LONGNETTING

[shropshire-lad 9]

Hi was thinking about going out to night with the dog and longnet, its really colddd and really foggy as anyone been out in bad fog and if there was many sitting out.

[terryd 8,698]

Fog and damp misty weather do not seem to work well for me

[shropshire-lad 9]

Ok thanks for the info

[Country Joe 1,411]

It takes a clever dog to banter a field, whilst you wait at the net, if your dog will not do i would not take it night long netting.

had some usefull dogs in the past, but have to admit none could banter the field at night.

Best of luck.

[terryd 8,698]

  On 12/01/2013 at 21:27, Country Joe said:

It takes a clever dog to banter a field, whilst you wait at the net, if your dog will not do i would not take it night long netting.

had some usefull dogs in the past, but have to admit none could banter the field at night.

Best of luck.

 

I would agree with that I am sure they have and do exist. But when you think what is required it would be one clever dog. It would have to nip around the edge of the field then quarter the field back to you and also not give chase or miss any ground and all in darkness. I could picture a sheep dog type being a good bet as that is they way they work sheep but a big ask.

Unless you just meant for company in which case I would leave it at home. Stealth is key

[Tiercel 6,986]

The subject of the fabled long netters dog comes up now and again. There have been some long and varied threads on what the dog would consist of, some plumping for the hearding breeds, others plumping for a dog that does not work rabbits at all as the very presence of a dog would be enough to drive rabbits into the nets.

 

Personally I think a dog would actually detract from the netting experience. On small fields you sometimes have to bant two fields away from where you have set your nets, no dog could be expected to work that out even if it could be trained to do a sweep of a field.

 

The long netters dog is fabled for it's ablity to work a field, herding rabbits back to the net. That is where it belongs in aesop's fables. The main reason using a dog would be counterproductive is not the dog but the actual presence of a dog in the field. Long netting at night is very different to the day, in the night you want the rabbits ambling into the net not hitting the nets as they do during the day.

 

I'll try and explain, when nets are set during the night you tilt the nets away from the direction the rabbits are expected to come from. The reason for this is that the rabbits then has to be standing on the net when it reaches the upright part of the net, the longer it is standing on that net the more chance it has of getting it's feet tangled in the net on the floor. If that rabbit hits the net running at full speed more often than not it will bounce off the net, before trying again. Where as when it ambles into the net it will try and push itself through the meshes and if not caught by the feet it will get it's head through a mesh and will ball up nicely.

 

The best advice I could give anyone is set your nets quietly, bant the field slowly and leave the dog in the kennel.

 

TC

Edited January 13, 2013 by tiercel