Thread: First animal for Candace

I took my whippet Candace for a walk in the hills yesterday. Even if she's a typical sighthound that only obeys when it suits her, she still has a good nose, and will probably be better than no dog. I've been toying with the idea of hunting with her more. The last couple of weeks I've taken her off leash until we get to our hunting zone, then tied her to my belt with a 2m tether so she doesn't run away and spook anything.

It was a glorious evening in Carterton when we set off. Candace had a ball running everywhere and eating blowflies and cicadas.


Then I noticed Candace had her head up, nostrils flaring, facing into the wind coming from our right. I figured 'I've brought her with me, I should pay attention' so we went down the spur we was looking down. 10 minutes later she stopped and looked intently down the ridge, nostrils flaring.

Then I heard the goat calling. I wanted a deer, but since Candace had gotten onto a goat I wanted to encourage her.

After a few false starts we managed to find a way down the spur. In a good spot I called back to the goat, and soon a Billy popped out from behind a tree. Chambering a round I dropped him, and he cartwheeled down the very steep slope.

Letting Candace off I told her to go find him. She ran off the wrong way! Eventually she crossed a point where he touched the ground on the way down, and bum in the air she went straight to him.

She didn't see him until she was a metre or so away, so intent she was on the scent. When she saw him she jumped backwards in fright then started barking, running away then barking again. The bush was filled with the barking and me laughing and trying to shut her up while still trying to be encouraging and making a fuss of her.

She really didn't know what to do with him, so there were links, sniffs etc. Oh and more barks at this thing that had the audacity to...just BE there!

She licked up some blood, but as it was getting late and she wasn't interested in the meat I offered, so I cracked open the gut bag and left him to the pigs/flies.

After we got up the slope a little, she couldn't resist racing back down the slope to give Billy one last piece of her mind, and, light failing and me trying not to laugh out loud, we made our way back to the car.

A successful trip, and first blood for the pup.


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