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Mossdog

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Everything posted by Mossdog

  1. Mossdog
    Next time I'm looking at purchasing a pup I'll ask the breeder for a discount as I need a new shooting jacket and wellingtons. I thought all Scotsmen would do that anyway!.......Or you could be lucky and find a breeder who charges a sensible price for proven working stock, then you won't have to ask.
  2. Mossdog
    I sympathise, David. It's a vicious circle to break out of, because rising pup prices mean rising stud fees and I've been told by vets that while some of the health checks are expensive, others are not, but the certificate pads that the vets have to use to record the results are just ridiculously priced, so they have to pass that on to the owners. Viszlas seem to have exploded in popularity as pets too, recently. I wonder if this has pushed the price up, because there is a demand from people prepared to pay that sort of money? It's counter-productive in the long term (to me, anyway) becaus
  3. Mossdog
    I've not been logged on here for ages, but I agree with the OP: prices are getting silly. For a breed to be healthy and fit for purpose, it needs a wide genepool and it needs to be bred primarily by people who use the dog regularly for the task it was bred for (not for a competition based on the original task) I'm by no means anti-health testing, but I'd rather buy a pup locally where I can see as many relatives as possible at work in the field, or at least hear of them from people I trust, who have seen them working regularly - than buy a pup from a complete stranger with all the necessar
  4. Mossdog
    Thank you Bosun. your take on them is the same as mine - except I love em to bits! I'm desperately looking for another one, but they all seem to be KC registered and around £800!!! (and much bigger and slower than the sort you used to see round Ormskirk)
  5. Mossdog
    If she's keen to work and you're keen to give it a go - then why not?
  6. Mossdog
    Yes, Rob. My last Irish was an ex-show dog. My personal preference is for a dog that goes back to the older Irish and northern English lines. My old dog went back to Teltown, Swinpen and Bens Heir, with Edbrios further forward. They do vary a lot in appearance and temperament. I wanted an Irish Terrier first and foremost as a guard dog to travel with me on my rounds and keep me company and anything after that I regarded as a bonus. My only regret is that I didn't have him from a puppy, or at a time when I had more opportunity to work him, because now I've seen more bushng dogs and working
  7. Mossdog
    ive never seen one in the flesh Shaaark either only listened to the tales about my grandads dog and if the tales were true it took many a long tail of lord derbys estate in merseyside there is a dutch fella who has been breeding with some imported dogs in the lines. i have had a brief chat to him and he has invited me down to see the dogs and have a good talk to him. it maybe intresting. i dont know if anyone has actually purchased one with some sort of work in mind When someone says 'work' - just make sure they don't mean "I let my dogs off the lead and they do what the heck they want
  8. Mossdog
    Irish Terriers change hands for what can only be described as 'silly money' these days! There are a couple of guys who claim they are breeding 'working' Irish Terriers, but personally, I wouldn't pay close to £1,000 for a dog that is bred from just the same lines as the show dogs and there are no 'working' lines left. Having said that, the show lines can and have been trained to the gun, as search and rescue dogs, deer-tracking dogs and bushing dogs, so you just have to make your choice and do your research. The good points are that a good Irish is intelligent, trainable, can be very soft-
  9. Mossdog
    Another thing! The breed standard says the ideal weight for fully grown dogs is 25lbs. There are a lot of over-sized Irish around - but as they are too big to go to ground anyway, I guess it's not a big deal. Realistically, an adult male of around 20" at the shoulder can be a hefty beast - and there are a lot of over-weight Irish about!
  10. Mossdog
    I can shed some light (not a lot, admittedly!) First up, as most of you know, Irish are never and will never be 'working terriers' in the true sense, in that they don't have the build or the character to go to ground. Due to many years of being bred for the show ring and having their show hey-day when the show brigade thought terriers should be on their toes, bursting with nervous aggression and flying off the handle every 2 seconds (because that's how they interpreted 'gameness' - doh!) Irish do need to be allowed to mix with and find their place in the world with a lot of steady dogs as yo
  11. Mossdog
    I went along because it was fairly local and I was just curious about Plummer terriers. I found a really great little show with a friendly crowd and a judge who seemed to know his stuff. Nobody pretended it was anything other than a dog show - or that success in the ring was a guarentee of success in the field. Everyone had their own opinions about which dogs they prefered and ringside was full of debate, but all friendly. Hunt, I have absolutely no idea who you are, but I can only assume you are working undercover for PETA, or some other militant anti-hunting group. Why do you think t
  12. Mossdog
    Thanks Poacher & Spec - sounds totally sensible to me (and I'm glad someone else thinks 'junior' food is a big fat scam! I don't want to become one of those awful dog-worriers who goes around analysing their dog's diet and questioning what everyone else feeds their dogs - especially as my older dog lives on chicken wings and scraps and whatever free samples I pick up if I'm out and about...He landed on my doorstep aged 7 months though, so I just wanted to double-check the puppy angle, in case I had got it all wrong. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, I'll be pestering you about trai
  13. Mossdog
    She moved in a fortnight ago! I went for a wooden kennel with sleeping and small covered area and quite a big run. So far, she's been very good, with just a bit of noise when she's first left - which I ignore and she packs it in after about 2 minutes. She's had some trips in the car, with the older dog and settles really well. All in all, I'm really pleased with her. She's very bold and inquisitive and getting bigger by the day...but I have another question.. I've had mixed advice about exercise and feeding. Exercise ranges from a cautious '5 minutes per month of the dog's life' to 'le
  14. Mossdog
    After 3 seasons of beating, I have finally agreed to have a springer. I collect my puppy in 3 weeks' time and I am still undecided about the bets living arrangements: each time I make up my mind, someone comes along and says, "oh no - you shouldn't do that...." What sort of kennel arrangements do other people have? What works well - and what might you do differently if you have the chance to start again from scratch? I was thinking of an enclosed area, with a plastic bed plus some Vetbed, with a pop-hole to a covered run and doors both from the enclosed area and from the run out into a
  15. Mossdog
    Yes - it's a serious forum for working terrier owners and I'm inviting you to a fun dog show! We (Irish Terrier Rescue) are holding our Ginger Fun Day on 5th September at 10.30am, Scarisbrick Village Hall, Smithy Lane, Scarisbrick near Ormskirk. It's a small, friendly little show with the Best Puppy, Best Veteran, Best Rescue and Best Condition all judged on how soundly made and physically fit the dogs are - so I for one would love to welocome a few working dogs After that, we have silly classes, like waggiest tail, sausage-catching, rat-catchers' relay etc. (don't worry - you ca
  16. Mossdog
    please move if this is the wrong place to post... BUT, if anyone in the Ormskirk / Southport area is looking for a cheap family day out with the dogs, we (Irish terrier rescue) are holding our Ginger Fun Day at Scarisbrick Village Hall on Sunday September 5th at 10.30am. It's £3 for adults, £1.50 for under 16s and OAPs and you can bring along as many dogs as you like and enter as many classes. The Best Puppy, Best Rescue, Best Condition and Best Veteran are all based on how physically sound the dogs are - so you never know..........you might bring home some prizes We also have s
  17. Mossdog
    I agree - great that she does want to do something positive (but the bit about essential oils did crack me up!)and is doing her best to find something that fits in with her beliefs. I also put the post up because I do get really annoyed at the number of Patterdale ending up in rescue. They seem to be being over-bred compared to the numbers of genuine, sensible working or competant pet homes available. It also bugged me that the rescue assumed that just because the dog was 'dumped' it was more than likely hunting people. Hundreds of Patterdales and other working terriers are ending up in r
  18. Mossdog
    Thanks everyone - the weblink was really helpful Once I move house I am going to have a chat with a friend who has had them for years and look at putting my name down for a pup, or rehoming a working-lines one. I get the distinct impression that a Water Spaniel is a state of mind, as much as a dog if that makes sense and I definitely like to do my training in short, fun bursts with lots of laughs - but at the same time, I am pretty ruthless on myself in terms of monitoring my progress and taking my time to ensure everything is learnt properly. The only drawback is that I might ha
  19. Mossdog
    I admit it! I want an Irish Water Spaniel! I have seen lots of springers and labs and cockers and asked loads of questions and watched very carefully, but I just can't drop the idea of a IWS! I've read through the SIWSC website and looked at a few breeders' websites, but is there anyone out there with 1st hand experience of either working one themselves or seeing one at work and can recommend any specific lines? Are there any 100% working lines left, or if not, are there any 'dual purpose' show/ wprking lines that do regularly cut it as working dogs?
  20. Mossdog
    I have just been on another forum where I posted details of a fun dog show and there was a post from someone who has a rescue Patterdale. Apparently, she wants to train it to track, which is a cool! However, she does not want it to track animals because she is training for 'the dog's benefit: to give it some variety in its day and some mental stimulation' (again!) She is looking for somewhere or a book, on how to teach your Patterdale to track scents like 'essential oils, or maybe vanilla' and is worried because the rescue suspected it may have been used for hunting and dumped, so sh
  21. Mossdog
    My Irish Terrier was very bright and trainable, plus he has a really good nose, was very fast and had a lovely temperament with people. With bitches he was fine, but young, very bouncy, pushy males were never tolerated -apart from a chosen few. Despite the rest of this post - I thought he was the best dog ever and I still think a really top Irish Terrier is a brilliant animal. Be really careful with Irish nowadays. I'd love an Irish x Greyhound but being very involved with the Irish Terrier world, I know that sadly, although numbers are increasing, quality is nosediving Most Irish are
  22. Mossdog
    I thought this was a wind-up when I first saw the thread title! These money-making opportunists are just preying on idiots. However, there are plenty of idiots about. I agree - mongrels used to just happen by accident and the pups were given away to freinds and acquaintances who just wanted a nice pet - and the owner of the bitch would be grateful if he managed to find good homes (and suitably embarrased) I'm not knocking accidents - there are some lovely mongrels that make first rate pets and a few good working dogs, but deliberately breeding for the pet market is why there are 750 do
  23. Mossdog
    I am hoping to acquire a cocker next year, but I want to do a lot more research first. I want her for beating on a small, lowland shoot. I've seen tiny cockers, leggy cockers, broad cockers, cockers that look like mini-setters.....As long as my cocker mixes well with people and dogs, is happy to work dense cover and has a bidable nature I'll be happy. I know much of that depends on me and my training. Can anyone recomend breeders in the NW who might let me come and have a look and a chat? It's a big commitment, so I want to make sure I go for something that I can really take to and wo
  24. Mossdog
    When I get mine, she will be Briar, Bay or possibly I will take one look at her and think of something completely different!
  25. Mossdog
    Thanks. The problem with all the rescues I have looked at is that many won't home to working homes or homes where the dog does not have access to most of the house. I did speak to one rescue who said they get lots of working lines spaniels - but their idea of a 'working' home was agility or flyball! Heaven forbid their little doglets would be used for the task they were bred for I love terriers and small lurchers (been drooling over the pics in the lurcher forum ) - but the most sensible option for me and for my dog is something well-socialised, fairly steady, getting on a bit and used
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