Please share your new pup with us, including pictures and info
Tom
- Thread starter Yvonne G
- Start date
_The_Beast_
Active Member
This is an urgent need. Please oblige asap.
Agree with all above.
Okay. You asked for it. This is Otis. I got him in October from another forum member who has become a great friend over the years. Otis is out of falconry lines, so he will grow up to be a terrific hunting partner for me and the hawks. He's already off to a great start and he's been out in the fields with me getting acquainted with his new job nearly every day. He is about 6 months old now and I don't think I've ever had a more adorable and fun puppy. He runs around doing wheelies and flailing his little T-rex arms about. He just had his first job on set two days ago!
In one of our hunting fields, we found this abandoned car and Otis and Axel decided to check it out:
In one of our hunting fields, we found this abandoned car and Otis and Axel decided to check it out:
Very cute. Sounds like a lot of fun already.
So the merle pup in your avatar is just a random picture?
OMG! What a cutie!
My son operates a dachshund rescue, back end paralyzed, discipline problems etc. so all the dogs have problems...and I am inclined to say..."What freakin horrible dogs"...however, after they are with him for a while they turn into intelligent sweet (mostly) dogs. I am not a dog person...but meet Franklin...a 3 yr old doxie paralyzed in the back...and I would take him in a heartbeat...what a really sweet dog
Franklin is wearing a pink diaper and is hiding his face under the blanket...Loki is the harlequin...there's only 5 dogs in the picture...but there's 3 more...
And I forgot to say...Otis is really cute...
I'm well aware of the common problems with the breed. Otis has two important factors working in his favor though.
1. He's a mini. Dad was 6 pounds and mom was 8 pounds. The mini's don't tend to have as much problem orthopedically.
2. He's out of long standing well bred falconry lines. Working lines of dogs can't have orthopedic problems, or they don't work. The best performers are bred and the lines get stronger as opposed to pet lines that get weaker over time.
_The_Beast_
Active Member
"Flailing little T-Rex arms" 🤩 Thanks for sharing all the pics!
Yvonne, maybe Tom is bashful about his avatar pup, and doesn't want to appear proud and boasty, but I am pretty sure that that avatar pup is a fine mix of Dogo Argentino and Perro de Presa Canaria.
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I feel like @Tom is deliberately not answering the question about his avatar photo, which definitely is one for @KarenSoCal ’s puppies!
Do you worry about hunting with a small dog in terms of becoming prey themselves?
No. The hawks are very selective about what they will go after. They recognize their prey compared to other animals. They don't like dogs much, so it might be the opposite of the problem you asked about. They may keep their distance because a dog is present. It will likely only take one or two instances of them realizing that when the dog goes in a rabbit comes out, for them to clue in to this.
Falconers sometimes make a joke about using dogs under Harris' hawks. Once they all get the routine down, you can just bring a lawn chair and a beer and sit back and watch the show.
What about coyotes, etc?
Not an issue at all. They stay wayyyy away from me stomping around out in the bush. I see them almost every day rapidly leaving the area. The birds see them a mile away and let out their coyote/canine call to alert me and each other of their displeasure at the presence of a predatory canine in their area.
Also, Otis is too small to walk miles at my pace over that type of terrain. My malinois handled it all beautifully, but little man is just too little. He will ride around in a doggy satchel until a rabbit runs underground and his services are needed, at which point he will be carefully deployed. They use ferrets for this purpose over in the UK, but we aren't allowed to do that here, so I need a little itty bitty weiner dog. You can see it on Youtube. The birds never go for the ferrets, and instead watch the holes in the ground intently when they see the ferret go in. Spending time with Otis outside of hunting time is just a great big bonus, as he is just the cutest thing ever.
You should come with me sometime and see what its all about. Its a nice nature hike, and sometimes you get to see and hear a rabbit close up at the end of it.
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would love that - except for the actual hunting part! lol
I don't begrudge those who do it responsibly (have you seen this woman, her videos are great, very informative: https://www.youtube.com/@FalconryAndMe ), and I know with things like deer and boar its a very necessary "evil" so to speak, but I don't think i want to actually first hand witness the killing...
