When Should The Terrier Travel ?

[fox assasin 16]

Hi all, I got myself a seleham russle terrier hoping to dig foxes with him this coming winter, he is 10 months old at the moment and has killed a fox in a stop end already, i was walking him around some disused earths today, he stook his nose in the mouth of the earth and smelled inside and walked away ? Should he of travelled the earth or will the terrier only go in if there is a fox inside the earth ?

[gonetoearth 5,144]

Some will some wont

[rob284 1,682]

best off they dont, wastes time!

[wirral countryman 2,110]

You seem very keen as we all were once but stay away from earths till autumn, start it too soon and your terrier will either "jib" or end up too hard, killing cubs will prove nothing about your dog, when it comes to running through earths there are mixed standards really, I would call a dog running through empty earths a "false marker" but others actively encourage it, a small type can fly round an average earth but a larger type of terrier can take up to an hour to dig round only for it to be empty, I only expect my terriers to enter occupied earths, so its not an exercise I would advocate but that's just my opinion, atb, WM

[irishdogs 48]

If you had a seasoned terrier, hound or lurcher that can mark up along with your pup it would be a big advantage, that way you should be able to know when your pup should travel.

[pablo esc 1,598]

Maybe scared of the dark, watch them cubs don't gang up, could be just waiting round the corner, playing

[gonetoearth 5,144]

Maybe scared of the dark, watch them cubs don't gang up, could be just waiting round the corner, playing

. Lol

[MIK 4,756]

best off they dont, wastes time!

I dont know about that imo its good to see a youngster search places as its all part of learning ....and can you really trust an inexperienced Terrier unless its search every inch ?

[jamie mc 168]

A good terrier will no if there is something at home and that will come with time no need to rush a young dog my bitch will not go to ground if there is nothing at home.atb Jamie.

[jeemes 4,445]

 

best off they dont, wastes time!

I dont know about that imo its good to see a youngster search places as its all part of learning ....and can you really trust an inexperienced Terrier unless its search every inch ?

 

a bitch we used to have would be pulling at the lead from ten yards away or hardly even sniff it, depending on her opinion. She was never proved wrong.

[Alimac2 321]

Iv seen good marking packs take over 10 minutes to mark spots in the past, not a squeek, just active sterns, then like a flick of a switch they start to mark, so why folk seam to expect a terrier to mark every fox with a quick sniff of a hole is a bit beyond me..

[Alimac2 321]

 

 

best off they dont, wastes time!

I dont know about that imo its good to see a youngster search places as its all part of learning ....and can you really trust an inexperienced Terrier unless its search every inch ?

a bitch we used to have would be pulling at the lead from ten yards away or hardly even sniff it, depending on her opinion. She was never proved wrong.

So you did run a dog through after the 100% marking bitch had said no?

[rob284 1,682]

 

 

 

 

best off they dont, wastes time!

I dont know about that imo its good to see a youngster search places as its all part of learning ....and can you really trust an inexperienced Terrier unless its search every inch ?

a bitch we used to have would be pulling at the lead from ten yards away or hardly even sniff it, depending on her opinion. She was never proved wrong.

same as old bitch we have now. it helps having an older dog.

[rob284 1,682]

 

 

 

best off they dont, wastes time!

I dont know about that imo its good to see a youngster search places as its all part of learning ....and can you really trust an inexperienced Terrier unless its search every inch ?

a bitch we used to have would be pulling at the lead from ten yards away or hardly even sniff it, depending on her opinion. She was never proved wrong.

So you did run a dog through after the 100% marking bitch h ad said no?

I wouldnt, bad practise to me.

[neil cooney 10,416]

Iv seen good marking packs take over 10 minutes to mark spots in the past, not a squeek, just active sterns, then like a flick of a switch they start to mark, so why folk seam to expect a terrier to mark every fox with a quick sniff of a hole is a bit beyond me..

At last a bit common sense that sounds like it comes from experience.

Of all the breeds of hunting type dogs hounds probably have the best nose.

So why then can a fox leave a covert 5 seconds in front of hounds and yet they sometimes can't pick up his line.

It's because of the science of scent.

And the scent around an earth is no difference. Especially if the fox has been to ground for some time.

Unless a good, reliable, honest terrier gets in there and checks it you CANNOT walk away saying an earth is empty.

Who ever said that a terrier that travels an empty earth is false marking hasn't a clue what he's talking about.

False marking is one of a terriers biggest faults and a terriermans biggest nightmare.

 

IMO when entering a youngster one of the biggest mistakes a terrier man can make is to ensure that every earth the terrier checks is occupied.

This teaches a young terrier that an earth is never empty and can result in a terrier that wont say NO and will false mark. It must be a combination of someone at home and no one at home.

 

With a good reliable search, find, stay type terrier you'll be surprised how many shitty, dead looking places you'd have walked by are actually holding.

A windy morning can fill entrances with leaves and on a sunny morning spiders will cover entrances with cobwebs in minutes. Combine this with bad scent and earths will appear empty.

Also the fact that a lot of lads wont let a terrier of a lead because they know it might f**k off, never to be seen again.

A terrier is a hunting dog and should be able to run from entrance to entrance of a lead and search an empty looking earth without the terrierman wondering will it pop out the other side and disappear.

 

Also this thread was obviously started by a novice (who got advice from novices) and some one should point out to him that it is illegal for any type of dog to kill a fox in a stopend.