Hi I just thought I would share this. I treated myself to a GWP two years ago and I have gone into the stalking in a big way. I have several friends that have Bavarians and Hanoverians and they all say what you have got a GWP for. Well now I am proud to say coz he’s worth every penny. I take many clients out and we were down South earlier this year and one of my friends dog wouldn’t grip a wounded animal, (Muntjac) which we had to dispatch humanly. I was out stalking the other day on the Sika, and one was wounded and we tracked into the beast and then I could hear him giving voice. A good friend of mine and myself followed the voice and as we broke through the forestry and found my GWP giving chase to the wounded animal and gaining rapidly. BUT I had concerns as the dog was chasing this Sika Hind that was allot bigger than him and he has had hold of dead deer from Muntjac, Roe, Fallow but never alive one. So as you can imagine I was apprehensive as to what he was going to do. Much to my delight he was gained on the animal and pulled the hind down by its throat. This is why everyone should stalk with a dog and have faith in your dog. In all my years of stalking this is only the third time that a dog is needed but this has just proved they are invaluable. (Would you shoot game without a dog No is game worth more than deer NO)
GWP pull down
- Thread starter Big Yan
- Start date
mereside
Well-Known Member
glad everything worked out well you must be pleased the way hes working out i have to say i was unfortunate to go out on a stalk with another and we didnt have a dog i stalked one section of forest and he went to a ride to wait for a shot i later heard a shot so finished up my stalk and headed back by this time darkness had fallen and he hadnt met up so i went off as i knew where he was when i got there i could see torches i made my precence known before moving on and went down to help he had struck a roe but from the signs was a low strike to the brisket there was one spot of blood with a small amount of white pins we marked the strike point and then slowley looked for signs after a few metres another spot of blood this went on for a while but only a tiny spot of blood we spent a few hours looking and had to give up till morning we went back the next morning and found a lay up point and tracks but had long gone and very little blood it was from that moment i knew i needed a dog if i was to carry on stalking to be sure this wouldnt happen or at the very least be able to track it properly all of my usual stalking has been with people with dogs and i have seen them at work and amazing to watch them know a deer is present well before they make themselfs known and even more amazing to watch them find a deer in thick cover ,atb wayne
Wolverine
Well-Known Member
Agreed big yan,dogs for deer should be compulsory but not GWPs, should be labs,only joking
,as long as you get the wounded beast that's all that matters and as long as you have a dog you get on with.terriers do the damage on deer too,seen a border tackle a red stag before like David and Goliath,the wee border won in the end
Thar
Well-Known Member
Well done Dan
Be careful with the big deer and your dog, my GWP tackled a big fallow buck the other month and got a puncher wound in her back leg, cost be £80 at the vets, not that stopped her from going after the buck.
I “play” with my dogs with a set of red antlers, chasing her around the garden and bashing her with them so she knows antlers are bad news and to keep out the way of them. I guess a buck moves a bit quicker than I do though.
ATB
Tahr
Be careful with the big deer and your dog, my GWP tackled a big fallow buck the other month and got a puncher wound in her back leg, cost be £80 at the vets, not that stopped her from going after the buck.
I “play” with my dogs with a set of red antlers, chasing her around the garden and bashing her with them so she knows antlers are bad news and to keep out the way of them. I guess a buck moves a bit quicker than I do though.
ATB
Tahr
splash
Well-Known Member
Are you sure that you should be posting this ? I was under the impression it was ok for your dog to hold at bay but as soon as your dog bite's or grips you are breaking the Hunting Act ? Now i think it is good practice to have access to a tracking dog and we use either a GWP or Lab and both are only used for tracking .
Thar
Well-Known Member
Perfectly legal “splash” for your dog to pull down and kill a wounded deer, you are not breaking the hunting act.
As to what happens when your dog catches up with a wounded deer, well there is very little you will be able to do about it, the dog will be on there own in the first instance, it may bay the deer or try and tackle it its self. You will never catch a leg shot or jaw shot deer tracking on a leash, a 3 legged deer will out run you so in that case you would have to let your dog do want nature evolved it for. By using a leash you could prolong the deer’s suffering. I am not saying don’t use a leash but you need to know the time to let your dog track free or accept that the deer suffering will be prolong and perhaps the deer will never be recovered.
Small deer are soon dispatched by an experience medium size dog, HPR etc often before you can get to the deer. With larger deer your dog may need your assistance.
ATB
Tahr
Wolverine
Well-Known Member
On a BASC organised course with Niels S.It was pointed out that in this country unlike on the continent the dog is only supposed to hold the deer down so a humane dispatch can be carried out.If the deer expires during this time it must be emphasised that the shot damage has caused the fatality.A Politically correct observation you may feel but one that distinguishes those that use dogs to track and find deer after a shot and those that illegally use running dogs to course and pull down deer.www.muntjactrading.co.uk
Wolverine
Well-Known Member
Now kit I have heard this before,however,let us use some common sense here,hopefully.All purely hypothetical here.Now you are in thick conifer wood and you end up shooting a leg on a roe deer,you must try and track the deer using your dog which will find it but if it's a slow track with you on end of leash bye bye deer,whereas if you let fido loose and give him his head he/she will find it,now here is where it gets hard,are you telling me when I am maybe up to 200m away that fido is not allowed to pull down said deer and kill it by taking the neck,how on earth can I stop fido doing this.Deer welfare means you must get that deer and any policeman would surely agree,especially when said beast is wounded and whether it is you or your dog that ends the suffering then so be it.in fact a dog which has a certain amount of experience would probably make a better job of it than you or I with a knife would it not?As for guys with lurchers they don't tend to course deer with bullet wounds in them.Any dog with experience can differentiate between a wounded beast and one which is not.It's like dogs staying on the trail of a runner with pheasants.I would however like to know where Scottish law stood on this.Cheers,ATB.
Wolverine
Well-Known Member
Got the jist of what you are saying,you misunderstand the 200 yds bit,release dog as close to deer as possible,if chase takes it200yds then so be it.I've had dogs chase for 400-500 yds and know lads who have had a lot longer ones,you need to remember welfare,LACS can hardly take the moral high ground can they,baronsdown deer sanctuary springs to mind,in Scotland we are protected by law anyway,think you could be right in England,need to watch yourself,sect.25 covers us.as for outraged rambler let them phone the police law on my side.RSPCA,they are the body that causes cruelty to deer by trying to save injured ones by the roadside after being smashed by a car are they not,I do see where you are coming from though
Thar
Well-Known Member
This is from the SNH/deer commission for Scotland best practice, dogs for deer.
Legislation
Deer are protected from hunting with dogs under both the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 and the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002,
There are exceptions built into these Acts to allow for:
• The retrieval or location of a wild mammal by a dog that the handler reasonably believes is seriously injured or orphaned. Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, Section 5 (1) (c)
•The humane destruction of an injured, diseased or orphaned deer by means that are normally prohibited. Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, Part 3, Section 25 (a) (b)
As to the BASC saying your dog is supposed to just hold the deer until you get there, well that is either political arse licking to the towners who don’t know any better or the guy has never left his desk and got out with a dog on deer. As any of us who have used dogs for deer know when your dog catches up with a wounded deer it is on its own in the first instance, wheather it holds the deer by the neck and asphyxiated the deer or just holds it by the throat until you get there is impossible for you to influence. My own view would be most dogs that are “holding” are in fact trying to dispatch the deer and are not able to because of a size miss match between deer and dog or lack of experience.
ATB
Tahr
Legislation
Deer are protected from hunting with dogs under both the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 and the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002,
There are exceptions built into these Acts to allow for:
• The retrieval or location of a wild mammal by a dog that the handler reasonably believes is seriously injured or orphaned. Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002, Section 5 (1) (c)
•The humane destruction of an injured, diseased or orphaned deer by means that are normally prohibited. Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, Part 3, Section 25 (a) (b)
As to the BASC saying your dog is supposed to just hold the deer until you get there, well that is either political arse licking to the towners who don’t know any better or the guy has never left his desk and got out with a dog on deer. As any of us who have used dogs for deer know when your dog catches up with a wounded deer it is on its own in the first instance, wheather it holds the deer by the neck and asphyxiated the deer or just holds it by the throat until you get there is impossible for you to influence. My own view would be most dogs that are “holding” are in fact trying to dispatch the deer and are not able to because of a size miss match between deer and dog or lack of experience.
ATB
Tahr
Wolverine
Well-Known Member
Spot on tahr
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