WE don’t see many rats until the end of the shooting season nowadays so an invite to cull a few of these noxious pests is always welcome at this time of year.

A small disused rabbit warren under a straggling fence had become home to a family of rats on some farmland next to an old crew yard. We weren’t expecting any great numbers of scaly tails to be in residence as there simply wasn’t enough food available in the surrounding area to feed vast numbers of the critters.

However, I really wanted to get ‘Beetle,’ my little black dog, entered to rats come hell or high water. At just over a year old she has been increasingly desperate to find something more than just the odd rabbit in brambles.

I think we went to this warren with slightly too many cooks and the broth would have been well and truly spoiled if all the dogs hadn’t an excellent working relationship to begin with.

A slightly less confident young terrier than ‘Beetle’ would have been somewhat overawed at the excitement the smell of old rattus engendered in my older terriers but the little black dog flew straight at the nearest entrance to the warren with all the fire of a heat seeking missile on target.

Five terriers to seek out a few rats was definitely overkill in this situation and the moment they scented their quarry below ground all hell broke loose as each and every one started digging in a frenzy of flying earth and leaves, and ‘Beetle,’ who had never even seen a rat before, was the first to bury her head in a hole, a position she didn’t relinquish until she made contact with her first rat.

Good breeding, ancestral memories or simply instinct? Whichever it was young ‘Beetle’ knew exactly what she wanted and her determination meant that the other terriers just couldn’t get a look in at her particular hole, wedged in as she was to the shoulders and shovelling earth back as fast as any badger intent on finding a wasp’s nest full of grubs!

Of course the warren was conveniently situated amidst the roots of a straggling hawthorn hedge, roots which were chopped through with a spade, or in one case severed by ‘Tim’ the Russell’s disproportionately large teeth – teeth which are powered by broadly muscled jaws more akin to those of a Bulldog! 

A root the thickness of a broom handle was snapped almost immediately in two sending ‘Tim’ flying backwards into the other terriers like a cork out of a bottle.

Undeterred he flew back into the fray and muscled his way to the front once more for a follow up attack on the rest of the roots. It was ‘Tim’s’ first time ratting as well and at 16 months of age he was more than ready for a wee skirmish with ratty.

It always amuses me to see terriers digging from all angles, scenting their prey so close but yet so far. ‘Tim’ and ‘Beetle’ were both digging from opposite sides of the fence and when their noses met in the middle of the tube their expressions were quite comical to see.

But only a second later ‘Beetle’ shot forward and grabbed a rat that had backed into a side tunnel, pulling it out and dispatching it as though she had been ratting all her life.

The battle scarred old bitch ‘Sonic’ was steadily making inroads at the base of a hawthorn bush, though several times I had to prise the packed earth from behind her upper and lower incisors where it became packed solid, preventing the dog from closing her mouth at all.

Her efforts were soon rewarded as she closed with her rat.

Andy, the human digging element of the team, chopped steadily away at the edges of the holes in his contribution to speed up proceedings, though his progress was hampered by the ‘too many cooks’ all trying to dig at once. 

Professional and seamless this effort was not! Though I don’t think the terriers minded one bit as they were just over the moon to be digging to rats.

It just shows that the basic instinct of digging for prey is so deeply engrained in nearly all terriers that they need very little experience to embrace the occasion whole heartedly. Providing they have been well socialised there can be few terriers that would not enjoy a rat hunt immensely.

I was also pleased to see that each time a rat was extricated from its refuge there was only one quick rag on the carcass before each terrier returned to the chore of digging for more.

There was no prolonged crunching on deceased pests, something which annoys me just a little as in a more productive situation you will be losing rats whilst the terriers munch on those already terminated.

Our friend’s young Lakeland was also showing great interest although. She had never met my dogs before and she soon joined in to help, though she’d found things a bit too hectic to begin with, not understanding what all the fuss was about.

We were surrounded by thick vegetation which meant that the terriers had to take each rat as they reached it or there’d be no chance of a catch once it hit cover, and we did lose two in this way.

I feel somewhat diffident in telling you our final tally but I have to admit that our mighty pack of warriors only found four rats at home! Plus the two that bolted unseen from missed bolt holes. A far cry from the wheelbarrows full I have taken many years ago from grain stores and barns.

But (and that ‘but’ is all important) I’d finally managed to get ‘Beetle’ and ‘Tim’ entered to rat and this small success will bode well for future efforts in somewhat more testing conditions.

And the terriers were happy with their small success and ‘kids in a sweetshop’ was the phrase that sprang to mind when I looked at their bright eyes and wagging tails.  Roll on the end of the shooting season!