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fabiomilitello

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Everything posted by fabiomilitello

  1. fabiomilitello
    So I see the general consensus is to leave the dog whole. Seeing as he's not cocked his leg yet, I am going to leave the notion alone. I'll decide at a later date, depending on his behaviour. I understand what everyone has said about his recall and calmness being all down to training, but I am slightly inclined to disagree. If I'm on a walk and there is a bitch on heat in the park, I can guarantee even the best trained dogs won't come back once they have made a bee line towards the female. All the whistle pipping, hand clapping and shouting in the world won't stop a dogs natural instinct.
  2. fabiomilitello
    many people say it calms the dog down, makes their recall better, stops them from running after bitches in heat during walks in the park. Edit: Forgot to mention it stops spraying as well, which many people find disgusting.
  3. fabiomilitello
    Hi all, I have a 6 month old working labrador, and I can sense within the next few weeks he's going to cock his leg. He's a family pet first and foremost, however I will be working him during the shooting season in the beating line for 8 saturdays, so I want him to be well trained. I haven't started his formal gundog training yet, he only attends puppy obidience classes where he learns to sit, heel etc etc... My question is, I have seen a lot of stuff on how neutering gundogs (male and female) can take away their drive to want to work, and make them a lot less effective as workers. I'm not
  4. fabiomilitello
    I am in the midst of selling my car, a small hatchback - due to my Labrador getting bigger and bigger. Initially I was looking at an estate car, but I realise a small 4x4 might be a better option as I can use it for work when I need to do the odd job on a work day. My budget is just shy of 3000, I'm looking for something that's capable of off roading, and something that's comfortable to drive on the motorway, and can fit my labrador in the back (in a crate).
  5. fabiomilitello
    That's an impressive set up. Am I right in thinking a kettle bbq is ideal for both grilling and bbq? Im looking at getting one soon, tbh I only found out the difference a couple of days ago. Im mainly wanting it for grilling burgers sausages wings etc but I also realy want to try beer can chicken and duck. You're very correct. Make sure you follow a good instruction guide for BBQ'ing the meat in question though. Basically it's the same as grilling, but in essence you wait for the coals and wood to burn right down, and you add wood chips (which you can buy in any BBQ shop). It stays put fo
  6. fabiomilitello
    I made this post a few months ago on the Gundogs and Retriever section of the forum, as I was worried that it would potentially make the dog go hard mouthed. The general consensus for everyone that replied was that they will not make your dog go hard mouthed. They are smart enough to know what a retrieve is, and what eating meat is. They will be soft with the retrieve because they understand that they are performing a retrieve, but when they are tearing into meaty bones and flesh, they'll know they are doing it because they are eating. Feeding raw has so many benefits and keeps dogs looking le
  7. fabiomilitello
    So a few days ago I shot two adult sized rabbits. I gave one to my grandma and was left with one myself. Wasn't too sure what to make with it though, as it's not particularly the weather for stews and casseroles, so I thought I'd ask about on here for something a bit different. Socks gave me a great idea to debone the rabbit, lay it flat, cover it in cranberry and walnut stuffing, roll it up - brown it in a pan with 50 / 50 oil and butter, then into the oven for an hour or two. That sounded amazing, and my mouth was watering so I thought I'd give it a go. I put my own spin on it, by layering b
  8. fabiomilitello
    They do occasionally grow sprouts. At the moment I think they are growing broad beans and aubergines on the fields, do you reckon the pigeons will go for that?
  9. fabiomilitello
    Make sure you aren't getting confused with a BBQ and a GRILL. These two words have become synonymous with one another over time, and here in the UK we just use the word BBQ for both senses of the word. A grill is an open fire, made by gas or charcoal, with a grill over the top. That is where you grill burgers, steaks, chicken pieces, sausages, lamb chops etc... A BBQ is something that you cook meat, such as beef brisket - for a period of 7 hours and above. It smokes and slow cooks the meat, usually marinaded or rubbed with a BBQ rub or sauce. Here is a BBQ I made a few years a
  10. fabiomilitello
    I don't think many people have an issue with losing ferrets. If you have tracking collars on them. There is much more chance that you might injure one with a spade as you dig them out. Usually ferrets just run around the tunnels dug by rabbits as opposed to digging new ones themselves, so you'll always have a rough idea of where abouts they are.
  11. fabiomilitello
    Gun shy can be cured pretty easily, so like the above posters said, when a gundog owner says he's giving it away because it's gun shy, it probably means there's a plethora of problems as well.
  12. fabiomilitello
    Yes I know what you mean. My dad always said that if you had a Spaniel, you were classed as a Beater. If you had a Lab then you were a Gun. Even though the best dog me dad has ever had was a springer called Joe, there was nothing he couldnt find or pick up. He used to be sent in to retrieve when all the others couldnt. Like i said in my OP, all ill be looking for is a Dog that will do the Job, not after a trial dog, just a good hardy retriever. If you're after a good hardy retriever to pick up pheasants and ducks, just get a purebred working lab. Any lines are good, mine is Glenbriar bu
  13. fabiomilitello
    making my mouth water just by reading that! how long do you leave it in the oven for? I'm definitely going to try that!
  14. fabiomilitello
    Not looking for big bags to be honest - just looking for some good sporting! I'm going to head down to my local gun shop and buy a few pigeon decoys and set out an easy pattern. I'll let you know how I get on
  15. fabiomilitello
    Went out at the weekend and got a bag of two nice sized females. Gave one to my grandma (the good Grandson that I am), so I'm left with a adult rabbit. Looking to do something a bit different with it - anyone got any recipes that don't involve stew or casserole?
  16. fabiomilitello
    Hi all, I may be asking an extremely stupid question here, but... I have permission on a nursery of about 14 acres. As it's a nursery, they mainly grow their green veg in huge poly tunnels and green houses. There is a field at the back, but there never seems to be any growing going on, only occasionally throughout the year. They grow cabbage, corriander, kale, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes etc... So there are plenty of rabbits. However, I would love to get into the art of pigeon shooting and decoying. I spent Sunday there all day, and there was only two or three stray pigeons that flew ov
  17. fabiomilitello
    When she comes back with the dummy, don't take it off her straight away. Get down on your knees, with your arms open wide, give her loads of praise for bringing it back and let her hold the dummy for a little while. Then, say "dead" and take the dummy away from her. I always see people with labs or spaniels do the same mistake. They let the dog come back to them with the dummy, and take it off them as soon as they bring it back. That way, the dog thinks "well, if I'm doing all this work to run up to it and take it back to him, I won't bother if he's only going to take it off me straight away."
  18. fabiomilitello
    Hello again, So I went down on Saturday and had a great time meeting the shoot secretary and the gamekeeper. Both really great guys. I ended up helping the shoot secretary building a new bridge out of wooden decking and timber, while the gamekeeper went to fix a polypipe that squirrels had chewed through, which was spraying water everywhere when it should have been delivering water to the main release pen. In May, we're putting down cover crops (maize and one other, I can't remember the name), so they said they would definitely give me a shout for some help then. Was a bit rainy in the mor
  19. fabiomilitello
    Thank you for all your helpful replies. Seeing as i've never been beating before and the shoot was kind enough to offer me a place in the upcoming season i thought it wad the least i can do. Ill keep you all posted on how it goes
  20. fabiomilitello
    I may be asking an extremely broad question here, however... I have secured my place in a beating team on a shoot about an hour away from where I am. My uncle, who did a lot of beating and shooting on driven estates back in the day told me that in order to maintain a good relationship with the gamekeeper, it's often wise and commonplace to ask if he needs a hand in any day-to-day duties during the off season. Taking his advice, I contacted the gamekeeper and asked if it was okay if I came down on Saturday to give him a hand around the place. He was happy to have me there, so on the weekend
  21. fabiomilitello
    Sorry to ressurect a dead post, but I just read an article on the Shooting Times about the differences between a cocker and a springer, and it relates exactly to this "problem" you are having! Cockers and Springers hunt in very different ways. Springer Spaniels enjoy hunting, and will push through cover regardless of whether or not there is game there or not. They do it for the fun. Whereas "cockers" are usually called "economy hunters". They will only ever push into cover if they know 100% there is game in there. They aren't stupid. They don't want to cut themselves up for no reason (
  22. fabiomilitello
    This is the extent to what I do with him. He does a couple of retrieves every now and then, but other than that, 90% of our playtime he just wanders around the garden by himself checking everything out.
  23. fabiomilitello
    haha cheers jok, I got another video I took earlier today of him hunting out a tennis ball I hid in thick cover. I can post it up if you're interested
  24. fabiomilitello
    Thanks mate, what I did to make him stop on single pip is basically, I got him to stand in front of me, then I hold out my hand, palm facing down at about waist height. I lean over him, say "sit" and pip the whistle once. Sooner or later, I guarantee the dog will begin to sit down. When he does, I give him a treat and lay on the praise big time. Some people get them to sit by pushing their hind legs down. I don't like this technique, and find that if I hold my hand out with my palm down, he eventually sits down. Once he got used to doing that, I take a few steps back and just pip the whistle.
  25. fabiomilitello
    If it breaks your heart so much why don't you have one? What kind of stupid question is that? I have no use for a nsdtr or a chessie, because I don't do wildfowl over salt water. Labrador retriever is best suited for my needs.
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