Land that you run. . .?

[DottyDoo 500]

we work the land that holds the game

[watchman 256]

we run on flint and field with barbed wire aswell as old railway banks . . . . . horrible land for any dog to run and we often here of dogs getting killed doing there job

pretty much the same as i have here in herts with a few golf courses thrown in,as you say most of it not good for any dog to be honest just have to be a bit picky with runs at times although obviously not ideal but im all for making the best of things to get them out and running a bit of game

[skycat 6,174]

That sounds like decent running land to me Skycat? I honestly mean that. But like has been pointed out ANY land with any sort of obstrctions can be dangerous in its own way.

I work over land that most wouldnt even think about running a dog on, steep mountain, rocks, deep gullies with cliffs, waterfalls, forestry and moors with deep hidden trenches. But certain lurchers will fair well on any terrain, if they can learn to run clever. All lurchers are individuals and ive had a few different types that have been good on very rough, steep hill ground. Others dont suit the land . Usually down to the lurchers mentality. Ive had my fair share of bad luck, breaks, even deaths, but no more so on any certain type of land, a bad accident can happen anywhere.

 

 

The main problem is the lack of quarry out in the open: the fens are wide open and dodgy to run on even at night as there's so many night shooters with rifles about. If you have permission its not a problem, but there is a lack of game worth running in these type of places. The main danger on the fens is the dykes, and I've seen experienced dogs break their backs/necks/legs on these, and inexperienced ones don't stand a chance.

 

As far as rabbits are concerned you need a fast dog with a good strike as most are never more than a few yards from their burrows except on the windiest nights: funny how windy nights always coincide with a full moon!

 

I strongly believe that a dog needs to grow up on the land it is going to run over as an adult: that way they stand a better chance of surviving. Which is why I take mine to horrible places like landfill sites, quarries, woods, wire: the lot: if they learn how to handle themselves on that when young and survive until they are a year old, then there's hope for them! Let's face it, anywhere is dangerous at night when the dog is focussed only on the tail of its quarry, some places are just more dangerous than others.

[Tyla 3,179]

This is a very good thought provoking post.

 

Most of my hunting has been in the sussex and kent areas, ground is pretty good although some places are flinty and theres plenty of barbed wire around. Usually there are fair numbers of rabbits, but seem to be very hard to catch, but we've really been struggling with mixy the last two seasons. Almost too many deer though which sounds great but is not ideal sometimes. We certainly dont get the huge bags that seem to be possible in some areas but thats maybe coz i stick to permission and try not to stray too much.

 

My one experience of the dales was that my dogs, which i believe to be about average, caught rabbits in quantity, seemingly effortlessly, which they cannot do at home. Whether that was a one off or whether those particular rabbits were particularly daft i really dont know. We were only there for a wedding for a weekend and werent hunting just giving the dogs a run morning and evening but they caught 4 or 5 every time they went out. I would love to go back and have a proper go!