can see the only places I can go to start would be a vary limited amount of common land , I now that I will have to start trying to get some permission and totally intend to once I'm up and running , but if there is any one in south Wales who would be willing for me to tag along or point me in the right direction I would be vary much thankfully

 

Also I have a 3. Year old airdale terrier bitch that has never been worked is a pet and is a bit of wimp lol, is there even the remotest chance that I could teach her to work at all? She is a vary obedient dog.

 

Any other tips or advice given will be vary helpfull

 

Thanks

 

Thanks

[kevin from bristol 95]

were are you and do you drive ?

[KittleRox 2,147]

Hi all as you can see this is my first post so be gentle with me lol,

When I was younger I vary much enjoyed ferreting with a friend and kept ferrets and worked them for years thro comp and up until I was about 19 , I'm now 25 with my own familly and have been thinking about taking it all up again but haven't been ferreting for about 6 to 7 years.

 

I still have my old nets and ferret box over my mams house , and have a decent place in the garden I can keep the ferrets with a little work

 

So I will need to get some materials to house the ferrets, the ferrets them selves and few bit , finder, shovel , bags etc none of this will be a problem.

 

The problem I have is that my close mate who i used to go out working with was alot older than me and had been doing it for a vary long time , and it was him who had the permission on the few bits of land we used to visit , and sadly he is no longer with us passed away 4 years ago , so as I can see the only places I can go to start would be a vary limited amount of common land , I now that I will have to start trying to get some permission and totally intend to once I'm up and running , but if there is any one in south Wales who would be willing for me to tag along or point me in the right direction I would be vary much thankfully

 

Also I have a 3. Year old airdale terrier bitch that has never been worked is a pet and is a bit of wimp lol, is there even the remotest chance that I could teach her to work at all? She is a vary obedient dog.

 

Any other tips or advice given will be vary helpfull

 

Thanks

 

Thanks

Welcome to the madhoose,

When I introduce a dog to the ferrets for the first time I place the ferret on the ground and have a good hold of the dog on the lead,if the dog makes an attempt to attack the ferrets give a firm tug on the lead with the command No,keep repeating this until she gets the message.

Some dogs can be harder to break to ferrets than others,every dogs different,once your confident she is used to the ferrets and will not try and attack them you can take her with you ferreting,I keep a hold of the dogs collar the first few outings to make sure she doesn,t go for the ferrets with all the excitement.

Only time will tell if she will be useful or not,I have always liked airedales,though never owned one I reckon they could be handy in the field,

Awe the best and good luck,

[chilly 59]

Living in port Talbot mate do you ever come down this neck of the woods?

 

To be honest I don't think I'll have much trouble introducing the ferrets to the dog, I think I will prob struggle with her lack of aggression , maybe I should get a toy rabbit and start getting her to rag it, and see if I can get some reall rabbits to feed her and get her on the sent ? Will have a look thro the search tab tonight if there any tips on training , I'm not holding to much hope tho like I said she's a wimp lol never now maybe I'll get my self a lurcher if I get right back into it

[KittleRox 2,147]

Living in port Talbot mate do you ever come down this neck of the woods?

 

To be honest I don't think I'll have much trouble introducing the ferrets to the dog, I think I will prob struggle with her lack of aggression , maybe I should get a toy rabbit and start getting her to rag it, and see if I can get some reall rabbits to feed her and get her on the sent ? Will have a look thro the search tab tonight if there any tips on training , I'm not holding to much hope tho like I said she's a wimp lol never now maybe I'll get my self a lurcher if I get right back into it

I wouldn,t teach her to rag,maybe just some retrieving work.

Don,t worry about her being soft natured,it could work in your favour,she may retrieve bunnys live to hand,once she sees a real bunny this will probably bring out the hunting instinct, ,awaken the prey drive inside her,give the dog a chance,she may surprise you,

[chilly 59]

I hope so as she is an exelent dog in all othere areas extremely loyal , obident , loving and trustworthy just never been worked and I thought her age will go against her , but With a little hard work on my part she may catch on,

 

All this talk now looking forward to getting back out wit the ferrets . What kind of finders people using at the mo ? Last time I was out my mate had a simple one just like a square green box that clicked

 

excuse the spelling was on my iphone in work lol

Edited November 25, 2010 by chilly

[KittleRox 2,147]

I,ve been doing ferreting for over 20 yrs now and never used a locator,maybe I,m a bit old fashioned,had a few long waits in the freezing cold mind you, nothing wrong with locators though,just not my style,atb,

[Rake aboot 4,929]

Aye

 

Welcome to the madhoose,

When I introduce a dog to the ferrets for the first time I place the ferret on the ground and have a good hold of the dog on the lead,if the dog makes an attempt to attack the ferrets give a firm tug on the lead with the command No,keep repeating this until she gets the message.

Some dogs can be harder to break to ferrets than others,every dogs different,^{once your confident she is used to the ferrets and will not try and attack them you can take her with you ferreting,I keep a hold of the dogs collar the first few outings to make sure she doesn,t go for the ferrets with all the excitement.}Only time will tell if she will be useful or not,I have always liked airedales,though never owned one I reckon they could be handy in the field,

Awe the best and good luck,

 

Naw yeh dinnae Roxy,,, yeh jist use ma ferrets till the dugs fine !

 

ATB

[KittleRox 2,147]

Aye

 

Welcome to the madhoose,

When I introduce a dog to the ferrets for the first time I place the ferret on the ground and have a good hold of the dog on the lead,if the dog makes an attempt to attack the ferrets give a firm tug on the lead with the command No,keep repeating this until she gets the message.

Some dogs can be harder to break to ferrets than others,every dogs different,^{once your confident she is used to the ferrets and will not try and attack them you can take her with you ferreting,I keep a hold of the dogs collar the first few outings to make sure she doesn,t go for the ferrets with all the excitement.}Only time will tell if she will be useful or not,I have always liked airedales,though never owned one I reckon they could be handy in the field,

Awe the best and good luck,

 

Naw yeh dinnae Roxy,,, yeh jist use ma ferrets till the dugs fine !

 

ATB

Aye and they,re still in one piece and she calmed them right doon,biting bxxxxxds,ha ha ha,

[mullered 1]

welcome mate atb

[chilly 59]

thanks for the welcome guys , been looking for some threads on which lurcher x for which quarry but cant seem to find anything have you got any links to good threads

 

also any threads on making rabit scin dummies ?

[KittleRox 2,147]

thanks for the welcome guys , been looking for some threads on which lurcher x for which quarry but cant seem to find anything have you got any links to good threads

 

also any threads on making rabit scin dummies ?

If your trying to find oot what the best lurcher x is you,d be better to stay away from this forum,

[chilly 59]

Just thought I'd ask here as we were already in discussion didn't want to start ANOUTHER thread in the dog section on which dog x to which dog as there seem to be hundreds of them and not many with much info or pics , have been looking thro it to try get a understanding of what job different x are best suited. Sorry

[mike1458 14]

If you want a rabbiting dog get a nice collie x grey or whippet. Depending on the size of your ground, depends what cross you want, but you can't go wrong with a collie cross. Don't rush into buying a dog either. Wait and get some permission first and then get a feel for it. I am just over the bridge if you drive and fancy a day out some time.

 

ATB Mike

[KittleRox 2,147]

Just thought I'd ask here as we were already in discussion didn't want to start ANOUTHER thread in the dog section on which dog x to which dog as there seem to be hundreds of them and not many with much info or pics , have been looking thro it to try get a understanding of what job different x are best suited. Sorry

no need for the sorry mate,when you ask the question whats the best x on here you,ll get lots of different answers and end up totally confused,

My own personal preference would be the same as Mikes if you,re mainly going to be do ferreting,other people will prefer,pure whippets,beddy whippets,terriers of all sorts,terrier x,s,etc,etc,