What is the best bushcrafting dog?
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Long gone now but I managed to get about 26 to 50 thousand mile out of a second hand Jack Russell, a good 21 mile a day dog when I was rocking, we even managed a 55 miler in 24 hours once. Man I miss that dog!!!
Bracken at the stone circle where Macbeth met the weird sisters.
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Mind you he did have a very bad habit of falling out the canoe all the time!
Bracken at the stone circle where Macbeth met the weird sisters.
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Mind you he did have a very bad habit of falling out the canoe all the time!
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That's why my dogs seldom accompany me here. I'm afraid of the gators getting them (they seem to be as bait to gators) Other people take their dogs with no apparent problems but every time a gator sees mine he perks up and swims towards us.
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One that can use a bow drill to get an ember........
I was going to say - one that can pitch his own tarp......
My Springer Toby likes bushes and is crafty, other than that he's a bit useless... but well loved
Heres a video of him trying to take off
Heres a video of him trying to take off
good mix but a bit of collie x bedlington in the mix and youl have a better dog for the tight turns of the rabbit with the brains of the collie,(rabbit being the only 'legal' prey to hunt with dogs above ground.)
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93018&p=1121083#post1121083
Just incase you would like your dog to also work for his dinner ,,,,,,,,,
Just incase you would like your dog to also work for his dinner ,,,,,,,,,
The best bushcrafting dog.........
One that can put food on your plate (that meal was a bit tough!)
One that can put food on your plate
(that meal was a bit tough!)
Here's my two, both lurchers and both incredible characters.
On the left is our eldest Rox. She was a rescue hound and we believe she's a greyhound cross with a bit of deerhound in the mix somewhere. She's very loyal, smart as hell, hates thunder/fireworks, would eat anyone who presented any threat to my kids but is a big softie and very social.
On the right is our youngest Suzie who we've had since she was a pup. We can't take her anywhere without people stopping to talk or fuss over her and it was worse when she was a pup (she looked like a lab pup on stilts). She's got a curious genetic mix of whippet (and has similar skittishness at times), greyhound, saluki and collie (her eyes are pure collie and she drops and holds like a collie without having been taught. If anything she's a collie in lurcher's clothing, can tun on a sixpence, jump almost anything and is soppy and affectionate little creature.
And this would be Suzi deciding it would be fun to run between my legs with her tail up as I was taking her picture. Trust me, it hurt...
She has chased the odd rabbit but not sure she'd know what to do with one of she caught it..I've always called her back long before that happened. Her mother was apparently an amazing courser and caught plenty of bunnies with ease.
As bushcraft dogs go, they love being outside but have little tolerance for rain or cold. Even in a tent they need their dog coats and blankets over them or end up forcing themselves into our sleeping bags. They have to be dragged outside when it's raining (although once out they're fine).
Out walking with them they will exercise themselves and will race along paths chasing each other...you do have to watch when they head back your way at 40mph or if there are other folk on the path...last thing anyone wants is a strange pair of dogs heading your way at high speed. They do stop dead when called and turn back when told.
So, they're occasionally neurotic, lacking any pain tolerance at all, frequently nuts, vary between running full speed everywhere and lounging around all day...I'd never be without them. They go on holiday with us, drape themselves over us & the kids.
Great dogs, potentially functional but who cares...they're just great company.
On the left is our eldest Rox. She was a rescue hound and we believe she's a greyhound cross with a bit of deerhound in the mix somewhere. She's very loyal, smart as hell, hates thunder/fireworks, would eat anyone who presented any threat to my kids but is a big softie and very social.
On the right is our youngest Suzie who we've had since she was a pup. We can't take her anywhere without people stopping to talk or fuss over her and it was worse when she was a pup (she looked like a lab pup on stilts). She's got a curious genetic mix of whippet (and has similar skittishness at times), greyhound, saluki and collie (her eyes are pure collie and she drops and holds like a collie without having been taught. If anything she's a collie in lurcher's clothing, can tun on a sixpence, jump almost anything and is soppy and affectionate little creature.
And this would be Suzi deciding it would be fun to run between my legs with her tail up as I was taking her picture. Trust me, it hurt...
She has chased the odd rabbit but not sure she'd know what to do with one of she caught it..I've always called her back long before that happened. Her mother was apparently an amazing courser and caught plenty of bunnies with ease.
As bushcraft dogs go, they love being outside but have little tolerance for rain or cold. Even in a tent they need their dog coats and blankets over them or end up forcing themselves into our sleeping bags. They have to be dragged outside when it's raining (although once out they're fine).
Out walking with them they will exercise themselves and will race along paths chasing each other...you do have to watch when they head back your way at 40mph or if there are other folk on the path...last thing anyone wants is a strange pair of dogs heading your way at high speed. They do stop dead when called and turn back when told.
So, they're occasionally neurotic, lacking any pain tolerance at all, frequently nuts, vary between running full speed everywhere and lounging around all day...I'd never be without them. They go on holiday with us, drape themselves over us & the kids.
Great dogs, potentially functional but who cares...they're just great company.
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Thanks fishfish...I'm pretty chuffed with them too, great company and just fund to watch them hurtling around.
Neither of them have ever coursed though, if anything I think my eldest would happily mother a rabbit, the youngest would probably be scared of one if she saw it up close
The best bushcrafters dog is like the best bushcrafters knife,
Its the one you have with you at the time
Well put, and from a pet point of view, I think a temperament that suits your own character has got be the most important factor in dog choice.
But if we're talking about dogs for living off the land, I agree with everyone that has said lurchers. I agree with the OP that terriers are nice, but I'm not sure how often I'd want to eat the meals they can get. And gun dogs are only great if you've a gun.
The most 'useful' (from that point of view) lurcher I've known is a deerhound-collie cross belonging to my neighbours in the wood where I lived until recently. Such a handsome dog! But alas, these days, he has to live on a rope. He's brought down a roe in the woods on three occassions, twice before we (in our naievety) realised he would do it of his own accord without training, and once when he got off his rope. A (non-vegetarian) friend had the carcasses. Assuming there were enough deer about (and there are plenty in that part of the world at the moment) it would only be necessary to let him out the door at deer o'clock and go find him when he starts barking, or comes back all covered in blood. That dog could feed himself and his keepers, or at least give it a damn good go.
Long dogs are a great tool for harvesting food and bushydogs, but you can only run them in the right weather conditions i.e. you can’t really run them on hard/frozenground as they go lame and they are not able to turn the prey item. In theright conditions and place they are the best tool for the job. But IMHO for an all-roundbushy general purpose dog I’d go will a terrier (the right sort though) …
I’ll explain myself….. I run a couple of Hancock lurchers andhave a border terrier. The reason I’d go with a terrier is they have the same benefitsof a long dog (apart from speed) but they can hunt in all weather conditions,go to ground, easy to maintain, very hardy, work for long periods of time and compacted.Just basing my views on a pure bushy/survival point of view, all fantastic andsome really stunning dogs you chaps have shared
I’ll explain myself….. I run a couple of Hancock lurchers andhave a border terrier. The reason I’d go with a terrier is they have the same benefitsof a long dog (apart from speed) but they can hunt in all weather conditions,go to ground, easy to maintain, very hardy, work for long periods of time and compacted.Just basing my views on a pure bushy/survival point of view, all fantastic andsome really stunning dogs you chaps have shared
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