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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    Don't you just HATE fecking hyenas! I've seen so much footage of cheetahs running but it never fails to raise the hairs on the back of my neck. Why do I keep running dogs? It's a primitive thing isn't it. Killing things, eating what you kill. The whole cycle of life and death. I'd sooner eat what my dogs kill than buy a nice, plastic wrapped bit of meat in the supermarket. And the dogs eat better too LOL It's working with another species of animal to achieve the same goal, human brain combined with canine instinct: they can do what we can't: run fast.
  2. skycat
    I've got one: Border dam, Whippet sire. He is tiny: 17", not that fast but one of the best ferreting and cover dogs I've ever had. Brilliant nose, faces any cover: how he hasn't blinded himself I'll never know: although he's not yet 3 years old he has flushed most things, but it's ferreting where he impresses most. Consistent and accurate mark, catches bolters before they've gone a yard, retrieves to hand: I could go on LOL His only fault, if you could call it that, is that he isn't fast enough to catch running rabbits on top: different to some bolters which aren't as fast as one heading for
  3. skycat
    Didn't realise that you still had loads of snow up there! Soggy and horrible down here LOL. Well done for getting out and doing a bit of bunny bashing despite the weather.
  4. skycat
    The fact remains that those of use who live in countries where wolves are now extinct, probably have this wild and romantic image of these animals; an image fostered by countless wildlife programmes on TV. I guess I'd feel completely differently about them if they were killing my dogs or hanging around my home. There's always two sides to every story.
  5. skycat
    Did you see the amazing footage of a fox hunting in the snow? It was on the Yellowstone programme. It listens for the mouse or small rodent under the snow, then jumps high in the air before doing a perfect dive through the snow, right down to the mouse, with its hindlegs trailing behind it, just like a human diver: superb!
  6. skycat
    What I meant was that their behaviour is pretty much the same: quick on the turn, crafty, clever survivors. Easy enough to pick up out in the open with most lurchers if they want them, but a different kettle of fish given cover to sneak through.
  7. skycat
    Beautiful looking animal: But a good deal thicker set than mine at the moment. I guess mine could thicken up quite a bit, but with all that Saluki in there: who knows.
  8. skycat
    What way bred was this litter of Airedale crosses? I've seen photos of a Whippet/Airedale cross on another forum: I would imagine it is quite small, and another photo of a dog the same way bred which looked like a small stocky rough coated fawn lurcher. Dill might look like a box of bricks but there's plenty of taller, leaner Airedales in her line. Can't wait for next season!
  9. skycat
    There are a lot of people line breeding Collie crosses these days, both working Bearded Collie as well as Border Collie: however, they are, for the most part, people who don't come on the general hunting based internet forums so much. I have 2 friends in particular who have line bred Collie crosses: one keeps Beardie crosses, the other has Border Collie types bred down from Plummer's original lurchers. If you are interested, there is an invitation only forum I can steer you towards which is purely for Collie lurcher enthusiasts. Re your idea of a bet on the Airedale crosses: that's a
  10. skycat
    I know what your'e saying dwolf: shooting something from a very safe distance when the animal doesn't even know you are there seems low down and cheating. I know that in cases of pest control it is often the only way, but as far as sport is concerned........well, it isn't sport at all. And I've never understood why someone would want to hug a dead wolf or any other animal and pose for the camera: plain weird in my book.
  11. skycat
    Get in touch with Lurcherlink: they rehome lurchers and they are very careful about where they let them go and are not against working homes.At least that way you know that the dog is somewhere being cared for and not just on the pillar to post idiot merry go round with each home worse than the last.
  12. skycat
    The heart thing is an old wives' tale: not scientifically based at all. What DOES happen is that after a season the bitch starts laying down fat around her internal organs in preparation for having a litter. A wild canine needs to eat everything she can when she is pregnant for she'll be laid up with her pups for a while before being able to hunt again. The laying down of fat is what makes it dangerous to run a lurcher hard after a season. The muscles also soften and the ligaments too: its all part of the process which will enable the bitch to give birth. And before anyone says how do w
  13. skycat
    That's a really interesting piece of information: where do you learn that?
  14. skycat
    Wise words. And people who keep working dogs which run out of control shouldn't keep them IMO. It's the sort of thing which gives lurcher and terrier people a bad reputation.
  15. skycat
    An old time coursing man once told me that at 6 months they generally have another 2" to go:but I've known dog pups grow more than 2" and carry on growing up to 15 months, though very slowly.
  16. skycat
    Whilst some dogs might be 'just the same as before' after neutering, there is loads of evidence to suggest that it does affect animals. Many do gain weight, though a natural, no carbs diet may help to stave off weight gain. And all dogs are different, though the metabolic rate of those which have been neutered often slows down quite a bit meaning that the dog will need sometimes up to half the amount of food it needed prior to neutering.
  17. skycat
    As far as I know there are no single dose wormers which will kill lung worm. Milbemax and Panacur both have to be given over a period of time as per the manufacturer's instructions. Panacur used to be given daily for a week, correct dose for dog's weight, then one week without, then another course daily for a week. Milbemax is, I believe, a 5 day course.
  18. skycat
    I'd like to say that I'll put money on these pups being fast enough not to be straight lined to a hedge, but I'm old and cautious and simply don't know how fast they'll be but I think, had I been a betting sort of critter, then I might have put a quid or two on them: but I'll just have to wait and see!
  19. skycat
    That should not be normal, but sadly it is for many dogs fed on cheap, cereal filled complete foods. Dogs fed on raw meat and bone diets don't shit anywhere near as much and it isn't runny either. Cereals are not a natural food for dogs, and although hordes of dogs live happily for years on these kinds of foods it does put more strain on the digestive system and often causes runny shits. The mucous stuff is often when the mucous lining of the intestines increases, sometimes because the lining of the gut is irritated by what the dog is being fed on. Google BARF diet if you want to find out mor
  20. skycat
    What exactly do you mean by 'break her temper'? Sounds very dodgy: has the dog got a bad temper,as in does it bite you? But you say it is timid. So is it being 'bad tempered' through fear? I think that you should get someone who understands dogs to have a look at her, but IMO, if you don't know what you are doing with a dog, psychologically speaking, then it would be wiser to rehome the dog to a knowledgable pet home (through Lurcherlink maybe)and start again with a pup which is a clean slate. Dog training is easy when you've been doing it for years and years and want to learn, but can be a
  21. skycat
    Thank you: its a shame I'll never breed from her, but she's too mad for her own good and gets laid up too often: I lost her half sister out coursing, broke her back on a big dyke: only the good die young, but I'm getting too old to accept seeing my dogs kill themselves too often: life seems more precious as my age increases!
  22. skycat
    Probably right: nothing is ever more than 50 yards from thick cover on most of my permission, but it could also be cos I've got rubbish dogs LOL Hand on heart, I haven't got the line I used to have, and they were better generally speaking, just didn't live as long Got fed up with burying youngish dogs killed in action.
  23. skycat
    A large pup like yours shouldn't even be attempting a lot of jumping at his age. My local back man says he sees more cases of f*cked shoulders and wrists due to too much jumping than anything else. Keep the pup away from big ditches until his joints have finished growing. Teach him to jump very low obstacles now: it is the action of getting both sets of legs off the ground that they have to learn . Some are naturals, others need to practice their coordination. I don't let my pups jump more than 2 foot in height until they are at least a year old, and any jumping they do is not every day: may
  24. skycat
    Daytime foxes in the UK are equally hard to catch if they are in cover/woods etc. Out in the open they aren't fast enough to get away from a decent lurcher. At night they are much more difficult and seem to jink and turn better than any rabbit or hare. Dogs which can regularly take them on the lamp are damn good. I'd imagine the red fox is pretty much the same the world over: the two best lurchers I had for taking day time foxes round cover were 'die hard' hell on legs types, but only about 22-23". The bigger dogs just didn't have the nip and dash quickness round cover. This innocent looking '
  25. skycat
    How can an allergy or intolerance be in the 'head' (suggested/neurotic/seeing what is not there) when you are talking about a dog? All I know is that kelp helped my bitch who had had bald thighs for years, and now she hasn't. She is now 7 1/2 years old and was bald legged until I gave her kelp and got her off cereals. I know that there's no 'science' in what I did, but it worked and that is good enough for me: plus the fact that Dorwest Herbs recommended Kelp when I asked them about the problem. Had it not worked then I would have gone the route of vets, skin scrapes etc etc, but it did, and
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