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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    There's a big difference between a small puppy and a true runt. True runts are wonky from the start: classic traits are bulging eyes at birth (yes, I know the eyes aren't open but you can still see how the lids bulge out), domed forehead, underdeveloped generally and lacking the instinct to suckle properly. And yes, I've seen the smallest puppy end up the biggest as an adult, and in those cases the pup was small because of where it developed in the uterus and it didn't have much room but made up for it afterwards, and was strong at birth and able to suckle and fight for its teat. Not sayi
  2. skycat
    Lovely looking dogs, with great feet.
  3. skycat

    Boar hunt

    skycat replied to Elchapo's topic in General Talk

    really well trained steady horse, and although it seemed to take him a while to bring them down I don't imagine it's exactly easy shooting a small moving target from horseback. Thanks for sharing: fascinating, and great to see that in some places you can still do this. Can you imagine what would happen if you set out on horseback with a bow and arrows over here in the UK????
  4. skycat
    I'd heard a bit about Teckels, but this book really opened my eyes as to how much they do, and how popular they are in Europe. Some of the articles in the book are brilliantly written, describing in detail exactly how Teckels work and what their strengths are, and, which surprised me a bit, how well they can be trained to perform a multitude of tasks in the hunting field. It's funny how many people who have never even seen one of these dogs working are so scathing. Admitted, I do find short-legged dogs a bit weird, and lacking in some way, but there do seem to be a lot of people who swear by t
  5. skycat
    The competitive coursing I used to do was never for money, just a competition against other dogs, whether under rules or single handed, but I can honestly say even that sort of competition took away most of the enjoyment for me when I was watching my dog run. All I wanted was to win, and once I'd stopped running competitively I was again able to appreciate watching my dog running, with no pressure. I would have been a basket case if ever I'd bet money on the outcome of a course.
  6. skycat
    If breeding to get a decent lamping, ferreting and mouching dog, I'd be willing to overlook the oversensitive nature of one of the parents. so long as it was very good at the above. Several times I bred, without fox or anything larger in mind, and produced pups that did it all with fire and determination. These were lurcher to lurcher bred so it shows you can never tell what will come up in a litter, but for whole litters to do a variety of slightly more challenging jobs than their dam would entertain showed me never to right off a bitch, or dog, if it was merely a tad squeamish about tackling
  7. skycat
    Ah ha! So, wild, but habituated squirrels and there I was imagining you crawling in a gillie suit, freezing immobile like an SAS sniper and lying in wait for hours on end for a squirrel to pass by.? Impressive shots all the same.
  8. skycat
    Superb. Were they really taken outdoors? Look good enough for studio shots!!!
  9. skycat
    Some things never change: the lurcher was known as a nasty, skulking thieving brute back in the 1700s, and the 'them and us' syndrome between landowner and those without land has been around ever since royalty and so-called nobility claimed all the land for themselves. Funny how landowners who own lurchers deem themselves above the law when it comes to illegal game, but those who don't own the land they hunt are just poachers.
  10. skycat
    Yes, bred from two with so called umbilical hernias. But there is a big difference between a true hernia, where the abdominal wall hasn't closed properly after birth, and the small fatty bobble you sometimes see on the umbilical site, which is where a tiny bit of fat/tissue (not the guts) has become trapped when the hole closed up. If you're not sure, get her checked by a vet.
  11. skycat
    Not heard that expression before: dirty hunting. Curious as to why people would label lurcher work in this way. Hunting with dogs is one of the oldest methods of hunting. Is it because shooters etc look down their noses at those who hunt with lurchers, or does it merely refer to illegal hunting, poaching?
  12. skycat
    But you are at least on mainland Europe and you have access to other countries where hunting with dogs is permitted without having to cross the Channel! Good luck with your pup. She looks bright and alert.
  13. skycat
    My dad told me about a Lab that lived out on the moors in Cornwall back in the early 50s in a very remote house. His owner was a slightly weird artist, but the dog was an incredible guard, though his main claim to fame was the fact that his owner sent him to fetch the paper from the newsagents every Sunday ... over 5 miles away along the main road. Of course, back then there was very little traffic along that coast road, but apparently the dog was well known for it. The owner also had a 'guard' raven, that sat on the roof and attacked anyone who approached the house!
  14. skycat
    And that's exactly the problem with training lurchers, as their temperaments and drive are so variable depending on how they are bred. There can't be a 'one size fits all' method when training lurchers. A novice owner who wants to get a handle on their own lurcher's nature would be best looking at how it is bred, and then speaking to as many people as possible about how to train those particular breeds, and even then, it's not simple, for so many lurchers are a composite of many breeds and a composite of different temperaments. A pup could start out by showing signs of total scattiness and lat
  15. skycat
    Keeping the hands positive is the most important, quite agree. Never using your hand to hit, even a light telling-off tap while the pup is growing up, and always being overjoyed when the pup comes to you, no matter how much of a pain in the arse it has been, winding you up etc. But I do use tennis balls as a retrieve game, and have never had a problem, though also play tug with old towels and socks etc. Every pup I've had has retrieved its first rabbit with no histrionics which I now believe has more to do with the fact that the pup sees me as the 'safe place' to bring its catch, and even if
  16. skycat
    They are truly lovely vehicles. Our bus stood for 3 years after my husband had a stroke. Never once turned the engine over. When my nephew arrived to get it taken for its MOT it started first time! Drove just fine, and the only thing it needed to go through its MOT was new brake lines. They really are built to last and last and last.
  17. skycat
    Before we got our narrowboat, we were converting a Mercedes 604 minibus that had been a charity bus. Yes, there's a load of work involved in lining and insulating the windows to give more wall space for storage, and my nephew is currently finishing it off to live in himself. The thing is, whether you use a van or a bus, you still have to insulate and clad the walls inside, and windows can be blocked up, but the thing I particularly liked about the bus was that the walls were nigh on vertical, whereas most vans have walls that lean in, which makes it just that bit harder to hang shelves, cupboa
  18. skycat
    I think those who say they've only had one good dog can't be very good dog men or women, or maybe they've only had a couple of dogs! Sure, you'll get some that are better than others, but the best dogs are always owned by people how understand what their dogs' talents are and work them to those strengths, rather than trying to force the dog to behave in a way which isn't natural for it. Like trying to force an out and out hunter to only work on the lamp, or getting a coursing bred stamina animal and moaning when it hasn't got the take off speed to take rabbits in tiny fields. And a dog only ge
  19. skycat
    How lovely to hear such good news. It's horrible going through any illness and not being sure of the outcome. So pleased everything has turned out so well. Best wishes to you both.
  20. skycat
    So sorry to hear he's gone. I didn't know him well, but met him a few times over the years. Lovely bloke who looked after his dogs very well.
  21. skycat
    Well, that's a hard one to answer. She is incredibly complex. Right from the start, when I got her as an 8 week old, starved and stunted pup, she was confident, watchful, super alert to everything around her, incredibly sociable, could be quite sensitive to noises she hadn't heard before: like a woodpecker tapping a tree: freaked her out until she got used to it. But thunder and gunshot don't even figure on her radar. Exceptionally intelligent, knows how to press our buttons, prey drive now kicking in, very focused, intent, but loves positive interaction with me: plays ball all day, loves lear
  22. skycat
    All the replies show that it's impossible to determine the breeding of a lurcher by its appearance. Thanks everyone. I shall continue to enjoy watching her grow up. She's about 15 months old now so should be ready for autumn.
  23. skycat
    Thanks. Can't complain at all right now.
  24. skycat
    She's about 25 inches. And I did wonder if she has Beddy in her. But she's very sensitive in some ways and a right thug in others. An interesting character to be sure. But she's also being slow to mature and only recently shown serious interest in hunting. She's certainly got the Collie stalking thing in her.
  25. skycat
    Just took this photo of Skylark. I'm starting to think that she's got Wheaton in her. What do the experts reckon? I know she's got Collie in her as she's actually a red Merle under all that coat, but what else?
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