do you want a dog

[adamb20 22]

with my oldest bitch, beedy whippet collie grey, she acts a bit like this now and it does do my head in a bit, but i can only blame my self for slipping her on hedge rabbit after hedge rabbit when she was younger. shes my first dog and have learned by my mistakes. her drive for hare is like she is still a pup as her catch rate has been very high on them for howmany she has ran where as rabbits i have sickened her a bit. with my saluki grey pup i am gonna start him at 12 month and constantly give him easy slips for a good while.

[WILF 44,332]

IMHO, You will "like" old brainy, but you will "love" Mr Full On..............

[tag 29]

just rabbits for me mate ,and had a squirrel once

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

best post on here ..wilf

[graham4877 1,181]

A dog with a brain will stop at a hadge then go in! a dog that runs n hits the hedge is going to come a cropper!

[rocky1 942]

A dog with a brain will stop at a hadge then go in! a dog that runs n hits the hedge is going to come a cropper!

[Ayrshirelamper 1]

My collie/whippet/grew had a high prey drive until he ripped his leg open on a fence, now he stops at fences on the lamp really gutting hasn't took a h on the lamp since ( 12months ago) regularly took 2's an 3's..... Would probably prefer having one with high drive than brains as the chases last longer and it outweighs the possible vet bills disadvantage of the odd knocks and injuries.

[SMART DOG 340]

well i think i prefer a dog with brains and a bit of brute stupidness at times so im in between really .......one thing i hate is a dog not following its quarry in thick hedge's on the lamp and just leaving it as a lost cause as % of the quarry will come back out the rough hedge

[KittleRox 2,147]

A dog with a brain will stop at a hadge then go in! a dog that runs n hits the hedge is going to come a cropper!

Agreed,some dogs will follow the rabbits into cover/hedges on the lamp and work "clever".Have seen some dogs that are just plain suicidal,heart in yer mouth types. recipes for vets bills. Prefer clever everytime

[nighteyes 275]

imo any dog worked hard enough will know when to headge and when not too, if miles off or tight onto

Edited January 22, 2011 by nighteyes

[tag 29]

a dog that wont hit a hedge after a rabbit wont catch many muntjac in a wood as these fly through cover ,using every tight , thorny, patch to the best of there ability, i was told by an old man that used to do that sort of thing many moons ago

[snoopdog 1,255]

its a fine line... if your running the faster quarry full on running through bick wall types they will miss alot more then they will catch..but then again to much brain can be the fall of what was once a good dog when it was younger ..because youth can drive them on and as they grow older more wise with age they can think to much .....and then the inevitable can happen ....like i say its a fine line ....good brain with a big heart is what i would choose ...

[skycat 6,172]

A good brain with a big heart is hard to come by. Most dogs wise up a bit if they live long enough, and those which still have the heart and ability to do the job in later years are rare indeed. Prey drive generally diminishes with age, though I've had a few which ran their hearts out until the bitter end. Some also decide not to try too hard on a rabbit, for example, if they know it is likely to run down a hole, but still give their all on a hare or other bigger stuff. I guess it depends on the amount of catchable quarry the dog gets to run in its life: nothing succeeds better than success.

[hickymick 37]

just your opions lads and lasses want you want in your dogs ,do you want run trough brick walls and fences for its game or would rather use its brains and not take all the hits and knocks ,some people might say the dog dos,ent have the drive ,is it worth the injurys that come with brickwalls and barbwirefences for any game ?this is realy aimed at lamping dogs,atb,,,gaz

it is poss to have both,but you carnt train it into them its just luck i think,some know what your taking them out to hunt,eg in past if i walked my dogs they where steady,but put them in motor with lamps they change, :icon_eek:the bull cross i have now,tryed to run throught a railway fence banged his head,my little collie cross pup was laughing at it, am sure it was,,but i was happy with both.

[tag 29]

lets be honest ,...why have people bred ANY terrier blood in to lurchers ? ?..... for years people have bred beddy/whippets , wheaton/whippets , bull/whippets ,it isnt to add coat as there are pure running dogs out there carrying thicker/heavier coats ,it isnt to add nose , as there are better marking/scenting dogs that are naturally quicker ,and not to add brain as there are other dogs to fit that bill, its to add PREYDRIVE , ...... to spice up an an area , that some dogs can be left wanting in ,in other words , to give the dog an extra edge ,this type of commitment from a dog, must be very benificial to a lot of lurchermen or these breeds surely never would have survived as long as they have.........