SHOW US YOUR PATTERDALES

[mad4digging 663]

2 minutes ago, WEDGEY said:

How longs a piece of string 

That can be only answered by the man holding the scissors 

[Rabbit Hunter 6,608]

Like has been said, who are we to say when a dog is ready? It’s all personal opinion.

I’ve got a dog here that is 7 month old but he’s the same height and weight as 2 of my working dogs, does that mean he’s ready? Of course not, he’s physically the right size to work but mentally he’s still a pup. Who’s to say at 14 month, 16 month, 18 month he’ll be mentally ready to work? It’s up to me to show trust in the breeding and give the dog time to show me what he is going to be. Rather than wait for him to fall at the first hurdle.

[Blackmag 5,870]

7 minutes ago, Rabbit Hunter said:

Like has been said, who are we to say when a dog is ready? It’s all personal opinion.

I’ve got a dog here that is 7 month old but he’s the same height and weight as 2 of my working dogs, does that mean he’s ready? Of course not, he’s physically the right size to work but mentally he’s still a pup. Who’s to say at 14 month, 16 month, 18 month he’ll be mentally ready to work? It’s up to me to show trust in the breeding and give the dog time to show me what he is going to be. Rather than wait for him to fall at the first hurdle.

that's the Difference between a good stockman and a bad one a good one knows when there ready  a bad one can ruin a good prospect quite easy by over matching at a early age knowing when there mentally ready is the key because most are  physically ready before mentally 

[Rabbit Hunter 6,608]

1 minute ago, Blackmag said:

that's the Difference between a good stockman and a bad one a good one knows when there ready  a bad one can ruin a good prospect quite easy by over matching at a early age knowing when there mentally ready is the key because most are  physically ready before mentally 

For an amateur terrier lad it’s a pretty simple scenario, ignore the big mouth macho men who had a dog from this line and that line and it was shit blah blah blah and instead watch the man that sticks with his own line, always has digging dogs and just gets on with the job and copy what he does. It’s so simple.

[Blackmag 5,870]

I agree my old man use to dig with a few names that crop up on here regular so not to cause arguments I won't mention them but he worked them hard and culled hard he had a few saying a couple which stuck with me  were a dog is either a sleeper or keeper and the other was a working dog can't lie 

Edited January 24, 2019 by Blackmag

[king 11,664]

12 minutes ago, Blackmag said:

I agree my old man use to dig with a few names that crop up on here regular so not to cause arguments I won't mention them but he worked them hard and culled hard he had a few saying a couple which stuck with me  were a dog is either a sleeper or keeper and the other was a working dog can't lie 

and your old mans last saying is spot on BM.the owner is the 1 who can and does tell lies.once the lead is off the dog the truth will be seen.

[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... 2,585]

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 8,417]

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 8,417]

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 8,417]

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 11,664]

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 8,417]

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..... 5,199]

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.....