For Gus’s 2nd hunting, I have brought along Tig the possum dog so that Gus can get to see another dog doing a different job that he is not allowed to join in on. My other 2 dogs, Rastus and Bro, have been raised with Tig, so they understand that he has his job to do, and they are not allowed possums themselves. This is no different from a huntaway and a heading dog doing different jobs yet working as a team.
Because Gus is still young and with his breeding and training he does not have that killer instinct which makes it easier to work with him.
Early on in the hunt I can see how quick his confidence is growing out on the hill. Gus does not mind going out to 150 meters with the other dogs and seems to track back to me no problem.
When Tig is out hunting possums he is very good on them averaging 10-12 per hunt and his best day was 30. Because I have a large block of land surrounded by forestry with an orchard block and lots of gardens I need to keep the possum under control and I hate the thought of anyone using 1080 anywhere near my place so that is why I have trained Tig on the possums. This has also taught me a lot about the possums habits. A lot of people don’t realize that possums live on the ground in the scrub. Also possums move around in groups. At home I will have no possums for 3 to 4 weeks then when the dog catches one possum the next night you will probably get two and sometimes three. Over the following week I would catch 10 to 12 possums before there would be no more possums for the next 3 to 4 weeks. When I’m out hunting and get onto a possum there’s a high chance that there will be other possums close by.
In my early days of hunting I was like most other hunters and the thought of a pig dog catching a possum would be dealt with quickly. It was when my sons were teenagers that I got them a dog(Jeff) that the boys used on small game. When Bryce left school he went possuming for a couple of years and Jeff became very good at making Bryce a living off possums. Jeff’s best day was 32.
Back to my hunt, I parked the bike up and planned on a walk to the top of the hill then along back down and back to the bike. About a 6 to 7 km walk. While this walk did not produce any pigs Tig was hard at work catching and retrieving possums for me. Gus was inquisitive and watched Tig and how Rastus and Bro did not get involved in the same job. Whenever Gus got to close or showed any interest in the possums I just talked to him being very mindful of the tone of voice I was using.
It was while riding the motorbike back towards home that Rastus and Bro picked up on a pig. It was Bro that bailed it first 280 meters up the hill, when Rastus arrived the pig broke down to 150 meters. I was hoping that when Tig got there he could Break it down to the track but no they grabbed it. I heard Gus arrive and start bailing so made my way up. I got a wee bit of footage of Gus and Bro bailing before I dispatched the 70 lb boar.
I can see from this hunt that Gus is not going to take too long before he is going to be wanting to find and catch his own pigs.