Ratting with terriers.

[A Guy Out West]

I have seen several YouTube ratting videos, very entertaining. Do any of you go ratting? Watching one now, looks like they are using young lurches too.

 

[jimmer.13]

The sport of Kings chap........and we are all kings..... one of the best things you'll ever partake in with your pants on

 

[A Guy Out West]

It does look like a blast. I saw the Suffolk and Norfolk Ratting Club clearing out a farm, fun. You know that could be a thing, charge people to go ratting. One night of air gun ratting and one day of terrier ratting. Throw in a couple of days of pubbing and classic British pub grub. Get the toads in the hole ready, sounds like a great trip to me.

 

[Keith Edmunds]

I used to do a bit as a kid. Back in the days when the drainage from our neighbours pig sheds ran into a ditch. We had an old farm-bred lab cross, a couple of air rifles and a folding .410. Just the sort of thing lads in the village used to do.

On one memorable occasion (don't try this at home) I shot a wasps nest with the .410 that was a few yards away from my brother. The wasps exploded and went straight for his head. He was not happy and looked like at Eskimo for weeks. We laugh about it now, of course.

 

[Overlay]

I used to do a bit as a kid. Back in the days when the drainage from our neighbours pig sheds ran into a ditch. We had an old farm-bred lab cross, a couple of air rifles and a folding .410. Just the sort of thing lads in the village used to do.

On one memorable occasion (don't try this at home) I shot a wasps nest with the .410 that was a few yards away from my brother. The wasps exploded and went straight for his head. He was not happy and looked like at Eskimo for weeks. We laugh about it now, of course.

Reminds me of a few years ago now, myself and all my brothers were fishing the tide up on seasalter beach, it was a real cold evening, we managed to find a drum punched a few holes along the bottom filled it with drift wood, having a trouble to light it my brother in law decided a mix of diesel and petrol was the order of the day
poured a generous amount in ( like you do ) ignition threw in a lighted rag phoooooomph it’s alight now, Daisy ( his nickname) my younger brother by two, starts shouting I’m alight I’m alight
runs up and around the beach with his orange capped steel toe capped wellies very much a blade, after a while he realised it might be better to dunk his boots in the sea, when he came out the water the orange rubber over the steel caps had burnt off and the caps looked like a pair of hinges flapping in the wind, no harm done apart from the wellies

even now 50 years on, we don’t let him wear wellies And even it still brings a smile to my and his face

getting back to ratting Daisy still runs patterdales on rats, pretty hectic time on a good farm

 

[Waz77]

I used to go twice a week every week for about 10yrs,taking about 100 a week, in some old battery hen sheds, great fun but smelled of chicken shite for a few days and covered in mites everytime

 

[Overlay]

Yep had some good sport over dogs on rats, have used any breed to hand but one in particular a cross between a patterdale and a whippet type proved to be the ace rat killer and a bonus a real good ferreting dog over pop holes too

Ratting opportunities don't come along so much now in the way of numbers, I prefer to just sit out with the air rifle now and pop them off with a NV on top, doesn't take many visits to close em down and a lot quicker and better than rodenticide

 

[llwynog]

Ratting with terriers is a right of passage, and even better if you use ferrets to flush them.
In my opinion it's the best apprenticeship for a young terrier, just don't start it with the ferrets there. Introduce that later.
Harder sport to get now days as farmers in general don't like admitting to a rat problem.

 

[eldon]

I used to shoot on a landfill and rats can be great fun (on somebody elses land, not your own back yard ). Once went through a 50 box in one set of waste tyres
A chainsaw (no bar or chain) providing smoke down the hole and keen dogs about looks great fun, check out the Internet loads of vids

 

[Jon P]

When I used to do the terrier work for some local fox hound packs, Ratting was good sport in the off season, since the legislation change I only have one Patterdale now, one of my best days was 250 rats with 2 terrier in 4 hours.

 

[Lampro]

We used to do a pallet yard had two great terriers Lakeland Jack x bitch and a plumber dog loved it, had the plumber stolen out of his pen and wasnt the same with the one bitch in the end would love to give it a go again but I dont think the wife would agree in using her westie pup even tho I wrecken she would give it a good go as shes game as hell being from a welsh farm

 

[llwynog]

It's always surprising how well dogs who've never been ratting before take to it.
It's like you've ignited something primeval deep down in their breeding. I used to take a friends mothers Whippet with my terriers when we went ratting, total pampered pet but absolutely game when you put rats in front of her.

 

[CarlW]

For sheer thrills, I'd rank ratting with terriers alongside big-game hunting any day of the week.

 

[llwynog]

I'd agree with you Carl, but I've never been big game hunting .
When you take people who've never been before, and even people you'd have down as being slightly anti, they come away with a different view of it and are normally totally in awe of the terriers.
I had a black fell bitch who was a total pro, you could work her with ferrets in the midst of rats and should just seemed to have a second sense on what to kill and what to leave.
You can always tell a terrier that's done a lot of ratting, there's no messing, crunch and on to the next, no shaking it forever and parading around the yard. It's fantastic training for a terrier.
I have a Border at the moment who is her equal ratting, but you'd never let her near a ferret or a farm cat.

 

[CarlW]

I'd agree with you Carl, but I've never been big game hunting .
When you take people who've never been before, and even people you'd have down as being slightly anti, they come away with a different view of it and are normally totally in awe of the terriers.
I had a black fell bitch who was a total pro, you could work her with ferrets in the midst of rats and should just seemed to have a second sense on what to kill and what to leave.
You can always tell a terrier that's done a lot of ratting, there's no messing, crunch and on to the next, no shaking it forever and parading around the yard. It's fantastic training for a terrier.
I have a Border at the moment who is her equal ratting, but you'd never let her near a ferret or a farm cat.

Once Packham gets his way, I'm going to hang up my elephant rifle, @llwynog , and get myself a couple of those little black fookers. Will be like being a kid again.

 

[llwynog]

If you need help sourcing a game terrier pup let me know.