staff and badgers

[theoak]

how did the staff work the badger? did it work as a jack russel?

[peppapig]

do you mean did it go down the hole??:confused:

[choppereid]

thares a few answers to that question.
dug up with terriers then the staffs take care of it from ground level.
then thare was the trials you can look that up yer self a cant be arsed typing al of that or some one els can post the link.
and in the olden days badger in the box staff goes in takes a hold and pulls it out and does the deed.(the trials is kinda like that but not as much contact as the older times)

[theoak]

okey looked at some picture of staff and badgers but didnt really know how the staff worked if it did like the jack russel wich was go down the hole and barked at the badger

[redneck]

a couple of weeks ago i was walking a stafford that has bumped into a few badgers in the fields during his life amongst other things and he was certainly in no mood for barking at it. ive only ever heard and read stories of badger digs, but im not sure even the mildest of staffords would be able to just sound and not get over excited and would want to be right in the thick of things

[theoak]

it would be an awesome sight to se a staff work a badger

[redneck]

it would be an awesome sight to se a staff work a badger
also highly illegal and i doubt anyone does it anymore in the UK, stuff of the past.

[trap]

Just the smell of a badger is enough to get most staffords excited, even if it has never seen one.

[Sasha's]

"Gameness in England and Ireland"

Here in the United Kingdom, the gameness of dogs has, in most cases been tested with Badger in underground, or in barrels, for the "Teas-Tas- Mor dead game certificate".
Now the Badger may not seem like much to some people, but when you consider that in the dead game trials within six minutes a badger can take the nose off and take the flesh off a dogs bottom jaw back to his windpipe, and more it gives the man a better idea of the game.
A dog must travel 50 feet in an eleven-inch by eleven-inch tunnel in soil and with corners in it, in the time of sixty seconds. He must hit his badger dead silent. If he yields at all, or shows bad temper, he is lifted (hatch door) and broken of his Game and disqualified. If he works well he stays for trial time and is certified. The idea of trials is just to test gameness.
In under the ground the dog is in the dark, on his belly or back fighting. He cannot avoid punishment like on top where he can manoeuvre himself out of punishment and use his ability over an inferior opponent. In this way he avoids punishment and he can see what he is doing on top. plus, he has the support of the handler. If he comes out of holds in badger work, or makes a turn his days of being worked as a game dog are over and he is either sold or put down. It is a sport for honor not money.
But is interesting to note that dogs that have quit working the badger will fight other dogs much heavier than themselves, and take bad abuse from dogs on top and have gone up to 1.5 hours and not quit or lost. This used to be an unsolved question for all of us over here. No, man knew, and still not many man know this truth. Only the ones who were told. Why would a dog when he is schooled for badger work under ground not do six minutes and yet fight a heavier dog and take bad abuse for whatever time? Could it be that the badger game was a harder test for gameness then fighting dogs? There were several attempts to answer it but could not stand up to the truth. In England and Ireland at present a man has to be very careful with working dogs. As the laws of this land make it a prison offence to dig badgers.

Old Plymouth