Irish terriers

[harryshounds 1,172]

I know they ain't suitable for true terrier work but any one out there use em bushing and ratting? 

[Aussie Whip 4,130]

A mate had one for years, he used him for all kinds of hunting and even retrieving shot ducks. He was a good dog and would sit outside the mate's shop during the week, never wandering off. He was just off show stuff, all there is over here as far as I know.

[harryshounds 1,172]

Id like to get a native Irish terrier breed to use for ratting and bushing. Wheaten and Glen bit over kill for rats n rabbits n flushing was thinking Irish be good if I could get one with hunting drive in it.

[jigsaw 11,875]

Have you seen the height of the modern gangly I.T,......and any hunting traits are nonexistent compared to a decent Russel type ,..just my opinion ,why risk tainting a good ratting line with a defunct breed 

[harryshounds 1,172]

Unfortunately you're dead right Unfortunately you're dead right.

[bird 9,966]

On 27/12/2024 at 14:40, jigsaw said:

Have you seen the height of the modern gangly I.T,......and any hunting traits are nonexistent compared to a decent Russel type ,..just my opinion ,why risk tainting a good ratting line with a defunct breed 

what  do think of a parson jack Russel ?  i seen a cracker last  year  not sure of it size , but looked nice racy build , strong and agile  small dog. the owner had him on lead, as once loose would piss off . now dont know if that bad training , or type of dog it is ?. now ive got  little woody  a jack x Chihuahua thing , was rescue   on streets  for couple weeks, my son had for near 2 years , now ive got him for 5 years now  vet think about 15, i think she right he gone real old and thin , eats well but dont put weight on, i think it age thing as well. but going back to when when was younger, he was stubborn twat   think parsons  be quite a handful type dog as well.?  

[tinytiger 840]

On 24/12/2024 at 00:17, harryshounds said:

I know they ain't suitable for true terrier work but any one out there use em bushing and ratting? 

A friend  had one about  10 years  back,good enough  dog for bushing  but a cnt  for starting  fights  with  other dogs. I'd say they're  all show bred

[harryshounds 1,172]

I've looked on line can't find anything that even mentions working. Pipe dream really as much as I'd like a native breed working ability comes first. 

[toolebox 1,561]

I brought a bitch whom I called Meg as a puppy . Even though her sire and dam were shown, they were also allowed to work small game that included hare, rabbit and possums. I used Meg within the bobby pack hunting rabbits, finding her to have an excellent tracking nose, she loved to chase hares. Her nature was faultless to a T and I only saw her lose her rag one day when the farmer's fluffy worm bag house dog came racing out of the house at full speed and nose. It made for Meg and rattled off several barks within her personal space, that's when Meg reached out and grabbed fluffy by the middle of her hairy white back and shook the hell out of the rat dog. This was met by a torrent of howls and screams, so when Meg discarded the piss bag by throwing it to one side, like it wasn't worth any more effort, at which point, the mutt raced back inside howling its silly head off. I hadn't noticed the farmer standing in the doorway smiling, he had seen the whole play and remarked that the dog belonged to his wife who was away shopping. I remarked I was sorry, but he cut my apology short when he told me that, he hated that dog as each morning, it reacted in the same fashion towards his farm dogs, and he couldn't as much as he wanted to, kick it up the ass or let one of his sheepdogs rag it, or he would be sleeping on the cough and cooking his own meals for the next 6 months. He laughed and bet me that the inside softie might well be cured of such bad behaviour. On a visit several weeks later, when  I came back to mop up the leftover bunnies, the farmer said that each morning the floo cleaner, would shoot under the table to hide, sometimes for over an hour, if it heard one of his dogs on the back of the truck bed now. We both laughed at the thought. I took one litter out of Meg by a pure whippet, keeping one who turned out to be a nice dog as well. I cannot afford to have a dog that wants to get his cuffs rolled up hunting a fight 3 times a day, that quickly gets real old for me. Furthermore, I don't like dogs bickering between themselves when it happens I quickly step in and get matters shut down, I can't hunt dogs that are knocked up, so it's a real dealbreaker . 

[Aussie Whip 4,130]

On 29/01/2025 at 09:15, toolebox said:

I brought a bitch whom I called Meg as a puppy . Even though her sire and dam were shown, they were also allowed to work small game that included hare, rabbit and possums. I used Meg within the bobby pack hunting rabbits, finding her to have an excellent tracking nose, she loved to chase hares. Her nature was faultless to a T and I only saw her lose her rag one day when the farmer's fluffy worm bag house dog came racing out of the house at full speed and nose. It made for Meg and rattled off several barks within her personal space, that's when Meg reached out and grabbed fluffy by the middle of her hairy white back and shook the hell out of the rat dog. This was met by a torrent of howls and screams, so when Meg discarded the piss bag by throwing it to one side, like it wasn't worth any more effort, at which point, the mutt raced back inside howling its silly head off. I hadn't noticed the farmer standing in the doorway smiling, he had seen the whole play and remarked that the dog belonged to his wife who was away shopping. I remarked I was sorry, but he cut my apology short when he told me that, he hated that dog as each morning, it reacted in the same fashion towards his farm dogs, and he couldn't as much as he wanted to, kick it up the ass or let one of his sheepdogs rag it, or he would be sleeping on the cough and cooking his own meals for the next 6 months. He laughed and bet me that the inside softie might well be cured of such bad behaviour. On a visit several weeks later, when  I came back to mop up the leftover bunnies, the farmer said that each morning the floo cleaner, would shoot under the table to hide, sometimes for over an hour, if it heard one of his dogs on the back of the truck bed now. We both laughed at the thought. I took one litter out of Meg by a pure whippet, keeping one who turned out to be a nice dog as well. I cannot afford to have a dog that wants to get his cuffs rolled up hunting a fight 3 times a day, that quickly gets real old for me. Furthermore, I don't like dogs bickering between themselves when it happens I quickly step in and get matters shut down, I can't hunt dogs that are knocked up, so it's a real dealbreaker . 

Hey toolebox have you ever thought of writing a book on hunting dogs in NZ? Your stories remind me of the Footrot Flats books with your Kiwi sense of humor. If you do, put me down for a copy, cheers.

[toolebox 1,561]

Id call it bullshit yarns

[harryshounds 1,172]

With the scarcity of working native breeds and the stupid money I wouldn't pay for borders my next one be an auld Russell type or Russell x.