rock piles, and rock dogs

[Danny123 1]

Nice pics....like the one with the fox having a nosey.

[Guest digbert]

A proper rock pile wont be dug, little gay ones will, Worked some near Blair Atholl in perthshire next to loch ordie, scarey places for man and dog... For me a good rock dog is one at the top of its game, certainly a different ball game from working normal dens

 

 

what you on about mate, proper rock piles, and little gay ones, even proper rock piles as you say sometimes can be dug, depends on were your dog is in the pile, just because they look undigable doesent always mean they are, you can slit the big rocks with sledge hammer and a bar, lift rocks and move them with jacks mate,an sometimes get machines in to help

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

I near lost my best dog (now semi retired) in a large un-digable rock pile, he was in 3 days before he came out.... a friend lost his dog in a big borran we worked in cumbria, possibly trapped, but must have been off the box (deben). near 3 weeks of searching, was a very good dog

I always like working the rocks, theres loads of rock piles and crags in my area, and we get loads of foxes from these places.... my old dog is a decent finder and nimble footed, and would kill a fox quick if he had a chance, my bitch hasnt done as much rock piles, but those she has been in, she has managed a bolt, as she isnt a hard terrier at all, and has never killed a fox to ground at 6 years old, In my opinion, the hard dogs are the best in the rocks, the harder the better. Also the bigger terriers can often manage well enough, in some rock piles.

Im hoping my young dog will make a good rock dog, he's bigger than his sire and is showing early potential, but he has a lot to learn, he wont be seeing any big rock piles this season thats for sure, maybe next.

[Guest digbert]

I near lost my best dog (now semi retired) in a large un-digable rock pile, he was in 3 days before he came out.... a friend lost his dog in a big borran we worked in cumbria, possibly trapped, but must have been off the box (deben). near 3 weeks of searching, was a very good dog

I always like working the rocks, theres loads of rock piles and crags in my area, and we get loads of foxes from these places.... my old dog is a decent finder and nimble footed, and would kill a fox quick if he had a chance, my bitch hasnt done as much rock piles, but those she has been in, she has managed a bolt, as she isnt a hard terrier at all, and has never killed a fox to ground at 6 years old, In my opinion, the hard dogs are the best in the rocks, the harder the better. Also the bigger terriers can often manage well enough, in some rock piles.

Im hoping my young dog will make a good rock dog, he's bigger than his sire and is showing early potential, but he has a lot to learn, he wont be seeing any big rock piles this season thats for sure, maybe next.

 

dont uselocatin collers in the rocks mate, 15ft u can hear your dog, lost on or two myself mate in the rocks,

like small leggy types myself mate,love working the rocks , and thers not many people do them aswell ive been brought up on them by my father

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

A proper rock pile wont be dug, little gay ones will, Worked some near Blair Atholl in perthshire next to loch ordie, scarey places for man and dog... For me a good rock dog is one at the top of its game, certainly a different ball game from working normal dens

 

 

what you on about mate, proper rock piles, and little gay ones, even proper rock piles as you say sometimes can be dug, depends on were your dog is in the pile, just because they look undigable doesent always mean they are, you can slit the big rocks with sledge hammer and a bar, lift rocks and move them with jacks mate,an sometimes get machines in to help

too right, even the biggest of rock piles, it could just be a matter of turning over a couple of boulders and hey presto. But often me or another lad has trudged back to get tools and extra boddies to get the job done. Its always a bad feeling for me if I get to the point where we just cant get any further.

I was out with Jamie2004 of this site last week on his vast permision, where we tried a rockpile after getting a positive mark, his russel soon found, and after a while a big fox bolted unseen by the guns(lurchers) and made its escape, but the dog didnt show, and it was clear that it was trying to reach another fox, but couldnt quite get. We tried to move some stone but nearly caused a huge rock fall above us , which sent us all running for our lives shitting ourselves, which just shows how dangerous this work can be. The terrier luckily surfaced during the night. That will be one to avoid for a bit, at least until the rocks settle.

 

just to add, that for me, cliffs and crags, and also the limestone clinks, are far worse places for the terrier to enter, as the ones I work are most definately un digable, and only certain dogs will be allowed into such places. even machines would be no good. The only way ye could dig them is with dynamite!!

Edited November 28, 2009 by dogs-n-natives

[Guest digbert]

glad you got ur dog out, we had the same problem 2 years ago, put my dads black bitch in she hit the fox striat away, but they went deep down, 4 days later we could still hear the dog at it, must have got in a tight crack,on the 6th day we couldent hear out so we dicederd to get a big jcb, but the pile was on a hill side 7th day the machine arrived, we still cuddent hear out so we dug 20ft off the rock out and kept cheaking lisening and tying dogs to mark on the lead, when suddenly the pile sliped down the hill side and making a fecking right mess,that was it we could not dig eny more as the pile wasent safe, we thanked the driver and the farmer, we went ffor another 10 days after that, but we think the died on the 6th day

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

 

 

dont uselocatin collers in the rocks mate, 15ft u can hear your dog, lost on or two myself mate in the rocks,

like small leggy types myself mate,love working the rocks , and thers not many people do them aswell ive been brought up on them by my father

Il always use a collar on my terriers no matter where we use them...same goes for all the lads I work the dogs with, and the hunt terrier lads, and they have come in very handy at times. yes you can hear a dog deep sometimes but not always, especially in the wind and rain.

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

glad you got ur dog out, we had the same problem 2 years ago, put my dads black bitch in she hit the fox striat away, but they went deep down, 4 days later we could still hear the dog at it, must have got in a tight crack,on the 6th day we couldent hear out so we dicederd to get a big jcb, but the pile was on a hill side 7th day the machine arrived, we still cuddent hear out so we dug 20ft off the rock out and kept cheaking lisening and tying dogs to mark on the lead, when suddenly the pile sliped down the hill side and making a fecking right mess,that was it we could not dig eny more as the pile wasent safe, we thanked the driver and the farmer, we went ffor another 10 days after that, but we think the died on the 6th day

feck, thats a lucky one for the jcb driver, its a scary sight seeing a lot of big rock moving.... shame about the terrier, but then even the best can get beat up if the fox has a good position. good luck for the future mate

[Guest digbert]

 

 

dont uselocatin collers in the rocks mate, 15ft u can hear your dog, lost on or two myself mate in the rocks,

like small leggy types myself mate,love working the rocks , and thers not many people do them aswell ive been brought up on them by my father

Il always use a collar on my terriers no matter where we use them...same goes for all the lads I work the dogs with, and the hunt terrier lads, and they have come in very handy at times. yes you can hear a dog deep sometimes but not always, especially in the wind and rain.

 

reson why i dont like locaters on dog , while in the rock is because my dad had one stuck in the pile for 5 days when we dug down and found the dog it had hung it self on the coller

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

 

 

dont uselocatin collers in the rocks mate, 15ft u can hear your dog, lost on or two myself mate in the rocks,

like small leggy types myself mate,love working the rocks , and thers not many people do them aswell ive been brought up on them by my father

Il always use a collar on my terriers no matter where we use them...same goes for all the lads I work the dogs with, and the hunt terrier lads, and they have come in very handy at times. yes you can hear a dog deep sometimes but not always, especially in the wind and rain.

 

reson why i dont like locaters on dog , while in the rock is because my dad had one stuck in the pile for 5 days when we dug down and found the dog it had hung it self on the coller

thats a good point, and a sad way to loose a dog, hopefully il not have that happen

[higgins 75]

while i admire any terier that goes to ground,the rock dogs are the best,but i personally would steer weell away from working gallant tykes in rock piles.I have spent more times outside rock piles,sometimes 3 or 4 days compared to diggable ground, on average diggable ground is mostly 1 or 2 day affairs(there are extremes i know but i have never been on week long vigils for terriers)i'll only put a dog in a well known rock pile if i know dogs have been able to get back out unaided or the occasional deep diggable earth if there is a very good chance my dog can get himself out alive.I value my terrier(s) more than the sport itself,getting the quarry should always be a bonus,i feel a terrierman should put his dog first,too much emphasis is put on the terrier to get his quarry,but hey,before you knock any terrier get in the ground yourself and see what they are up against,a mediocre terrier is ten times worth his master,

Higgins.

[Guest digbert]

while i admire any terier that goes to ground,the rock dogs are the best,but i personally would steer weell away from working gallant tykes in rock piles.I have spent more times outside rock piles,sometimes 3 or 4 days compared to diggable ground, on average diggable ground is mostly 1 or 2 day affairs(there are extremes i know but i have never been on week long vigils for terriers)i'll only put a dog in a well known rock pile if i know dogs have been able to get back out unaided or the occasional deep diggable earth if there is a very good chance my dog can get himself out alive.I value my terrier(s) more than the sport itself,getting the quarry should always be a bonus,i feel a terrierman should put his dog first,too much emphasis is put on the terrier to get his quarry,but hey,before you knock any terrier get in the ground yourself and see what they are up against,a mediocre terrier is ten times worth his master,

Higgins.

 

good post mate,i agree ther with ya fella, but all us decent terrier men all value ower dogs and we dont whant eny harm cuming to them, but i do go out to work my dogs and if i find one in a pile, uless its a mine shaft i will put my dog in, most of the dogs killed in piles have been 2 up or evern 3 up, if u look back in the fell and moor land year books,i work some of them bad piles that they say in ther, but if u read it carfully it sates that they put 2 or 3 dogs in , i dont work dogs paired up i work them single handerd,im not saying that with one dog in u carnt lose him, thats the chance we all take as we work ower dogs, be it rock piles or earths

[higgins 75]

while i admire any terier that goes to ground,the rock dogs are the best,but i personally would steer weell away from working gallant tykes in rock piles.I have spent more times outside rock piles,sometimes 3 or 4 days compared to diggable ground, on average diggable ground is mostly 1 or 2 day affairs(there are extremes i know but i have never been on week long vigils for terriers)i'll only put a dog in a well known rock pile if i know dogs have been able to get back out unaided or the occasional deep diggable earth if there is a very good chance my dog can get himself out alive.I value my terrier(s) more than the sport itself,getting the quarry should always be a bonus,i feel a terrierman should put his dog first,too much emphasis is put on the terrier to get his quarry,but hey,before you knock any terrier get in the ground yourself and see what they are up against,a mediocre terrier is ten times worth his master,

Higgins.

 

good post mate,i agree ther with ya fella, but all us decent terrier men all value ower dogs and we dont whant eny harm cuming to them, but i do go out to work my dogs and if i find one in a pile, uless its a mine shaft i will put my dog in, most of the dogs killed in piles have been 2 up or evern 3 up, if u look back in the fell and moor land year books,i work some of them bad piles that they say in ther, but if u read it carfully it sates that they put 2 or 3 dogs in , i dont work dogs paired up i work them single handerd,im not saying that with one dog in u carnt lose him, thats the chance we all take as we work ower dogs, be it rock piles or earths

[/quote

i don't say never work rock piles,i just feel for the dogs going in there,sometimes i've watched a dog going in a rock pile and for the life of me i can't help thinking what a brave little fella who doesn't know whether he'll come out again and i always think to myself i'm glad it's not me,then i realise i'm the one putting this brave little fella in there,that's the why i don't go out of my way to work them,but i admit that the adrenalin

sometimes can get the better of us and we are tempted but at that point i'll only slip the dog in if it's a known rock pile or earth that dogs can usually get back out of,no fox is worth the life of my dog.When i was younger i took more chances,but then i never considered what terriers actually went through,now i'll only work them if their safety is guaranteed,good topic by the way,atb,

Higgins.

[bedrock 16]

I’ve seen some dangerous rescues in rock piles for man and dog but the longest we have been trying to get a dog from the rocks was four days. I don’t like working them unless Im familiar with the place. atb bedrock

[Moby 0]

i stated up on rockpiles before i was able to drive,it was more often than not a race to get round the local quarries and the most out of the way places you could think off only to get there to find somone had already beat you to it.i was out early one september morning went to a biggish rockpile what we had a lot of foxes out this was more often than not a half hour affair,the dog enterted about 6 oclock in the morning he could be heard on almost straight away,within twenty minutes a big cub bolted and over the top of the pile without the lurcher seeing it then another followed it shortly after it.the dog had gone quite by this time thinking that it was making his way back out,we waited allday and well into dark,luckily we got the dog back but it took five days to get him back and only with the help of the quarry owner who put a twenty ton machine on for three days free of charge.where ever we put our terrier we a risking losing it you can lose your dog in the shallowest earth to the biggest rockpile,all we can do is respect and care for our dogs and hope to get them out safely wherever they are.