Neal
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Everything posted by Neal
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I know that 3/4 breds have their advocates, and for good reason, but there are lots of occasions when people have had great first crosses which are then mated to pure sighthounds and have produced stock which doesn't have that "certain something" which attracted everybodies attention to the original dog. No offence intended Fielder as I can certainly see why you'd be thinking along those lines. Or to put it another way...I think she looks like she's doing a pretty good job as she is Wild Rover and if it aint broke don't fix it!
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The recently heard the difference between Rugby and Football described as follows: Rugby is a game in which a group of men spend minutes pretending they're not injured when they are whereas football is a game in which a group of men spend 90 minutes pretending they are injured when they're not. Personally, I think France deserved to win the tournament though not the final game. Also, despite being English, and therefore supporting England, I'm one of those people who's also proud to be British so also support my other "home" sides. ...Shane Williams; now that would be a good name for
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It's good to see people still working their older dogs. People often forget that although they may loose something in terms of speed, they often make up for it in guile. Incidentally, on the subject of heelers: there's a series on channel 4 at the moment called "One Born Every Minute" about a maternity ward in Southampton and in this weeks episode one of the women had a few heelers which you see in a clip at the beginning.
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Bushing has more to do with the temperament or work ethic of the dog rather than the breed. I'm sure there are a lot of lurcher owners on this site who'd regard their dogs as bushing dogs. My last lurcher, kelpie/collie x greyhound, was raised on his own so naturally did all his own bushing. When I bought a pure kelpie to use as the bushing dog he, understandably, let the lurcher carry on doing what he was so good at. As a result it took a while for the kelpie to realise he was allowed in...though you wouldn't think it to see him now.
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I read "The Lovely Bones" before it was made into a film (great book) but based on the content I'd avoid him like the plague and possibly let somebody else know eg police.
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On an episode of Countryfile a week or so ago, Adam Henson seemed to be intimating an anti badger stance on an article about TB in cattle. May just be me misreading between the lines but that's how it seemed.
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Poacher 3161; yes, that's the same one. That's a pretty good return on three and a bit quid! I'm not sure we'll get quite as much as that if we try to sell them on though. I nearly gave all my Plummer books away a few years ago so I'm glad I kept them now.
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There's a copy on the coch-y-bonddu website at the moment for £85... I think I might try to sell mine too!
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When I was at art college, my tutor's, tutor's tutor's, tutor's, tutor (I think that's the right number) was Sickert who's one of the main suspects for the identity of Jack the Ripper.
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Those are pyjamas...they're called shell suits!
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Where have all the pigeons gone,,,,,,,,,,,
Neal replied to Dumpling's topic in Pigeon Shooting & Decoying
I think they've all moved down here! I see huge flocks on the farms where I go ferreting and I regularly have a pair nesting in my garden. My dogs particularly enjoy a bit of bird watching when the branchers are out. On a serious note mate, I'd say they're the commonest sight in my garden, which is semi-rural/semi-sub-urban, apart from the house sparrows. -
Nik B: I remember once telling the parent of a reception aged child (4 - 5) about her child swearing in school and her reply was something along the lines, "You naughty b*****d! Sorry mate, I don't know where he f****n' gets it from."
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My old collie lurcher used to howl when he heard a fire engine.
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I've taught in several inner city schools and,as unbelievable and distasteful as it may be, I know several examples of parents who've had a second or third child in order to move from flats into houses.
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I've only ever kept bantams but have considered adding large fowl but was worried about the same. However, I was told that chickens can be a bit like dogs ie they don't realise how small they are.
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In one of my chicken books there's an account of a huge sussex cockerel who used to see off the foxes.
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Going out at night?..to catch rabbits?..what a dreadful waste of quality sleeping time.
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I can't comment on the coursing side of this debate or the lamping element as I don't do either. My dog work is mainly bushing/mooching/kicking about, whatever you want to call it, with a bit of ferreting thrown in. When I started out with working dogs I always thought I'd place brains above prey drive...until I got my third lurcher. With her the brains definitely outweighed the prey drive leaving me pulling my hair out on numerous occasions. Now I know I definitely need both. As for the question of hedge rabbits; I don't keep dogs with any sighthound in them any more...I've gone 100%
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I agree Aaron! I grew up in a hunting home but became a mild anti (for want of a better phrase) during the first couple of years of college: that's college for you! However, by the time I left college I'd looked into things in more depth and realised all the stuff I'd been hearing was lies. When I bought my first lurcher and started working her I kept quite about it at first, worried about what others would think. After a few years I became more open and honest about it and was amazed at how many pro-hunting people there are around. I've lost count of the number of people I've met who say
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I've got bantams and my Welsummer is such a great forager and wile too. A couple of years ago I had several visits from a neighbours terrier which resulted in the loss of all but the Welsummer. Even though he came back a couple of times she always managed to stay hidden. Also, as a result, she spent one winter and spring on her tod until I could get some replacements and during all that time she was such a great forager that I hardly needed to spend anything on layers' pellets. Her yolks are often just that touch more orangey than the others; must be all the woodlice and spiders she eats.
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Good point Tomo. My first kelpie blooded dog was kelpie/collie greyhound bred by Dave Sleight and I was so impressed by him I bought a pure one and haven't looked back since. However, although the dog was great, that could just as easily have come from the collie side as the kelpie as I've heard good things about the collie line he used. Ironically, I came really close to getting a pure kelpie before the lurcher as I was so interested in them but talked myself out of it. You live and learn.
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The problem with comparing kelpie lurchers in the UK to collie crosses is that some also have collie blood but this is conveniently dropped from their description in the same way that many beardie/border lurchers are referred to as beardie lurchers. I'm not saying that either is better but a pedigree that's only partly true can cause confusion.
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I've got my two in a very similar one, from ebay too, and one problem I find with it is that whatever I put in the ground level area get soaking wet whenever it rains simply because it's at ground level. Despite this they both seem to prefer sleeping downstairs instead of in the nesting box.
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Ironically, this happened to me this weekend too. I let the kelpies out in the garden before their morning walk and the youngest bitch shot over to the end of the hedge and started marking standing up on her back legs. Assuming it was a rat, I grabbed a stick and beat the hedge a few times. Then my old male trotted over to where the bitch had been marking, jumped up into a patch of ivy and pulled out a stone dead woody.
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I'm lucky in that although I also live in Hampshire, I live just to the south of the chalky and flinty area so mine is mainly clay. Easier for the dogs but you go home a few pounds heavier and three inches taller.
