What’s people’s preferred cross for a rabbit dog!

[Countryman62 539]

On 24/06/2021 at 18:50, Bosun11 said:

I recon this young bitch of mine would have made a decent rabbit dog if i'd of had her 20+ years ago. Though she seems to have all the qualities, i's gonna be tough to ensure i put enough infront of her to really know. Spinning 6/7 rabbits local just doesn't show the cracks.

It really don't matter whats in her either imo, she's a nice size, a good lift from the off and the determination i like in a youngster. It really is just a case of numbers...

She’s a stunning looking hound Paul, and your right it don’t matter what’s in her, as long as your happy that’s all that counts, atb

[Countryman62 539]

On 25/06/2021 at 14:51, W. Katchum said:

Powerful looking animal you have there, atb

[TOMO 24,852]

if you wanted to narrow the odds and almost guarantee getting a purpose built rabbiter  then something that is 3/4 running dog...1/4 base blood...collie...beddy...terrier etc....and even better in my opinion is if that 3/4 part is made up of whiipet and greyhound....so the old tried and tested collie whippet greyhound is a good start...

but having said the above i have seen all sorts that have been good bunny bashers...my best lamping rabbit dog was Venus  ...her dam was coursing bred out of captin...her sire was andys dog jack...minshaw type...

my best ferreting dog is my current dog Bonnie....1/8 collie x grew...

but ive seen a bull grey bitch first cross...small bitch 22 inch...45lb to 50lb....she was a machine on the lamp bunny bashing ...no quit in her...like perpetual motion...endless staminar...a great little bitch

[OldPhil 5,352]

Would have to agree with you TOMO 

Facts are, IF...you can get a fast type to slow down, use his head, instead of his muscles, then the quarry is half way into the bag. You have proved it yourself with your coursing bred jukel that took to the Dales like a duck to water..

 Super fast dogs on rough ground, can be an accident waiting to happen, but, IF they twig onto the rabbit business and can adjust their God-given , natural talents and pure physicality to run sensibly, they really are nie-on perfect for the job

 Because of the varied type of pest control work, that has been my employment for several decades, I have chosen to keep and breed, working dogs that are more akin to herders, than genuine running dogs.  My curs are not exactly speedy or physically gifted from an athletically muscular point of view, but they all have that inbred quality that as a paid controller of rural pests, I value most highly,..they are, adaptable...

I can take my dogs anywhere in the UK after the conies, and they might not match a local hero, but they will always do their best....However,...I have, in the past kept far superior animals, much on the lines of the fabulous speedsters that TOMO describes,..and there is no denying the fact that it is a great feeling to be armed,..to the teeth, with a capably canine pal. 

Go careful now Brothers, and stay safe.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by OldPhil

[Moocher71 4,044]

The one thats catching 

[TOMO 24,852]

i think Phil is being modest  ...that bitch...is her name Angel ...i thought was a super speedy rabbit catcher...i liked her my sort of dog...

i do get there names mixed up though...im not sure over the years which dog or dogs you have brought up...bloody merles all look the same..lol

[TOMO 24,852]

2 minutes ago, Moocher71 said:

The one thats catching 

very well put.....thats it in a nutshell lol

[OldPhil 5,352]

On 29/06/2021 at 11:46, TOMO said:

i think Phil is being modest  ...that bitch...is her name Angel ...i thought was a super speedy rabbit catcher...i liked her my sort of dog...

i do get there names mixed up though...im not sure over the years which dog or dogs you have brought up...bloody merles all look the same..lol

 I know you are not too keen on the Blue Merles,..so I always fetch one along, just to annoy ya

The wee bitch that you might have seen run, one or two shushis, would be Angel..

I remember, her very first run on the Dales,.she went off like a rocket, into the bracken filled banking, and ran straight into an old partridge release pen  The long abandoned wire frame had been well hidden from view, and when she performed a kinda double somersault, to land on her back,...I guessed something was not quite right...

The result of this sudden collision was that she sustained deep cuts on all four legs,..quite how she fecking managed that, God only knows 

Anyway, not a very auspicious start to my Day on the Dales

 One thing I did notice, was as the morning progressed, the bitch started to adapt to the amazing landscape and unfamiliar running conditions...There was a sprinkling of light snow, and I remember watching her waiting on a bolt, listening intently to the underground rumbling, coming ever nearer.

Underneath her body, a small pool of blood was forming, as her excited heart started to pump copious amounts of crimson claret, onto that iron hard, cold Yorkshire soil. I felt that she took the pain remarkably well and maintained her concentration, all throughout that enjoyable mornings ferreting.

I genuinely thank you for giving us the opportunity, to walk out with you

 

 

Edited December 27, 2021 by OldPhil

[TOMO 24,852]

i remember it well mate....she did well to carry on....been a good farm to me that one...bloody steep though i remember the day we secured permission on it me and nobby of this site....by christ there were some bunnys on it....trouble was the sheer bloody steepness of it ..its also the same farm i got my best lamping bag with Venus ..pic on the other thread...

sad as well how the numbers on there have dwindled ...its vey slim picking on there now

another thing i remember from that morning was trying to convince Mike to bring his big jacket....stood outside the bnb in the  village in the valley bottom....it wasn't that cold..he did bring it in the end ...and he was glad he did cos when you add another thousand foot of elevation it can change things a hole lot

[Moocher71 4,044]

3 hours ago, OldPhil said:

Would have to agree with you TOMO 

Facts are, IF...you can get a fast type to slow down, use his head, instead of his muscles, then the quarry is half way into the bag. You have proved it yourself with your coursing bred jukel that took to the Dales like a duck to water..

 Super fast dogs on rough ground, can be an accident waiting to happen, but, IF they twig onto the rabbit business and can adjust their God-given , natural talents and pure physicality to run sensibly, they really are nie-on perfect for the job

 Because of the varied type of pest control work, that has been my employment for several decades, I have chosen to keep and breed, working dogs that are more akin to herders, than genuine running dogs.  My curs are not exactly speedy or physically gifted from an athletically muscular point of view, but they all have that inbred quality that as a paid controller of rural pests, I value most highly,..they are, adaptable...

I can take my dogs anywhere in the UK after the conies, and they might not match a local hero, but they will always do their best....However,...I have, in the past kept far superior animals, much on the lines of the fabulous speedsters that TOMO describes,..and there is no denying the fact that it is a great feeling to be armed,..to the teeth, with a capably canine pal. 

Go careful now Brothers, and stay safe.

 

I got to say I do like the Merles, me brother got a nice Merle collie bitch he takes out  

[SheepChaser 8,082]

Never see many good Merle working collies though. 

[OldPhil 5,352]

Yeah, I like them...

We had Merle cur dogs when I was a boy on our place in Presteigne.

When the Farmers got together to do a gather on the Hills, or even when they were looking for a fox,.all the local farm dogs turned out and the Valley was covered in various terriers , the odd hound and of course, loads of sheepdogs..

With all the spotty and speckled types, the pack looked a right old motley crew. 

I never saw any Merle coloured dogs when we moved 'darn sarf'....but when I travelled to Winchester to buy a Deerhound lurcher, the old Traveller guy, name of Bill Shearing offered me a flighty sort of Merle Collie . 

This bitch had girt long trailing teats, full to the brim with milk, she obviously had a litter hidden away, somewhere 

The dealer said to me, "If its rabbits you are after, this bitch is the one for you Mush"

I declined his kind offer and purchased Gypsy Number 1 from him.

Incidentally, I've owned five dogs named Gypsy,..and had shit luck with most of em

Yeah, the Merles became real common in the 1980's, and that legacy is destined to live on in the genes of many lurchers, for ever more. The colour is fairly unique, and I find their unusual coat patterns very interesting.

Mind you, colour or not, they still got to do a bit, or I pretty soon fall out of love..

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by OldPhil

[Gospel 125]

Merles sell better I think that’s why some people like them.even pets people like merles.

[lifelong cumbrian 1,793]

Just depends how you are wanting to catch rabbits, if a netting/marking dog most breeds will do the job given chance, i have a young collie now which is coming on great, steady and great marker and still just a baby. Runner types i like a whippet or grew type cross, probably 3/4 runner so 3/4 whippet or grew and 1/4 beddy or same but 1/4 collie, i like the idea of a 1/8 beddy 1/8 collie x as well. I prefer a smaller runner but just a personal opinion.

[SheepChaser 8,082]

2 minutes ago, lifelong cumbrian said:

Just depends how you are wanting to catch rabbits, if a netting/marking dog most breeds will do the job given chance, i have a young collie now which is coming on great, steady and great marker and still just a baby. Runner types i like a whippet or grew type cross, probably 3/4 runner so 3/4 whippet or grew and 1/4 beddy or same but 1/4 collie, i like the idea of a 1/8 beddy 1/8 collie x as well. I prefer a smaller runner but just a personal opinion.

I really really like that dog of yours mate.