Neal
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Everything posted by Neal
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The main thing which had always previously put me off cattle dogs was that the vast majority of those imported into the U.K. were imported because they were 'pedigree' cattle dogs i.e. it was a looks only thing with no recourse to their working ability or temperament. As a result, all the early ones I saw were barrel chested and with questionable temperaments. However I've seen a few over the last few years which have had a racier build and all the people I've asked about them said theirs were from imported working blood (though that could be 'working' in the same way that many people in
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I'm sure I read somewhere that it's one of those breeds where the name doesn't match the actual origins in that the Labrador is actually from Newfoundland and the Newfoundland is from Labrador.?
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I'm sure I've read somewhere that labs occasionally come in unusual colours because of the variety of dogs which originally went into the breed. I've seen some with brindle markings.
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Thanks. Apologies for late reply. Had a senior moment. Wrote the question and then forgot I'd posted so forgot to check back for a response.? I can't remember the name of the stuff I bought from Mole Valley Stores, but it's blue blocks with a hole through the middle which are threaded onto a fixed wire inside the bait box. Thanks for the advice.?
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Like many people, we regularly get rats in the garden. We no longer keep chickens and no longer put out bird food but still get a few visits every year. I usually find that an ordinary rat trap placed inside an old compost bin, baited with either peanut butter or chocolate spread is good enough but this year we have a particularly persistent one (or more) which has managed to trigger several traps without being caught. We've seen it several times right up by the back door, including one occasion when I went into the kitchen and caught it sitting nonchalantly on the window sill. In additio
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I've only ever had one Bedlington cross and he had a good thick coat but he stayed wet for much longer than the short tight coated lurcher I had at the same time. In his case he was more terrier than whippet though. He was an accidental mating from a chap in Wales who didn't want anyone to know the mating had taken place, so he gave the whole litter away free to my father and his mates (presumably as he thought some would think he was adding whippet blood back into his line of Bedlingtons surreptitiously). He was sired by one of his Bedlington studs out of a first cross Bedlington whippet
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I don't think I've tried those. My problem is that my feet are particularly wide. People used to take the mick out of the original Brasher supalites and said they were shaped like a duck's foot, but they fitted me perfectly. Then when they moved the manufacture to Portugal and China, despite their protestations to the contrary, the shape became narrower and they no longer fitted me. I tried on a pair of adidas terrex once and I had to get a ten or eleven in order to fit width ways...even though I'm an eight. I've had a few pairs of keens which were ok but my heel slipped a bit as, d
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I've got three pairs: one pair of professionals (which would be fine oop north but I only wear them when it's well below freezing) and two pairs of forests. Actually, my first pair were called Scouts but it's exactly the same boot as the newer Forest. If I can find someone who can keep resoling these then I can see them outlasting me, but I can't help constantly researching alternatives...just in case.
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Have you tried using the lundhags oil? I must admit that one of my pairs was rubbing for a while, but I just followed their instructions and it sorted it out. I think it was something like applying it every time you wear them for the first half a dozen walks. I'm tempted by the altbergs too but, when I tried some on in a shop in Devon, they didn't fit as well as the lundhags.
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Good luck with them. That's the problem with Lundhags now, I don't think any shops in the UK stock them so you can't try before you buy. I bought my first pair in Penrith Survival (I think that's what it was called; it was near Appleby) but it's closed down now.
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A bit, but less than most other similar boots. I've considered several times trying to get something "inbetween" as I spend my summer in lightweight trail runners and then winter in the lundhags. (Un)fortunately, the lundhags are fairly light (despite appearances) so normal ankle height boots are often heavier. I was tempted by Meindl Borneos but, despite the height difference, they're heavier. Mine are only 730g per boot.
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Any pics .....Small lurchers past and present
Neal replied to Shortstraw's topic in Lurchers & Running Dogs
Skye. Early 90s. Sire: 3/4 border collie 1/4 bearded collie, dam: 3/4 whippet 1/4 greyhound. I think she was about 19" and weighed about 28lbs. Easily the most obedient dog I've ever owned but also the most nervous. -
Apparently, the three types of event which have the most lasting effect on both us and dogs is (in ascending order) positive experiences, repetitive experiences, negative experiences.
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Mine get dried whole sprats sprinkled on top of their food most days.
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Yeah, but you can always blame that on the nature/nurture thing. ?
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I've been thinking about this during my morning walk around the wood and think I possibly agree.? Obviously, I've only got a limited number of dogs to judge it on, but in the vast majority of cases I think you're right i.e. the bitches were similar in character to their sire and the dogs like their dam. It's a very interesting question and goes back to the age old nature/nurture debate too. Coupled with this is the subject of the belief that pups owe more to their dam than sire as a result of the fact that they spend their first weeks with either a calm or not so calm dam. And
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I try to get my name down for a pup early enough that I have a pick from as wide a number of the pups as possible. Then, if it's a breeder who knows their stock and their produce well, I tell the breeder what I'm after and see which one they think would suit me best. Obviously that only works with an honest breeder. If, following this, there are more than one to pick from, I'd pick the pup that likes me and which I like the look of. It's a long time to spend with a dog you don't get on with.
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Many years ago I was one of several staff who took some year six kids on a camping trip to the New Forest. One morning we got them up extra early to go in the mini-bus to a local hide to see some deer. On the way there we went past a particular beauty spot with a bridge over a stream and "adorning" the bridge was a naked woman having photos taken. I've always wondered if it was for personal use or a "proper" photo shoot for a magazine. Needless to say, despite our best efforts, all the kids were rubbernecking.?
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I've become a lot less insistent on immediate obedience as I've got older too. Maybe that just because I've moved from collie crosses to kelpies.? I once had a collie x whippet which was extremely obedient. I decided to write a list of all the commands she'd obey, either visual or spoken, and there were over sixty! However, (probably because of this) she had virtually zero initiative and had to be told what to do before she'd do anything. Like you I sometimes wonder if I've gone too far down the opposite route. I think of mine as only doing "down," "stay," and recall, though I expec
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I second that. I injured my back several years ago (fell off a sodding chair while hiding my son's birthday presents in the top of the wardrobe?) and, after repeated visits to the doctor was eventually signed up to a physio for about half a dozen sessions. She put me onto pilates but, because I'm a bit of an old hippy, I went for yoga instead. I still get the occasional bad day but a bit of yoga every day keeps it pretty much in check...that and zero drop footwear.??
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Completely agree. I left teaching two years ago in order to try my hand at writing (my book what I wrote as Ernie used to say). Unfortunately, covid hit two months later and every time we had a lockdown my kids were doing all their home schooling on the new chromebook I'd treated myself to. But, as you intimated, looking back I can't believe I ever managed to fit a full time job into my schedule. There just aren't enough hours in the day for doing all the bits and bobs I plan to do each morning.
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That was pretty much what I found. I think we were there from Monday to Friday. I walked all the footpaths over the first couple of days with my sketchbook (I walked the entire coastline in under a day) and then spent the remainder of the time revisiting the places I'd liked best for some oil pastel drawings. It was lovely but, like you say, I'd get bored of not being able to vary my marathon hikes.
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When I was there (late 80s to early 90s) I remember somebody telling me that either Helford or Helford Passage had no locals living there. The entire village was holiday lets, second homes etc. If I won the lottery I'd love to buy up a few "local" houses and rent them out to "locals" at a low rate..."We'll have no trouble here."
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I read somewhere that they've got great noses...a bit like a gundog in a sighthound's body.
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Thanks for the compliment.???
