skycat
-
Content Count
7,517 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
15
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Articles
Gun Dealer's and Fieldsports Shop's
Reloading Room
Blogs
Calendar
Store
Classifieds
Everything posted by skycat
-
That instinct to work cattle is born in them, just the same as it is in sheep dogs: amazing! Apparently this is the first time this 2 year old colt had ever seen a cow/calf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=155zyN_ECnY&feature=related As a teenager, I had a pony who really wanted to work cattle: he'd round them up in his field, and try and keep them penned all by himself: he also killed rats in the stable: just smashed them to bits with his front hooves. I am fascinated by seeing the horse as a predator, rather than as a prey animal. There is so much more to them than a lot of people wo
-
Great little video of real cowboys at work in the USA: I love to see how well trained those horses are: they know the score.
-
now THAT could be interesting, though there's also that saying: there's no fool like an old fool
-
It's only banned in competition horses because of the anaesthetic effect it has: it contains benzyl alcohol : I copied this from another site: Contacted Sudocrem and received the following message from their Senior Medical Advisor... This is something that has been fascinating me for all the time I have worked at Forest with Sudocrem, and interestingly enough, I have received guidance recently. Your information has added to our knowledge set, and we can give you an answer which may clarify what is going on. Sudocrem antiseptic healing cream is licensed in the United Kingdom as a
-
All the very best to Craigy and his family. Stay strong.
-
Not wishing to be funny: but how can you be drawn to the water if you can't swim? What I mean is ... surely you wouldn't walk out into water out of your depth? Or is it a bit like someone wanting to jump off a great height: drawn to do it even though they know it will kill them? Like, 'hey man, I can fly!!'
-
I was always led to believe that bones become much harder once cooked, making them more indigestible, and therefore more likely to perforate the stomach or intestines.
-
Welcome to the horrible teenage stage! And yes, those changing hormones could also be responsible as well. Paulus is right: you need to engage her more with you. Play games, make yourself interesting, set tasks for her to solve: finding hidden dummy or toy; tug play: this rewards the dog for coming back to you in a way that satisfies her instinct to chase, grab, play. Get the pup obsessed with a particular item which you don't let her have access to on her own: only when you provide the game. Also, don't set yourself up for failure. If you know that she'll ignore you when there's oth
-
practice with my new grinder . knife blanks from files
skycat replied to midnight's topic in Countryside Skills, Craft & DIY
You shouldn't apologise for selling quality, hand crafted knives: it is just good to see so many people appreciating the work and creativity that goes into making these fine works of art. -
I used to go swimming in the old gravel pits, but I'm paranoid about something coming up to grab me from the depths If my foot touched some weed I'd be paddling like an Olympic racer (not!) away from that area as fast as possible. I think you're right Malt: there is something a bit sinister about still water, especially when you can't see under the surface, and of course, loads of people have drowned after getting caught up in weed. I even see my dogs panic a bit sometimes if they get amongst thick weed: they hate it as much as I do.
-
I've always thought the same as Chid: I've had the same 'family' of lurchers for over 20 years, but I wouldn't call them a line as I always out crossed, using different stud dogs to my bitches. The closest I bred was cousin to cousin. Yes, I bred for certain temperament and working traits, and I can identify particular traits right back to the original bitch I bought in, but I would be wary of calling them a line as such.
-
Thanks for the heads up: it's an ongoing nightmare. But surely if their van is on photo the plod could look out for them and stop them? Then again, I don't suppose they care too much: in their eyes it's only a dog, and not much chance of getting a conviction anyway by the look of things.
-
September and October seem to be the new July and August round my way
-
Yes, that's right: she was a lovely, lovely bitch, but not for me: she was very intelligent, easy to train, but just too soft and submissive for me. If I'd had her as an only dog we'd have been fine, but as one of several dogs older and more forceful than she was, she just wasn't able to shine as an individual. don't get me wrong, she was very happy with her position at the bottom of the pack, caught on the lamp, loved beating on the shoot, great retriever, but when push came to shove, she could have done with a few more gears and speed on the flat land I run on. She was very GSD in shape, and
-
Pups with lots of drive need stimulating in ways which don't involve each other. Very driven pups want to grab, fight, chase anything that moves. You'd be better off walking them on the lead together, as has already been suggested, but train/play with them individually to get rid of that energy in other ways. Once they realise that they can get enjoyment and energy burning exercise with you, as opposed to bashing into each other, they will calm down: eventually.
-
First and foremost I would always look at the temperament of the parents, and grand parents if possible. One of my very first lurchers, before I knew better, was born of a very nervous Greyhound bitch. The pup was a bit of a fruitcake from the start: spooking at all sorts of normal things: a spider coming down from the ceiling on its thread, bin bags at the side of the road if they rustled. I did get her over most of her problems, but ultimately, her nerves were against her ever behaving completely normally, and she was hard work all of her life, though not bad in the field. Nowadays I make s
-
Yes, that's right: she was a lovely, lovely bitch, but not for me: she was very intelligent, easy to train, but just too soft and submissive for me. If I'd had her as an only dog we'd have been fine, but as one of several dogs older and more forceful than she was, she just wasn't able to shine as an individual. don't get me wrong, she was very happy with her position at the bottom of the pack, caught on the lamp, loved beating on the shoot, great retriever, but when push came to shove, she could have done with a few more gears and speed on the flat land I run on. She was very GSD in shape, and
-
Lovely! That terrier always cracks me up: he takes a great photo LOL
-
It's all down to the initial training: how many lurcher owners actually put in the hours to train a pup to walk sensible on a loose lead? And I emphasise the word TRAIN. Most people just take the pup out, and do very little to actually control what the dog does, being of the attitude that if it is on a lead then it is under control. Bull crosses are high drive dogs, but so are many other breeds/types: it's all down to the training in the first place.
-
the law definitely needs to change: only recently there was that case of an old woman being tortured for hours to get her to give up the code to her safe, if I remember rightly. Nowadays, anyone in their house is rightly in fear of their lives the moment a burglar enters. Another thing, how many older people would feel able to swing a cricket bat, or lash out with a knife if confronting a burglar? Only someone trained in that type of hand to hand combat would feel comfortable using a 'weapon' at close quarters in this way. It's about time that people in their own homes are allowed to defend th
-
It is a sad fact that far too many lurchers, or any dogs for that matter, with dodgy temperaments are being bred from these days. If the parents had dodgy temperaments, or the grand-parents (traits often skip a generation) then it can come out in the pups. Too many people are breeding from dogs because they happen to 'like' a dog or want to make a bit of money. What someone might put up with in a pet dog, may not be suitable for a working dog. Ignorant 'back street' breeders are to blame in most cases of breeding from temperamentally unsound animals, and unfortunately, a lot of lurcher breed
-
Without actually seeing the dog in the flesh it is impossible to say for sure, but I'm afraid it does sound like an overly highly-strung temperament issue. There are some dogs which are so hyper sensitive that anything is likely to scare them, or one wrong move on your part and the dog fears punishment. With a dog like this, something as simple as tripping over it as a puppy, can be a lasting trauma which it carries with it for ever. If you and the dog aren't suited this can be a real problem. Are you a loud, big person? Maybe just the tone of your voice is enough to make the dog cower? We c
-
advice on terrier sickness
skycat replied to whippet 99's topic in Working Dog Health & Training Talk
All due to stress. Nearly all travel sickness is down to the pup or dog having a bad, frightening experience the first times it travelled. If it was just put in a dark box and left to get on with it, that could well be the cause. Some pups learn to travel OK being treated like this, on others it will create a traumatic stress response: all depends on the dog. In an ideal world, all pups should travel on someone's knee for the first few times they go in a vehicle, which allows them to get used to the noise, movement etc. But, there is more movement and noise at the rear of a vehicle: i -
I would not like to pick a pup before it is at least 6 weeks old. If the breeder insists that people pick their pups before then, walk away.
-
Yes, though if I knew I was lamping in the evening, I'd either feed late the night before, or a smallish meal that morning: not a full sized meal. I always feed my dogs around 10pm: unless we're out lamping. They only get a morning feed if they've worked very hard the previous night and I know we're going out again the next night. A very tired dog won't digest food very well, so a medium sized meal after lamping, and a small meal the next morning are better digested than one big meal after lamping. Works for me anyway.
