A Little Brain and a Little Brawn

A repost from this blog from 2005

Terrier work is not for fools, the unprepared, or the physically weak. Most of the time it is a simple things: dog in, dogs bays, quarry bolts or is dug to.

Most of the time.

There there are the other times: when the dog goes so deep it is off the Deben box and cannot be heard; when the explosive stench of skunk poison rises like smoke from the hole; when the dog refuses to shift out of a solid rock hole; when, after four feet of dirt, you hit running sand; when the dog is unable to turn around or exit due to a rock or root slipping behind it.

This is when tools matter.

In terrier work, the most important tool is between your ears. A lot of things that are written off as a "tragic accident," are, in fact, a predictable nightmare.

"The collar failed."

Yes it did. But did you spend time to really tape the collar, and do you know how to tape a collar? Did you enter a dog under a power line? Did you test the batteries before they were put in? Did you check to make sure the collar and receiver were working before letting the dog loose?

I have been guilty of all of these failures at one time or another (as have most diggers), but let us be straight; our failure is not an accident. It is sloth. It is stupidity. It is recklessness.

So many "accidents" occur when dogs are in the field without collars and the dog's owner is without tools. Again, I have been guilty of this transgression, but let it be clear that stupidity, sloth and foolishness on the part of humans is the chief culprit in what is too easily an unfolding tragedy. Failure to put a dog on a leash is not an "act of God," it is the non-action of a human.

Another invaluable tool, along with common sense and a basic knowledge of terrier work, is a certain level of physical strength. It is not politically correct to say this, but it is nonetheless true that women, on average, have half the upper body strengths of their male counterparts. This is not to say women cannot dig. Some women diggers are more capable than most men (including me). It is simply to say that all diggers, and women in particular, need to make an honest assessment of their physical abilities. It is one thing to think you can dig a hole five feet square, but it is quite another to do it when the time comes. It is a risky and marginal thing for a relatively fit man to work his dog solo, and it is not recommended for most women. Two heads are better than one most of the tine, and two bodies are better than one all of the time.
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