bedlington terriers ?

[Sharpster]

any of you guys owned a bedlington?
are they reasonably intelligent/trainable-to a basic standard?
my old lurcher was no vizsla!-but would still point & flush game for me hawk.does anyone reckon a beddlington could be used to push rabbits out of brambles for the hawk?(my legs are ripped to pieces)
i know they are a hunter themselves(as per lurchers)but my old dog never bothered the hawk on a kill-and never got there first either!
cheers for any info!

[Sighthound]

I've owned a couple of bedlingtons over the years, great dogs. Will rake bushes for fun and follow a scent.
A couple of small criticisms are that they are very headstrong and they can be hard to call off a scent and keep the coat short otherwise everything seems to stick to them!

[ScarletFever]

Totally agree with Sighthound. I work a couple of terriers (not as much as before of course 8), a mate of mine uses Beddies and they're great dogs. Very obedient, not too hard to train but awesome in the field. They'll mark all day and do it with loads of enthusiasm. Only problem I've found is, as Sighthound pointed out, they can be a bit headstrong. Then again, what working terrier isn't? :)

[Sharpster]

cheers chaps,are the bitches as headstrong as the dogs?-any preference?
used to own a lakeland,he was ok-but could easily go deaf if smelt something furry!

[ScarletFever]

I know what you mean :lol: I have a Lakeland bitch who is 9 months old and batters my Patterdale and the staffy. Absolutely spot on for marking rabbits, rats, foxes and even badgers!

I've always found that bitches are far more responsive and intelligent than dogs and I know that my mate prefers bitches to the dogs in the beddy strain. Only my opinion tho'.

Dan

[Sharpster]

thanx again for that info scarlet'.
i think if foxes are your bag(theoretically of course!)then lakelands once entered & confident are unstopable,they can be getting a right battering,but that just seems to get them in the mood to do ther job!tails wagging behind them!-and then theres the psycho buldozer lakeys. . .

[Spaniel]

Hi, over 30 years ive had a selection of terriers all done what was asked of them some better than others like all terriers.... loyal,work until they drop, most can be ignorant when they get a scent, most of the work was on foxes and the 2 breeds i loved was lakeland & lakeland crosses and borders, borders came out on top, work them all day come home with them and they seem to switch off and become a house dog again, even used to hunt one of my dogs with springers on some of our shoot days, lovely temprement... got to go with your heart if you like the look of a bedlington have one, I prefer bitches in all the breeds of dogs i have as they seem to want to give you that extra bit..... get yourself a bitch and at some time in the future find a good quality whippet to cover her... bedlington/whippet what a dog!!!!!! Good luck, " Have a good christmas and new year"

[Darren198@btinternet.com]

Having owned and workd Beddi"s for sum 20yrs now,and having flown Shortwings for the same period,i would strongly advise never to work any of the Terrier Family with Hawk or Falcon! Terriers are killers! It would only be a matter of time before disaster! In the excitement of the chase and the sometimes struggle of the intended kill,a Terriers ferocity can all to quickly ignite,no matter how well trained.Do yourself a big favour by going for one of the HPR"S,i"m sure you wont regret it!

[Dougie Mc]

Ive got t disagree with darren i have worked bedlingtons and beddie hybrids for over 25 yrs and bred my own for the last 14 years, i can work them with hawks any dog can be trained not to touch something ,great dogs( i prefre bitches) just be quite tight with the training and you should have no problem

[MattSpar]

Having owned and workd Beddi"s for sum 20yrs now,and having flown Shortwings for the same period,i would strongly advise never to work any of the Terrier Family with Hawk or Falcon! Terriers are killers! It would only be a matter of time before disaster! In the excitement of the chase and the sometimes struggle of the intended kill,a Terriers ferocity can all to quickly ignite,no matter how well trained.Do yourself a big favour by going for one of the HPR"S,i"m sure you wont regret it!

I have to agree with this. To work ANY terrier alongside a hawk is to invite disaster.

I know some do it, and no doubt someone will answer this by relating the example of their own terrier who has worked alongside their hawk for years, but it's the best way of ending up with a spoiled terrier and a dead hawk.