The Hard Way

[R.A.W 1,987]

I'm not 100% sure which section to pop this in so I'll play it safe and go in the general.

 

I'd like to share an experience that i had a few weeks back in the hope that others may learn from my mistake. Thats not saying what I'm typing is gospel but hopefully could change other peoples opinions.

 

I have always been of the mantra that dogs are pack animals and therefore should be kept in a pack. Without exception, unless a certain dog had dog aggression issue's ( There's one exception lol ). Some of you may be aware that I keep hounds and have to be vigilant at feeding time because thats when the hierarchy in the pack is tested to the full but it not with them the experience in question derived.

 

I also keep three lurchers of various ages and a little old JRT . They have all been kenneled together for around 8 years without any issues what so ever ( Not even growl out of place) , Then one day a few weeks back . The day was the same as any other with the same routines exercise first, back and then feeding time. With the late nights and being a bit bored I had a spot of tea with the kids and decided to go and sit out the back with the dogs . As I walked past the run I found the old JRT bitch dead at the run gate. Gutted is an understatement in this case. To some men there dogs are just tools but she was that and more to me and the family . I could take her anywhere without a lead ,tell her to stay close and she would not leave my side, if I ask her to "find um" she'd venture off in search for me. I could even leave a meal on a table next to the chair tell her to " STAY" leave the room and she would not move. Only on the chair mind . My apologies for singing her praises but she would do these things and more. I could run her with hounds on my own without the fear of having to dig to her because she could be called out . Maybe not every mans cup of tea but a handy tool in the right circumstances and a great little companion and character to boot.

 

I immediately dropped to pick her up and saw the puncture wounds on her neck . I recall a calm coming over me which seems strange looking back. There was nothing I could do to save her she'd left us, so My mind turned my attentions to the culprit. I place the little bitch in an old whelping box and took stock . Checked over the lurchers no real sings on any but I really shouldn't of looked any further than my self in this intense. I couldn't chastise the lurchers not passed the incident anyway not with they'e canine brains. I was to blame not them , I had put them in that environment . It was the hard way to learn for me and That day the penny dropped that kenneling terriers and lurchers together isn't a good idea.

 

Telling the Mrs wasn't a pleasant experience I can tell you. before the kids were born I'd often get back from a nights lamping and find little dot in bed with the mrs and have to take her back to the kennel so I could get a bit of shut eye without a little snoring earthdog in the bed.

 

It's funny how things turn out because a few weeks before I remember asking on here and a few mates about a pup to bring on with her and nothing came about . Three days after digging the hole a chance encounter lead me to a viewing of a pup. I wasn't really up for it at the time but to cut an already long story short I returned home with two little tykes. One of which is sat on my lap as I type for a it of bonding. They've been a real tonic to have around so it's onward and upwards here and learning from my mistakes as I go . THE HARD WAY

 

Thanks for reading all here are a few pics of old and new

 

 

 

 

 

and new

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Born Hunter 17,960]

That was a nice read..... as morbid as that sounds. Just refreshing.

 

Terriers do have a way of becoming part of the family. Far more biddable than their reputation suggests.

[R.A.W 1,987]

That was a nice read..... as morbid as that sounds. Just refreshing.

 

Terriers do have a way of becoming part of the family. Far more biddable than their reputation suggests.

 

Thanks

 

Your right very biddable in the right hands

[beast 1,884]

well, thats a damn shame, and a very honest post. i think any true dog man (or woman!) does become fond of their animals, i certainly do. good luck with the new!

[NEWKID 29,096]

What a shame mate, you can tell by what you've written she was a real part of the family..

 

Good luck with the pups mate, sounds like more fun times ahead..

[haymin 2,465]

Thanks for sharing your story, and all the best with the pups lad ??

[bird 10,014]

bloody shame that , for the old girl to go like that, more so when she been a good dog mate to you . I kennel my dogs separate from each other, they have there own kennel+run . they get on great there 5 years between them . Buck my young dog soft as shit with people+dogs, Bryn prob top dog he only got give little growl and Buck cowers from him . But I am a ware that as Buck matures he could kill Bryn easy if he wanted, and like in the post you carnt always be there if they ever kick off . Hounds do seem to live in harmony as you say, but lurchers +terriers have different mind set to hounds I think, that's why there better with there own space.

[R.A.W 1,987]

It's always sh*t to lose a dog, especially a pet/worker. Regarding dog seems that most lessons as far as I'm concerned are hard learned.

Terrier pups are the best of all imo should be fun, suss out their characters and find a few rats with em, good times.

 

I would normally agree they are a bit young for this caper but an opportunity arose and curiosity lead to this.

 

 

It's funny the things that bring joy........................ and that one less eating the chicken food

[RossM 8,149]

Shame that pal, I bet your trying to suss out exactly what went on to fuel the action.

 

 

 

RIP dot.

[R.A.W 1,987]

Shame that pal, I bet your trying to suss out exactly what went on to fuel the action.

 

 

 

RIP dot.

 

Thanks mate....................... Been racking my brains and the only thing I can put it down to with something I noticed last night and thats hormones. Now Mrs Raw can be a right horrible Kunt at the wrong stage of a Luna cycle if you get my drift and I noticed the youngest bitch starting to swell up . The rest will follow shortly which is the way it works here. That's all I can put it down to. She was always the bottom of the pack and never was the type to strive for dominance. These two little ones are a different kettle of fish completely , I can see fire in there eyes even at this age. Thats's not me being hopefully it just an honest observation.

 

It's just down to me know not to harness it up ....................No pressure

[paulus 26]

thats a shame mate, i too have always kennelled together and probably always will. the two lurchers (father and son) have spent there lives together with only a couple of incidents, both dominance related. up untill a couple of years ago there was a terrier bitch in with them and she was the boss, she would sometimes get on the bedboard and not allow them on. many a morning i would find them asleep on the floor. both the incidents that have happened have been around the time my old lurcher bitch was in season so you could well be correct.

[Wales1234 5,682]

Sorry to hear ry !! Terrier all have there own personalities terrible to look on like that chin up !!

[johnny boy68 11,726]

Shit that Ry, them pups look like outers butt, onwards and upwards.

[skycat 6,174]

What I find so sad is that people, everyone, and I'm not excluding myself, have to learn the hard way about things that, had we bothered to truly listen and learn to the experiences of others, we'd never have done. This isn't the first time that I've read of a dog that has been killed by its kennel mates, despite 'apparently' living together for years with no sign of a problem.

 

I'd hazard a guess and say that many, if not most, kennel incidents between bitches can be attributed to their hormonal cycle. If you live with a pack of dogs, and I mean live with, as opposed to kennelling them in a pen, you notice the moment their behaviour starts to change on the run up to a bitch coming in season.

 

Unlike wild canines which generally only allow the top bitches to breed, our domestic bitches do cycle regardless of the position in the pack, and this can cause real problems with the more dominant bitches: like, what the hell does she think she's doing coming in season, that young upstart!

 

Trouble is when you kennel dogs of very different types, sizes and temperaments. Sh*t happens and it's nearly always the little 'un that cops it. I've never kennelled terriers and lurchers together: I did listen to that advice early on in my career, but I've had terrier bitch kill terrier bitch, not kennelled together, but left down the garden for all of 10 minutes while I answered a phone call, and the one that did the killing didn't like the fact that the other bitch was coming into season. At least, that's the only reason I could come up with as they normally got on just fine.

 

Biggest problem with humans is that they are generally oblivious to the more subtle signs of dissension between their mutts. The growling, hackles raised, stiff posture, we all (or should) recognise. But the sideways glance, the positioning of body in relation to the other dog, the lowered or raised head, the angle of the ears, the full-on stare at the other: those things are often not noticed by humans. More's the shame for the dog that cops it.

[RubyTex 1,957]

Sorry to hear that Ry....bad crack indeed. Them pups look good though, sometimes you've got to get straight back into it and kick on