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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    ...because the animal welfare laws over here are completely over the top. Having said that: I'd hate to see the mess someone not very bright would make of a dog's ear! Wouldn't do ears over here anyway, for obvious reasons.
  2. skycat
    It's not essential at all, but swimming helps to keep my dogs in reasonable shape in the summer, off season, and when the ground is too hard to let them do any running about in my area. Depends on the area and the ground cover, but round here the fields are full of crops and the remaining land is like concrete ... except for last year of course! Controlled swimming (hydrotherapy in a heated pool) is, as Westy says, fantastic for helping to get over injuries, building up muscle with no impact to joints.
  3. skycat
    it would i think fall into the same part as tail docking as proof would be needed its for the benefit of the dog and not cosmetic for the owner. It would need a case going to court to get the answer and the rspca would chuck money at it like confetti at a wedding. It would hardly be considered 'cosmetic' would it!
  4. skycat
    http://www.coondawgs.com/freezebrand.html If the guy has done it on himself then OK our friends across the pond are a bit weird, but it looks simple enough to do ... in the land of the free that is!
  5. skycat
    So a local anaesthetic would get around the unnecessary suffering bit wouldn't it? There has to be some way in which it could be implemented: and it would surely do much to deter dog thieves if the dog had bloody great white letters or numbers on its haunch.
  6. skycat
    Is it actually illegal? I was looking into this a couple of years ago, but I couldn't find any information to say that it was actually illegal. I'd appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction as to the legalities of it. I spoke to one of the branding companies, Northern Brand, and they said they would be happy to go into it further. I guess the dog would have to be anaesthetised: whether full or local anaesthetic I don't know. Full GA would make it very expensive.
  7. skycat
    Thanks for the kind comments: I could have made that book three, if not four times as long. Even now, I keep thinking that I should have put x, y or z in it: But I can't remember exactly what is in there and isn't. I haven't read it recently. When you do a book like that the last thing you want to do is read it again .... for a very long time My publisher, not knowing the rather niche market I was aiming at, decided in his infinite wisdom to get bloody thousands printed So I guess it will be a long time before there is a second edition, one in which I could rectify any omissions such as
  8. skycat
    CONDITIONING AND EXERCISE There is to my mind nothing more beautiful to behold than a superbly fit running dog, an animal up on its toes, bursting with life and ready to run like the wind, taking all obstacles in its path as though it has wings. Maybe this is a bit of a fanciful image, but I hope you'll forgive me when I use that vision to illustrate what a running dog should 'feel' and look like. Exercise, conditioning, fitness training, call it what you will, is quite simply the most important aspect of owning a canine athlete. Without proper conditioning (from now on I'll refer to fitne
  9. skycat
    As the chapter is already on this site in the Articles section, I think it would be better to put a link up to that: here t'is. I'll add some more photos when I know how! http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/page/index.html/_/hunting-dogs/running-dog-maintenance
  10. skycat
    I read, or heard, somewhere, once, that most television programmes are aimed at a mental age of 12: which is apparently what the majority of the population has!
  11. skycat
    They weren't even wild rabbits! Only watched a bit of it then had to leave the room Cringe making
  12. skycat
    I've had a couple of dogs that once they entered to a certain type of quarry, stopped really bothering on rabbits: one was a Saluki type bitch who was very good indeed on hares, the other was a Beardie/Greyhound, who started on rabbits, but once she knew about foxes, would either ignore a whole field of rabbits by day to follow a fox scent, or run through a heap of rabbits on the lamp if she'd seen those yellow eyes in the distance. In fairness, if there weren't any foxes around she'd mop up a few rabbits, but is was a bit boring for her: that is the impression she gave me at any rate: retriev
  13. skycat
    The main problem with this sort of programme is that it is usually concerned with how fascinating the animal is, with not one word on how it could impact farmers, growers etc. They really do want to make people think that all wildlife is amazing (which it is of course) and needs preserving at all costs. Can you imagine the outcry if a mainstream channel put out a programme on how to cull wildlife!
  14. skycat
    I'll have to get in touch with him. It would make more sense to use him than her half brother by the same dog: I already know what he has produced in Dill.
  15. skycat
    T'is proving very difficult. The bloke who bred the original litters didn't keep contact details for the people who had pups. So far I have only found one that is definitely working in England, and that is 99.9% certain a full brother to mine. There are a couple in Ireland, but no one knows their breeding, except that they came from the bloke in Scotland! I know there must be more, but they're off the radar, and I don't know if their owners actually remember their breeding either!!! Not looking hopeful at the moment. Of course, I could put her back to her own sire, but I wonder how many
  16. skycat
    Yes, Dill only bays when she first puts something up: more of a bellow than anything else. But once the game is out of sight she falls silent and concentrates on following her nose. Close to, the crashing in the undergrowth is enough to alert the lurchers as to which direction she's heading
  17. skycat
    Editing and deleting what you've written only works so long a someone else hasn't already pressed 'quote' to reply directly to what you said; in which case your original post appears in their post: doesn't it? Or has that changed?
  18. skycat
    It goes under different names depending on the manufacturer, but is just an antibiotic cream in a syringe: not had to give my dogs a course of antibiotic tabs nor jab them since using it for bites/scratches etc.
  19. skycat
    Doesn't anyone use antibiotic cream that comes in a syringe with a plastic nozzle? Generally made for cows with mastitis. You can get it right into puncture wounds, and slather it on scratches. Treats the infection at source. I've used it for years on both scratches and punctures, and it is cheaper than a course of antibiotics, doesn't slow healing either. Get it from a hoss and cow vet.
  20. skycat
    Non religious people generally see religion as a crutch, but those who believe often use the 'rules' of their religion to live as better people, trying to overcome the negative aspects of their personalities. I've known many from both sides of the fence, so to speak, and whilst there are stupid people from all faiths and walks of life, I really don't think that being a believer is caused by a lack of brain cells. Whatever the religion, it was, in the infancy of its creation: dang me, I'm talking all biblical here already! Religions had to be created to control an ignorant and superstitious pop
  21. skycat
    I would never kennel a pup with a bitch that wasn't its own mother. No matter how tolerant the bitch may be. It only takes one bite if the adult is fed up with a pup pestering it and you have a dead or damaged pup, or one that is traumatised: you wouldn't want to come home to a bleeding, terrified pup huddled in a corner of the run. Kennel side by side: make sure pup can't get its head or feet through the mesh or bars. That way they have company, but both are safe. Only allow access to one another under supervision.
  22. skycat
    As long as she's not hurting or frightening the pup it is perfectly normal. All part of the way adult dogs teach pups who is boss, but also how to play. Pups that grow up alone without another of the same species to learn from are poorer by far.
  23. skycat
    Good advice there bosun Half the problem is there are people who are really scared of getting nipped. Strange really, because those same people will happily let a puppy chew on their hand Maybe it is because a ferret is perceived as something more 'wild' and potentially dangerous? I can only say that familiarity breeds happiness, on both sides: both human and ferret. Once you get used to feeling those little teeth on your hands, plus the knowledge that a ferret can't actually kill you you relax, calm down and stop being on the defensive, ready to over react to a nip. I've only been bitt
  24. skycat
    Another thought: we always have to isolate our hobs for the duration of the breeding season. If your jills haven't been bred from (jab, vasectomised hob or just left in season?) their hormones are going to be all over the place and most likely responsible for the issues you're having. Might it be worth waiting until the days are shortening before trying to introduce new ferrets? Like heritage's idea though, but even so, I'd wait until they are all out of breeding mode.
  25. skycat
    Personally I wouldn't have left them for two weeks: hardly fair on the ones that are getting a hiding is it? Likely to damage their temperaments if nothing else. We've only ever had one jill we bought in that wasn't tolerated by the others. They never did accept her and in the end we had to let her go: not really into keeping one ferret on its own. She settled straight into her new home with never a problem with her new court mates. Some are just odd I guess, though whether it was ours or the new jill I'll never know as we've not bought any in since then.
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