Bit Of Both??

[Daniel cain 43,042]

Alot of lads enjoy the idea of digging to a terrier,but in reality not many lads will be happy on a shovel for 8 hrs plus sometimes it goes in to days/nights of hard work-then you find out who your real mates are lol, lots soon lose interest imho.not many have ground where the quarrys 3ft or less.having a lurcher around a hole won't get you caught-going mob handed on no permo gets you caught imo.atb in what you decide .atb dc

[Rabbit Hunter 6,610]

Having a lurcher on show round where I hunt will make you stand out like a sore thumb. In Wales from what I've seen it's a different ballgame. Hilly, well covered land and the farmers are happy to have you there. Where I am its pretty flat land, lots of big, open fields etc and you do well to find a farmer to have a lurcher on his land.

And the terrier game is tough at times, thats why not many stick it.

[Barbarian1990 220]

Alot of lads enjoy the idea of digging to a terrier,but in reality not many lads will be happy on a shovel for 8 hrs plus sometimes it goes in to days/nights of hard work-then you find out who your real mates are lol, lots soon lose interest imho.not many have ground where the quarrys 3ft or less.having a lurcher around a hole won't get you caught-going mob handed on no permo gets you caught imo.atb in what you decide .atb dc

I've always had a bit of an obsession with digging I just used to dig my mums garden up as a kid hahaha

[Accip74 7,112]

I'm of the same opinion as 5 feet down. I personally wouldn't keep a lurcher for having around a dig for all the reasons he said.

My idea of a lurcher is a Saluki/Grey type for running other stuff day or night.

We all have our own preferences though.

I grew up with digging dogs & lurchers, but they were always a separate thing........we never took lurchers digging. Now I have to put up with it from time to time & can't fcuking stand it! Haha....

....But when it's not your permission or dogs it hard to complain, but I still moan like fcuk....haha...

[neil cooney 10,415]

Have to agree that lurchers can be a pain in the ass around a dig. I can only think of a couple of lurchers over the years that while you were working the terrier you wouldn't know there was a lurcher around 'till there'd be a bolt.

Most lurchers have to be held on a slip around a dig and a lad holding a lurcher can't help on the shovel.

Everyone to their own methods but one thing that boils my blood is the type of fellow who can't see the terrier lifted fast enough so he can let his lurcher off. This type of fellow has no business near a dig IMO. A terrier is a sporting dog in it's own right not just a method of providing game for another type of dog.

 

As for the original question regarding can you keep terriers and running dogs and justify both.

Of course you can, depending on the amount of ground you have and the amount of time you have to hunt it.

We used to course a hare or two early morning and check a few earths in the process. If they looked used we go back after lunch and hopefully have a dig.

I remember coursing one morning and seeing a brace of foxes go to ground. I left my kid brother at the earth and walked the 2 or 3 miles home for a terrier.

A blizzard started and my brother near froze to death, LOL, but we got them. I have the mask of that dog fox still on my wall.

We often fitted coursing, digging, lamping and shooting into a weekend. Didn't cost us a thought.

[Daniel cain 43,042]

Neil I think some folk don't teach a dog to sit still/keep quiet on couples when around a hole etc.my bull bitch sits patiently until given the command-be it rabbit,fox-when we are flying hawks she marks and won't move even if a rabbit bolts next to her.she knows they are not for her lol.never understood the type with "box dogs" that start shitting their pants if quarry bolts and dog follows through a field of stock etc/same type that spend the night being dragged around a feild and kicking f**k out of the lurcher.Some of the so called experts I've seen have made me cringe over the years with the standard of what they will accept,certainly the opposite to what they preach lol.having both opens up a few more doors than keeping one type imo.atb dc

[Grunter123 1,092]

A well trained Lurcher and well used dog is the right tool to have a round. You can't beat a dog that knows it's job.

[Wales1234 5,425]

Been brought up with both by my uncle terriers lurchers and ferrets all in tow take what comes ! All my lurchers are chilled out on a dig usually just go sit somewhere they can see the holes ! My lurcher pup has been on a few digs and she's only 6 months never to young to learn some manners

[Daniel cain 43,042]

That's it ow-you teach them from a young age on "what's acceptable "same thing when you go out with one of the boys and pile a load of dogs into the back of the truck-who the f**k wants to sit there panicking because they don't trust their dogs with others?madness always on eggshells-and the sort of dog that steams in and try to take another dogs catch?wtf is that about? Lol .atb dc

[neil cooney 10,415]

I agree about a well trained lurcher.

To see two different type of workers working in harmony is fantastic. Whether that's a terrier and a lurcher or a ferret and a lurcher or a terrier and 19 1/2 couple of foxhounds it's always a pleasure, as long as none is a danger or a hindrence to the other.

What I do love to see personally with a lurcher on a dig is not the type that's put sitting and stays there for hours but the type who's using his nose, ears and brain and knows what's going on underground and will be in the right place at the right time. Never using the lurcher at the end plays IMO a big part in making this type of lurcher as well as putting in many hours in the field. Such a dog IMO is as rare as the 3 outta 3 that the coursing boys strive for.

Fatman on here used to have one, Spud, never a problem on a dig (you wouldn't know he was around) but when yer man slipped out un-noticed Spud would be on his arse quickly.

[Dig-deep-draw-charlie 2,708]

I had a wee tiny bull bitch, and to be honest she was better round a hole than a lamp, the boy she came of was a terrier man and see round a dig she was a god send, would sit and watch for a bolt or when broke through she would still sit and watch until she was told to move didn't even own a lead for her,

[Wales1234 5,425]

Around here I got miles of hill so a lot of Time I use to hold the lurchers and let them bolt on to the hill out of sight then let the lurchers go for them to hunt him !

My bullx bitch has more often than not will mark the ground where the terrier is just digging in a random spot !

She's been a diamond and recently retired her daughter is the pup I got know and she's coming on nicely !!

[eastcoast 3,739]

Craig1990ward, I offer you two ways of looking at your predicament, one using your head and the other from the heart. The land that you walk, does it favour terrier work or running dogs ? If you have access to land that allows a terrier being worked properly then problem solved. If you can run a running dog then retain them. If you can work both...well you're a lucky man and you may never find such fortune again.

 

I hope that you never find yourself in a situation where you have neither types for a time, but if you ever do, then the choice may be easier. I discovered that I NEED a terrier in my life. I have one again. I would LIKE a running dog, but can I live without one. At present.

[Barbarian1990 220]

 

Craig1990ward, I offer you two ways of looking at your predicament, one using your head and the other from the heart. The land that you walk, does it favour terrier work or running dogs ? If you have access to land that allows a terrier being worked properly then problem solved. If you can run a running dog then retain them. If you can work both...well you're a lucky man and you may never find such fortune again.

 

I hope that you never find yourself in a situation where you have neither types for a time, but if you ever do, then the choice may be easier. I discovered that I NEED a terrier in my life. I have one again. I would LIKE a running dog, but can I live without one. At present.[/quote

 

I said I'd never have another lurcher after my last one dried on lamp.... But I've been out with terrier and he's pushed a few British mammals out and it's got me wanting a lurcher again.

[fat man 4,740]

Nothing wrong with a lurcher on a dig as long as it has a bit of manners about it and not a constant nuicence trying to get in the dig or up to its tail in an entrance.As has been said if you give a lurcher a lot of hole ending then you will have a problem as all it will want to do is get in the ground and 9 times out of 10 will actually miss a bolt because it will be concentraiting too much on the dig than the entrances or is tied up away from the dig and by the time it gets of its too late.I have had a lurcher on digs nearly all the time with little or no problems and brought out from a young age they soon learn that the dig is not the hole to be watching.I have seen lurchers with ears twitching listening to the terrier below and then suddenly dash towards an entrance with the quarry trying to escape and game over.My own old bitch is retired now at 12 but my digging buddy has a colliexhound that is out with us every time we are digging,great marking bitch and will miss very little if there is a bolt even though she is geting on in years now aswell.