Summer Break - Good Or Bad ???

[wirral countryman 2,110]

Well,for the first time in 10 yrs or so I've given my dogs a summer break, mainly due to the weather and temperatures we've been getting,so for 4-5 wks now they've just had an hour morning and late evening locally,there's been no all day trips up to the estates pest controlling the many farms I normally work on a daily basis,now I thought they may all benefit from a rest as I keep them lean and fit all year round,the ferrets gills had kits and I've been busy breeding my finches and canaries,how wrong could I be.

I decided after a few calls from farmers worried about being overrun with rabbits that I had to show my face again,so I arranged to take my mates son "JOE" and his first cross beddy/grey of 10 months up to the estate with me Thursday,

 

" young JOE"

My dogs are normally a very tight pack and catch most of what we put out but the whole day was a nightmare with just a few rabbits caught all day,the terriers were pushing on too far,the lurcher was clumsy and looked overweight with a could'nt care less sort of attitude and the day ended up over 30 degrees and so the dogs were put in every pond or trough we come across,to say I was dissappointed would be an understatement,so yesterday Friday I arranged to pick up my son with his dogs and go to a farm with a few bunnies on,we only done the one farm which took a couple of hours,him one side of the hedge and me with my lurcher on the other whilst the terriers worked any cover between us either catching or flushing across the field for the lurcher's to catch,we only caught 9 grown and a few half grown rabbits but the dogs were starting to look like the tight unit they normally are,I have added a registered plummer bitch to this pack alongside all the unregistered and maybe this has altered the dynamics of the pack but there is still a fair bit of work to do obedience wise before they get back to where we were at the end of the season,so I ask you a summer break , good or bad ?? not for me again,WM

 

 

 

 

 

[pip1968 2,490]

excellent write up mate,and tbh i think it takes the dogs a few weeks to get back into their stride because of the lay up

[fitchet 788]

I think a summer rest is beneficial to both dogs and humans if you put enough in front of the dogs in the season. Good write up mate Atb.

[milliken 790]

if its your job then i would say its not such a good thing having a break as the dogs will always be that little bit rusty and take a bit of time to gel again

tuesday was my first day out with the hounds after the lay off but would they load up stood there looking at us few more weeks when cubbing starts i hope its a diffrent story

 

robert

[Astanley 11,465]

I think because you are a professional and therefore have higher standards it makes more of a difference , for most lads a bit of mayhem and ill discipline is par for the course

[rob190364 2,593]

.

[R.A.W 1,987]

I believe down time important for any dog and with this heat it's not fair to work then too hard anyway.

long walks with no game about and plenty of juicey bones in the grass run are the order of the day for my lot.

 

Don't get me wrong there are those that have to work there dogs during the summer and that i can't fault but if it's not your living then give them a rest and yourself for that matter.

 

I do find mine a liittle rusty but that's part of the fun getting them tip top and back to full speed

 

THE BEST THING ABOUT THE BREAK IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE START. And even now I feel like a kid at Christmas waiting for the first day.

 

Great post too

[RubyTex 1,957]

Love the terriers, absolute crackers.

 

Definitely would recommend a rest to a certain extent, i give mine about a month off with small walks then hit the beach routine 9/10 miles a day and plenty of swimming....then when it gets to about now i do one day at the beach one day round the fields to get them back into the hunting up frame of mind ready for the season

[Bazil brush 474]

Tidy looking pack wm, I only have one working busher and just mooch about a couple times a week might knock up a few charlies but rearly catch them as i dont realy want to, it just keeps them on there toes till winter.

Edited August 6, 2013 by Bazil brush

[Astanley 11,465]

What do you use for bushing Basil ?

[wuyang 513]

Nice read.

[wirral countryman 2,110]

Thanks for the comments,we're almost back in shape now but its still a bit warm here in Cheshire for any serious hunting,I've been up the estate a couple of times now this week and the pheasants are in the pens and electric fences are all in working order as my dogs can all bear witness to lol's,4 out of the 5 got a crack off it at some point during my rounds,I seem to be pretty much sorted on the rabbits in this part of the estate but it has taken 3 yrs to get them down and when the cover dies off a few weeks ferreting will mop up the stragglers,after that I will move on for the winter to some new farms on the other side of the estate,if its not one thing though its another as the strange behaviour has become apparent this week by 2 of my plummer bitches starting to come into season.

I took my mate with me on wednesday and he'd been watching some "lune" on you tube he reckoned that can squeeze the guts out of a rabbit without using a knife or anything just his hands,well here's his attempt at it,I pissed myself laughing and told him it had to be a trick or a wind, up anyone else heard of it ???

 

 

a tiny toad which my mate spotted in the grass by a stream

 

 

 

 

[Bosun11 537]

I believe it can be done WM, read and been told of it a few times now though I've never seen it myself and deffo wouldn't fancy a go myself... Mentioned on here in the past too..

Great pics and write up, I honestly think, no matter how tough it is for the dogs to get back into their stride, this year, with this weather, it was probably for the best that you had a lay off... It's been a good summer and they have been rare 'ol things of late.

[Bazil brush 474]

What do you use for bushing Basil ?

Beagle russel pal, got a good little vid on my phone but dont know how to get it of onto here.

[The one 8,397]

But your like most you stop serious pest control control but move on to mouching about which still keeps a team ticking over