Retsdon

Many years ago I lived in Bow, and behind our block of flats was an old disused works that was just hotching with cats. One of the families on the estate had an Afghan that would lie out at night on the grass between our block and the works, and it would nail any cat that came over the wall. In the time I lived there it must have done for tens, if not hundreds of them.

Ha! I was 63 three days ago, and this pic suddenly out of a clear blue sky brought back the childhood memory of resting my head like that on the sleeping dog listening to her stomach gurgling. It was always full of noises. I'd forgotten all about it! Thanks

Tried it yourself? Actually it works very well. But there are a couple of points. It's not some random tups in a field, it's a single tup in a pen - and the tup needs to be mature, big, and of a moody disposition (that's why I suggested a Suffolk). Also the pen should be small and have corners (so not a round pen). What happens is that the tup will immediately back himself into a corner so the dog can't get behind him, and then launch his attacks from there. As I said, in less than a minute the tup will be chasing the dog around the pen. It's a gimmick that works very well. But like mos

It's too bad that you don't know a tame farmer because the best way to cure a young dog of an unwanted interest in sheep is to drop him into a small, strong-sided pen with a big old Suffolk ram. The whole lesson will take less than a minute, and when you've finally taken pity on the dog and fished him out of there he'll never so much as look sideways at another sheep again.

“The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries and horrors would the human race have been spared, had some one pulled up the stakes or filled in the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: "Do not listen to this imposter. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all and the earth to no one!” Jean-Jacques Rousseau

That is one hell of a handsome dog!

Beautiful country. Bet there's fish running that river too.

How much?!? Here in Thailand I was quoted 230 quid for a full MRI chest scan for myself. Sure, the cost of labour, rates, etc, is higher in the UK, but not 6 times higher. An MRI machine costs the same wherever it is. £1500 is an outrageous price.

My four year old from the backseat the of the car....we're waiting at the lights to turn right. Him: 'Daddy, why don't you like the builders? Me. 'Oh, it's not I don't like them, they're a bit messy maybe and I don't like the way they... Him...interrupting: "Is it because they're a pack of f*cking cowboys? His 6 year old brother in the other back seat...bouncing with glee and pointing: 'Daddy! Daddy! Doozie used the F word! Doozie used the F word!'

There, in a nutshell. Anyone following this thread, read and learn. The easiest and best way to train a dog is to maneuvre it into a position that it really wants to do something, and then allow it to do what it wants to do while giving it a command at the same time. Eventually the dog will follow the command regardless of its own motivation. There's never ever confrontation.

That's my point. Every 8 year old kid on the planet could learn to tie laces in 2 minutes. A three year old might take weeks. Unless you genuinely need to teach early - why try and force the pace when waiting a while will cut a load of work.

Dogs are like kids - they mature at different ages. With kids, you get parents wanting them do do this or that at 3 or 4 years old. and they becomr absolutely distraught if Johnny next door is tying his laces, or spelling his name before their own little Kevin. The reality is that -with a bit of encouragement - they can ALL tie their laces and spell their names before they get to 8 or 9. Likewise with dogs. Everyone is in a fearful hurry. Fine to play around teaching a 10 week old pup to chase you when called, but at the end of the day it's far easier to train a dog at 5-6 months than it is a

There's such a beast?

That would be a pity Blaise. As I commented months ago - last year even?- I have really enjoyed this thread and am grateful for the knowledge and information that I've gained from it. Never having put a dog to ground in my life, your thread has opened my eyes to the sport of badger hunting and blown away a whole bunch of preconceptions and misconceptions. Don't listen to the snipers. What you have to know is that one of the less attractive traits of modern Britain - and it's a recent one that's grown up over the last 20 years or so - is that every Tom, Dick and Harry genuinely believes

It sounds like your bitch had a lucky escape. That stuff is dangerous. https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/blue-green-algae-risks-to-dogs/