Realistic Age A Puppy Can Mark Holes

[skycat 6,173]

Herding dogs and sighthounds have great noses. Most search and rescue dogs are herding type dogs: Collie or Shepherd types. Sighthounds also have good noses, maybe not quite in the same league as a bloodhound, but certainly good enough to scent rabbits down a burrow. Thing is, historically sighthounds have been genetically engineered by man to be tall and fast and use mainly their eyes in pursuit of something (and their legs of course) but even a pure Greyhound could make a decent marking dog if it had been brought up correctly and given the freedom to explore the use of all its senses.

 

I always feel sorry for point and slip dogs and their owners (though I'm sure they are both perfectly happy in their visual pursuit of stuff) as I feel both are missing out on one of the more interesting aspects of hunting: nose work.

[Neal 1,861]

I'd definitely agree that herding dogs have great noses. There aren't that many places where a dog can see all four corners of the field it's moving stock from to say nothing of bringing sheep in off the fells or moving them out of dense scrub in the outback. A dog without a nose in these situations wouldn't be much use.

 

Going back to the earlier points: I'd definitely agree with Comanche and Phil's assertion that earlier is better. I started by kelpie bitch ferreting when she was around four months old (only a couple of hours at a time I hasten to add) simply by entering a ferret every time she told me there was something there and not using many nets so she could "join in" more. She's now eight and has the best nose of any dog I've had. Actually, having said that, maybe it's that she's been allowed to develop a better nose than all the others...or that I've had more chances to evaluate it than with my others. I'm not sure.

 

Unfortunately, my permission is disappearing under a housing estate so I didn't bother to replace my ferrets when they died about two years ago so the new pup only has me shooting at squirrels with a catapult as a reward. I'm not saying he doesn't enjoy it but...it's not ferreting.

[Chicken_man 1,651]

 

 

 

Out for a wander yesterday and some more marking! Early yet for the ferreting but marked by me for when the time is right

[Country Joe 1,411]

There's no way marking, can compete in the excitement of a dog taking a Rabbit on the run, but a good marker when ferreting, will put more rabbits in the bag, marking in a rabbiting dog is way up there.

[wi11ow 2,657]

Edited August 20, 2015 by wi11ow

[Jamie m 668]

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[wi11ow 2,657]

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[Jamie m 668]

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What was it you tube ??

[wi11ow 2,657]

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[Jamie m 668]

yes

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