terriers for flushing game

star17

hi
i was just wondering which breed of terrier(i.e. jr, patterdale, border, fox, lakeland etc.) i should go for for primarily flushing game above the ground...please i don't want anyone trying to tell me the usual crap that spaniels are better and all that and that a terrier will not retrieve and its only interested in foxes(because i don't care if he goes into cover looking for foxes as long as he goes in) and how i should just use my spaniels. as i've already stated i want it primarily for flushing.don't get me wrong i know alot about spaniels as i have had many and i think they're absolutely brilliant at flushing game and going into cover its just that i want to try a terrier for my own personal interest in them.in fairness though i completely understand the going to ground thing and the affects it has (although very few holes where i shoot anyway)

thanks

Longranger

Terriers can flush as good as any,but you're bang on about going to ground though. My fella loves rising snipe,woodies and pheasant but if he gets a sniff of a fox or hare that's it! He just looks at me with a "fcuk you,this one is mine" sort of look,but one thing is certain,if he does in to ground,he'll come back with something:)

cavan shooter

there is a lassy that is on this forum who had a little yorkie and by Golly could she flush game. She would run the bottom of a ditch. I remember the first time I went out for a shot with her I looked down my nose at the little wonder dog and scoffed. I tell you 3 pheasants and a rabbit later I was apologising.:o

FOXHUNTER1

I used a jack russel for 3 years and she worked like a dream never went to ground on me and had no fear of any cover.
I have another one now that I'm going to try this year as my pointer and the other one fell out one day over food and the jack didn't survive :mad:

homerhop

cavan shooter wrote: »

there is a lassy that is on this forum who had a little yorkie and by Golly could she flush game. She would run the bottom of a ditch. I remember the first time I went out for a shot with her I looked down my nose at the little wonder dog and scoffed. I tell you 3 pheasants and a rabbit later I was apologising.:o

I used to bring my grans terrier that was a cross between a pom and a yorkie after rabbits, he could get through a ditch faster than my springer.

baikilpm

my choice would be a border . i had one a few years back and she was excellent. really hard coat whitch is a must in my oppinion for thorns briers ect... she didnt go to ground and thats the reason i got her for free off a foxing man from dublin and she was the best little thing to cross my yard.. she loved pheasent rabbit and snipe.. im on the lookout for a replacement so im hoping there is a few good terriermen goin to birr

tfox

+1 for the borders, I had a great dog when I was younger, beast thing for cover and would retrieve too

f**king hey-bosses lifted her on me one day :mad:

Mallard123

where do yee get these dogs from?

thelurcher

I don't think a Border will be any better than a Russel or a Fell type for open hunting - if we are to generalize - but I do think that a failed working terrier is the way to go.
Very few working Borders around so if I was you I'd be looking towards the black or white dogs - the latter from my experience seem more likely to speak above ground.

EvesBlogg

West highland terriers, not what would come to your mind I'd say but this breed was specially bred for flushing game, and they have a strong instinct for it

thelurcher

It would be a big mistake to take on a dog based on the kennel club description - use what's being worked NOW and not 100 years ago.

EvesBlogg

people used dogs like lurchers for running fast 100 years ago, because thats what they were bred for. But ignore that, that was ages ago, best follow the crowd and see what other people are doing today I say

thelurcher

Your actually bang on Eves - it is all about 'following the crowd' the working crowd that is.
I don't know anyone in this country that breeds working west highlands - I've also never heard of anyone using them in the UK for longer than I've been around anyway. So why would you take such a chance as to try a dog for bushing that's been bred to a meet a physical standard for decades with no concern for their working ability.
Anyone here that's tried to breed based on working ability will tell you how hard it is - especially with terriers - no matter how well bred you're still going to get failures in every litter. Since the OP is looking for a terrier for open hunting then these failures would be ideal - at least they've been bred to work.
You reduce the odds further by going with what people are using most regionally. If you had a good bitch you want to breed then the more choice you have when it comes to finding a dog the better chance you have of the pups working.
If I had a world beater border bitch today I honestly don't know where I'd go for a dog for her - let a lone a west highland

fallowbuck

thelurcher wrote: »

Your actually bang on Eves - it is all about 'following the crowd' the working crowd that is.
I don't know anyone in this country that breeds working west highlands - I've also never heard of anyone using them in the UK for longer than I've been around anyway. So why would you take such a chance as to try a dog for bushing that's been bred to a meet a physical standard for decades with no concern for their working ability.
Anyone here that's tried to breed based on working ability will tell you how hard it is - especially with terriers - no matter how well bred you're still going to get failures in every litter. Since the OP is looking for a terrier for open hunting then these failures would be ideal - at least they've been bred to work.
You reduce the odds further by going with what people are using most regionally. If you had a good bitch you want to breed then the more choice you have when it comes to finding a dog the better chance you have of the pups working.
If I had a world beater border bitch today I honestly don't know where I'd go for a dog for her - let a lone a west highland

I couldnt agree more with you lurcher this was a point I was trying to make a time ago on this but just gave up. You took the words write out of my mouth. Some will never understand so let em be and for the westie a working breed maybe 200 hundred years ago but now more like an old ladies dog yeah they may kill a rat so will a cat come ooooonnnnn.

snipe02

star17 wrote: »

hi
i was just wondering which breed of terrier(i.e. jr, patterdale, border, fox, lakeland etc.) i should go for for primarily flushing game above the ground...please i don't want anyone trying to tell me the usual crap that spaniels are better and all that and that a terrier will not retrieve and its only interested in foxes(because i don't care if he goes into cover looking for foxes as long as he goes in) and how i should just use my spaniels. as i've already stated i want it primarily for flushing.don't get me wrong i know alot about spaniels as i have had many and i think they're absolutely brilliant at flushing game and going into cover its just that i want to try a terrier for my own personal interest in them.in fairness though i completely understand the going to ground thing and the affects it has (although very few holes where i shoot anyway)

thanks

i had a bullterrier\terrier cross would hunt anything shot over him and used him with lurchers even got rabbits on the lamp with him all at or in the ditch he was a once in a lifetime dog but he was ideal because he was too big to go to ground but would draw a fox at the end of a dig just food for thought bull terriers although not used for hunting today still have a good hunting instinct or if your dead set on a terrier you might try a plummer terrier not really known for going to ground but bread to hunt you would pick one up in the country mans weekly

LostCovey

It all depends on the dog. There are still some fantastic Jack Russells out there but the pet trade will destroy them eventually

LC

limerick79

doesnt really matter what terrier you choose...
it will mostly come down to what its parents were bred for and how you handle it...
a patterdale or lakeland from a line of hard ground dogs is only bred for one purpose....
dont get me wrong i had a patterdale who was unreal above and under to fur and feather...
but his brother 100% earth dog...
so see whats out there and see what the breeders use them for...and what work the parents are doing...
seen some rough russellls that were great dogs to work cover...

tinytiger

snipe02 wrote: »

i had a bullterrier\terrier cross would hunt anything shot over him and used him with lurchers even got rabbits on the lamp with him all at or in the ditch he was a once in a lifetime dog but he was ideal because he was too big to go to ground but would draw a fox at the end of a dig just food for thought bull terriers although not used for hunting today still have a good hunting instinct or if your dead set on a terrier you might try a plummer terrier not really known for going to ground but bread to hunt you would pick one up in the country mans weekly

I know of a 3/4 plummer 1/4 pitbull,one and a1/2 years old,nothing done with him but some of his siblings have a good few digs to them.He has started killing all his owners cats.Id take him back myself( i bred him) only i have a litter of 9 pups by a booth bred patterdale out of his aunt at the moment.

foxer 204

i have a 3/4 plummer 1/4 pitbull terrier, flushes everything , even retrieves duck from the river is a bit hardmouthed but you cant have everything

snipe02

foxer 204 wrote: »

i have a 3/4 plummer 1/4 pitbull terrier, flushes everything , even retrieves duck from the river is a bit hardmouthed but you cant have everything

any pictures of the plummer \bullterrier crosses lads would love to see what they look like

tinytiger

2 siblings of foxer 204s dog as pups

foxer 204

tinytiger wrote: »

2 siblings of foxer 204s dog as pups

thats them alright, lovely pups