The Extremes of Hunting With Terriers

The events in this article happened before the ban was implimented..........

I hunt with terriers..........Sending a single terrier to ground to locate its quarry & stay with it until its dug to...........As with all forms of working dogs there are risks involved & moments that make the owner & worker of these courageuos animals question whether it is all worth it ...... on the flip side there are moments where you could literally shout out loud of how proud & happy you are with a dog that has exceeded your expectations or simply carried out its task yet again with no question or no fuss................Last season I experienced both ends of the spectrum with my fortunes peaking & troughing a few times in the space of a few months..............

My eventful season started with the loss of my red lakeland dog , The circumstances actually took place at the end of the previous season but it set the tone for the year none the less......I was at work when I recieved a call from my wife............"There is something wrong with the red 'un"........... I'm sure ALL terrier lads have had this kind of experience to a lesser or greater degree & its the cold , gut turning feeling as you hear the words........A quick journey home with a horrible sense of foreboding is'nt a nice journey to make & my worst fears were realised when I came upon "red" ........... It looked like some kind of stroke & he was hanging on but still fitting ...... I dont give a shite how "hard" you think you are but when you find a true worker who has never let you down in this state it knocks you about a bit.........He had recently been dug to but had nothing serious injury wise & it was the not knowing that hurt........due to the nature of reds old war wounds a trip to the vets in todays day & age was'nt an option so I had to put him down.............I'm not afraid to admit I was choked as well as annoyed at myself....Did I not notice something........was it my fault........??????............Over the following weeks I got used to not having the old fella about & on the plus side we had other experienced dogs & young un's to come on...........It was a case of "Lets see what the new season brings".......... Little did I know of the turbulance to come.........!!!!!

The new season came upon us with the joys of good days & good honest working terriers...........In the words of a certain J Darcy we were "digging deep & throwing earth well back" & generally thinks were ok........The morning came for us to try a new bit of permission , I had already had a walk & found some potential holding earths so we were ready to roll..........I was proved right at the first earth we came to & without much fuss we had dug & dispatched our first quarry using my digging partners good young bitch.........We had the remaining old man of our team with us & since it was early we decided , after some uming & ahing , to find him some work..........Looking back it was the wrong thing to do........we had already had a good few hours & could have left it till the week after but we had the "bug" & decided to carry on......The farmer had warned me about a "big" place but being full of confidence & having a top class terrier with us we entered the old fella into the forementioned earth , the banter was still flowing as the first drops of rain began to fall but we hardly noticed ......... It was that type of day up to now........."There he goes" as we heard his faint baying & we relaxed as we let him settle........The first "funny" feelings kicked in when his voice became faint & then non-exsistent.......A re check on the box gave us 12ft deeper into the earth before it disappeared totally.........Its strange but it was at this time I became really aware of the rain , It seemed to mirror our spirits becoming heavier as the sky got darker , Have you been their lads......????.........Spades & graft ready but with no idea where to make your mark in the ground.........I think helpless probably sums it up best...........We agreed to start digging at the last mark & over the afternoon removed most of the bank in which we had last heard him..........The rain was still pouring as the night began to creep into day & frustration & niggles between us started to appear..........A visit to the farm for a light & batteries came & went & the sound of frantic spade & graft sounds echoed through the dark woods.........We were 3 hrs from home , we were soaked , dispirited , upset & frustrated........We had run out of light & batteries & to be honest energy so we made the difficult desicion to leave it unti the next day.........In short we went back & forth for a week but never saw the dog again.........Over the next few weeks the three of us questioned the terrier game as well as ourselves........Why did we put him in......???.......Should we have stayed on the earth.......???.......Were we sure we searched enough with the locator.........????............The questions gnawed at me (still do) and it was the not knowing that was the killer...........A superb working terrier who imo deserved more than that..........rip ***** good hunting where you have gone...........

The loss of the old fella prompted me to advertise for another worker & a phone call led me to collect a young bitch from a long way away..............After a horrible drive I got to the house & in came the bitch from the kennels.........Hindsight would lead me to believe in Books & covers but at the time I was dissapointed........being small , snipey & a bit nippy toward the other dogs resulted in a piss take fulled journey home..........With the incident where we lost the old fella in my mind we came around to taking out............The lad had warned me that dispite being spot on she had a liking for rabbits & after trying a few earths when she shot in a crappy unused looking place & began baying I silently groaned thinking she was rabbiting.........To cut a long story short we got through to her fastened to her quarry 3 hrs later...........It was her first dig with me & dispite not having anything to do with her breeding or training the pride I felt was amazing.........Just one dig had told me more than could a million words & it was obvious she had it..........as simple as that..........sometimes you just know & future outings were prove me right.......Walking from that earth with the spades on the shoulder & the bitch on her couples made me realise all the doubts I had since my last bad outing were just that.....merely doubts........Looking out over unbelieveable scenery , making your way back to truck with muddied clothes & tired but happy companions & terriers whilst having the craic...........Really fellas is there anything better...........????

Later in the season I lost another really promising dog to ground on his 3rd dig , he suffocated whilst up to his quarry , doing what he was bred to do..........again the rain hammered down on me whilst , alone , I dug to him up in the mountains on a cold wet winters afternoon.......The obvious feelings of why & what if came but it was now tempered with other feelings.........Should we deny sending our dogs into the deep dark "just in case"..???..........Should we deny our terriers their birthright after all the earths of his quarry are the very reason he exisits as a breed.............Dont misinterperate me , Losing a terrier , indeed any dog , Is upsetting , frustrating , but its the way of things & always has been as long as lads have entered thier pride & joy into earths The flip side is the joy at digging to a pup you have brought on from a blind helpless ball of fur to a true working animal............Working terriers is a world of success & failure , of dissapointment & elation..........In my opinion working terriers is a world of extremes & it is that that holds the true fascination for all lads who work these remarkable little companions......................