Neal
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Everything posted by Neal
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He looks a very similar build to my last lurcher (Moss) which was kelpie/collie x greyhound. Moss was maybe a tad longer in the back leg and with a wider muzzle but otherwise very similar physique. I've got no digital photos of him though.
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I saw a strange sight a couple of weeks ago at about sixish in the morning. I was walking through my local wood when I noticed a string of lights going overhead. I initially assumed it was an aircraft until I realised there was at least twenty of them (couldn't be certain of number as they were between gaps in the trees). They were pretty uniform in distance apart but some gaps were slightly wider and they moved in a single line at a uniform speed. If it had been 24th - 25th December I'd have presumed it was Santa! I looked it up when I got home and it turns out it's Elon Musk's satellite
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I once had a pure kelpie which looked like a whippet cross...does that count??? People regularly asked me, "What was the whippet mated to?" either that or they thought she was a Manchester terrier.
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Do you remember the name of the dam? I only ask because I had a first cross sired by Remus. I think she was born in '91 out of a bitch called Emma. Looked similar to yours, very dark brindle. Unlike what I was led to believe from certain books and articles, she was very friendly. She was however, very worky...once jumped in the beck which flowed through my garden to try to get a heron and jumped in Tarn Hows after a shelduck. Took a while to break to sheep but once she'd been broken she was 100% reliable with them.
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My vet said pretty much the same i.e. inoculations studies have moved on and he now recommends lepto jab annually and the others every four or five years.
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My wife and I have talked about this a lot recently. I'm thinking of getting my next pup within the next year or so but, because of prices being so high, she suggested I buy a bitch next so I can breed my own in the future. By this I mean that I'll not need to pay the higher prices in future if I'm breeding my own. I've never bred a litter before as I feel that there are plenty of the right type of dog for me out there already without me adding more but...not if prices are circa three times what they were before. Though I'm not so sure about my wife's incentives.??
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It's just so embarrassing. I've turned into one of those dog owners I've always sneered at, thinking 'why can't they control their dog, how hard can it be?'
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As an ex teacher I firmly believe that every day is a school day or, to put it another way, every mistake is a learning opportunity. It's proving to be a good job that I've got this attitude as I'm certainly needing it with Ned! I've had working dogs for about thirty years now but this kelpie (my fifth) is really proving that not all dogs are the same. Everything that's previously worked with the other four kelpies (as well as previous lurchers) just doesn't seem to work with him. There are a number of things he does which make me pull my hair out but the one which has brought me to write
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To be honest, I'm still kind of searching. I've got my lundhags which are great for winter wear but I prefer something lighter for most of the year. I wear lightweight trail running shoes by altra for about six months of the year as these are designed with a foot box which is actually the same size as a normal foot whereas most shoes companies seem to insist on us cramming our feet into their footwear and ignoring our little toes. Not perfect for those of you who dig a lot though.?
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I used to wear them all the time. But then they moved their manufacturing over to China and they no longer fit me. I've even tried a pair on in a decent outdoors walking boot shop where they measure your feet properly and the bloke said my feet were too wide. I tried the next size up but then they're too long. Ho hum.
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The best feet I had on a lurcher was probably a 3/4 beardie/border 1/4 greyhound...so hardly surprising really. Four of my pure kelpies have had great feet but one had poor feet and, ironically considering the comments above, hers were the most hare like as opposed to round and tight like the others.
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I'd agree with the two comments above re allergic reaction to something like a wasp sting. My last kelpie bitch had it twice and, on one occasion she looked like a Staffy as her head swelled up so much.
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Is that where the ones on the other thread are from, or it that just a coincidence?
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This is what I find so confusing about whippet lurchers. Just when I read an opinion I think makes perfect sense, somebody says something different which makes perfect sense too. Maybe it's simply that whippet lurchers can be amazing but some aren't and it just depends on which ones you meet. ?My brain aches trying to formulate my own opinion on this conundrum. I'd normally now sign off by saying that I don't need to worry about it because I've got my kelpies?...but one of them is Ned...and my brain aches just as much thinking what the hell to do with him?...but that's a whole other can of wor
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I'd always previously been of the opinion that a whippet lurcher MUST be better than a pure whippet because of what you're adding to it. However, for the last dozen or so years my brother has had three whippets and they've certainly opened my eyes to what they're capable of. I don't think I could ever have one though...my neighbour complains enough about how skinny my kelpies are...God only knows what she'd make of a whippet!
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I completely agree with this sentiment on many levels. The number of times on here (and before the internet when reading Countryman's Weekly and Shooting News letters pages) when similar questions came up. Somebody has a dog of a type not like the "normal" lurcher e.g. very small whirrier type or heavily base blood orientated and everybody says, "mate it to a pure greyhound (or a 28" 1/4 bull 3/4 greyhoundx saluki)." Then lo and behold the owners says that the next generation is faster but, "there's a certain something missing." I'm not saying it doesn't give you what you want in 99% of cases
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Those are the two that I've got too. Were any more published?
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Yeah, I think I've heard it called that before.
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It's the same around here: just north of Portsmouth. It's almost solid houses all the way from Southsea to Clanfield. I can see a time when Portsmouth and Southampton will be one continuous conurbation. Actually, I'm sure I remember my geography teacher predicting that back in the early 80s in Bridgemary...he said they call it a megalopolis I think. I can remember my Mum, who was born in Gosport town saying that going to Rowner was like going to the next village when she was a girl. Sad. What price progress?
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Personally, I can see why a huntaway's style of working could be beneficial in some areas in the British Isles i.e. expansive hilly or mountainous areas. Here the bark would work to shift sheep which wouldn't know a dog was there if the dog concerned was a completely silent type which became stuck on small numbers and simply froze. However, as Sheepchaser points out, a good collie can do this too and more besides. I've heard of a few people who have one for gathering and then swap to their collie closer to home for this very reason. With regards to barking: the best way to discourage a do
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For me it's the tendency to think independently and uninstructed. I'm well aware that a good collie can do that too, but there are some which will do exactly as they're told but will ONLY do exactly as they're told. Although I use mine for hunting, they've all had occasion to "work" sheep. On all these occasions they were given no encouragement or instruction. Something just clicked and their brain said, "I know I've been told to ignore them for the last x number of years but I think I'm needed for this one-off incident."
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I've heard that a lot of cattle farmers in Australia prefer kelpies now for working cattle as they tend to be "kinder" in their working style but backing it up if needed whereas a lot of heelers back it up before having any problems...but then you'd expect me to be just a tad one sided.?
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One of the things that always put me off heelers was the fact that almost all the ones in the UK were imported because they were pure A.C.D.s and could be registered with the kennel club and shown rather than because of their working ability. However, over the last ten years I've seen more and more working ones advertised, both pups for sale and working males at stud. I've also seen a few litters of sheep/cattle dogs with kelpie and or collie with a dash of heeler too. The ones I've seen recently look much more lithe and agile than the early ones. I think the only working early impor
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Yeah, I've heard of them being in Scotland (i.e. their own ones) but I'm sure this report said that one of the Isle of Wight ones had been tracked there and back too. I knew a chap once who, while on holiday in Scotland, was offered a job (with a cottage I think too) "overseeing" the local wildlife, which included keeping an eye on the local white tails. He turned the job down!
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I saw something about these on the tv about a week ago. I think it was on South Today. Didn't one of them go up to Scotland and then return?
