The Pit Bull Dog.

Those Drahthaars are some of the finest looking dogs I have yet seen. But I got to admit some of the ugliest beasts ever called dogs were a variety of Aussie hog dogs some bad a** showed me. Effective, butt ugly, like pit bulls. But I'm still thinking smaller. One to stick close while I slowly hunt 1200 acres I'm familiar with and put a feral up a tree if I don't get it on the first shot. And still chase squirrels and etc.

My Queensland Heeler/Border COllie mix is hell on cats. Any possum dumb enough to come in the yard is toast, too. She killed 4 possums the first month we were in this house before they wised up.

Other breeds that would be effective "cat control" would be a German-bred dachshund (nothing like the chubby American ones. I like the wirehaired variety) or the Jack Russell terriers mentioned previously.

Red neck,,,We have found that pit bulls do'nt have what it takes to hold up to a crat,,It's good for a few,,then the crats come back to haunt,,dead dog . Nothing personal,,,,Clay

hicntry,

"better on feathers than they are on fur."

I beg to differ, Drahthaar are bred for used on fur and feather equally. Perhap's the German Wirehair Pointer are more suitable for feather then fur.

By the way, are Airedales strong enough to chase down coyotes after a 200 yard chase? If so, how does the coyotes get dispatched, broken neck during the chase or a lengthy fight after the chase?

Are the smooth coated Airedales rare? Can the smooth coated Airedales withstand the cold/rain as well as a wired coated Airedales?

Norseman, no offence intended. I know of no one, nor heard of anyone, in the US that has obtained a DD for its excellence on fur. They were and are, used for birds. There are blood trailing tests. I believe, that are required to keep them qualified as DD's and not wire hairs. Yes, they are still used in Germany for fur, mainly hogs I believe, but their style of hunting is quite different as they want very minimal, if any, contact with the hog. I just assumed obviously that they are better bird dogs. Do you hunt coyotes with yours?

Do the slick coated airedales stay as warm??? Couldn't say from personal experience but some say they are fine in cold weather. I would tend to think they are not going to be quite as cosey as an aireldale with a full coat.

As far as coyotes and what happens. Airedales are no different than most breeds. There is, or can be a substantial variance from dog to dog. My personal dogs are straight hog dogs, they will not run around the country chasing every scent....they hit the ground looking for hogs. Of course when something just jumps out in front of them all bets are off and when this happens with coyotes, they have always sought refuge in one of the many culverts that the dog won't fit into. My dogs have been bred for hogs and enjoy the up close personal kind of contact that many dogs won't do. The males also "average" 75 to 80lbs and 27 to 28" with several in the 90lb range. They are not to be considered "standard" at 55lb and 23". As far as a long drawn out fight with a coyote......they have never had a long drawn out fight with anything that wasn't considerably bigger than them.

Ahhhh... You of course know that the best doggy is a dead doggy .
This was short and to the point ehh ?

I have a donut at My Bowl
Birman

I been wondering when Birman would come up with something like that or "the best dog is the one in the stew pot!". derf

derf -
The only dog I eat is hot dog but I'm not sure that is even meat

I now puke at My bowl
Birman

Birman. Would you like to go feed the catfish? ned

www.DoubleHaul.TwitchTwitch

Pres., TYGC

Dan

hicntry,

"I know of no one, nor heard of anyone, in the US that has obtained a DD for its excellence on fur."
There are lot's of owners using drahthaar for excellence on fur as well as fowl within U.S.A., perhaps drahthaar are rare in California?
Please visit the links below.
www.users.bigpond.com/Ozhunter_kennels/
www.jagergeist.com
www.jagergeist.com/article2.htm
www.jagergeist.com/article3.htm
You can also visit www.vdd-gna.org and visit vom Kennedy kennel and view his photo's.

How about Russia?
www.admiral.ru/hp/sdraht/engl.htm

I have harvested foxes with my drahthaar but not coyote's because of the fact that the coyote
are just way too fast for my dog to catch. Sometimes, my dog will even lay or walk very low like a "cat"
to get closer to the coyotes and as usual, the coyotes are already running full steam across the
field.

As far as Germany methods of hunting or style, it does not have to apply to American owners of Drahthaar
when hunting fur in U.S.