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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    Percentages don't matter, it's how the dog has inherited particular genes that count. With a bit of luck you'll have a decent brain, a good retrieve, a fair bit of pace in a Greyhoundy body. BUT, you could end up with a Labrador body, a Greyhound brain ... just kidding
  2. skycat
    I would imagine there could well be an infection in the quick inside the claw, which is also affecting the nail bed. If if were my dog I'd cut the claw off as close to the to the flesh as possible, then keep clean at all times, wash twice a day in salt water. Keep it away from earth mud etc. Put a special dog boot or a drip bag over it for a fortnight while it seals itself off. Broken claws often get muck up inside them and then infected.
  3. skycat
    I would always try to take the dog back if possible. Sometimes people's circumstances change through no fault of their own, like this dog's original owner. Unfortunately our male lurchers had big problems with him, and he was very sassy in return. Thankfully Lurcherlink were able to take him and find him a new home: their network is big, and they also have enough people to home check potential adopters of dogs. I have taken dogs back I've bred in the past, and found new homes for them. If any dog that I'd bred was brought back to me no matter what age, I'd try and take it in and rehome i
  4. skycat
    Here's what mine get:
  5. skycat
    Brilliant thread Never did rocks, but huge straw stacks of big square bales could be pretty nerve wracking at times. Several times needed the fork lift to take the stack apart to find a stuck dog.
  6. skycat
    Always difficult to tell from a photo if a pup is underweight or not, and it could be doing a growing spurt and gone all ribby, but IMO it's basically a very nice shape indeed, and looks alert. Get some fresh meat into it and it could change a lot
  7. skycat
    I think that a lot of rescued lurchers lead pretty boring and unfulfilled lives. I see a couple round here, muzzled (because they chase rabbits!!!!), and nearly always on the lead. They look as miserable as sin, poor things. BUT, it's either that or dead for many dogs. Which is better? Personally I'd not keep a lurcher and walk it where there is game if I didn't intend to work it, but you can't explain that to pet owners. Other people will tell you that a dog can adapt to different situations and that dogs live in the present and as long as they are well cared for they are happy. I know f
  8. skycat
    So you would give the pup baby rusks instead of meat? Absolutely NOT. There is very little protein in stuff like that. Pups need protein, lots of it, and preferably from a meat or fish source, not from cereals. They aren't like humans at all, and if you consider how fast a pup grow to reach adult size within a year you can see why protein, which is the building blocks of growth, is so necessary. If you can't, won't or don't want to feed meat, then at least get a good quality meat based complete puppy food, one where meat is listed as the first ingredient on the side or back of the bag. T
  9. skycat
    50 yards is a lot further than you'd think: rabbits are seldom even that far from safety: burrow, hedge etc. Though of course it depends where you are, and what type of ground you are on. If you can, get between the rabbit and where it wants to go: hedge, cover etc. Look for a squatter and walk towards it. Don't slip on a rabbit that is up and running. when you get to within a few yards of the squatter try and put it up, doesn't matter if the dog hasn't seen it squatting. Kick a clod of earth or hiss at it. Good idea to get the dog used to a hiss, which you teach it means that there is somethi
  10. skycat
    I am gutted to see Nim up for rehoming again. When his original owner lost his job and home all in one go he was trying to live in his car with his dogs. Lurcherlink took him in. I took him back, but he couldn't stay with me as there were too many problems between our own male lurchers and Nim and Lurcherlink were able to find him a home. He was a very sassy, assertive dog indeed. I don't agree with castrating any more than anyone else who works their dogs, but pet homes don't usually know how to cope with entire males. Castration doesn't diminish their character or intelligence, but it do
  11. skycat
    Yes, that seems to be the problem quite often. A crap diet whilst weaning holds back the growth, then suddenly banging lots of protein into them causes a massive growth spurt and not necessarily in the right places. One side of a bone growing faster than the other. but bread and milk and 'dog nuts' are hardly going to be what I'd call a GOOD diet at all. Very low in protein especially if the dry food is cheap and cereal based: meaning that there is more wheat or rice than meat in it. BUT, if the pup was carrying a lot of worms, then even a poorish diet would do it a lot more good once
  12. skycat
    I've had this and seen it with a couple of dogs, and it has nearly always been because there have been other dogs around. The dog hasn't felt secure enough, or confident enough, had enough trust in me to deliver the rabbit to me: I'm talking about a dog that has previously retrieved OK. Quite agree that catching a lot of rabbits does seem to sort the problem out, but also not taking the dog out in the company of others. Some dogs are just very possessive and see any other dog as a threat to their catch. In an ideal world the dog should see you as the safest place to 'put' the rabbit, not
  13. skycat
    Exercise is often the key to calming any animal down. Getting it to experience different sights and sounds, using its body as it should be used, getting it to use its brain, eyes and ears. I wonder how many mink are driven crazy, or any farmed and caged animal, by being confined in those tiny prison cages.
  14. skycat
    I find it interesting to compare my two Airedale lurchers, sisters. One is so driven that she pushes herself all the time; the other is steady and sensible: both hunt well, but the black one stands out a mile in her intensity. Both had exactly the same upbringing of course. They've both done more bushing than anything else, but the black one is the one that gets what she goes after, purely because she has all the aces, genetically speaking. Born that way: happy combination of the best traits from both parents, and ancestors. Can anyone say, hand on heart, that they can always pick the pup
  15. skycat
    But did the Jews advocate mass slaughter of those not of their religion? Were there extremists amongst them going around blowing themselves up with suicide vests? And did they go around forcing people to join their particular brand of religion?
  16. skycat
    I doubt many do. I know my dogs have found them, usually in batches, and it has been very obvious that they are not on their home territory and that they have no idea where to run to: when you find a seemingly healthy fox laid up in a bramble right beside a well used path you just know it has been dumped. Especially if you get to see its teeth: the numbers of foxes I've found with missing or very worn down teeth, and very fat as well ... you know they wouldn't have been in good condition if they'd had to catch their own food.
  17. skycat
    I wonder how many so called rescues and animal charities dump foxes without any thought as to where their home territory was? They have an awful lot of suffering to answer for.
  18. skycat
    That is one hell of a Whippet: busher, catcher and companion in one
  19. skycat
    Interesting little pup then isn't she: probably throwing back to some feral attitude to save something for later? One of the very best lurcher bitches I ever had did similar things as a pup, but only until her litter mates went to their new homes. Then she stopped. It was funny to see her hiding bits of bones between bits of old fencing lying in the garden, and if she thought that one of her litter mates was watching she'd move it somewhere else. She went on to be a natural and committed retriever of everything she caught, and never once tried to bury or hide her catches, unlike some of the Sa
  20. skycat
    Even from photos you can see a real difference. The problem with feeding something like Alpha, along with so many other cheapish complete foods is that they don't contain enough animal protein or animal fat, which is really what a pup needs. A dog needs to eat at least twice as much crap food which is mostly cereals to get a similar level of nutrition, and even then it isn't the right kind of grub for a dog. Well done on changing her diet
  21. skycat
    Smaller dogs mature earlier than big dogs. Most terriers will have finished growing by between 8 and 10 months depending on type and breed. A big lurcher won't even have finished growing its skeleton until it is over 15 months of age, particularly dog pups.
  22. skycat
    Jeez! So now we shouldn't carry out legitimate pest control if conditions are not ideally suited to the quarry?
  23. skycat
    I've known several hard working dogs with heart murmurs. Some have sinus arrhythmia: http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/c_dg_arrhythmia which isn't generally a cause for concern.
  24. skycat
    the most ill informed always shout the loudest, whatever the subject. We did a slot for Look East when everyone was marching and rallying against the coming ban. They weren't anti at all, quite the opposite, but that's a long time ago now and all the media want to do is to portray working dog people in the worst possible way> the media is responsible for much of the general public's attitude towards lurchers and other working dogs. I even wrote to Countryfile once, asking them to do a piece on ferreting and lamping rabbits. Needless to say they didn't even bother to reply.
  25. skycat
    If the ligaments are over stretched, as happens with a bad sprain, it can takes months to heal. If you've ever seriously sprained an ankle, you'll know that the joint may never feel quite the same again. I'd allow a good 2 months on the lead before even thinking of letting the dog off. Unfortunately, x-rays can't tell what sort of soft tissue injury there is, so it is better to err on the side of caution, which is why I always follow my local 'man's advice to the letter. If he says keep the dog on the lead for 2 or 3 months, then I do, no exceptions. Very often a prolonged lack of fast work wi
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