Just looking at a few swedish sites on the net and notice alot of folk use Border Terriers for tracking there. Do any of you use them for tracking here?
Border Terrier
- Thread starter Peter Eaton
- Start date
countrryboy
Well-Known Member
a lot off the old eskdalemuir rangers used them for years. Border terriers are actually quite intelligent and can be trained to do a few things. I used to rough shoot over the headkeepers which had tracked deer(was of the eskdalemuir line) in the past as well as doing foxes and beating. As many people have said on here almost any dog that has a half decent nose could be used, it jist may be harder to train them than a purpose breed bred.
BuckarooUK
Well-Known Member
I have a Border Terrier that i bought from Brian, the head keeper of Glen Almond Estate near Perth. There's no doubting his capability but he's a hard headed little B*****D! Some of it may be my fault in that he socialised with Chesapeakes from his earliest days but once his nose is on the deck and his tail is pointing up in the air, he will completely ignore you. You could use a bullhorn and he'll be totally deaf to you.
He'll happily follow any bloody trail but he won't return so needs to remain on a line. He'll even retrieve a pheasant - 1 pheasant only. He'll run out, retrieve the bird and then return to drop it by my feet before guarding it. He'll literally spend the rest of the day guarding that one and only pheasant from any other dog or person stupid enough to approach it. Little bugger would have your fingers off if you were mad enough to try and take it from him!
He'll happily follow any bloody trail but he won't return so needs to remain on a line. He'll even retrieve a pheasant - 1 pheasant only. He'll run out, retrieve the bird and then return to drop it by my feet before guarding it. He'll literally spend the rest of the day guarding that one and only pheasant from any other dog or person stupid enough to approach it. Little bugger would have your fingers off if you were mad enough to try and take it from him!
Guinevere has been my constant stalking partner for the last 8 or 9 years and has acted as deer tracker,finder and hot water bottle.She will sit at the bottom of a highset indefinitately or under protest be carried up to a double seat to take on the hot water bottle role.She initially worked free with a bell but after taking on a large fallowbuck single handedly(pawdly) and taking a kicking she now works on a line.her kennel mates Arthur and 'the girls' have a lot to live upto.'Giunny is now somewhat slower and deafer but is still all heart ./
www.muntjactrading.co.uk
www.muntjactrading.co.uk
bambislayer
Well-Known Member
I've used border crosses for years, 3/4 border/ Paterdale x border was the first cross then pretty much border /lakeland into the mix. This line has populated kennels throughout the country [not all planned].
They've all been excellent trackers and the old lad sitting at my feet[15] is without any doubt the best tracking dog I've had[probably the most disobedient as well] and seen plenty of foxes as well, his father came from Ronnie snr at Eskdalemuir.
They've all been excellent trackers and the old lad sitting at my feet[15] is without any doubt the best tracking dog I've had[probably the most disobedient as well] and seen plenty of foxes as well, his father came from Ronnie snr at Eskdalemuir.
TokaS
Well-Known Member
Got my Plummer as an all rounder...hope he will get into it once i am deer stalking. His nose is next to none but that may be down to the beagle influence. He is keen as mustard and is intelligent. Tried him on a blood line a couple of months ago and he follwed it [all 5 meters of it] if only to lick the blood up as he went...lol. Will wait and see how he goes and report up in the next few years!!
atb
atb
Good to see your replies and makes me all the keener to get a Border...I keep putting of getting a dog, running out of excuse now lol. Was torn between a Lab and a border , mainly as I had a Border as a kid and know what great dogs they are, intelligent,cheeky as hell but so loyal. Then agian I like labs too ...doesnt get any easier!!!
bambislayer
Well-Known Member
get both
Double four
Well-Known Member
I bought the missus a border terrier for her birthday as a bit of company when im away shooting, only trouble is im facinated with how game and bright he is i really want to use him myself 
cracking dogs Df
cracking dogs DfI used my Border a little for tracking when he was younger, but never really had the work for him to get beyond the basics. Was out last week on the Sika hinds with a guy who used two Lakelands and a Lurcher for following up on Sika in the big forestry blocks north of the border and they were very good. They were used seperately I might add, not as a pack before someone comments!
The main difference was that he worked them *alot* and dogs had a lot of practical experience. It was probably fair to say we used the dogs when perhaps a more determined search by the stalker would have turned up the carcass, but as they worked so well, why not?
From my limited experince with my Border, their main down side was that he was too small to work really rough ground such as deep heather or boulder fields. He would get through it, but a bigger dog would cope so much easier. The other down side is I failed to break him to rabbits at a young age. If I were to use a terrier for deer work again, *all* other fur and feather would be off limits. But that was my mistake, not the dogs...
On the plus side, Borders have a great character and are very much a big dog in a small body. They will also be reasonably obedient if taught early in life; well for a terrier anyway!
If I had the work for a deer dog, I would invest in a Garmin Astro GPS Tacker Unit Astro -A brilliant bit of kit that takes all the hassle and worry when working a dog like a terrier or hound off the lead..They are expensive but if you're using your dog a lot for this kind of work, I think they are worth it...
The main difference was that he worked them *alot* and dogs had a lot of practical experience. It was probably fair to say we used the dogs when perhaps a more determined search by the stalker would have turned up the carcass, but as they worked so well, why not?
From my limited experince with my Border, their main down side was that he was too small to work really rough ground such as deep heather or boulder fields. He would get through it, but a bigger dog would cope so much easier. The other down side is I failed to break him to rabbits at a young age. If I were to use a terrier for deer work again, *all* other fur and feather would be off limits. But that was my mistake, not the dogs...
On the plus side, Borders have a great character and are very much a big dog in a small body. They will also be reasonably obedient if taught early in life; well for a terrier anyway!
If I had the work for a deer dog, I would invest in a Garmin Astro GPS Tacker Unit Astro -A brilliant bit of kit that takes all the hassle and worry when working a dog like a terrier or hound off the lead..They are expensive but if you're using your dog a lot for this kind of work, I think they are worth it...
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Had to reply to this one 
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I have a border dog of 14mths. We did a blood trailing course last summer which he passed, although next year with some more maturity he will fly through. We also started some artificial earth training which is definetly his favourite. I am hoping to use him as a combined tracking and fox dog. So far he's working out fine. Quiet in the house, no barking, good with the kids, but show him a cat or a fox or badger, then the fireworks start. You wouldn't think they were the same dog.
.I have a border dog of 14mths. We did a blood trailing course last summer which he passed, although next year with some more maturity he will fly through. We also started some artificial earth training which is definetly his favourite. I am hoping to use him as a combined tracking and fox dog. So far he's working out fine. Quiet in the house, no barking, good with the kids, but show him a cat or a fox or badger, then the fireworks start. You wouldn't think they were the same dog.
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