# Just when things are getting better....



## hutch6 (May 9, 2008)

I've posted a few threads and posts on a lurcher forum asking about how to get these silly long dogs to do what they say on the tin and have tried various methods that have worked on other manufacturers of dogs but these things just seem to not give a stuff. That is until you bite the bullet and make a right [email protected] of yourself in front of the world's population. It is almost liek the dog is saying "I will only do what you ask if you dance for me. How badly do oy need me to do this favour for you? Then you must perform for me and tell me what you require of me through the medium of modern dance".

A small rag toy being whizzed about whilst you jump and roll about like an overly dressed member of The Royal Ballet (The Royal being the local pub ,not by HRH appointment) is all that was needed to get the rescue dog to switch on - "You have performed well Muse, I shall now give you what you seek".

So the dog was finally interested in doing something other than buggering off and within a few short lessons she was actually fetching the toy back to me. I mingled this with a few cheeky runs on rabbits when everyone was in bed and she was getting the idea a bit but not going up a gear more to finish the job. She'd run alongside them, behind them and on one occasion when one sat for her she sniffed it, ran off, came back, sniffed it again, gave it a play bow to see if it fancied a dance and then watched bemused as it ran off into the darkness without giving chase. I asked about acquiring some rabbit skins to wrap around a dummy to try and get her to the next stage but folk said not to bother. I got one off my mate and she ate it within a day.

I got chased by some furious folk with torches one night whilst out with her, I had a bigger torch but they outnumbered me so I figured the area of fist surface would fall in their favour by a large margin and high-tailed it through the woods to a relatively easy escape - it was a rush and a half but not something I want to stand a chance of having every time I go out with her. After that I enquired with the land owner about doing some shooting to help keep the pests down. They hadn't allowed anyone to shoot for 11yrs despite getting asked almost every month but as there had recently been poachers in the area who might be causing damage (erm....) then I could begin immediately. 

I have been shooting there now for a couple of months and I love it. This hunting lark just leads to better and better things. I started out fishing and now I have a gun and a ridiculous dog, the freezer is stacked with rabbits and friends are even asking for supplies. 

Now, the rabbits I was taking back home were being skinned and fed to the dogs who would rip into them like they were a box of Terry's All Gold but when we were out walking and a rabbit was spotted nothing was changing, the collie would give chase as best he could (He's fast but he barks at them to slow down) and the long 'un would lope alongside.
One day I figured that giving a full rabbit was not a bad thing and they'd probably like it even more so I had them outside whilst I was preparing some new stock from the night before. I chopped off the paws (rabbit's, not dog's)and tossed them to them. They went down like fury Twix fingers so I got three rabbits of equal size and chucked the to them. They all backed off at the sight and sound of the strange critters that usually ran away. My crippled collie had never seen a rabbit before as he is too slow to get to where they are before the other two have chased them all off, but he was the first in. A quick sniff, a snap of the teeth and an ear was missing. It was like watching a ******** taste the wine before going along with the choice anyway - "It tastes like wine my good man, I'll take it!". One by one the dogs picked their lunch and found a secluded spot in the garden to enjoy their meal. Nothing was left over.

Over the next week or so the dogs were given a rabbit each five days a week along with the usual offal, pigs heads, trout and chicken carcasses. I mentioned to my shooting permission land owners that I had this dog that looked like a dog that could do some and they agreed to let me have a go with her. I forgot all about it until one day I was walking all three dogs along the right of way that runs parallel to their land when they called me over and asked to see her run a rabbit or two. 
We all walked into the paddock area where the white tails play and I knew with three dogs and three humans there was no chance of getting to within a slipping range of one so i just said I'd let her off and see if she gave chase. The lead came off and we all held our breaths, well I did at least as she turned away from the rabbits and started to look at the tasty pile of horse dumplings that sat behind us. She then turned her head and froze for what seemed a minute as she just watched the tawny shadows watching her back. She took a few steps forward and a couple of the rabbits were not going to wait around for her to take her few more. This was her invitation to dance at the party.
She trotted over to the hedge and turned to our right causing six or seven tails to vanish into the hedge and earth to our left. We watched as she casually glided along the hedge and down into a dip in the undulating terrain. "****! She'll be back at the car" I thought. A few seconds passed and from the knee high patch of thistles and grass to our right sprung a rabbit with its ears down, body at full stretch when in flight and legs pumping for sanctuary. This was followed by another doing the same, then another and then another two. "What is that stupid dog doing?" was the only thing on my mind when a rabbit burst into the open towing a large sandy coloured dog shaped trailer. She was in "How are you doing? Nice day for a run isn't it? Well, catch you later!" gear and if you knew she'd been feeding on whole rabbits you could see the mouse in the wheel turning inside her head before finally the penny through the hole in the Dr Benardo's Charity boxes where the coin spirals down. "FOOOOOOD!" She took a few fast strides as she passed us and grabbed the rabbit. Unfortunately she couldn't multi-task like females like to brag about and got her feet all messed up. She bowled the rabbit and herself through the long grass a few times before gathering herself to her feet with el rabbit now in her mouth, shook it a few times and then turn to look at me. If I am out with all three dogs and she decides she wants to play fetch she will go get the toy but will then piss off to the nearest county to claim it as hers or to try and instigate a game of chase from the collies but as they know they have zero chance of catching her they don&#8217;t even bother. She will find a spot miles away and then drop the toy as it has become boring and will find something horrible to roll in instead. I waited with no expectation and was just about to say "Well the show is over folks, nothing more to see here, move along now" when she turned her body towards me and began to physically run towards me with the rabbit. she stopped righ in front of me and looked up at me. I watched the rabbit trying to get it's bearings back and actually said out loud to her, forgetting who was with me due to the once in a lifetime occurrence, "What do you want me to do with that then?" I kid you not she raised her head towards me and offered the rabbit to me. I obliged and took it in my hand. At this point during training she was rewarded for fetching the rag toy with a game of tug and she would go bananas on the end of it ragging it about so I didn't expect the rabbit to remain in one piece. Amazingly she gently let the rabbit go as she felt the weight change as my hand took the weight and then just stood looking at me whilst I finished the deed and laid the rabbit on the floor. I was gobsmacked. The landowners were pleased and said I could hunt with her every so often if I liked, I just had to let them know in advance.

After saying farewell we carried on with our walk and then relaxed back home. Later that evening I called them to eat and gave her the rabbit she took down earlier but noticed she was walking a bit stiff. I figured she had taken a bit of a knock during the tumble and watched her over the next day or two. It got worse. She could hardly put any weight on her back right leg so she was up to the vets. Turns out she has an inflamed Achilles tendon but needed to rest for a week for the swelling to go down before the vet could see if there was any further damage. A week later and the swelling was still too bad to tell. Another week passed and last Friday they diagnosed her as having a bit of inflammation thank God so she has another week on the sofa. Four weeks on the sofa and she hasn't once gone bananas at being confined to the house but she does look mighty miserable now. 

After she is allowed short walks it will be steady increase in exercise to build her up and get her right but I am determined to not push her or anything because from what I saw that day and I am by no means an expert or even a novice but she just might turn out to be a good 'un.


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## Kc Mac (Jul 26, 2011)

. That had me cracking up 

Hope she makes a full recovery and gets back out to hunting the bunnies


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