First Dig

[Guest Lurchers2006]

Can anyone on here remember their first dig? Mine was to a little vixen with a old dog called Mickey that my uncle had, 2 hours and 6 foot it was and I was made dig most of it as I was the "Strong young lad" then when it came to the good bit (Breaking through) I wasnt allowed it was my first experience of hunting and it got me hooked

[bshadle 5]

I remember mine like it was only last month.

 

Oh... That's right... It WAS only last month.

 

You're right, though. It'll always be a memorable experience. :thumbs-up:

[bill88 6]

Make's me laugh how the newcomer alway's has to dig must be an unwritten law.

[tom_patterdale 0]

well my first dig to a dog was only last week (not my dog)!! and yes i did most of the digging!! but my god i enjoyed it, just cant wait till i dig till my dog for the first time!!!!

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

To a mates oldman's bedlington in 85 on a sewage works.

we cut the wire to get in and dug the same place for years until they fixed the fence

and we chickened out.

Saw a young cub killed on the road out side it only yesterday .so there still using it

[jonesy 111]

like yesterday ,in an old turned out rabbit sett,it isnt to far from were im living now and it was only a foot and a half.

[waz77 15]

My first time was'nt exactly a dig,it was a big rock pile on a very cold winters day,a young b+t dog 1yr old,he was to ground about 4 hrs,he came out badly bitten with the foxes lips on his head, I assume he killed it as he was a very hard dog to fox,i was frozen to the bone sat there but i would'nt have been anywhere else in the world, and had to walk home about 5 miles after with dog under my coat so no one could see him till i cleaned him up at a mates house on way. I was about 12/13 at the time,about 18 yrs ago,been at it ever since

[Autumnbriar 0]

Well, I would be embarrassed to tell of my first dig because I didn't really dig... I was heavy into the club stuff back then...... my first true dig was by myself 4 years ago...... before then somebody else always dug.

 

but I can tell you in my first season of hunting alone......the worst feeling is digging just to retrieve your dead dog.....

 

The dogs name was Rupert, and my local farmer had told me where he had been spotting some chucks, so I headed out.... Rupert and Johnny....... the first sett yielded a raccoon, it bolted, but the next sett Rupert entered and started baying, within 2 minutes I smell the skunk...... located him only 2-3 feet down, 8-10 feet in, I still wasn't super handy with my locator so it was always an average... I called out to him, and tried to get him to back out, but he wasn't even baying now, it was a tight set and Rupert wasn't a super tiny dog, I didn't see a back door if there was one...... feeling like I was wasting precious minutes.... I began to dig.... and I am not ashamed to tell you 5 minutes into tough rocky hard ground the tears started to fall........ I knew I was digging to my first dead dog. I took me 20 plus minutes to get to him, amazing what adrenaline will do. When I broke through , I spotted his lifeless back feet and I pulled him out, and I sat and cried for a few more minutes...... the walk back to my truck was a long one. The Farmer seen my coming down the hill, and I think he was curious about what I had in my arms, when he realize it was my dog... he offered comfort and a spot to lay him to rest... where his wife buries the old barn cats, felling Rupert would like that I said sure.... and he immediately set about digging a proper spot, I took off my sweater and wrapped him and and sent him on his way..... that was 4 years ago and it's still hard to talk about........

[Bona 0]

The only down side to earthwork....bit risky..never the less still worth it, my first dig was about 4 months ago it wasn't my dog(if that still counts) but anyway it was on the slip, an old landslide on the mountain, we put the collar on and netted the holes up then put the terrier in (from ken gould lines i think) minutes later he started baying for about half hour, it turned out that a vixen had bolted but got stuck and the terrier killed one in the hole he dragged a dog fox out turns out he had bit the nose clean off and eat it

terrier had a few scratches nothing bad.

[glyn157 0]

only started last year diggin to terriers of my own, first dig a 4 footer young vixen bottled up by my 18 mth old russel bitch currently holding a litter of 4 ...................

tilly the bitch on the left along side her equally active brother tetley..

[lamper mike 9]

MY FIRST DIG WAS ON SOME FIELDS AT THE BACK OF A PICTURE HOUSE NOT TO FAR FROM WHERE I GREW UP...ITS WAS ABOUT SIX YEARS AGO NOW...I WAS OUT EARLY WITH MY UNCLE WHO HAD ALWAYS HAD TERRIERS ALL HIS LIFE, AND WE WERE JUST OUT FOR AN EARLY MORNING MOOCH WITH MY DOG ZAK WHO IS A PATTERDALE/LAKELAND...I HAD JUST USED ZAK FOR BUSHING REALLY HE WAS ABOUT 1 AND HALF AT THE TIME AND GAME AS HELL...ANYCASE MY UNCLE WAS SHOWING ME ALL THE OLD EARTHS HE USED TO DO...AND WHAT CERTAIN THINGS HAD HAPPENED AT EACH ONE...WE CAME ACROSS A EARTH WHAT WAS FAIRLY NEW AND DECIDED TO LET THE DOG HAVE A LOOK. ZAK WENT TO A GOOD WORKED HOLE AND PAID A BIT MORE THAN THE USUAL INTEREST...I STILL REMEMBER HIM TILTING HIS HEAD (HE DOES THIS WHEN LISTENING) AT THE HOLE AND THEN OFF HE WENT NO HESITATION...GONE...HE WAS DOWN FOR ABOUT 10 MINS AND I HEARD NOTHING FROM THE DOG AT ALL MY OTHER DOG A MONGREL CROSS KEPT GOING TO THE OTHER HOLES AND THEN SHE MARKED A SMALL BOLT HOLE...I PUT MY HEAD TO IT AND COULD HEAR ZAK SNORTING AS SUCH,AND STARTED TO PULL THE GROUND AWAY AROUND THE BOLT HOLE...TO BE HONEST I FEARED FOR MY DOG AT THE TIME AND FRANTICALLY DUG IN WITH MY HANDS...I GOT ABOUT A FOOT DOWN WHEN I THOUGHT I HAD FOUND HIM BUT IT WAS NT I HAD DUG RIGHT ON TOP OF THE FOX...ON SEEING THAT THIS WAS THE FOX MY UNCLE GRABBED HOLD AND PULLED IT BACK A BIT ONLY TO FIND ZAK HAD IT AROUND THE THROAT AND THE DOG FOX WAS LONG DEAD...SEEING HIM COVERED IN THICK MUD AND WITH HIS QUARRY IN HIS MOUTH STILL IS A PICTURE I WILL NEVER FORGET...AFTER THIS I BOUGHT A LOCATER AND A GOOD SPADE AND WE DUG TO ZAK ON MANY OCCASSIONS ALWAYS WITH HIM DOING THE BUSSINESS...ZAK IS NOW NEARLY EIGHT AND LIVES WITH MY MUM AND DAD..RETIRED SO TO SPEAK...STILL GAME AS HELL THOUGH...