Guest hyperion Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) its been raining down my neck of the woods for days now, from bright sunshine one moment to great wind driven sheets of heavy rain the next and every thing inbetween! id been toying with the idea of taking blaine out on the lamp since i got back from suffolk the week before and as sunday rolled around it was looking to be the perfect night for a mooch round with the pup in search of that one special rabbit, but as i made my way home from town the rain was lifting and by nine pm the cloud was gone and the wind had dropped to nothing leaving me looking out of the window at the sky and wondering if it just was'nt to be! i went back to the laptop and checked the weather for the next four days and there it was, monday at midnight the rain would be back! after work i begged a lift home and by the time i got back to mine at half five a heavy grey drizzle had settled in though with out much wind, after taking blaine for a quick spin round the wood i shoved some food down my neck, got my gear ready then lay on my bed and tried to get some sleep, the next thing i know my alarm was buzzing and its eleven pm, time for a quick cuppa and then im off up through the close and away into the woods and cursing myself for loosing my head torch! twenty minutes later i was unpacking the lamp from my rucksack and after swapping blaines gundog lead for my home made slip we set off across the first field of my permission, some ones been up here after the deer thats for sure, a few weeks ago i could hold the lamp on them and get to within twenty yards before they trotted off a little way then stopped again but tonight as soon as my lamp lit the field two does sprung up fifty yards from me and made for the woods at top speed through the long grass, not even pausing as they crashed into the undergrowth! i stood there and listened to them make their way off into the woods then headed along to the field boundry where i hoped i might find some rabbits a fair way out into the grass, fifty then a hundred yards of hedge went past with out seeing a thing as i worked my way along into the wind, then maybe thirty yard out i saw a single red eye pushing its self down into the grass, turning left away from the hedge i made my way towards the rabbit nearly tripping over blaine as he lundged across me after a group of bunnies he could see in the wash from the lamp further up the field but my eyes were still on the one squatting in the grass now just ten yards from me, then five, then so close i could have almost touched it with my boot but the slip was still slack in my hand! why hadnt he seen the damn rabbit??, it was almost under his nose we were so close! a quick glance down at the dog gave the answer, he was still looking away to my right were he had seen the other rabbits making good their escape a few moments before and totally unaware of the rabbit just a couple of feet from the end of his nose, then every thing seemed to happen at once, i caught movement out of the corner of my eye as the rabbit made a bolt for the hedge and blaine must have seen it the second it moved too, i let the slip go and he was off after the bunny as it raced over the short grass a good fifteen feet behind it now then as it got to the hedge the rabbit turned first right then left with blaine hot on its heels putting in a couple of slow almost lazy strikes, his jaws seemed to close in slow motion just an inch or two behind the rabbits tail, and then it was gone, down a hole or into the thick bracken under the hedge i dont know but it just vanished! blaine stood there in the beam looking confused for a few moments before i switched the lamp off and called him to me, he trotted straight back to me but walked in a wide circle around me before i could get a hold on his collar and thred the slip back through the D ring, as i ran my hands over him and patted him i could feel how much more switched on he was and that slip never went slack as we headed over the field to the next hedge and another sqatter, i kicked the rabbit up and watched heart in mouth as blaines back legs slipped out from under him on the wet grass and my dog went sprawling on his side in the grass, but he didnt yelp and was back up and running in a blink though that rabbit too made its way safely home! we took a breather and i rolled blaine onto his back in my lap and checked him from head to toe and wondered what to do next!, the only field we hadnt been in was the stubble field that had been cut the weekend id left for suffolk two weeks ago, i knew it was heaving with rabbits but it wasnt long ago that i had sat listening to some advice from some one who knows a damn sight more about running dogs than i about why you shouldnt run a dog on stubble, but my blood was up and so was blaine's and with "feet in ribbons" running through my head i went through the gate way and onto the stubble! the wheat stubble snapped and popped under my feet as we made our way along the headland and turned right up the hill and every few yards i checked on blaine to see how he was coping, he didnt seem even slightly bothered by the stubble but then walking and running are two different things and though i saw plenty of rabbits i could have slipped him on i wanted to make sure he had a very good chance indeed before i put his well being at risk for the sake of just one bunny! as we came up out of a dip in the hill side i saw a whole herd of rabbits scooting for the tree line and safety, maybe as many as twenty rabbits shot across the beam and into cover as we got to the top of the rise, blaine was oing nuts, lunging and jerking at the end of the slip trying like mad to get at the running rabbits and for a second i thought he would open up so i shut off the beam and walked a few yards to try and calm him down, after a minute or so he had staedied some what and i flicked the beam over the field, at first i saw nothing then as i brought the beam back out into the field a rabbit popped up on his hind legs a good sixty yards out from the hedge, a few quick strides put me and blaine between the rabbit and safety and as i walked towards it he crouched low in the wet stubble, i was having to drag blaine with me by now as he was dead set that the rabbits were in the hedge and thats where he wanted to be, as we made our noisey way towards him the rabbit sat tight, closer and closer untill i was as close as i dared with out him jumping up! but the damn dog was still starring back over his shoulder the way we had come!, i hauled on the slip and got his head turned back towards the rabbit sitting tight at our feet but no sooner was he looking the right way than he turned away again, his whole body facing the wrong way this time and i cursed under my breath and willed him to see the bloody rabbit as i hauled him round again sure that the rabbit must bolt and make good his escape! then just as i got blaines head facing the right way the rabbit made a mistake, rather than just bolting for the hedge and safety, and ive no doubt he would have made it, he tried to belly crawl his way out of trouble, just a quick little movement and then he stopped and i knew blaine had seen him, i felt the slip tighten in my fingers as the dog stepped forward, ears up and nose low to the ground and the rabbit crawled another six inches away on his belly, as blaine lunged forward i dropped the slip and the rabbit bolted up the field blaine no more than a foot behind him, he jinked right towards the hedge then doubled back on himself towards me leaving blaine struggling to turn in time but thought better of it and turned back towards the hedge and straight in front of blaine.................................... sqeeeeeak!! and blaine had him in his jaws, he tried to pick the rabbit up, fummbled it then pinned it to the floor to get a better grip and just stood there for a moment while i called him, i didnt dare turn the light off for fear of him dropping the bunny, so i just watched as he walked up and down with his prize, in the end i met him half way as he trotted towards me and then we spent a few moments while he decided which he wanted more, the rabbit or the hand full of treat i held out to him, after a minute of "bunny or treats??, bunny or treats??" he let me take the rabbit and neck it! after a huge fuss i put his lead on and we headed for home soaking wet and covered in mud and me grinning from ear to ear! and im still smilling now! cheers hyperion Edited July 21, 2009 by hyperion Quote Link to post
thomps125 49 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 great stuff mate i carnt wate for my bitches first cagch ..fingers crossd ime off out soon Quote Link to post
Malt 379 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Nice one Hyp! It's a hell of a buzz when they start catching, isn't it? It seems like it takes forever when you have them from a small pup. Hopefully the first of many. Quote Link to post
coursing mad 5 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 good read that mate atb with your pup. tom!! Quote Link to post
jac 12 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Loved reading that, reminds me of my girl. She was always looking the wrong way or sticking her nose in the air picking up scent when a rabbit was feet away. She has just started learning to look and pay more attention to me. Got her second rabbit yesterday. nice one Quote Link to post
Guest hyperion Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 cheers for the replys! im well chuffed! cheers hyperion Quote Link to post
mooshka 22 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 Nice one.... well done Blaine.. am chuffed for you both Quote Link to post
big boy 16 Posted July 21, 2009 Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 nice one mate cant wait to get out Quote Link to post
wullielennox 158 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 its been raining down my neck of the woods for days now, from bright sunshine one moment to great wind driven sheets of heavy rain the next and every thing inbetween! id been toying with the idea of taking blaine out on the lamp since i got back from suffolk the week before and as sunday rolled around it was looking to be the perfect night for a mooch round with the pup in search of that one special rabbit, but as i made my way home from town the rain was lifting and by nine pm the cloud was gone and the wind had dropped to nothing leaving me looking out of the window at the sky and wondering if it just was'nt to be! i went back to the laptop and checked the weather for the next four days and there it was, monday at midnight the rain would be back! after work i begged a lift home and by the time i got back to mine at half five a heavy grey drizzle had settled in though with out much wind, after taking blaine for a quick spin round the wood i shoved some food down my neck, got my gear ready then lay on my bed and tried to get some sleep, the next thing i know my alarm was buzzing and its eleven pm, time for a quick cuppa and then im off up through the close and away into the woods and cursing myself for loosing my head torch! twenty minutes later i was unpacking the lamp from my rucksack and after swapping blaines gundog lead for my home made slip we set off across the first field of my permission, some ones been up here after the deer thats for sure, a few weeks ago i could hold the lamp on them and get to within twenty yards before they trotted off a little way then stopped again but tonight as soon as my lamp lit the field two does sprung up fifty yards from me and made for the woods at top speed through the long grass, not even pausing as they crashed into the undergrowth! i stood there and listened to them make their way off into the woods then headed along to the field boundry where i hoped i might find some rabbits a fair way out into the grass, fifty then a hundred yards of hedge went past with out seeing a thing as i worked my way along into the wind, then maybe thirty yard out i saw a single red eye pushing its self down into the grass, turning left away from the hedge i made my way towards the rabbit nearly tripping over blaine as he lundged across me after a group of bunnies he could see in the wash from the lamp further up the field but my eyes were still on the one squatting in the grass now just ten yards from me, then five, then so close i could have almost touched it with my boot but the slip was still slack in my hand! why hadnt he seen the damn rabbit??, it was almost under his nose we were so close! a quick glance down at the dog gave the answer, he was still looking away to my right were he had seen the other rabbits making good their escape a few moments before and totally unaware of the rabbit just a couple of feet from the end of his nose, then every thing seemed to happen at once, i caught movement out of the corner of my eye as the rabbit made a bolt for the hedge and blaine must have seen it the second it moved too, i let the slip go and he was off after the bunny as it raced over the short grass a good fifteen feet behind it now then as it got to the hedge the rabbit turned first right then left with blaine hot on its heels putting in a couple of slow almost lazy strikes, his jaws seemed to close in slow motion just an inch or two behind the rabbits tail, and then it was gone, down a hole or into the thick bracken under the hedge i dont know but it just vanished! blaine stood there in the beam looking confused for a few moments before i switched the lamp off and called him to me, he trotted straight back to me but walked in a wide circle around me before i could get a hold on his collar and thred the slip back through the D ring, as i ran my hands over him and patted him i could feel how much more switched on he was and that slip never went slack as we headed over the field to the next hedge and another sqatter, i kicked the rabbit up and watched heart in mouth as blaines back legs slipped out from under him on the wet grass and my dog went sprawling on his side in the grass, but he didnt yelp and was back up and running in a blink though that rabbit too made its way safely home! we took a breather and i rolled blaine onto his back in my lap and checked him from head to toe and wondered what to do next!, the only field we hadnt been in was the stubble field that had been cut the weekend id left for suffolk two weeks ago, i knew it was heaving with rabbits but it wasnt long ago that i had sat listening to some advice from some one who knows a damn sight more about running dogs than i about why you shouldnt run a dog on stubble, but my blood was up and so was blaine's and with "feet in ribbons" running through my head i went through the gate way and onto the stubble! the wheat stubble snapped and popped under my feet as we made our way along the headland and turned right up the hill and every few yards i checked on blaine to see how he was coping, he didnt seem even slightly bothered by the stubble but then walking and running are two different things and though i saw plenty of rabbits i could have slipped him on i wanted to make sure he had a very good chance indeed before i put his well being at risk for the sake of just one bunny! as we came up out of a dip in the hill side i saw a whole herd of rabbits scooting for the tree line and safety, maybe as many as twenty rabbits shot across the beam and into cover as we got to the top of the rise, blaine was oing nuts, lunging and jerking at the end of the slip trying like mad to get at the running rabbits and for a second i thought he would open up so i shut off the beam and walked a few yards to try and calm him down, after a minute or so he had staedied some what and i flicked the beam over the field, at first i saw nothing then as i brought the beam back out into the field a rabbit popped up on his hind legs a good sixty yards out from the hedge, a few quick strides put me and blaine between the rabbit and safety and as i walked towards it he crouched low in the wet stubble, i was having to drag blaine with me by now as he was dead set that the rabbits were in the hedge and thats where he wanted to be, as we made our noisey way towards him the rabbit sat tight, closer and closer untill i was as close as i dared with out him jumping up! but the damn dog was still starring back over his shoulder the way we had come!, i hauled on the slip and got his head turned back towards the rabbit sitting tight at our feet but no sooner was he looking the right way than he turned away again, his whole body facing the wrong way this time and i cursed under my breath and willed him to see the bloody rabbit as i hauled him round again sure that the rabbit must bolt and make good his escape! then just as i got blaines head facing the right way the rabbit made a mistake, rather than just bolting for the hedge and safety, and ive no doubt he would have made it, he tried to belly crawl his way out of trouble, just a quick little movement and then he stopped and i knew blaine had seen him, i felt the slip tighten in my fingers as the dog stepped forward, ears up and nose low to the ground and the rabbit crawled another six inches away on his belly, as blaine lunged forward i dropped the slip and the rabbit bolted up the field blaine no more than a foot behind him, he jinked right towards the hedge then doubled back on himself towards me leaving blaine struggling to turn in time but thought better of it and turned back towards the hedge and straight in front of blaine.................................... sqeeeeeak!! and blaine had him in his jaws, he tried to pick the rabbit up, fummbled it then pinned it to the floor to get a better grip and just stood there for a moment while i called him, i didnt dare turn the light off for fear of him dropping the bunny, so i just watched as he walked up and down with his prize, in the end i met him half way as he trotted towards me and then we spent a few moments while he decided which he wanted more, the rabbit or the hand full of treat i held out to him, after a minute of "bunny or treats??, bunny or treats??" he let me take the rabbit and neck it! after a huge fuss i put his lead on and we headed for home soaking wet and covered in mud and me grinning from ear to ear! and im still smilling now! cheers hyperion good read,,,when's your book out..lol Quote Link to post
Guest hyperion Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 i could probably fill a whole book with all the greif ive caused myself with blaine! lol! Quote Link to post
lurchergrrl 1,441 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Aw Hype, great read and well done! Quote Link to post
Guest Hightower Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 I enjoyed that, thanks for sharing. HT Quote Link to post
Tyla 3,179 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Well done both of you! Its a great feeling! Quote Link to post
collie/grey 238 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 What a bloody good read, felt like i was there with you and blaine! Well done to the both of you! It's sometimes frustrating when starting a pup off on the lamp but he will soon pick it up and you will forget what time it took to get him catching. Quote Link to post
lofti 579 Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 well done mate, hope ya get many more. lofti. Quote Link to post
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