Ratting!

[skycat 6,173]

Somewhere in deepest Essex lies a farm full of rats! Thanks to DonnyC a whole heap of people and terriers turned up there this morning and had a whole lot of fun: a few pics, some a bit blurry, and a lot I took were just a heap of terriers with a rat somewhere in their midst! LOL So quite a few pics of dogs' bums Took several of a great Staffy who was determined to get where the smaller terriers did: under a container, under shed. A huge long game rearing shed had a gap underneath where most of the terriers disappeared for quite a long time: you could hear yaps, splashing (in the slurry!) and the squeaking of rat after rat: but we couldn't see a thing.

Don't ask me how many were killed, it was chaos sometimes, 2 smokers went on the blink right at the start of the day so petrol and a boom did the job, though for a while the holes were belching out flames: I came home and one washing the slurried up terriers down discovered that one was a bit singed on one side! Didn't seem to bother her though.

Got a few from a dyke side too, and every now and then you'd get a few terriers intent on digging rats out of the ground; one determined little black dog dug on when everyone else had got fed up, and we ended up with 4 whoppers from a stop end.

There must have been upwards of 20 dogs there, and I don't think many of them knew eachother at all before today. All but one (who shall remain nameless LOL ) just got on with the job without so much as a growl or a snarl at eachother. The staffy and the lurcher respected the other dogs' catches and it was bloody good fun: kids in a sweet shop we were, the dogs even more so I expect.

One of mine has lost his eyebrows as he obviously spent a lot of time wedged into various holes, a singed one as I said before, and a lurcher with a fat lip: she managed to get a few of her own. Some pics of the day.....

[skycat 6,173]

Some more pics:

[skycat 6,173]

And some more!

[skycat 6,173]

and still more!

[Little Butch 16]

What breed is the black dog ?

Looks like you had a good time

Leon

[skycat 6,173]

and if I've double posted dome I'm sorry but I kept getting muddled up!

[donnyc 1,203]

Shame about the smokers however when I can arrange for some more smokers there will be another day there .Thanks to all who turned up ..

[Guest MOLLY]

Some lovely shots Sky...Love the staffie trying to squeeze through

Moll.

[comeonsteveuk 0]

Shame about the smokers however when I can arrange for some more smokers there will be another day there .Thanks to all who turned up ..

thanks for the pics i bet it was a good day good fun and you got a good few regs steveuk

[bigbird 7]

love the photos, she is a little star, makes me proud that she is doing well for you, like one of the kids getting a good report at school!

[Guest wex]

Looks like a top day was had by all.

[mikey 2]

thanks don for a great morning out especially not having to travel too far sorry if my young terrier was a bit excitable at times (the plummer )but like you said thats terriers for you!

[donnyc 1,203]

No worries mate let them get on with it when smokers are repaired we will go back there

[skycat 6,173]

love the photos, she is a little star, makes me proud that she is doing well for you, like one of the kids getting a good report at school!

 

What is her breeding Bigbird? Someone asked, but I forgot what you told me! This was only her second trip out ratting: the first was about a week ago for just 4 rats in a few holes under a hedge. I thought I'd lost her today but she was under the rearing shed for nearly an hour, just killing and hunting rats. I was best pleased with her when she started digging in a mound of earth and bricks that my old bitch was marking. Other dogs came and went and lost interest but Beetle just kept on in there digging away, and when she lost the hole she just looked and looked again and started digging once more: eventually opening up to 4 big rats. Oops, did I already say that in my original post? I was just chuffed to bits with her and she's never been out with strange dogs before: she just didn't care at all: even started to bring one rat to me until I told her to leave it!

It really was a brilliant morning: made all the more so by being such a rarity for us. I guess if we did it every week it wouldn't have been half as good, though maybe........... Good craic as well. Some fine looking dogs there but the Staffy stole my heart: sensible, calm and determined and such good manners. A Rose by name and by nature, the only thorny side to her was kept for the rats. A real credit to her owner.

[cúagusgiorraí 57]

Glad you had a good day out, Skycat.

I like that staffie.

Keep it up!