Old Timers

[Treehands 1,417]

Never a question of the dog going to ground without a collar, but there is the option on moderate depth earths to not turn to it for help but instead try a bit of fieldcraft first , and if you struggle just flick the switch an hey presto.

As Morton said , some places have great depth and a collar would be of no use.

But you could still hear a terrier baying.

My old man chastised me in my young days for putting a dog to ground with a collar on , his mindset was the dog hooking up on roots, old habits die hard as they say.

Electric devices make things easy but not always better imo.

I also would like to revisit the past , but only with me knocker box. Atb ...th...

[morton 5,368]

Never a question of the dog going to ground without a collar, but there is the option on moderate depth earths to not turn to it for help but instead try a bit of fieldcraft first , and if you struggle just flick the switch an hey presto.

As Morton said , some places have great depth and a collar would be of no use.

But you could still hear a terrier baying.

My old man chastised me in my young days for putting a dog to ground with a collar on , his mindset was the dog hooking up on roots, old habits die hard as they say.

Electric devices make things easy but not always better imo.

I also would like to revisit the past , but only with me knocker box. Atb ...th...

Some of the rocks ive put terriers in you never hear a muff,ever,You excavated until you did or waited.The amount of rock piles around here that are known by the time it took a dog to come out,4 day hold,9 and 10 day hold etc.These names have gone down through many generations of terrier folk,at times more modern.

Edited March 6, 2016 by morton

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Used to be the argument that dog would get hung up but never seen one like it despite collars getting tougher,thicker

[morton 5,368]

Used to be the argument that dog would get hung up but never seen one like it despite collars getting tougher,thicker

Id not put a collar on a dog in rock,its not the collar that snags its the electronic pack and ive had dogs snagged because of it in rocks,it certainly restricts their ability to squeeze through the limits of their frame,at times.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Ive no experience of rocks mate but sounds good advice .Got to be honest ,would scare shit out of me putting dog in rocks .Dogs for occasions i guess i respect that .

[morton 5,368]

Ive no experience of rocks mate but sounds good advice .Got to be honest ,would scare shit out of me putting dog in rocks .Dogs for occasions i guess i respect that .

The reality of a terriers working life in some parts of the country,especially were the Fell,Border,Bedlington,Lakey etc. were founded was rocks was the mainstay of their working heritage and breeding,the same reality now that i have issue with is that the majority of these same terriers now are ill equipped to work the places they were bred for,their conformation and working character as been basterdised to suit a shovel,a collar and the average terrier worker about now,the majority of modern bred uns were culls not to long ago.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

A stayer never been a cull down south mate ,just where digging wasnt an option up north.

[morton 5,368]

A stayer never been a cull down south mate ,just where digging wasnt an option up north.

Size mucker,modern terriers are far bulkier than their working heritage made them to be,Dales and Fell dogs were bred to work the terrain they were born to,thus size was paramount and big was useless,as was mute and full frontal.Lakey,s,Fells and black uns now are grafted away from their heritage and are nearly useless going back home,i find this an utter travesty that folk now recognise as the norm,modern norms are olden culls,for a very good reason.Fit for purpose is nothing to do with modern breeding or work ethic,it was the norm then.

[dillydog 8,463]

Plenty of lumps in this picture, it's a mates grandfather on a fox drive in Ludlow.

[morton 5,368]

Plenty of lumps in this picture, it's a mates grandfather on a fox drive in Ludlow.

Impossible to tell from a pic,as many of the dog where higher on the leg then it may suggest bulk,that was seldom the case,very seldom.

[dillydog 8,463]

I could make an educated guess Morton, I'm long enough in the tooth to have a rough idea

[Waz 4,266]

 

Plenty of lumps in this picture, it's a mates grandfather on a fox drive in Ludlow.

Impossible to tell from a pic,as many of the dog where higher on the leg then it may suggest bulk,that was seldom the case,very seldom.

May of meant the men?

[rob284 1,682]

 

 

Ive no experience of rocks mate but sounds good advice .Got to be honest ,would scare shit out of me putting dog in rocks .Dogs for occasions i guess i respect that .

The reality of a terriers working life in some parts of the country,especially were the Fell,Border,Bedlington,Lakey etc. were founded was rocks was the mainstay of their working heritage and breeding,the same reality now that i have issue with is that the majority of these same terriers now are ill equipped to work the places they were bred for,their conformation and working character as been basterdised to suit a shovel,a collar and the average terrier worker about now,the majority of modern bred uns were culls not to long ago.

"the majority of modern bred uns were culls not to long ago." You talking about modern earthdogs or modern rock dogs, because you wouldnt expect a modern bred earthdog of earthworking parents to excel at working rocks, same as you wouldnt 50 years ago. I dont understand the point your making.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

What's Mortons saying ,and I get it ,is that the breeds most popular today ,fell type and pats were originally bred in the lakes of the borders and the north used to bolt or kill foxes in rocks .Since they were adopted down south a bulkier harder more bully type is favoured rather than a lithe bolter capable of despacthing a fox in rocks having first got to it .I agree that many of today's terriers are more boned than I've seen pictures of but I would also argue that it was the breeders of those lithe types that help breed away from type by adding bull all those years ago .

[pablo esc 1,598]

You only need soft dogs fd, as we know, dig once and kill, the game