Pure Instinct?

[rob190364 2,594]

My wheaten/whippet/grey x bull/grey pup is just over 13 months old so apart from a couple of rabbits over the summer hasn't done much yet. I mainly got her for rabbits and plan on moving up to other prey as we go along, being my first lurcher it's a learning curve for both of us.

 

Apart from a couple of little issues e.g. her not following rabbits into cover I spoke about last week (if it is even an issue) she's bang on with her prey drive on rabbits in the open and through less dense cover so I'm more that happy with that. I've been chatting with a couple of people about the best ways of introducing her to foxes when the time's right and a couple of people have come up with some decent suggestions.

 

Over the past couple of weeks while walking on the streets at night twice we've stumbled across a fox. When I'm out and she spots a rabbit she's bang on it but on these two occassions when she's spotted a fox she's gone feckin mental, and I mean 5 times more intense than if she spotted any other prey (rabbit, hare, rat etc). Is it just pure instinct for them to deal with foxes or what? Have I been pondering over how to introduce her for nothing? It'll just happen by pure instinct?

 

The way she went steaming after one of them caught me be surprise, I've read that some dogs don't instantly recognise foxes as prey but there was no danger of that here. She went after it so hard and so fast she nearly put me on my arse and I'm not a small bloke and she's only a 21 incher! I've often thought that having a dog with this type of breeding would be a waste if it was only used on rabbits and this backs up my thinking really. In fact, when out mooching I don't see how you could stop her picking up foxes because it's impossible not to stumble across them from time to time.

 

PS. for anyone that is getting all excited because I didn't say "pre-ban", I've got her a pet passport and never mentioned which country I was talking about working her in.

[riohog 5,939]

you wont know untill untill the dog comes face to face with one . itll eather bight hard /or get biten ,and put if off for good . time will tell!!

[skycat 6,174]

Two of the most ferociously mental dogs I had for fox were little bitches: 22". Went stir crazy every time they saw one: one would literally scream with excitement as she took off after a fox, and she killed a lot, single handed, both on top, in cover and she drew them too: quite nuts she was, and seldom got badly bitten as she was so quick and agile, It's either in them or it isn't: and whilst entering alongside another dog may help some dogs, some just want fox from the first time they see them: time will tell if yours has got what it takes.

[rob190364 2,594]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

[Casso 1,261]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

she's ready to have a go,,

[Jamie m 668]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

it won't be hard for her to retrieve a ded fox legaley shot with a firearm when the time comes as the law states ; )

[rob190364 2,594]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

she's ready to have a go,,

???...........physically she's not mature enough to have a go yet.

[rob190364 2,594]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

it won't be hard for her to retrieve a ded fox legaley shot with a firearm when the time comes as the law states ; )

sigh!!! can't Alan do another update and introduce a pillock filter?

[suffolkpoacher 219]

could have got her out on the cubs this time of year.before the ban

[rob190364 2,594]

could have got her out on the cubs this time of year.before the ban

yes that's what I'm going to do next summer, I want to get a season of rabbiting under her belt before having a go on foxes.

[Casso 1,261]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

she's ready to have a go,,

???...........physically she's not mature enough to have a go yet.

if she's mentally mature enough ,she will be physically mature enough , when she can arouse that sort of drive in herself she's genetically programmed to make contact with the fox, and when she makes contact she will be just functioning on instinct, that is, the knowledge to kill is in her very pores,she already knows what to do,

as skycat has already mentioned that ability to kill in the right breeding is preprogrammed, there is no thinking involved, drive has its own intelligence,the body is just following suit,

basically she already knows how to kill it ,some dogs have it ,some dont , yours sounds like she's on the money,,

[rob190364 2,594]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

she's ready to have a go,,

???...........physically she's not mature enough to have a go yet.

if she's mentally mature enough ,she will be physically mature enough , when she can arouse that sort of drive in herself she's genetically programmed to make contact with the fox, and when she makes contact she will be just functioning on instinct, that is, the knowledge to kill is in her very pores,she already knows what to do,

as skycat has already mentioned that ability to kill in the right breeding is preprogrammed, there is no thinking involved, drive has its own intelligence,the body is just following suit,

basically she already knows how to kill it ,some dogs have it ,some dont , yours sounds like she's on the money,,

Yeah I know what you're saying but she's still quite scrawny, I'd rather wait til she's bulked out enough to handle one easily. If I tried now I can guarantee I'd run into a hard as nails big dog fox that would put her off for life, don't want to risk it yet. I've updated my avatar pic so you can probably see what I mean, she's beginning to bulk up now but still has a fair way to go.

[Casso 1,261]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

she's ready to have a go,,

???...........physically she's not mature enough to have a go yet.

if she's mentally mature enough ,she will be physically mature enough , when she can arouse that sort of drive in herself she's genetically programmed to make contact with the fox, and when she makes contact she will be just functioning on instinct, that is, the knowledge to kill is in her very pores,she already knows what to do,

as skycat has already mentioned that ability to kill in the right breeding is preprogrammed, there is no thinking involved, drive has its own intelligence,the body is just following suit,

basically she already knows how to kill it ,some dogs have it ,some dont , yours sounds like she's on the money,,

Yeah I know what you're saying but she's still quite scrawny, I'd rather wait til she's bulked out enough to handle one easily. If I tried now I can guarantee I'd run into a hard as nails big dog fox that would put her off for life, don't want to risk it yet. I've updated my avatar pic so you can probably see what I mean, she's beginning to bulk up now but still has a fair way to go.

i can understand your fears,but your the only one with them, the dog doesn't have them, but you know the dog better than anyone and have to do right by her and if thats what you feel thats fair enough,,

im not a big fan of nursing a dog on ,some dogs will some wont, if a dog doesnt fancy it ,fair enough,and some dogs enjoy that sort of contact more than anything and find that lesser quarry just doesn't fulfill them the same,

had a pup here ,on a dig just as an experience for him, broke through,terrier still sounding,pup got off straight over to the opening ,couple of barks at charlie,head first into the hole,whipped out charlie ,all over in seconds ,9 months old, not a drop of terrier blood in his body either,,natural born killer

[rob190364 2,594]

I guess my only problem now then is trying to avoid coming across one until she's ready to have a go, easier said than done.

she's ready to have a go,,

???...........physically she's not mature enough to have a go yet.

if she's mentally mature enough ,she will be physically mature enough , when she can arouse that sort of drive in herself she's genetically programmed to make contact with the fox, and when she makes contact she will be just functioning on instinct, that is, the knowledge to kill is in her very pores,she already knows what to do,

as skycat has already mentioned that ability to kill in the right breeding is preprogrammed, there is no thinking involved, drive has its own intelligence,the body is just following suit,

basically she already knows how to kill it ,some dogs have it ,some dont , yours sounds like she's on the money,,

Yeah I know what you're saying but she's still quite scrawny, I'd rather wait til she's bulked out enough to handle one easily. If I tried now I can guarantee I'd run into a hard as nails big dog fox that would put her off for life, don't want to risk it yet. I've updated my avatar pic so you can probably see what I mean, she's beginning to bulk up now but still has a fair way to go.

i can understand your fears,but your the only one with them, the dog doesn't have them, but you know the dog better than anyone and have to do right by her and if thats what you feel thats fair enough,,

im not a big fan of nursing a dog on ,some dogs will some wont, if a dog doesnt fancy it ,fair enough,and some dogs enjoy that sort of contact more than anything and find that lesser quarry just doesn't fulfill them the same,

had a pup here ,on a dig just as an experience for him, broke through,terrier still sounding,pup got off straight over to the opening ,couple of barks at charlie,head first into the hole,whipped out charlie ,all over in seconds ,9 months old, not a drop of terrier blood in his body either,,natural born killer

It's not fears as such, it's doing what I need to do to make sure she doesn't get ruined by my impatience. I'm sure she would have chased hares at the age of 3 months but it wouldn't have been a wise thing for me to let her do would it. She possibly....probably, could do the job now but I'd rather wait til she definitely can do the job. I'm not one of these that would pass on a dog or pts if it failed, especially if the failure was a result of something that I've done. Surely everyone nurses their dogs to some extent, otherwise you'd just take your dogs out as soon as they can walk and let them tackle anything they can get to wouldn't you?

[skycat 6,174]

Rob, as I have already said, its not the size of the dog, but what is in its heart and head. I don't nurse my dogs as such, and most of my good fox killing dogs have stumbled across one before I'd have said that they were ready. Yes, if a dog is a doubtful prospect as a fox dog, then an early encounter which gets the dog bitten may well put it off for life, but in my experience, any dog which doesn't have the right mental attributes for fox will quit when it gets bitten, no matter when that happens. A young dog may show a lot of promise and take a few in the company of other dogs, and not get bitten, but the moment it does feel the sharp end of Charlie it will quit cold.

 

The little bitch I mentioned earlier had a nasty experience with her first fox: it got hold of her tongue!!! The moment she got free, minus a bit of her tongue, she screamed hysterically and went in for a bit of serious pay back, and killed the fox stone dead in seconds: throat hold: she seldom got bitten again, but would sooner take a pasting than let a fox get away.

 

If you think that your's has a 'kill it' attitude, could you not enter her alongside a dog which is already doing the business?