rough shooting with terrier/jack russell?

[Billy08 1]

Hi

my friend is just after buying a terrier dog(bit like a big jack russell actually) and hes about 3 months old and very lively but not full blown earthdog breed..i am a shooter and i use springers and he's are thinking of trying to train him as a gundog when hes older as mainly a beating dog. i live in the west of ireland were its only really rough woodcock shooting and have a good bit of experience with gundog training and thought i'd try doing the same sort of training as with a spaniel. any one ever used one for shooting?? just thought it was worth the ask as i've heard they can hunt cover well.

 

thanks

[paulus 26]

old bloke i use to know R.I.P always shot over a russell for all the years i knew him, he swore by them

[moley 115]

i work 4 , sometimes alone , sometimes as a pack and most times with a bobbery pack, they all retrieve , always dead lol, great little multi purpose dogs

i do fox drives with them, work cover mainly for rabbits but sometimes on shoot days and 3 ov them work to ground

[stroller 341]

i had one in the eighties and she was brilliant, loads of fun she would yap so you could tell which way the game was coming out of cover. Snoopy was a b*****d for eating stuff though if it had been a long day and she was hungry it got eaten.

 

loads of fun though very happy days

[Billy08 1]

would a terrier be as good at beating/bushing as a springer or cocker?

[Gin 498]

We were beating on Saturday, and one of the guns had a russell , and it worked the rough cover great, pushed out fox, and birds etc. It was a great little dog, and all he used on the shoots.

[oscarsdad 4]

My border comes beating with me and he often puts the spaniels to shame when it comes to flushing pheasant and ground game. He is brilliant at chasing and dispatching pricked birds as well. He doesn't retreive though, once it is dead he has no interest in it.

 

I think he is trying to prove I do not need the 11wk old cocker which I have as well.

[Lab 10,979]

My border comes beating with me and he often puts the spaniels to shame when it comes to flushing pheasant and ground game. He is brilliant at chasing and dispatching pricked birds as well. He doesn't retreive though, once it is dead he has no interest in it.

 

I think he is trying to prove I do not need the 11wk old cocker which I have as well.

 

Sounds like you seriously need your cocker.............

[Born Hunter 17,812]

They work great in the beating line provided they are reasonably well behaved. My little 'en has worked every shoot day this season grafting just as hard as the spaniels and it's been recognised by the people that matter. I'm not going to kid anyone into believing a terrier is better than a purpose bred spaniel as they just simply arn't but they are very good and will put up just as many birds. I try to keep mine from picking up other than when neccessary as it can go one of two ways, retrieved live to hand or despatched to hand! She swims like an otter and retrieves duck from water. The odd drive she really proves her worth as a beating dog working the birds out of incredibly dense cover that the spaniels just struggle to get into. As a rough shooting dog, shes bang on and I don't think I would go out without her now.

 

If you want a dog specifically for shooting, get a spaniel, they are the better option for a good reason. But I like the versatility of a good terrier and IMO they certainly have their place on a shoot day. Mine also regularly accompanies me on work days and when feeding, riding shotgun on the quad ready for action when needed.