UK Wolf conservation reading

Where did you read/hear that ? I never heard of deerhounds being used as flock guardians ; only , that they were brought here originally for hunting , esp. coyote .

It's amazing how dogs that have never met a fox before take an instant dislike to them at the first opportunity.. ..may be the same with wolves..

Thanks for the link Joerg -that must have been a long time ago that they hunted wolve and " antlered game " with deerhounds -has been outlawed for decades basically .
Guard dogs do not hunt , they defend ; farmers use several ancient , beautiful breeds here to protect their flocks here - Akbash , Kangal and similar .

Sighthounds will chase anything they are allowed to...even plastic bags on the end of a lure-coursing machines. ..so why not wolves? Surely if shepherds of yesteryear wanted to eliminate the threat from wolves,they would use a hound that was capable of catching and killing one quickly...not some slow plod of a dog that would be in the next county chasing it..thus allowing Mr Wolf's friends to finish the job while dog was away?
There are not many breeds of dog fast enough and big enough for the job..

Although saying that the Kangal looks as if it would have the front to face down a wolf...just not sure how it would cope with a hit and run raid...(thanks for the link Verena..beautiful dogs..you learn something new each day..thanks)
I dont mean to be crabby but why shouldnt a D/H take a wolf..Wolfhounds did,and they are not much different..

With the flock guardians out here in the mountains it is not so much for killing the predators , rather , keeping them away from the flock is the idea - huge areas they graze on , very steep , very rough ground and very dense vegetation/forests usually , not so good for sighthounds - to run something down I mean , this is , why my girls have all the fun of chasing and basically never get anything bigger . We have some wolves ( who tend to be very shy and elusive these days ) , some bear ( mostly vegetarians though ) and , not to forget , cougar ( very powerful and stealthy ) and then , the most common and not to be underestimated , coyote ( though they do not usually kill larger prey , they do make tem nervous , disturb the flocks ) . Kangal and Akbash and the likes do mean business , I would never dare to go on their land uninvited by the owners - they can guard a whole mountainside and will do so totally on their own , no directions/input needed from us humans ; fascinating and formidable and also very ancient breeds .
I once met a pack of 5 wolves , rather , saw them right in front of me from my car - I would not want my girls getting too close to them . What I read up on borzoi , wolf hunting was a nasty affair ( at least in Russia ) , not at all " fair " , more for the " entertainment " of the onlookers than a test of skill or anything similar . I have no clue , how wolfhunts in England/Scotland/Ireland went about ....
Also , they use Kangal in some African countries these days to keep their flocks save from cheetah - it is more bark and posture than actual aggression , let alone fight who would want their precious guardians injured anyways ? ) .
At the shelter we had a couple of Kangals in boarding last year , when all the people were evacuated because of bushfires ;what dogs ...!!! We also do get some Akbash in every so often and I knew a breeder of them , who also had big flocks of sheep for them to guard on huge areas of bush .

Hi. I had never heard of Kangals so had to loook them up - big beasties, but look well up to the job. The champion one shown on the wikipedia site is a very handsome chap. The Akbash too looks pretty formidable. Interesting thread!

hairybeasty wrote:

Although saying that the Kangal looks as if it would have the front to face down a wolf...just not sure how it would cope with a hit and run raid...(thanks for the link Verena..beautiful dogs..you learn something new each day..thanks)
I dont mean to be crabby but why shouldnt a D/H take a wolf..Wolfhounds did,and they are not much different..

The Borzoi was bred to take down wolves by grabbing them by the necks - humans then killed them. I dont think that Deerhounds would have the strength but thats just my opinion

I have heard of Deerhounds that used to take Foxes on a regular basis(pre-ban)

hairybeasty wrote:

I have heard of Deerhounds that used to take Foxes on a regular basis(pre-ban)

Yes me to pre-ban of course

www.boardogs.com/Boardogs_Deerhounds1.htm

Deerhounds have been used on many game species such as Deer, Hare, Fox, Wolf, Gazelle, Antelope and Coyote. They are still used in some parts of Africa by farmers for hunting gazelle, antelope and jackal. They are used in Britain for Fox, Hare and Rabbit and some Deerhounds are used to hunt Coyote and Rabbits in Canada and America. In Australia they are mainly used for Fox, Hare, Rabbit, Pig and Dingo.

Thanks Jane..that is a great link..whether or not you agree or disagree with hunting of live prey...that certainly is an eye-opener as regards the origins and uses of this great breed..

farnorth wrote:

hairybeasty wrote:

I have heard of Deerhounds that used to take Foxes on a regular basis(pre-ban)

Yes me to pre-ban of course

When I lived at Stafford I knew of someone who used to use his Deerhound to hunt and kill foxes for local farmers. That was also before the ban.

houndy wrote:
The Borzoi was bred to take down wolves by grabbing them by the necks - humans then killed them. I dont think that Deerhounds would have the strength but thats just my opinion[/quote]
I would have thought that the Deerhound would have similar if not more strength than a Borzoi. They are finer boned than a Deerhound

Brollachan wrote:

houndy wrote:
The Borzoi was bred to take down wolves by grabbing them by the necks - humans then killed them. I dont think that Deerhounds would have the strength but thats just my opinion

I would have thought that the Deerhound would have similar if not more strength than a Borzoi. They are finer boned than a Deerhound [/quote]

As soon as I wrote that I thought the same thing Maybe it depends on the amount of hounds involved in the hunt?

The borzoi was used in packs of at least 2, they was trained to take
the wolf down, then hold it untill the hunters came on horse back.

There is still a kind of sport go's on today - except pet wolves are used
and 3 borzois are slipped on to the wolf, there is no killing, its a bit
like us doing a lure, but they use another animal.

If i can ever get to the vids - will put them up.

Dont watch if you dont like this kind of sport, the wolf dosent get killed
but unfortunaly it is bated.