My last four days have been spent driving a milk tanker from Darfield in North Canterbury down to Edendale in southland.
This had ment that the dogs did not get much time out of their kennels. I noticed last night just how hyperactive they were and knew they needed a hunt in the morning.
Waking up to a good frost looked excellent conditions for the dogs to work any scent.
At present I have ewes lambing so this is the time of the year that I have to be extra vigilant with any young dogs. Even though I have Gus around sheep most days when you add lambs they are small and like to run, just enough to tempt a young dog to give chase.
As I rode the 4 wheeler I kept an eye on Gus and was pleased to see just how confident he is around sheep that he was confident enough to run along through them without even a sideways glance.
Down at the white gates Tig found a possum which was the first kill of the morning. With it plucked and on the bike for the dogs tea we headed off.
I did not get far from home when all four dogs tracked off up the hill a couple of hundred meters then around so I took off on the bike hoping to get in front of them.
They had gone about one km when they stopped a nice young boar three hundred meters above the road. While I had muzzles on the three pig dogs Tig the possum dog was not wearing one so he had grabbed this boar by the ear making me jump into the creek to stick him.
Just as I was finishing gutting this boar Bro barked up 20 meters above me. I was quite surprised as the dogs had been on the boar for about fifteen minutes before I arrived.
As the other dogs arrived the 70 lb pig broke down into the creek right where I had just stuck the boar. Not every day that you get to stick two Pigs right beside each other.
On the way back home we had to go back through the sheep again and again Gus and the other dogs showed how comfortable they are around stock.
Back home with two Pigs hanging in the chiller in under ninety minutes.
