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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. I did give an opinion: a pup from parents and preferably grandparents as well which are/were doing the same job he wants a dog to do. So sorry if I sounded as though I was trying to be clever: I was just trying to say that it isn't wise to disregard all the other types of lurchers out there in favour of just one sort. And the best lurchers I've had have had a right mixture of breeds in them, but they've been bred from dogs doing what I wanted mine to do. It just irritates me when someone says that a particular cross is the ONLY lurcher that takes all quarry when there are plenty of dogs wi
  2. As Forest of Dean Redneck says: anything that comes from parents, and preferably grand parents as well, that is doing the job you want the dog to do.
  3. Sadly people lie all the time when they go to view a litter. They lie about what they'll do with the dog. They lie when you say to them that if it doesn't work out it must come back to you rather than being sold on. They lie about their home situation: I once let a pup go to some very nice people who lied about their grandson living with them. When they came to see the pup they brought the most horribly spoilt brat with them, but they told me that the boy didn't live with them. Two days after taking the pup she woman phoned me to say that the boy wasn't accepting the puppy and they couldn't
  4. Blinkers are worn by horses to stop them noticing things on each side of the very narrow path they tread. Unfortunately, some humans seem to wear them as well, and they are usually put in place by similarly minded friends or a refusal to see the wider path.
  5. Yes, don't feed her hardly any more than her normal diet. Fat bitches find it harder to whelp and it doesn't mean that she'll have healthier pups either as the pups may be bigger and be harder to birth. Keep her ticking over with decent walks and cut out the redmills.
  6. I don't think that we should be using highly intelligent animals that have evolved, through our own manipulation of their genes, to work and live alongside us. Dogs are far more sentient and emotional an animal that a rat, for example. Pigs may be vastly intelligent, but there again, the domestic pig has evolved to be treated as a farm animal, not a companion or pet. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of pig intelligence, nor their personal perception of pain, but I do understand how dogs feel pain having lived with them for the whole of my life. Whilst part of me acknowledges that
  7. That makes a lot of sense. When I changed over to raw many years ago the white bitch I had at the time stopped losing fur on her hind legs, and never lost it again. I've been trying to see from the photo whether the OP was referring to hair loss or skin colour change. The same bitch who was born with mainly pink skin went gradually mottled with black patches as she grew older. The fur never changed colour, stayed white, but by the time she was about 12 years old her skin was mottled black all over her body but you could only see it if she was wet.
  8. Isn't it just her skin changing colour beneath the fur? Can't see too well on the photo but that's what it looks like to me.
  9. Puppy wormers don't necessarily dissolve the worms. And roundworms usually come out whole even when I've used Drontal Plus on small pups. Tapeworms just seem to dissolve as I've never seen any come out after I've wormed adult dogs. Maybe round worms have a tougher skin? Personally I like to see round worms come out dead: like has been said: at least you know its working. BUT I've also found that most so called puppy wormers aren't given correctly (over several days or whatever it says on the packet) Far too many people think you only have to give them one dose as though they were using an adul
  10. Part of that is right: putting yourself between the dog and strangers. But checking her will have a negative effect. Here's a case in question. Bloke I know who takes on really unsocialised and fear aggressive dogs, mostly Collie/Labs which can be some of the worst for this. It takes time, a lot of time and constant exposure, but all he does, having learned this from a good trainer, is to do what Casso suggested: get the dog's attention through food. Take out a bag of very tasty titbits and the moment the dog sees another dog approaching, or a person, you get the dog's attention and give it a
  11. Just put paving slabs down. Not ideal, but better than nothing and easily moved if need be.
  12. A lot of them hate to be confined, maybe something to do with their ancestors sharing tents with their owners? I've had similar problems with some Saluki types, not all, but once they lived in the house they were happy as can be and never put a foot wrong.
  13. At one time, don't know if they still do, the Guide Dog people placed their pups in 'puppy walker' homes at 6 weeks because the pup learned to live in the human environment very quickly at that age. They also bond very quickly to their new owners as the person is the only security they have. Security and food are a puppy's primary needs at that age.
  14. I'd also add that I need to see both parents, though one viewing of a dog or bitch on a lead somewhere isn't much to go on as far as working temperament is concerned. Better to buy from someone you know where you have seen the parents work and know as much as possible about their traits: biddability, brains etc. So many pups are passed on as they hit the 9, 10 month mark because the owner has given up in despair and can't cope with certain traits that, for the most part, have been inherited from the parents.
  15. The thing is, if the pups are going to be staying together at the breeder's until 8 weeks plus, they are already getting into the sensitive time of their lives where they really need to start being properly socialised, which means exposure to things outside their immediate environment. There aren't very many breeders who lead train, take on car rides, play a lot with their pups and get them used to different people and other experiences. We see this so much on this site, where people buy in a 5 month plus pup that has never been out of the breeder's yard, and the pup is shy, scared of everythi
  16. 6 weeks is fine but ONLY if the person buying the pup is experienced, realises that puppies of that age need to be looked after properly, have pretty much constant company when it needs it and not shut away in a kennel. Yes, they do settle in well at that age, but only if their needs are met correctly, but ideally they should have close contact with other tolerant dogs or their developing canine social skills may miss out. Isolating a puppy of that age for fear it may pick up a disease is therefore just as bad as letting it mingle freely. In an ideal world all puppies would have an initia
  17. Then there is a problem with his hind legs, or the photos are seriously misleading. I know that photos are misleading, and it would be nice for everyone criticising you to be able to see the pup in the flesh to see for them/ourselves. And my dogs just lie on their backs on the sofa 24/7 and get dragged round a show ring once in a while so I know nothing about fitness at all.
  18. I'm still wondering if inforthelongrun is really biking a 4 month old pup for miles. is he going to reply to this? Or did he mean his adult dogs? That pup does look odd I must admit: too much muscle over its loins and nothing anywhere else. Looks malnourished but also strange seeing that back on it.
  19. I see, but it sounded in your original post as though she had to fight her corner for all her food.
  20. Also, is the diet the same as it was at her breeders? And if it is all in one bowl, is it just dry food? Not good for pups, dry or otherwise, but especially not dry.
  21. Pups often take a while to settle into their new homes, and some puppies are never destined to carry excess weight. There's a difference between being fat and OK. Fat is not good: too much weight for growing bones to carry around. Loose supple skin, ribs just showing in Whippet and Saluki types, and loads of energy: that's what I look for in this type of pup. Edited to add: wrote the above without reading the whole thread ... then learned that pup is fed with adult dogs from one bowl WTF! How on earth do you tell which dog gets the right amount? And for sure the pup needs her own bowl
  22. It's because you are not engaging with her. These sorts of dogs don't 'do' obedience in the way that a Collie or Bull lurcher does. They only 'obey' if there's something in it for them, and just coming to you because you told them to is not in their DNA. Getting the dog to see you as the source of major fun, engaging its prey drive, is the key. Get the dog playing tug (see the tug articles I wrote on the home page of this site), but using a rabbit skin lure to lure the dog in for a mad game of chase the 'furry thing', is just as good, providing you call the shots. It's all about tapping into t
  23. skycat

    Attention

    Thank feck for that: I was about to offer puppy sitting services ... always fancied a holiday in bonnie Scotland
  24. skycat

    Attention

    Don't leave those pups alone for a second. If you have to go out to work can you not get a friend in to watch them?
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