old school locating

[The Breeder 156]

In days gone a mute dog was culled out and considered next to useless. A few guys I have spoken to were in Clubs and IF they had a mute dog a little baying Bitch was put in to locate the first dog. Dogs were used more than Bitches to locate and get to grips, by these guys anyway. There was a LOT of 'doubling up' in the 'good ole days'....lol. On windy, wet days trying to locate a bayer can be time consuming, they had to be 'stayers', but now with locators they only have to stay less than half the time they would of before. When I first started guys still didn't use locators too often, it was Bar and Ear job and the dogs HAD to stay, sometimes taking hours to locate the Dogs. Then you had to dig to them, Barring and listening all the time. A morning was the norm to be at a dig, now guys are fitting in two or three. As Locators get better and better the job will get quicker and quicker and the Terriers will get worse and worse.......in my opinion.

spot on mate

[coneycatcher17 3]

I/we use a hex solid steel bar of about 5 foot in length, spike on one end and flattened at the other.

 

If its a small place your bound to here the dog with the game from an entrance, after that bar down a few inches on where you think the dog maybe and put your ear hard onto the flattened end. Then tell everyone to shut up and stop walking about.

 

If you hear nothing, just keep moving about. till you get something. When you do move away half a meter in all directions until you can say your nearer,. The deeper the earths, the deeper you need to bar down.

 

You will hear the dog digging on, the game digging on, you will hear mute dogs breathing.

 

 

The other method I/we use is ear to the floor, but the bar is superior in a lot of ways, for a start you havnt got to go crawling round everywhere and youll find the dog quicker with the bar.

 

Better if you are armed with 2 bars and can spread out. Deepest we've found a dog is 6 metres (dense place pickaxe all the way). The deepest depth of earths we will dig again got to 3 or 4 metres maximum and no problems finding the dog.

Hello just thought id add this is how all including some uncles and my grandfather work their dogs they believe this is the way i wouldn"t use locaters on terriers either because i have never needed to but occasionally if we cannot locate a dog wed send a light bitch in with a collar to retrieve the mute dog only for a real (unmoveable) fox now

[Waz 4,274]

Interesting stuff CC17. One fella explained to me that in his area, a sounder was used then digging would commence, as they got nearer a mute dog would be entered pass the sounder. Got it too easy these days, as has been said. But you cannot take away the positive about safety for your terrier.