Neal
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Everything posted by Neal
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Recycling And Frugal Living - Any Tips?
Neal replied to Matt's topic in Living Off The Land & Game Cooking
The most extreme example of frugality I've heard of was when a bloke phoned in to Martin Lewis on the Jeremy Vine show to say he reduced the amount of loo roll he bought by only going while he was at work. -
Beauty's in the eye of the beholder...I've always thought of him as a handsome little chap. Then again, like you, I'm one of those people who feels that if an "ugly" dog is kept and/or bred from then it MUST be because it's such a good worker, so I end up finding ugly dogs attractive...if that makes sense.
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I've had most of mine from a local ferret rescue so their temperament has been, to a certain extent, predetermined. One of my last two jills was fine but the other was described as "a little bit nippy" when I collected her. She turned out to be the most evil little cow and I hated trying to handle her as she was so intent on causing me harm. The problem then is that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. As I said above, I'm currently without any unless I manage to get some more permission but if I did I think I'd go for kits, then any mistakes are down to me.
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Gaz: I can, but I sometimes have to ask twice and, to be a bit anthropomorphic, she always seems a bit peed off. I remember once, when she was a pup, I lost her in a local wood for about five minutes; not long by most people's standards but mine tend not to wander too far for very long. I only found her when I heard some grunting and discovered her tail sticking out of a rabbit hole where she was trying to rip out a root which was in her way...I had to ask more than twice on that occasion.
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It's half term this week so I promise to see if I can remember my photobucket password and start a thread on him. All my photos of him so far are on my mobile (Nokia Lumia)...is there any other way of putting up photos or is it still only via photobucket.
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I once had a pair who were named after my teaching assistant's kids as her surname was Ferrett. Now that I've got kids of my own, my last two were named after cbeebies characters...but I'm currently ferretless as those two died last winter and my permission's being covered in a housing estate.
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I think it shows the difference in character of the owners too...some of us see that kind of marking as an asset whereas others will find it bl**dy annoying.
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You don't want to see him...he's too ugly!
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I remember reading a thread on here sometime during the last year asking why people added collie (beardie or border as well as kelpie, cattle dog, malinois etc) to a lurcher mix other than for intelligence. One of the benefits mentioned was concentration span, particularly with regards to ferreting so I thought I'd give an example I witnessed yesterday. I spent most of yesterday in the garden with my five year old son, two year old daughter and three kelpies (aged fourteen, six and fourteen weeks). I'd made a raised veg bed for my son last year but it had gradually turned into a diggin
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Like many people who use this forum, I use the addition of eggs and fish to my dogs' diet to improve the condition of their coat. However, while walking my kids and dogs through the local wood yesterday I saw a black Labrador with a coat so shiny it was almost iridescent. If someone had shown me a photo of the dog I'd have presumed it had been tampered with or that he'd been rubbed down with an oily rag. So, I mentioned it to the owner, expecting him to name some expensive complete dog food, but it wasn't...he adds blackcurrant juice to his food. I was so nonplussed I didn't think to ask if i
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Kelpie cross?.....you wanna get a proper dog! I've heard they're rubbish.
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Not terriers but...my three are in a 12' x 4' run with a bed box. As mentioned above, they'll spend all day asleep until you let them out.
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On a more serious note...I was teaching a lad today and we were reading a book about the planets. It said in there that Mars has polar ice caps and they're melting due to warming too. Now they certainly can't blame that on 4 x 4s or fields full of farting cattle!
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Following on from the Mech quote, I've got the Barry Holsten Lopez book "Of Wolves and Men" and in it he states that "the only part consistently ignored is the stomach and its contents. Some vegetable matter is taken separately, particularly berries, but Canis lupus does not seem to digest them very well." I hope I'm not in breach of copyright by typing that. I have to say that, thanks to re-reading that, its made me rethink the percentage of fruit and veg I give to my kelpies, especially as you can definitely see some of it in the "waste product." As above, mine browse berries too.
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I'd agree with elements from both sides. I know that modern dogs are descended from wolves but I believe our ancestors would have selectively bred from those individuals which were more amenable to handling as one of the essential attributes. As a result, "friendly" wolves became modern dogs whereas "unfriendly" (or rather more wary) wolves became modern wolves. As a result, I doubt if the wolf which became the dog is with us any more...other than in our kennels or curled up at our feet. Incidentally, mine get meat, bones and fruit and veg. They do occasionally get carbs but only if the ki
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Worst job...teaching. Best job...teaching...which leads me to believe that, unless you're working on your tod, it's more down to the people you're working with than the job itself.
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There are lots of things I think I regret, when I look at them as isolated incidents, when then, when I look at the bigger picture, I realise I wouldn't be where I am now i.e. two best kids in the world, lovely wife, best kennel of dogs I've ever owned, beautiful house, job I enjoy etc (touch wood).
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Speaking from experience, sometimes you don't want any contact...no matter how much you may want to find something out/contact a third party etc.
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A pair used to nest on top of the giant letters on the Pall Europe building by Portsmouth docks.
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As mentioned above, they have their own website with lots of photos, videos etc.
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A second vote for Timberbuild. I have their Alexandra which has a bed box with daybed and sliding door at one end and a run at the other. Mine also came with the special flooring as I don't like having dogs on concrete. I simply put down six slabs, went to work and it was all there when I came home. I'd definitely recommend them.
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What I liked about him most was that you really bought into everything he did. The most obvious example being in Mermaids...I didn't once think "Him...with Cher!" He was just so honest in front of the camera that you simply had to believe it.
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Although Fluff's answer may sound simplistic, it ties in with a comment I read in a herding dog book once which claimed that, originally, lurchers were simply crossbreds used to catch (as Fluff says) "game on the run." The author felt these were more likely to be collie crosses as they were easier to come by and the other half would be dictated by what else was available and the quarry and ground you were working on. As a result, some would be collie x greyhound whereas others might be collie x terrier or collie x gundog. Then, as time went by, the former became the more popular and the collie
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I feed mine raw but, due to the difficulty of finding a proper local butcher who'd provide that kind of thing and a lack of freezer space, I buy mine in bags from a local pet store. It's still the usual i.e. chicken wings, turkey necks, mince etc and is made (though made isn't quite the right word) by a company called Nature's Menu. They have a very helpful website and I think I read somewhere that mixing raw and complete in the same meal isn't ideal...something to do with the different rate at which they're digested.
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I find every dog is different and there's not necessarily a hard and fast best way to teach/encourage retrieving. My old kelpie was forever picking things up and bringing them to me and this naturally progressed to him retrieving live game and my current pup looks like being the same (touch wood). However, I've had lurchers which flatly refused to show any interest but when they started catching, not only did they retrieve it but also, some then started retrieving other things like balls etc. It's almost as though they couldn't see the point until they had a reason to do it. But, on the othe
