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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    Every time I see the title of this thread I think it should be the title of a song
  2. skycat
    Nowt worse than back problems Ray. Ruins you life in so many different ways. I can't do half what I used to with the dogs, and I can't let them pull. Makes me hard on them, but I can't let them lunge or anything or I'm fecked for weeks. Chin up mate. Have you tried one of these? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pull-Harness-Premier-Large-Black/dp/B000ZJ1DXY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1372676838&sr=8-3&keywords=easy+walk+harness Not tried it but it makes sense: not when the dog is working obviously, but for general lead work/exercise.
  3. skycat
    You mean this is summer: where's the sun?
  4. skycat
    Marrow bones and those huge knuckle bones are sterilised by heat: they are also very bad for dogs that gnaw a lot on them, can wear down and even break teeth. Feed only fresh bones and don't feed large bones to dogs that are likely to chew away for hours. I see no point in giving a dog a bone it can't break down and digest: they are only for boredom, and like I said, can damage a dog's teeth if it is obsessive about it.
  5. skycat
    Feck off: not quite there yet And I still do a good jive
  6. skycat
    Once upon a time I spent hours boiling meat up, picking the bones out of rabbit carcases which had simmered for hours in my burco boiler, measuring out exact amounts of fat, various supplements etc. The dogs ran well, looked good. Before that, even longer ago, I fed complete: dogs looked good, worked well. Cleaned up a lot of shit though and they farted like hell, no matter what the make of food. Now I feed raw: takes a zillionith of the time to feed them. Mixture of all sorts of meat and carcases, all raw. Sometimes chuck in some rice and veg, brown bread, very occasionally a bit of complete
  7. skycat
    They're really old and probably on oxygen most of the time, what did you expect Feck me, Jagger's nearly 70 years old: incredible he's still doing it. I agree with the choice of songs though: crap. For me it was amazing to see Jagger still strutting (sort of) around the stage at his age. If I'm half as fit at his age I won't complain. I would have liked to see them do Gimme Shelter for one.
  8. skycat
    Some of the guys in the States use theirs to bark treed when they either put something up a tree: bear or raccoon for example. Some of them seem to open up quite readily, others are silent at the tree. I don't think they actually train their dogs to do this, though you'd be much better off asking them yourself. Dales run with hounds or curs may well learn certain behaviour from the other dogs. They are a very genuine bunch of people on this forum. I've no doubt that I could have taught my bitch to bark when she found something: she is easily the most adaptable and trainable dog I've ever
  9. skycat
    a friend owns them about 22" uses them for doing cover do they speak when on a line? Mine only bays when she first puts something up in cover: more of an exited foghorn bellow a few times than proper baying: once its up and running she just keeps her head down and follows the scent quietly.
  10. skycat
    They need to be handled every day once their eyes are open: saves a lot of biting, hissing and scared behaviour. A kit that hasn't been handled by 12 weeks will need a lot of taming! Depends on the line of course, and some lines are more docile than others, but its the same as with a pup: then need plenty of socialising as early as possible. A lot of people won't let them go until they are 12 weeks, but they should be in with them every day, picking them up etc.
  11. skycat
    He has my number: waiting for him to call me.
  12. skycat
    Worm him now with Drontal Plus: make sure you weigh the terrier and get the dosage right. If he is really badly wormy and has never been wormed, or you still see worms in his shit, then it is safe to worm again in a fortnight. Pups should always be wormed well before 6 weeks of age, so if he's never been wormed then chances are he'll be full of the bloody things and it won't hurt to do it again. Round worm life cycle is 3 weeks, so you normally worm pups every 3 weeks until they are around 5 months of age.
  13. skycat
    Should never have put the dog in that situation. PAT dogs and others which are subject to crowds, loads of people are assessed before hand and trained slowly to cope with large numbers of people. Silly owner: the teacher. Just feel sorry for the dog.
  14. skycat
    Being a friendly family pet is one thing, but being subjected to a stream of kids it doesn't know all wanting to pat it or stroke it: poor dog, what an ordeal! Usual knee jerk reaction, though I suppose the owner had no choice in today's non dog friendly society.
  15. skycat
    I know what you're saying BPR, but you can suss out someone on the phone, and if the breeder/seller is prepared to bring the parents along to the car park along with the pups, you have every opportunity to see what their temperaments are like. I bought a very good pup from someone like this: it was also an opportunity to see how the pups reacted to what had been their first journey. A completely unsocialised pup would have been scared witless at the experience. I din't see the sire in one case, but I'd heard good reports about him. The other pup I bought in a car park they actually brought bo
  16. skycat
    I am well aware that dogs use fat better than humans but in your second sentence you pretty much nailed it. When you were in the "pet food trade". Dan: I've tried to take your comments in good humour, but you still have to keep bitching away at me spitefully. Why? The fact that I worked in the pet food trade doesn't actually mean that I don't work my dogs, have studied the best ways to keep them fit and running for nearly 30 years. I never stop trying to learn more about how to feed them, so instead of sniping away at me, why don't you explain how your feed your dogs, the reasons for doi
  17. skycat
    Depends on the type of dog and how much work it is doing in my experience. I have a little fat Collie thing that can almost live on fresh air: I try not to give her any carbs, and restrict her fat intake too. She lives on a quarter of the amount I give to another dog of similar size, but the Collie thing is like a wild animal: she doesn't tear about burning up energy like a dog, but sneaks around hugging hedgerows in order to catch a rabbit using as little energy as possible. Even when she is working, she has such a good metabolism that she uses everything she eats.
  18. skycat
    I would think that dogs have evolved to make better use of carbs than wolves: thousands of years of evolution alongside humans will have given them a digestive system better adapted to eat our left overs. Plus, we demand far more of our working dogs. Look at horses: wild horses live happily on grass etc: it is only when they are put into hard work that they need a much higher protein (only speaking of horses here, not dogs) diet.
  19. skycat
    Google it if you like: there are loads of articles on how dogs use fat as their primary energy source. I first learned this when I was working in the pet food trade back in the 90s: went on a nutrition course. Dogs aren't like humans in the way they use carbs and fat. Fact is that dogs will survive on just about anything: high carb diet, high protein no carbs, etc etc. Which is why an average diet, one type 'fits all' is used by so many people as most dogs can do quite well on a not completely appropriate diet. It's only when you are feeding for peak performance especially in endurance compet
  20. skycat
    OK, so I worded it wrongly: dogs use fat as their primary source of energy; carbs take longer to metabolise. Dogs doing long distance work, and in particular Saluki types, which have evolved to run on a diet containing less protein than a raw meat diet (historically speaking), do better on more carbs than dogs which are doing only short sprint runs, in which case they need more protein as they have fast twitch muscles which operate more on an anaerobic basis than long distance runners like Salukis. I've yet to keep the weight on a hard working Saluki type by feeding it just meat, bone and fat
  21. skycat
    I'm not a top coursing man , but in my experience, fitness conditioning is as, if not more important than the diet. Diet alone won't get and keep a dog running. Many years ago, my OH had a mongrelly Collie lurcher that he fed, without knowing any better, a diet of Vitalin (cheap muesli food) with a bit of tripe. He biked everywhere with the dog: biked it several miles to go ferreting, there and back, then biked it again to get where he was going lamping at least 3 times a week. Most Sundays it would run a few hares as well, and although it wasn't a top notch coursing dog it caught quite a fe
  22. skycat
    I don't think that anyone could get a better reared pup than from this litter. Looks like they've had everything, including good handling, freedom to explore a garden and contact with other dogs.
  23. skycat
    Kits should be weaned on to fresh meat: rabbit preferably. Get a rabbit, gut it and chuck the carcase into the pen: kits will soon be eating that. Ours start sucking on a gutted rabbit at around 3 weeks old. Get some kitten formula (milk substitute) and mix it up for the jill. Could be she's lacking in calcium. Keep kibble in at all times, but make sure there's pigeon or rabbit in with them as well. Also make sure that the ferrets are not in the sun: put up shade if you can't move the pen and it is in the sun, and also make sure that they get enough air: don't know if yours are in a hutch or c
  24. skycat
    Chicken carcases and lamb ribs: nature's finest toothbrush.
  25. skycat
    I used to keep honey coloured rabbits: the lurchers were fine with them in the garden, and it never stopped them catching wild ones, even the odd black one we used to find now and then.
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