Neal
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Everything posted by Neal
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Lets See Them Whippets, Coarsing, Racing, Working
Neal replied to brenner's topic in Lurchers & Running Dogs
That's the kind of colour I'd expect from a border terrier x whippet. Not intimating that there is of course, just that it's an usual colour. Lovely pups.? -
Bobza, I have to admit, I really like the look of those whippets, especially the two blacks and the one you're keeping. My brother has had three whippets and is always saying how great they are i.e. great workers but then curl up in a ball and sleep like a cat when at home. However, I suspect OldPhil may be right and, because of the lack of rabbits in my area, a whippet would be wasted on me. Maybe just a smidge of whippet though.?
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Yay! I'm 47. I have a similar thing. Whenever anybody asks how old I am my brain gets ready to say "53" but then another part of my brain says, "what, 53! You must be joking, you can't be 53: must be 43, you've got the tens digit wrong you silly sod." But then just before that reaches my lips another message comes through saying, "Oh no, hang on, I was right, I am 53." Although that took a couple of minutes to type the whole process takes a fraction of a second so that what people actually hear as my response is, "F...fifty three."?
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I'm 53. The last disc in my spine fused after a fall, I have a fractured metatarsal head which means I've had to stop jogging every morning as it kills my left foot, a dead nerve has left me with no sensation on about a third of the area of the top of my right leg. Maybe I should give up now and get a handbag dog.?
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To be honest, a little bit of me is thinking 'variety is the spice of life' and that, when Noggin goes, I should get something completely different so that I'd have a kelpie and something else. Problem is I've been thinking that off and on for several years but then, when it comes to getting the next dog, I always get cold feet and stick with what I know best. Not that there's anything wrong with that.? So many people have suggested I get a gundog but I'm not sure I could be bothered with the whole 'working it on the local estate' thing. Then again, not working the kelpies on sheep
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Thanks shaaark. I think it's because I spent my early years with a garden full of working terriers that put me off.? I did own one once (well 3/4 bedlington, fell, lakeland 1/4 whippet) and he had lots of character but I couldn't handle the terrier temperament. I can handle a dog saying, "No, because..." but not one that says, "No: just no!"? I know they're not all like that but I don't fancy risking it.? Having said that, I've always liked Skycat's Cricket and all the other border x whippets I've seen.
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I'm feeling a tad more optimistic now as she caught her first squirrel this morning. Unfortunately, it wriggled too much so she didn't make the retrieve so it won't count, but... I've always found they have to catch at least one squirrel (sometimes two or three) before they actually catch one. Rusty always tried to live retrieve both squirrels and rats...silly sod.
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I'm pretty sure that it's Hawke who do a lifetime guarantee along the lines of any quibbles and they'll exchange.
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I've got the Hawke 10x43. I went into the shop (London Camera Exchange) intending to buy the 8x but preferred the 10x. The reason I went with the Hawke was because of several reviews which basically said that, although it's not as good (side by side) as Swarovski, the price difference makes them the better choice overall as the quality is only a tad behind, whereas the price is far less. I've also got a monocular in 8x.
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I've been thinking about what you wrote during the afternoon and I think I agree. Although my beardie cross was very intelligent, it did, looking back, seem to be more about what she could get out of it. She was great at solving problems but would only do "precisely" as she was asked if it was "precisely" what she wanted. She could jump really well but I couldn't get her to jump on command. She'd always think 'why jump that barbed wire fence when there's a gap there?'? The 3/4 collie and the collie x whippet (which also had beardie blood) were much less like this and I've always assumed i
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I just wanted to add one last post and then put this topic to bed. I've re-read my original post and realised I've, inevitably, moved to other themes. My original question was about similarities and differences between kelpies and beardies, particularly with regards to their character. This was brought about by the fact that, because of the possibility of Noggin's cancer returning sooner rather than later, I'd need to think about which dog to replace him with much sooner than I expected and I was feeling some nostalgia for my old beardie crosses, especially the 3/4 collie. What I've
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Thanks Sandymere. I think I've read that page before...you can see why I find it so confusing.? It's a good job we use working dogs so colour is of less importance but, as I said, it's a fascinating subject.? If this was Countdown, mine have been "Two from the top left, one from the top right and three from the bottom left."
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3/4 Grey 1/4 Bull (13 year Old) - How to put weight on
Neal replied to Mr Jones's topic in Lurchers & Running Dogs
When I had my first kelpie put to sleep (at sixteen) his head was resting in my hand. After the vet had given me the nod to say, 'he's gone' he continued sniffing the palm of my hand for several minutes while I stroked his muzzle with my thumb. Now I know it was just muscle memory still working or whatever, but I like to think he was getting every last bit of scent memory he could before he left.? -
Wise words OldPhil. I've found my experience of them to be half and half. My lurcher Moss (who was only 1/4 kelpie ameliorated with border collie and greyhound) was just as biddable as previous collie crosses. However, as others on here have said, he was definitely 'different.' I wouldn't go so far as to say he was cleverer, but he certainly seemed more worldly wise at a younger age. Then, when I got Rusty, I assumed (from what I'd read in breed books about kelpies) that he'd be like a collie but tougher in the heat. I found him to be extremely willing to please but he seemed to be
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3/4 Grey 1/4 Bull (13 year Old) - How to put weight on
Neal replied to Mr Jones's topic in Lurchers & Running Dogs
What does her breath smell like? The reason I ask is because this sounds similar to my last bitch i.e. the speed of the deterioration. One moment she was rabbiting on Dartmoor, a few weeks later, the weight was dropping off her, much less perky (which was very unlike her) and her breath was awful. I took her to the vet and it turned out to be kidney failure. She was put to sleep there and then. -
A couple of my friends refer to me as "the most homosexual straight person" they know.
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In addition to the spring-file full of old Shooting News articles, I found some old notebooks and I was perusing one this morning looking for something. I didn't find what I was looking for but I did find some notes I'd made from an old kelpie book by Mike Donelan (that's not the bloke from the Monkees!?) Thought some of you might find these bits interesting: "My advice to the discipline fanatic has always been - go and buy something else, but don't buy a kelpie." "I have seen some kelpies over obedience trained that could not work sheep well at all. They were 'push-button' dogs
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Thanks, that makes sense.? It could also explain why so many kelpie studs in Australia only have black and tans now. As I said, I've always been firmly of the opinion that a good dog is never a bad colour, it's just that the nerdy part of my brain (always wanting to know more about something I don't know about...must be the teacher in me) finds the subject fascinating. Coincidentally, I'm currently reading Walsh and Lowe's Whippet book (which I bought a first edition of in a charity shop for £1.50 last year!) and the last part I read was the section on colour breeding and recessive
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One more question for neil b: is yours a straight first cross kelpie x greyhound or is it kelpie/greyhound x kelpie/greyhound? The reason I'm asking is that I'm surprised by the colour. As I'm sure Jigsaw, OldPhil, etc will testify, for some reason most kelpie and heeler first crosses seem to be either brindle or an unusual reddish colour. Or at least most of the ones I've seen. I'm not great at colour genetics but I'm sure I remember a whippet breeder once telling me that what we think of as being "red" is different (genetically) in some breeds. I'm sure I read somewhere that the re
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Yes, she looks like there's plenty of room for brains up there. Edited to add: all that coat was fine when I lived in Coniston but now that I'm "daan saaf" I need something that can put up with the heat. ? Maybe when I eventually move to Dartmoor I'll go back to some beardie blood.?
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Wow, that's got some head on it!
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Since I wrote that, I used the search to find the information about the original litter. Can't believe I completely missed that, it must have been when I was on here less for a while. When I saw the first photo, and because you'd written half cross, I was assuming half kelpie half collie as I've never seen a kelpie lurcher looking so kelpie-like.? It wasn't until I saw the second photo I realised it was half greyhound. How are you finding him/her ( I can't tell from the photos?) compared to your collie cross? And do you know how the rest of the litter are doing? Oops, nearly
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Many, many years ago I found a song thrush nest with a large pebble placed in the mud lining. It was right in the middle and I've always wondered if it was decorative or practical i.e. centre of gravity and all that jazz. Never seen it before or since. I also found a blackbird nest which had been built around a twist of wire, anchoring it into the tree. Now I'm in no way claiming that the blackbird was clever enough to work out that the nest was stronger for it, but it does seem a bit of a coincidence.
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Very handsome beast. Looks like it's done a bit more work than mine too.? She's been close to a few squirrels but not quite close enough. I've found this stage goes on for a bit until I'm sure they're just never going to connect and then, when my guard's down, they surprise me. Actually, she did "catch" a squab in the garden but that doesn't really count.? neil b, what do you know about the breeding behind yours?
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I've just gone back on via the chromebook, as I don't trust myself and I wanted to check it worked.? Funny coincidence. I've noticed that the middle photo is of her marking the bury where I poured Scout's ashes down one of the vertical entrances (as she spent so much of her time on Dartmoor trying to get in there) and the last one is alongside the ford where I scattered Rusty's ashes.
