902 rats in one morning! Is it a world record? Ratting with terriers Part 1 of 3

What. A. Shift!!
All dogs absolutely excelled today. They are currently all well fed and resting up. Each of the dogs has been thoroughly cleaned and checked over for any cuts, bites or knocks that need monitoring by the owners.
The dogs are the heart of our pack and their welfare is absolutely our number one priority, not only as working dogs but as the family pets.
The farmer called us in and wanted a clearance of the vermin, rats had been destroying the pigs feeders and water supply lines, as well as eating the pig food and chewing holes in the housing.
The farm was clear of livestock so we had 100% access to all areas wherever the rats had made their own.
We had a teleporter and machine operator on hand to lift and move anything out of the way. The field was set out in rows, each row has about 20 pig units running up the field. All units have a shelter with food and water, and a large outdoor space for each unit that is fenced off. On a normal visit we wouldn’t go inside the unit or the fence due to pigs being present.
On arrival the dogs immediately began marking the bases of the sheds. Some were digging underneath the shed, others went inside and the rats began to bolt. We gave the machine operator our instructions and signals for working around the dogs, we do this everytime to make sure the dogs (and humans!) are safe. Every movement from the machine is slow and calculated.
The first shed was lifted and BOOM!! Countless, I mean countless, rats were under it. Normally we carry buckets, a wheelbarrow or similar to collect the bodies up. After the first shed the buckets were full and we knew we would need the farmers pickup truck to come along to each shed to be used to collect the bodies!
Every shed was similar, rats dropping from all angles and the dogs putting in a massive shift.
After we had lifted a couple of sheds we stopped to give the dogs a drink and check them over. We did this multiple times throughout the day.
When the last shed was lifted we all needed a bit of a stock take of what had happened. A drink for everyone before ‘round 2’. This was the big clear up, where the sheds had been sitting the rats had made underground runs between the sheds. This is when the marking dogs came into their own, they were pulling rats out all over the place. As always - if the dogs mark, we dig!!!
Top work by everyone!