Bushing

[rob190364 2,594]

people its summer sent is not that strong dont worrie wait to winter or take them lamping feed a coulpe of raw rabbits if it still dont do it PTS

eh? scent is not that strong in summer??? since when???

[willow 53]

when its warm theres not as much as in the winter because its weter in the winter the stingers cover the sent as well so when your out if you have a good nose break one off and smell them put it close to your nose and see what a smell it gives off and young dogs get confused

[rob190364 2,594]

if that's true then it's a new one on me....I'd have thought scent would be stronger in summer for attracting mates/marking territory etc.

Edited June 23, 2011 by rob190364

[skycat 6,173]

Scent is scent, summer or winter: only in very dry conditions does scent become fainter. Damp summer weather should mean there's loads of scent about.

 

Re whether or not a dog has a good enough nose: IMO it's not a question of nose, but a combination of good breeding, high prey drive and confidence. All dogs have good enough noses to smell a rabbit in cover, though young of any species carry less scent than adults. If a terrier comes from a line of good cover dogs that is half the battle, though I've seen some which were well bred from that type of dog and they just didn't have enough drive. I even ran a friend's pup on for 5 months so it could follow mine through cover: even though her dam was mustard in cover, she just didn't have what it takes to become a really good dog: just not enough drive in her head.

 

Confidence is the main thing when starting a young dog off. I'd never tell a pup off for going off on its own when young, I want them to trust their own instincts: if it means I sit there for 10 minutes waiting for it to come out of a bramble, so be it. They have to learn what to do, what scent means, what is old scent, what is fresh, who it belongs etc. If a 6 month old terrier pup shows no interest it could just be a slow starter, though to be honest I've never known a pup of that sort go on to become very, very good. The signs of being good are there from an early age.

 

My young Russell type was a slow starter, she lacked focus, ran about on top like an idiot too fast and daft. She needed to be taken to where there were plenty of rabbits just inside cover to force her to slow down and actually follow the scent: and most importantly get her mouth round some fur. Now, at around 18 months she is looking good enough for what I want. But they don't all make the grade.

[willow 53]

over the years of watching young bushers come on early in the morning when its cold a dew is down theres scent down everywere as the sun comes out it drys the scent up

[.terrier man. 193]

people its summer sent is not that strong dont worrie wait to winter or take them lamping feed a coulpe of raw rabbits if it still dont do it PTS

 

 

[Tyla 3,179]

Listen to skycat and dont go throwing the dog into cover. If it wants it then it'll go and if it dosent chucking it about will just confuse it and put it off the whole thing. My bushing dog i got as a rescue at 7 months from a pet home, never been off lead, barely walked, didnt even know his name. Never seen running water so wouldnt cross it, no idea of how to act with other dogs etc etc. I took him out with our experienced pack every week and he picked it up eventually, hes no world beater but does his job. You just need patience and the right dogs to learn off.

 

How old are your dogs and have they caught for themselves? Confidence is very important, if they dont think they can catch then they wont want to enter the thick stuff for nothing. Try and find somewhere easy for them to work and, hopefully, catch a few, it gives them the incentive to get it there.

[dogman1 5]

Thanks guys, some good advice took on board there.

[Scallywag 78]

So, are there optimum weather conditions for bushing? If so, what are they?

 

Also, on training, I'm no expert but there are three things I taught my terrier that I'm regularly glad I got well installed:

1. A good retrieve

2. A good 'give' command

3. That coming back to me doesn't mean the end of the fun, so she's more controllable/directable when working.