running a dog on a night with no lamp

[bird 9,873]

Have any of you ever run a dog in the dark? I take mine out sometimes on a full moon with no clouds. I do take a mag light to just see what he is interested in. He will let me know when he has seen something. The land is nice and flat, no barbed wire fences etc and the calmer night the better. Yes I know goes against everything we were ever taught and read. He gets a good kill rate considering it’s normally a long way off but the land where I do this is very flat and the dog knows the land very well. I like the calm nights with me not been able to see him I can hear where they are going. I know some of you are just about to slag me off for this but he is hunting naturally. When I first got the dog I would not lamp right up and only the other night slipped him on a rabbit a good 150 yards away and he nailed it. I don’t believe in making it too easy for him and it has paid off. He’s only just over 2 and is really coming into his own now taking on and off lamp both day and night

As long as you say you know the ground, we all gone out on a light night just give the dog a run . Its if you dont know the ground, and there might be some old machinery old plough etc.... laying in ditchs or edges, that you might not have seen, thats the prob and if they hit them massive prob . But if you can+ dog can see well enough thats ok then.

[KittleRox 2,147]

Often work the dugs lose,alot of the time they,re off after something without the lamp being on and have success this way,brilliant eyesight in the dark

[morton 5,368]

Some dogs take to it some don,t,a dog that can use its nose usually fares the best,a dog i had in the ,s i used to take to a bit of land that you could,nt put a lamp on,id let him loose and wait for him to come back,rabbits,hares and feather he brought back,if he came back empty handed and wanted you to follow it was a fox or venison,never had one as good since.Its something you cant really teach a dog,its a case of letting them loose and seeing if they take to it.

[nicklpool 0]

Like Whin said - powerful lamps are quite recent, so on nights that didnt suit nets, or if you didnt want to be caught with nets, or couldnt be arsed carrying nets, moonlight mooching was the way to do it.

Feels a bit weird prowling round in the dark tho,

Nick

[bobby-b 1]

I like that phrase mate Moonlight mooching lol. Thank you for all your comments. I sometimes like it better than lamping. Walking over the fields on a moonlit still night. Following the sound of the chase. its somehow a lot more relaxing just man and pooch on a moonlit night. bloody hell ill be getting the candles and wine out for him next lol

Edited February 12, 2011 by bobby-b

[birddog 1,354]

ive done it wi a few dogs over the years my current collie cross is one o the best though, twilight / moonlit walks for her have been very productive is it just us the owners that worry too much about injuries maybe oor mutts have more sense than we give them credit for

[merle24 61]

the closest ive been to using no lamp is when i lamp deer with my old bitch i will lamp them meybe a field or so away so she can see them make sure she seen it then nock the lamp off and slip her give her time depending on distance then nock the lamp back on and 90 percent of the time shes either nailed it or shes bang on top of it shes the only dog ive ever seen that has done this and she is bang on it atb wx

 

Do it all the time around here,,, you have too or you wont get a run lol.

[dai dogs 1,412]

had a few out of beam kills over the years. but the mamalute x greyhounds that i seen working were masters at this type of hunting.