SHOW US YOUR PATTERDALES

[pjmc 90]

Every dogs different you cant say every pup gets 3 chances and thats it,iv seen dogs starting that have that little bit of something special that you give them loads of chances because you think they have it,some work out wel and some dont,but then thers others that you just know after 3 or 4 chance that this is never goin to happen and its time to get rid of.

[Apache... 2,588]

There's comes a point when you say to urself they've done their apprenticeship and it's time for business, I've a marker and they are measured by the mistakes they make, after the first mistake then I call them chances, I don't know how u describe it dd, harsh maybe but I know what u mean by learn and mature I call that apprenticeship. 

[dillydog 8,530]

I think we're all singing from the same hymn sheet, we're just expressing it differently, I'll give them far more time than most, just because I've seen it pay off before. There's definitely a time when you've got to admit to yourself that the terrier just hasn't got it, the only thing I won't tolerate is cowardice, IMO there's no coming back from it, the rest is just education.

Edited January 25, 2019 by dillydog

[dillydog 8,530]

Here's a classic example, the two dogs in the picture as I've said before are litter brothers, the one on the right was a natural from day one. He's always had the magic ingredient, he put digs right where others had failed in his first season, the other dog entered but always seemed lacking. He'd make a meal of digging on, if he dug on at all, he'd engage his quarry and then back off by six foot ! He never came away but I knew what he was doing. I'd had four or five digs with him, all successful but I always came away with more questions than answers, I had that little devil growing on my shoulder that kept whispering "get rid, pts" . The brother outshone him so much I couldn't justify the mental torture he was putting me through, I was out with a mate who'd asked for the dog in a roundabout way and I was honestly going to give it to him BUT. 

We tried an earth on a bank and he bolted a nice fox, we then drove over to an earth we'd never had any success in before and dropped him in again, long story short we had a ten foot dig to the dog that took five hours, the worm had turned ! This is the same dog we dug into the darkness a few days ago, he's a decent animal that would grace any kennel but I very nearly got rid.

[dillydog 8,530]

Ten foot dig to the dog, it was either his fifth or sixth dig..........he stayed till dug to and he never looked back.

Edited to say, the three strikes and you're out crowd would of never got to that stage, sometimes it pays to wait and let the dog mature.

Edited January 25, 2019 by dillydog

[jcb 271]

Who would you prefer to breed from d ,the slow starter or the natural 1 or would it matter to ya

[king 12,043]

Out of likes dilly. But just goes to show a little patience goes a hell of a long way.

Just makes you think how many terriermen could of jumped the gun so to speak and maybe the best dog they would of had.had been pts due to making a decision about the dog to soon.

[dillydog 8,530]

They're both from the same blood so in theory it shouldn't matter but again it's just my opinion, without breeding in the spite and drive you'll quickly lose it, so I'd breed from the harder of the two and hope to God to get the sensible one out of the litter.

[Glyn..... 5,236]

18 minutes ago, dillydog said:

They're both from the same blood so in theory it shouldn't matter but again it's just my opinion, without breeding in the spite and drive you'll quickly lose it, so I'd breed from the harder of the two and hope to God to get the sensible one out of the litter.

You just answered the question i was going to ask  when all things are equal i class ease of entering as the tipping point , line breeding is the doubling , quadrupling ext of traits within the blood   i've had two bitches over the years which took there time to start but became good workers i gave both away as i wasn't going to breed from them because they took nearly 30 months to start and another 12 months to really get it together, no good to me i keep a small kennel  but its a trait that's in there and not something i want to encourage by breeding directly from them  ... anyone daft enough to be starting out good luck but its a minefield of mistakes , the once great border terrier  was helped form the working scene by late maturers becoming the norm  

Edited January 25, 2019 by Glyn.....

[Squirrel_Basher 17,104]

Once a type or line is settled upon the entering becomes a blur ,it’s almost a given and failures a surprise .These threads on entering sometimes have me thinking about what exactly I do to enter the young terrier and the answer is apart from chauffeur them from hole to hole ,absolutely nothing ,it’s all on them .Ive been all over the place digging and I’m no longer surprised by the antics some get up to just to get a dog started .

Keep calm and let them do their thing is my advice .Forget all the old fail safes and last chance remedies .

I think the older you get the more relaxed about time you get ,there is no panic to get a dog working .

When  I was mid 20s I’ll admit I wrote off a few dogs a bit hasty but the flip side was confidence in what I was doing producing stuff I could take anywhere .

I think attitudes have changed a lot in entering tbh and for the better as I see it .

[tank34 2,651]

Bitch is well gone but her first time in rock an found she got a good seeing to she would not look at an earth or rock pile when she was right lad did loads of bushing an ratting over summer time she got couple of cubs in cover , come next season he tryed her again she made a very good rock bitch who bolted a lot of fox from big piles , she was lost in rock never tobe seen again same pile she worked a good 8 season's 

[Apache... 2,588]

I gave up overthinking and analysing terrier work years ago simply because one day your digging to ur dog you've bred thinking its a goodun then your 5 feet down you look up and it's staring down at you?????? I stick to the basics now and what the dogs have taught me over the years ( which is more than any dogman has ).

[Apache... 2,588]

I think you should pass on the offer of a day out with dd Glyn he don't fool me!!!

[dillydog 8,530]

If someone's looking down at you while you're 5 ft down you should try digging in heels 

[king 12,043]

11 minutes ago, dillydog said:

If someone's looking down at you while you're 5 ft down you should try digging in heels 

That's reminded me of something the owner of a small coal quarry I worked at did once.

His daughter was building a house on his land out of stone.

The owner turned up with his daughter her husband and his wife and were picking stone of the bunds on the side of the haul road to build the house his wife had high heels on she was about 60.

He had her doing a shift fair play to him

The same owner wouldn't pay for toilets on site we had to shit in the forest.

I questioned him he said.

Have a shit before you come to work lol.

So I ripped into him.

How the feck can I train my arse to shit at a given time you daft fecker.

He still wouldn't pay for toilets right old git