Bailielands Irish Glen Of Imaal Terriers and Jack Russells

Feeding Young Glens

Feeding Adult Glens

Health Care

Exercise  

Grooming

Stripping Out The Coat

The Kennel Cupboard

General Training For The Glen

Training the Working Glen

A high quality dry complete food forms the basic diet of our Glens.

We favour high performance quality greyhound feeds.

A feed with a protein content of 27 to 28% and an oil content of 10 to 12% forms the basic grub for our babies.

Our personal and lasting favourite for the growing babes is Red Mills Racer.

At home we begin weaning young Glens before the first teeth are in only onto liquids for fear the mother's milk may fail (not happened yet) or she may lose serious condition and having them able to lap is a great help even at 3 weeks.

We keep goats for this contingency and also big tubs of milk replacers for sheep and goats in case our goats are not able to spare much at a given time.  Raw goats milk or freshly made up milk replacer is mixed with honey, a teaspoon to a mug of milk to the babies from 3 weeks and if they want it they will take it.

Solid food is not offered until the teeth are in, nature has not intended them to take solids until then any way.  High protein biscuit is presoaked in goat's milk and honey or milk replacer and honey and offered to  the babies when the teeth are in.

When they are going well on that, fresh raw meaty bones dusted with wheat bran (for roughage) and wheatgerm (for goodness and vits) is offered, they usually really like that!

By the time babies are ready to move on at 8/9 weeks, they are feeding well on raw meaty bones, soaked high protein feed and are provided with a week or two's supply of biscuit and milk powder to help them get started in their new homes.

Now a young growing Glen can be kept on the milk drinks and honey until 4 to 6 months, and the high protein feed or puppy meal until 10 to 12 months.  Some young Glens will throw hot spots and become intolerant to the high protein sooner, depending on growth rate, genetics, climate and if kept indoors or out.  These youngsters need to go down to low protein feed quickly.  Others like Amhain could eat it for ever and keep packing on condition.

Often before puppies are due to leave, we start weaning them onto a good quality, locally avaiable puppy food like Pedigree Puppy Complete for simplicity of changeover later on, our own babies are reared on Red Mill's Racer, an Irish brand.

Don't give extra supplements, they are unnecesary and dangerous at this stage, good quality feeds have everything needed, it is better sometimes to grow a Glen slowly and steadily than overnourish them e.g. the Glen Babies, on low protein feeds since 5 months (hot spots) but still bulking up with lots of fresh meat but no more milk.  

Some folks do have tremendous bother finding a feed to suit their Glens.  Some Glens throw hot spots and other go mad chewing their itchy feet, legs and tail on unsuitable feeds.

Sooty is our most abreactable Glen, I think because she mostly lives indoors (yes she cries if left too long outside, I know Ian if you are reading this I have been warned over and over) she is not metabolically burning off her feed at the same rate as the others, but I think genetics have something to do with it.  Her Glen Baby clone, Sraotha has had hot spots already, where her hard coated sister, Sona is always clear.  Sraotha is soft coated and so like Sooty in looks and mannerisms it is weird.

Now Sooty has been through various veterinary treatments, I forget what steroids (ugh!) etc., a fortune in Aloe Vera gel (really good though), Holistic Organic Meals (Burns), various different homemade diets and commercial diets, and the gist is....

Keep her protein content low, low, low when the weather warms up at all and her exercise levels up,up,up.  Aloe Vera gel for itchy bits and Green Clay for nasty overscratched bits, she has been free of hot spots all last year and  so far this year, and she also abreacts to flea bites so the regular regime of Frontline has got rid of that.

In general, our adult (12 months +) Glens get a 18 to 20% protein feed, with fresh meaty bones and green tripe, and we have gone a bit overboard lately and allowed some of them to get shamefully fat (Wolfie, doh!).  But Glens do love their grub and it is hard to say no.  Be aware of this, the eyes say they are starving even though the gut is trailing the ground!

At the moment our favourite adult glen biscuit is Dr. John's Silver Medal.

We feed 1 cup daily to our adults who also recieve a daily ration of fresh meaty bones or tripe.  If you do not feed additional meat or tripe feed about 2 cups daily to an active Glen.

For very bad feeders, who hot spot to everything we developed a home made diet based on a set proportion of raw meat, balanced with porridge oats, and stewed vegetables, if you are having BIG trouble, contact us for the recipe if you like. 

Glens are generally sturdy and resilient dogs and suffer very little ailments. The key is to remember these were a poor man's dog for centuries, very basic feeding, plenty of exercise and work, hardy outdoor life with NO additional heating in the kennels, house Glens will often lie at a draughty external door to keep cool, certainly not able for the myriad of chemicals we employ in a household, air fresheners,  floor cleaning agents, detergents etc., these chemicals can upset your Glen and cause allergies and hot spots.  Keep it natural as much as possible.

Vaccinations are vital, have your puppy fully vacinated and subsequently exposed to the outside world according to your vet's reccomendations and follow a sensible and practical booster programme.  See to a regular worming and endosecticide regime also to allow your Glen to enjoy full health. 

Country Glens should have additional leptospirosis protection if they live in an area with a significant rat population or indulge in ratting.

Do not allow your Glen to rat until the second set of teeth come in.

Working Glens should be regularly examined for signs of ringworm or mange as foxes are regularly infested. Good topical preparations are available from your vet to keep your Glen well, our foremost protector of the stock, Cailin has never suffered a day's blemish due to the diligent advice and reccomendations of our vet.

Regarding exercise for a young Glen the following is very important.

DO NOT allow a young Glen of under 12 months to overexert itself. Free play in the garden or exercise paddocks is perfect.

DO NOT put a lead on young Glen and road walk it for 15 mins or more. A young Glen is inclined to amble naturally, walking, stopping, a forced trot is not good when young as they are extremely heavy boned for their size and you can ruin their fronts.

Short walks are necessary with a young Glen to teach a young dog about the outside world and confirm lead training outside the home enviroment.  But young Glens will soldier on and it is easy to overestimate their capabilities.

An adult Glen will walk and walk when built up to it and is a most excellent companion on long country rambles.  Or alternatively will enjoy a saunter through town enjoyinng the sights and the attention their remarkable appearance attracts.

Do keep on a lead near livestock or under strict control, it is not right to allow a dog to startle livestock or upset them, ours are reared with goats and poultry, and the neighbour's cattle and are familiar with finding such beasts on our walks,  if yours are not, keep them on a lead until well past.

Now a word to the wise here, this is NOT an article on show grooming.  

THIS is about maintenance grooming of the pet and working Glen.

Many thanks to Kate Bentzen of Bilbo Glens for her wonderful demonstration on show grooming at the club show on March 18th 07.

Basic Grooming Equipment:

Long Haired Dog Moulting comb (e.g. Hicraft)

Large Soft Slicker Brush

Small Soft Slicker Brush

Coarse Stripping Comb (e.g. Mikki)

Wire Haired Dog Shampoo

Optional Grooming Equipment:

Matt Splitter (e.g. Mikki)

Plastic Curry Brush for horses

If I was to Buy and Use ONLY 1 Item for Glen Grooming That Would be.....

Long Haired Dog Moulting Comb

Basic Daily Grooming:

If you have more than one dog, only groom one at a time away from the others to avoid jealousy.

Postion your dog somewhere comfortable for you to work with him, perhaps you are lucky enough to have a grooming table or if not a sturdy old table with an old rubber car mat tacked to it can do.  If none of the above and working with your Glen on the ground, try positioning him on steps to get him close to you without too much bending down or find something low to sit on and work with your Glen on the ground.

Start with the large slicker brush, brushing the the back, flanks and upper legs thoroughly down to the skin.  Be aware that the slicker brush is made of wire, so don't go mad on thin coated areas.  Remove the fluff that gathers on the brush by rubbing the bristles with the heel of your hand from the top to the bottom of the brush in the direction the bristles bend not the other way it may hurt!

Use the small slicker brush for the face, tail and lower legs.

Use the comb to work through longer haired areas and loosen up areas of hair not fully worked through by the slickers.  The comb is good for working through a long beard if your glen has one.

Use the stripping comb to whip out any tats or matts under the arms, jaw, tail and belly.  If you find a large matt, break it up into little ones with the comb and your fingers first or use the matt splitter as per manufacturer's instructions.

Check inside the ears and if they are hairy in there, remove the hairs a few at a time with the stripping comb until hair free, GENTLY.

Remove any long hair on the face in front of the eyes with the stripping comb to avoid crusting of the eyes when long hair irritates them.

Keep hair short under the tail to avoid 'dirty bum' syndrome or as more impolitely known here at home 'sh*tty *rs*' syndrome... 

If your dog appears to have scurf use the plastic horse curry brush to massage the coat and skin gently to loosen it thoroughly before brushing out with a slicker brush and think about adding oil to diet, e.g small tin of sardines in oil once a week!!!!

For bathing when needed try to get a wire haired dog shampoo, but any suitable general shampoo will do, do not use flea shampoo if your dog wears a flea collar or is treated topically e.g. frontline for fleas etc. 

Now you don't need to be a professional dog groomer to keep your dog tidy enough for general home life. 

If you are physically unable to strip the Glen and do have to use a dog groomer do not let him/her touch the dog with a clippers, they MUST be stripped to keep the coat right.

The coat is in two parts or layers, the outer and under coat. The outer coat is stripped away fully or in part to expose the undercoat.

There will come a time when your Glen's hair will have grown to a length where when you take a few hairs between finger and thumb, they just pull away ever so easily from the skin.  The coat may be quite long by now and may be matting quite easily.  Now is time to strip.

You can just use your finger and thumb to strip the coat or a coarse stripping comb the choice is yours.

Taking a small bit at a time, just pluck out the long hairs gently and if your dog objcets at frst, give him a good scratch on the stripped areas as you go and be gentle.  You don't have to do the whole dog at once a little a day over several days will do but he will look a bit weird half stripped.  If the coat is truly ready it will nearly fall out into your hands and the job can be done quite quickly.

For general home life we take all the coat out, face, neck, body, legs, belly and tail and completely strip the dogs twice a year as the coat needs it.

For show it is a whole different method.  Allowing hair to remain long on some parts and keeping it short on others.

Now first the usual disclaimers, anything you read here is of educational and referential interest, it is no substitute for direct veterinary treatment,  most interventions must be practised under direct veterinary supervision. 

Do NOT delay if your dog is 'off' in any way and you have no clue what is going on, get him to your vet.  Your vet is your and your dog's best pal, so make sure you get a good one!

Wormers

A vast number of wormers are available, our kennel favourite is Panacur. 

A 2.5% suspension is available from your vet for treatment of the family pet.  The active ingredient is Fenbendazole.  Fenbendazole is an excellent wormer but should be used properly, do NOT overdose as worms will become immune to it.  Overdosing is not harmful to your pet but it is a shame to allow worms to become immune to a very effective broad spectrum wormer.

In kennel situations it is possible to use Panacur 10% suspension 1l or greater to treat dogs.  The Panacur 10 % can be bought at a farm or veterinary supplies for cattle and horse dosing.  Adult Dogs are treated with Panacur 10% at a rate of 1 ml per kg body wt.  Puppies can be treated at a rate of  0.5 ml per kg body weight for 3 days in a row.  Pregnant moms can be treated at a rate of 0.25 ml per kg body weight for 5 days in a row.

Panacur is quite yuck and it is a good idea to fast your dog fully or partially the day before treatment and deliver the dose in a small amount of exceptionally yummy food like very not-kosher tinned food w gravy etc., to make sure your pet gets it down then give normal food ration.

It is of course possible to dose puppies directly with a syringe easily and comfortably in a short time, but adults soon despise it and require large amounts, so fasting and mixing is very effective as panacur is well worth the effort for its broad spectrum action.

Flea Treatments

Our kennel favourite is spray on Frontline. 

Usable on little tiny puppies, pregnant mums, poorly and delicate dogs etc. Frontline will go after fleas, ticks and mites. 

Depending on your repeat applications it will thoroughly eradicate the above and again can I say it enough is gentle enough for little babies from 4 days old.

Mange Treatments

The best is Aludex, the wash.  Use per manufacturer's and vet's instructions for the treatment of harvest, sarcoptic or demodectic mange.

The other treatment favoured by vets except for collies, collie crossbreeds or related breeds of dog is Ivomectin. 

Injectable Noromectin can be used at 0.1 ml per 5k body weight, also effective against fleas, bloodsucking lice, and roundworms. 

Ivomectin is not licensed for dog treatment in Ireland or the UK but is a licensed treatment for heartworm in the USA for dogs. 

 It is best used by the subcutaneous injection route.

Superficial Skin Injuries

Handy Stuff :

Organic Aloe Vera Jelly with Tea Tree Oil

Green Clay

Savlon Wound Wash

Savlon Cream

Germolene Cream with Local Anaesthetic

Round Ended Surgical Scissors

Tea Tree Essential Oil

For scrapes, bumps and scratches consider the old faithfuls, Aloe Vera Jelly with Tea Tree Oil and the other old faithful Green Clay. 

Apply either liberally to scrapes, bumps and bruises. 

Consult with your vet for the use on more serious injuries. 

Green clay has been highly effective for preventing severe scarrings after surgery, or severe injury.  Green Clay also draws inpurities like nobodies business.... putrid wounds, gangrene, boils, septic wounds etc.   You can apply the wet Green Clay thickly to the wound about 2 or 3 cm deep and cover with a pad of cotton wool held in place with a loosely woven gauze dessing or for extra extra security.. vetrap.  Change twice daily for very noxious wounds, once daily for nasty septic ones.  The Geen Clay poultices altough messy will draw amazing amounts of poison, pus and dead tissue from really foul wounds and i recommend you make up the clay from dry with spring water (bottled if you have to) and keep it in the fridge until needed.  The relief the cold clay brings to an inflamed wound is much better when chilled in the fridge, and it is a a definite MUST HAVE!!!!

Aloe vera jelly is effective in soothing hot spots and preventing scratching or aggravation of stitches. Talk to your vet!

For Working Injuries

Handy Stuff as above:

First thing wash out eyes with plain water, when your dog is comfortably home, now wash out wounds with  a solution of Savlon Wound Wash, when bottle is done you can refill it with Savlon diluted accordingly, usually 1/2 cap to a 100ml bottle diluted with cooled boiled water. 

Check for deep puncture wounds and flush thoroughly with wound wash, clip away surrounding hair if necessary with round ended surgical scissors.   

Apply Organic Aloe Vera Gel with Tea Tree Oil Gel to Wounds at least once daily after spraying with wound wash.

Any abrasions and cuts should soon dry up and heal, most being healed fully after a week.

The Aloe Vera gel and Tea Tree oil is very strongly antibacterial, abcessing rarely occurs.

For a deep puncture wound, you can aslo apply a Green Clay poultice on damp cotton wool, held in place with conforming bandages.

As an alternative dressing for wounds, use fresh sphagnum moss coated with aloe vera gel held in place with conforming bandages or vetrap, changed twice daily, this is an amazing treatment for healing without scarring and as cleanly and naturally as possible.

Complementary Helps!

What a wonder is Garlic!  Crushed cloves of fresh garlic in a garlic press, expressing the juice and crushing the flesh of the garlic to release the active ingredients or garlic capsules prepared for human consumption. 

Garlic is a blessed herb for dogs, horses and humans.  Good for the wind, immune system and natural repellent of fleas.

Apply 1/4 fresh pressed clove garlic to dog meal/biscuit allowance and add hot waterand soak until all soft about 2 hrs, mix and feed.  Repeat this process every 3 days for an adult Glen.

OR adminster 1 human garlic capsule daily!

Here's a section I've been looking forward to writing a long time, but have postponed over & over again.  But now no more postponing.

Clicker Training

Possibly best innovation in dog training ever!

I love Clicker Training so much because it lets you communicate PRECISELY with your dog 'Yes! that's what i want !' 

It encourages your dog to take such an active part in training you will be amazed at how intelligent your dog really is.  Clicker Training gets your dog to figure out what you want, to problem-solve. 

Your job is to set up training exercises broken down into suitable sized steps or chunks that can be followed by your dog well enough to lead to the desired skills. 

It is positive training & motivational, the emphasis in training is on what you want & is based on the dog's desire to take part in the learning. 

Once you get the hang of it is an invaluable training method. 

Your dog will love it too. 

A dog of ANY age or prior training experience can adapt to Clicker Training. 

You can also Clicker Train horses, parrots, cats, dolphins even pet FISH!

Some Initial Reading :

Gary Wilke's Excellent Excellent Site  www.clickandtreat.com/Clicker_Training/ClickStart/clickstart.htm

www.clickertrain.com/getstarted.html

Karen Pryor's Site! www.clickertraining.com

Ed Frawley's Fantastic Site, my favourite.  Leerburg kennels trains working shepherds for police, search & rescue etc. www.leerburg.com/pdf/markers.pdf  and www.leerburg.com/pdf/theoryofmotivation.pdf

The Bailielands Take On Clicker Training

Best way to explore these exercises to read them one at a time & get the hang of them, then get your dog, your clicker & your treats & do them.

First Step ; Working Out a Treat Hierarchy

Treats need to be very very small. 

About 3 or 4 of them can fit on a euro coin.

They need to be eaten quickly so your dog can focus better on the learning & what to do next. 

Examples: cooked chopped sausage, cooked chopped steak, pieces of hard cheese (e.g. cheddar), chopped burger, tiny pieces of fresh raw meat, small pieces of commercial treats that are soft (e.g schmackos) they need to be very tasty & small & soft.

Get together a collection of 4 or 5 types of treats you think your dog might like & with your dog out of the room prepare 4 or 5 separate little heaps ( a few pieces in each not a REAL heap). 

Now let your dog in & see which ones he eats first, second etc. 

Put him out again & make new little piles with the treats arranged in a different order. 

Let him in again & record his preferences. 

Repeat the process again & see if you are getting any consistency in his likes. 

If not try again another time preferably when he is not too full & not too hungry. 

Now when you have an order of preference, it might look like this 1. steak 2. cheese 3.sausage 4. burger.

So if you are not getting enough attention from your dog in training you can move up the table to a higher value treat & if you are getting too much attention on the food from your dog to the extent he can't concentrate too well on his learning move down the table. 

Prefences can change so you can repeat this exercise every week if your dog is training intensively, several sessions every day or monthly if training casually, once a day or every other day.

Second Step ; Priming The Clicker

Now you've bought your clicker, and selected your treats, perhaps no 3 on the hierarchy. 

Its time to teach your dog the meaning of the click. 

Do not ever ever click the clicker at this stage without rewarding the dog with a treat, even if someone else accidently plays with it in front of your dog, go & get him a nice treat asap.  (Do YOU hear me Tommy!) 

In fact put it on a cord around your neck & put it on when you get up in the morning and take it off last thing at night, when training intensively(which i bloody have to do or CERTAIN people mess with it) 

Get your treats ready, perhaps you are going to put them in your pocket or in a bait bag around your waist or just put them up out of reach on a window sill or shelf.

Get your clicker handy & get your dog, let's begin.

1.  For no reason at all, click the clicker, pause a second & offer a treat to your dog.

2.  Now, wait a few seconds & when your dog looks at you, click straight away, pause a second & offer a treat. 

Do not move your hand towards the food whether in your pocket, in a bait bag or on the window sill, until a second has passed. 

Count it ..."Click, 1 and 2, treat". 

This second connects the treat to the click, not the treat to any unconscious hints you may give by moving your hands etc. 

This second is also processing time for the dog, to allow him to work out that what ever action he just did is what earned the treat, before he becomes distracting by eating & forgets what he did. 

3.  Wait a little while again and when he looks you in the eye, click, pause and treat again.

4. Wait & then when he looks you in the eye again, click, pause and treat (c/t). 

5. Repeat step 4 until you see your dog seeking to make eyecontact with you and coming over expecting his treat....bam! Connection.

6. OK, now your dog appears to have made the connection between the treat and what you wanted.

Now test him out by seeing if he will perform the action 10 times in a row.  

Can you see why the treats will need to be very small, you are rewarding often during training.

If he falters at any point, go back in your count of 10 in a row & continue until he succeeds 10 times in a row, flawlessly, have a JACKPOT(lots of treats) on the 10 to celebrate & pet him & praise him & play with him.

7. Its time to extend him a little. 

Now instead of making it easy for him to connect visually with you make it slightly harder. 

AVOID eye contact, now, look away, but don't move away. 

If he cottons on & moves himself over to make eyecontact with you, click & JACKPOT him, & praise him with lots of enthuasiastic verbal praise & petting.

8.  Wait a few seconds, and avoid eyecontact again, if he seeks you out, c/t & repeat this step 10 times in a row to test his understanding. remember to restart the count if he falters & JACKPOT on no. 10 & make a massive fuss of him etc.

9.  Its time to AVOID eyecontact by physically moving away from him so he must really work to seek you out. 

If he gets this 10 times in a row, it is time for the last step.

10.  Now, and only now is it actually time to NAME the exercise. 

Contrary to conventional methods the name or CUE for the exercise is placed on  the exercise only when the dog has it to perfection, which shows you how we can communicate perfectly well through wordless methods, us & our dogs, words are human things. 

When you set up the exercise this time & just before you know he is going to make eyecontact with you, say 'Watch Me!' & c/t JACKPOT when he does. 

Test as always with the 10 in a row success test to confirm.

WATCH ME is a very very useful command, gaining your dogs attention is a preliminary to most training & a useful distractor in certain circumstances.  I love teaching this to tiny pups at 6 weeks, seeking your eyecontact by bouncing around becomes a very fun game & is a preliminary to free heeling, moving around to stay in contact with the handler, not the handler running after the dog!

STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION...

Selecting a Pup

We will begin this article with the acquisition of a young Glen pup, perhaps 6 to 8 weeks or older. 

We suggest you make your decision on which pup to pick based on some simple tests to examine boldness of nature, prey drive, curiousity and ability to forgive.  These simple tests are similar to the selection tests applied to young pups of working breeds for protection and police work.  The basic nature of a pup is well formed at 8 weeks and with appropriate rearing and training will only continue to blossom.

How to perform the tests?

Beginning To Awaken The Prey Drive

The Prey Drive is the instinct that will most influence your dog's working career. This is his innate or inbuilt desire to hunt.

The prey drive is completely separate to the defensive drive (protecting self and pack members) and the sexual/dominance drive (dog-dog aggression).  The prey drive sends the dog after squeaky toys, chasing birds and cats, running for a ball, the prey drive is the dog/wolf joy in running after that which runs away or squeals enticingly.  If you understand this you can encourage this instinct in your pup or dog.

The defensive drive may sometimes come out of fear but preferably in working protection dogs is confident and sure, protection of persons and territory being done out of sure knowledge of the duty of care to the pack.A dog that is defensive from fear is dangerous and unpredictable.

The sexual/dominance drive prompts males and females to 'joust' and 'hip test' each other to assess whether the other (same sex) is a real threat to his/her status or not.  Dog - Dog fighting is often spurred by this drive and in real fighting dogs this instinct has been selected for above all others.

So a hunting dog is acting from a different motivation and instinct to a guard dog and a pit dog, hence how placid are hounds and gundogs!!!!

So the myth perpetuated in the West here is that hunting dogs are vicious and dangerous is ridiculous and untrue, but then again it is propaganda aimed at ending all hunting etc. and so does not need to be true but only scandalising!!

You see i once was an anti, a vegetarian.  I have an honours degree in Zoology, Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry.  The study and kinship of animals is my life.  When i began to keep more than one dog and witnessed myself the interaction between dogs, their communication, pack order and hierarchy, their instincts and drives, only then did i begin to see.  Before i was imposing my own human viewpoint on dogs and other animals, i did not realise how nature and reality is independent of our judgements, it exists period.  Whether we consider the killing of the mother dove by a hawk in sight of her chicks cruel does not alter that reality.  That many animals hunt and kill outside of hunger, sexual advantages and territoriality!!! not just man. Hunting is pleasurable to many animals and even when well fed they will do it for fun??? Perhaps but again we are imposing human values.  You see lets look at what is in front of us, independent of our fleeting and inconsistent emotions.  One thing really worth looking at is your dog... the easiest studied animal species of all, because he lives so closely with us, but most misunderstood because we assume we know what he is thinking....or doing... instead of seeing him as he is independent of all our doggy assumptions and accumulated wisdom of dogs...

Enough of that 

One of the primary joys of a Young Glen's play is to PULL.  If you can acquire a fox's brush to play tug games with your baby from an early age, it will surely do no harm. And is surely an excellent and sensible tool in the early training of a working Glen. Glens have the desire to pull in them from an early age and this is their most valuable skill, being able to fence for a good hold and back out, quarry coming with them.  Encourage it as babies by giving tug toys and preferably fox's brushes as toys, rabbit skins are also useful for puppy games.

A squeaky toy can inspire many youg pups and older dogs to action , the more heart rending and agonising the squeak the better!  Perhaps the dog wants to feel he is inflicting some damage, you should read the story of the Westie and the Giant Ball that Kept Squeaking in Jan Fennell's Dog Listener.....Brilliant!

You can progress onto hide and seek type games with the fox's brush, throwing it for the puppy at first, encouraging him to 'Go Get It'.  Later taking the brush and while someone holds his collar laying a short scent trail for him with it and hiding it first of all in easy spots and later in harder and harder ones.  You can make use of dark and narrow hiding places for the brush as puppy gets better and better, behind corrugated sheets of iron, under pallets, through pipes etc.  Use your common sense and approach your puppy's development as a working dog as earnestly as a good trainer trains a gundog or sheepdog.  Too many terriers are just thrown at the quarry and too much left to chance.  A dog is an excellent learner and you can build on your pup's natural ability enormously by well thought out and practical training. 

Allowing The Pup To Learn By Example : ( How Dogs Learn!!!!!!)

At 3 to 4 months a young dog can be allowed to watch older dogs hunt and dispatch rats, to start building on puppies early learning.

In the pack a pup wolf or otherwise would start to follow the pack at some stage when still young, and LEARN how to hunt by watching the older ones, what to hunt, where to find them, how to approach them, how to run them down, how to kill them.  Think like a dog and you will see....

Do not allow the puupy to participate until second teeth are in, if you can.  Accidents occasionally happen and if they do, see the pup always has success.  Building knowledge now of how live quarry  is approached, do not let the pup take part until his own second teeth come in but you can allow the pup to play with the dead rat after as long as all vaccinations are up to date, do not let him eat it though!

The First Try For Live Game

At 6 months and after puppy can be allowed to try for a live rat, but not very big, a young one is best, don't have another dog present at the time as it's presence may now inhibit the pup and make him reluctant to take the iniative, unless his or her mother perhaps. With Glens, you want to keep them moving forward, build 'forward thinking' in them, not hesitation but true spirit and self belief, later you will teach prudence and wisdom, but not yet! 

Moving On

Don't let them go too far too fast as you may damage their youthful enthuasiasm, always pace them well within the level of their abilities so they can develop timing and sense with determination and perseverence, until they become a mature and formidable worker.  With young Glens it helps to always leave them wanting more, not to overface or exhaust them.  After the age of 2 a regularly worked terrier is beginning to become a very useful dog.  Hopefully time has taught him what to expect and how to handle a variety of situations, and that he is eager for work and not soured by his experiences.

STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION