Hunting up

[Guest Dillon]

How many of you lads encourage and allow your digging dogs to hunt up,

 

We work a lot of piles and bleak moorland, and much prefer to have dogs able to do both.

 

Some lads way is to take a dog from a box, walk to an earth, get a dig, clear up, and go home, nothing wrong with this I do it too, I just prefer to mooch all day with the dogs off the lead.

 

I find my dogs see more work this way.

 

Any thoughts

[Chainman 8]

i have always allowed my terriers to hunt off the lead it teachs the dogs to use there noses and u can have some good unexpected sport in the process just as long as they are broken to stock then yer mate go for it

[Mack 91]

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Edited March 12 by Mack

[swanseajack 227]

Most of the land I work regular I know what's on there and where all (or most) of the earths are, so I'm lucky I guess to be able to let the dogs of most of the time.

 

Early part of season is fine as there's not much to ground as they're always out in the reed beds, get's them fit and teaches them to use their noses. Later on when the weather gets colder it's a totally different ball game. Still let em of, but got to be on my toes, as have had bad experiences in the past where I've had more than one, and a feckin lurcher to ground.

 

If I go onto my permission elsewhere I leave one of to run with the lurchers unless it's big cover and they are giving tongue, let em all go then

 

Mostly recently just take the terriers out, no gun no lurcher, lots of dull foxes running round in circles. Terriers are fit though...

[Guest Stevie D]

Definitely, allowing terriers to hunt up can be the making of them. I let mine hunt up until they start going to ground, then I only let them run free if I know there are no earths in the area. A lot of the places I hunt are quite steep bankings with lots of earths and thick cover. To let a team of terriers run this would be asking for a death although I know many do it, just not for me. That's why I'm trying to talk the wife into letting me have a pair of Bassets to run cover before we do the earths!!!!

Stevie

[Guest potter]

i never do,can see that its right for some people but my terriers are purely for earth work theres alot of scope for accidents if i let them hunt freely,losing them in unknown earths or more than one to ground plus the way the collars are i like to check em prior to each time under.

[Guest daz halford]

,,,,,,,

[Kane 2]

Got some nice rough areas,industrial sites old playing fields etc that are crawling with foxes,foxes and nothing else,except the occasional rat or cat,any way in these places the earths are small fairly easily dug affairs so the terriers are let off and allowed even encouraged to hunt up and have a good run around.Keeps them fit and happy,if I was digging 3 or 4 times a week they would be kept on leads but Ime not so I have to grab my sport where and when available,have had some very good days and also some awkward moments best forgotten. :11:

[Guest DeeD]

Some lads way is to take a dog from a box, walk to an earth, get a dig, clear up, and go home, nothing wrong with this I do it too, I just prefer to mooch all day with the dogs off the lead.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I do that most of the time.

 

I'd let my terriers off if i new the land well, but if i didn't i'd keep them on the lead and let them off beside the set i'm doing, incase there's any deep ones that you can't bleep the terrier inn.

[pockets 0]

Can't let mine hunt on the buggers dissapear down the earths round here an you'll never be quite sure of finding them on leads to the earth locators very much on for me but id like to be able to let them find there nose

[Guest Duzabit]

Always let mine hunt up'' missed a few days off work

but who cares, had plenty of red uns this way.

 

Duz

[J Darcy 5,871]

in the past i have let the dog hunt up but only ONE AT A TIME. this way, if they happen across a earth then theres only one dog in. I know that you may think you know all the earths in your area, but they will be a few you dont. i am surprised every year by new ones i stumble across and i am a mooching b*stard. My old terrier Lucy caught a few foxes above ground too....

[Guest Dillon]

Obedience does come into it, if you can control the dogs it's not too bad,

My old bitch Gemma was easily controlled, and she was a very hard good digging dog, I wouldn't let them hunt up on unknown land in two's or threes as it is asking for trouble but would always have one running free (with a lurcher too of course).

[nuv 2]

As long as it's collared up then I let mine...they've caught in cover before and two seasons ago we were walking out, my mate with his Lakeland and me with my Border, when he disappeared for 45 mins. After calling him I begun to think he'd wandered off and been hit or stolen. I walked back to where I last saw him and suddenly a fox flew out of an earth in front of me. I hollered to my mate which startled it and it ran straight across the dry ditch into a one holer. Ten seconds later my dog appeared, a bit bitten so we entered my mate's Lakey and dug about eighteen inches to it. The pic shows him being held at the end of the dig and my mate's dog's back in the pipe...Nice big dog fox....

 

 

 

[Guest Dillon]

Nice one Nuv