Mossdog

Next time I'm looking at purchasing a pup I'll ask the breeder for a discount as I need a new shooting jacket and wellingtons. I thought all Scotsmen would do that anyway!.......Or you could be lucky and find a breeder who charges a sensible price for proven working stock, then you won't have to ask.

I sympathise, David. It's a vicious circle to break out of, because rising pup prices mean rising stud fees and I've been told by vets that while some of the health checks are expensive, others are not, but the certificate pads that the vets have to use to record the results are just ridiculously priced, so they have to pass that on to the owners. Viszlas seem to have exploded in popularity as pets too, recently. I wonder if this has pushed the price up, because there is a demand from people prepared to pay that sort of money? It's counter-productive in the long term (to me, anyway) becaus

I've not been logged on here for ages, but I agree with the OP: prices are getting silly. For a breed to be healthy and fit for purpose, it needs a wide genepool and it needs to be bred primarily by people who use the dog regularly for the task it was bred for (not for a competition based on the original task) I'm by no means anti-health testing, but I'd rather buy a pup locally where I can see as many relatives as possible at work in the field, or at least hear of them from people I trust, who have seen them working regularly - than buy a pup from a complete stranger with all the necessar

Thank you Bosun. your take on them is the same as mine - except I love em to bits! I'm desperately looking for another one, but they all seem to be KC registered and around £800!!! (and much bigger and slower than the sort you used to see round Ormskirk)

If she's keen to work and you're keen to give it a go - then why not?

Yes, Rob. My last Irish was an ex-show dog. My personal preference is for a dog that goes back to the older Irish and northern English lines. My old dog went back to Teltown, Swinpen and Bens Heir, with Edbrios further forward. They do vary a lot in appearance and temperament. I wanted an Irish Terrier first and foremost as a guard dog to travel with me on my rounds and keep me company and anything after that I regarded as a bonus. My only regret is that I didn't have him from a puppy, or at a time when I had more opportunity to work him, because now I've seen more bushng dogs and working

ive never seen one in the flesh Shaaark either only listened to the tales about my grandads dog and if the tales were true it took many a long tail of lord derbys estate in merseyside there is a dutch fella who has been breeding with some imported dogs in the lines. i have had a brief chat to him and he has invited me down to see the dogs and have a good talk to him. it maybe intresting. i dont know if anyone has actually purchased one with some sort of work in mind When someone says 'work' - just make sure they don't mean "I let my dogs off the lead and they do what the heck they want

Irish Terriers change hands for what can only be described as 'silly money' these days! There are a couple of guys who claim they are breeding 'working' Irish Terriers, but personally, I wouldn't pay close to £1,000 for a dog that is bred from just the same lines as the show dogs and there are no 'working' lines left. Having said that, the show lines can and have been trained to the gun, as search and rescue dogs, deer-tracking dogs and bushing dogs, so you just have to make your choice and do your research. The good points are that a good Irish is intelligent, trainable, can be very soft-

Another thing! The breed standard says the ideal weight for fully grown dogs is 25lbs. There are a lot of over-sized Irish around - but as they are too big to go to ground anyway, I guess it's not a big deal. Realistically, an adult male of around 20" at the shoulder can be a hefty beast - and there are a lot of over-weight Irish about!

I can shed some light (not a lot, admittedly!) First up, as most of you know, Irish are never and will never be 'working terriers' in the true sense, in that they don't have the build or the character to go to ground. Due to many years of being bred for the show ring and having their show hey-day when the show brigade thought terriers should be on their toes, bursting with nervous aggression and flying off the handle every 2 seconds (because that's how they interpreted 'gameness' - doh!) Irish do need to be allowed to mix with and find their place in the world with a lot of steady dogs as yo

I went along because it was fairly local and I was just curious about Plummer terriers. I found a really great little show with a friendly crowd and a judge who seemed to know his stuff. Nobody pretended it was anything other than a dog show - or that success in the ring was a guarentee of success in the field. Everyone had their own opinions about which dogs they prefered and ringside was full of debate, but all friendly. Hunt, I have absolutely no idea who you are, but I can only assume you are working undercover for PETA, or some other militant anti-hunting group. Why do you think t

Thanks Poacher & Spec - sounds totally sensible to me (and I'm glad someone else thinks 'junior' food is a big fat scam! I don't want to become one of those awful dog-worriers who goes around analysing their dog's diet and questioning what everyone else feeds their dogs - especially as my older dog lives on chicken wings and scraps and whatever free samples I pick up if I'm out and about...He landed on my doorstep aged 7 months though, so I just wanted to double-check the puppy angle, in case I had got it all wrong. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, I'll be pestering you about trai

She moved in a fortnight ago! I went for a wooden kennel with sleeping and small covered area and quite a big run. So far, she's been very good, with just a bit of noise when she's first left - which I ignore and she packs it in after about 2 minutes. She's had some trips in the car, with the older dog and settles really well. All in all, I'm really pleased with her. She's very bold and inquisitive and getting bigger by the day...but I have another question.. I've had mixed advice about exercise and feeding. Exercise ranges from a cautious '5 minutes per month of the dog's life' to 'le

After 3 seasons of beating, I have finally agreed to have a springer. I collect my puppy in 3 weeks' time and I am still undecided about the bets living arrangements: each time I make up my mind, someone comes along and says, "oh no - you shouldn't do that...." What sort of kennel arrangements do other people have? What works well - and what might you do differently if you have the chance to start again from scratch? I was thinking of an enclosed area, with a plastic bed plus some Vetbed, with a pop-hole to a covered run and doors both from the enclosed area and from the run out into a

Yes - it's a serious forum for working terrier owners and I'm inviting you to a fun dog show! We (Irish Terrier Rescue) are holding our Ginger Fun Day on 5th September at 10.30am, Scarisbrick Village Hall, Smithy Lane, Scarisbrick near Ormskirk. It's a small, friendly little show with the Best Puppy, Best Veteran, Best Rescue and Best Condition all judged on how soundly made and physically fit the dogs are - so I for one would love to welocome a few working dogs After that, we have silly classes, like waggiest tail, sausage-catching, rat-catchers' relay etc. (don't worry - you ca