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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    Love this!
  2. skycat
    Phantom pregnancy perhaps? You need to check the date she came into season. November would make if a very delayed phantom, but I have known bitches stay soft and milky for up to 12 weeks following a season. If she seems fine in every other way, drop her food intake, no carbohydrates. Feed raw if you can, plenty of bones, and give her loads of exercise. I've also found that post season bitches will want to eat more than they need: nature's way of preparing for a possible litter, but they will also put on weight if allowed to eat their normal amount of food. I have to cut their food right back
  3. skycat
    If you go and play in their playground ...
  4. skycat
    The bit I've highlighted in red might give you a clue as to what's going on. When you try to increase the energy what do you do exactly? How does she react: it might be that you are simply being too full on, which she sees as intimidating. If she is a sensitive sort (think prey rather than predator) you may be overwhelming her with the force of your attention. Puppies are not predators, though some seem it, and some are very wary, flighty, and more likely to run than go forwards. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, for the pups which are too keen before their bodies can match their minds of
  5. skycat
    If she's retrieving when she can't see you as she catches, crouch down, turn the beam off, when she catches in the same field. That can make her think you aren't there any more and she'll bring the catch to find you, same as she does when she is on the other side of a hedge. I had the same issues with one of my lurchers long ago. She'd mess about with a close catch, but never ones she'd caught further away. In her case, 'disappearing' by turning the beam off and sitting down, worked. Also, turning my back on her, so as not to seem too intimidating, helped.
  6. skycat
    You don't say how old the lurcher is, nor where she was kept before you got her. Nor do you tell us what she was fed on previously. But, if you have an adult, non-house trained dog which you not only remove it from its familiar surroundings, but change its diet too, there's no surprise she is messing in the house. She may also have a bacterial infection which is giving her the runs. Has she been wormed recently, and with the correct wormers? That might help settle her guts a bit if she's riddled with worms, but it's far more likely that the dog is stressed with the changes, both in diet an
  7. skycat
    Like it when you said that every trip is a lesson in reading the dog. That's what it's all about: it's as much us learning our dogs as it is them learning their trade. Love it when you can identify what the dog has found by the way it reacts.
  8. skycat
    My grandson was taken out of class 3 months ago, why? Because he told somebody in his he had been out with me to shoot a deer. He was told by the head teacher not to talk about such things at school and was given a letter explaining this to his mother. But that same head teacher no doubt bought meat from the supermarket that had no sort of a life while it lived, and spent its last hours or days in terror whilst others were slaughtered around it with the smell of blood and death in the air. No sort of death either, compared to the deer that had been happily browsing all unaware right
  9. skycat
    Brilliant cook me. Pheasant and rabbit pie my speciality. Seriously though, I find it so sad when what is one partner's reason for living is treated like a vice by the other, and although I don't like to disrespect the sisterhood, that other is so often 'er indoors'. What is it with some women, who marry a man who lives and breathes hunting with dogs, and yet won't lend a hand with the mutts when he's working away for the sake of the whole family. Mind you, I once married a man who didn't like dogs, so I can't really talk. Not that the relationship lasted very long, once I'd realised my gr
  10. skycat
    And that is how pups should be reared. They look superb: chunky, fleshed out and bright and curious. A very big hats off to you sir.
  11. skycat
    If the pup is nervous because it is her inherited nature, then go very gently with her. If she is nervous because she wasn't sufficiently exposed to different people before she left the breeder, still go gently. Don't force people on her. And definitely don't flood her with new and frightening experiences at this age: it's far more likely to make her a lot worse. The desensitisation process must be very gradual, very gentle, and you only go as fast as the pup is capable of going. If you just stick her on a lead and walk her amongst loads of people she may well never get over it. 13 weeks is a
  12. skycat
    A bad sprain can take months to heal. If it were my dog I'd be lead walking it, no running at all, for at least 4 weeks. Daily cold packs on swollen area, or standing dog in stream or bucket of cold water (just the one leg in the bucket for 10 minutes twice a day) And re-assess in a month's time. I once had to keep a dog on the lead for 6 months; he was only young and it was a nightmare, but he came right. Get the dog to a really good bone man who understands ligament damage, and follow their advice to the letter.
  13. skycat
    That is really difficult ground for the dogs: so many holes, bumps and dips, and short grass: nothing to stop the rabbits flying. Good to see this sort of video as it makes those starting out realise that catching bolting rabbits isn't always as easy as some clips make it seem.
  14. skycat
    So sorry to read this. The best dogs always get into the worst sh*t. Comes from trying so hard. Fingers crossed for you. If anyone can help it will be Noel Fitzpatrick. Wouldn't it be amazing if he could get her right and running again.
  15. skycat
    Nasty 'orrible things them munties. Bane of my life!
  16. skycat
    Fantastic! If only hunting traditions could be supported like that in the UK.
  17. skycat
    Any of the cheaper types of dry dog food are not the best thing to feed dogs, especially very active dogs and those with fast metabolisms such as lurchers. It is much better to feed a natural diet made up of raw meat, offal and bone. A very basic raw diet would consist of chicken carcases and wings, minced beef, tripe, with minced raw veg added. A slice or two of wholemeal bread if the dog is wheat tolerant, or boiled rice if not, and the dog is underweight. Dogs don't need carbs, but certain types do better if they get them: Saluki types for example. Extra fat in the form of hard beef or lamb
  18. skycat
    What are you feeding the dog at the moment?
  19. skycat

    Final Walk

    skycat replied to samuria's topic in General Talk

    I just don't understand why so many people want to share everything on the internet all the time. Have people got no sense of privacy any more? Or do they feel the need for others to validate their choices in life?
  20. skycat
    And all the fluffy animals live happily together in fairy land.
  21. skycat
    Not necessarily. It all depends on the bushing pup's breeding. If it comes from good working stock that can't wait to get into cover then I can't see any problem letting it run about with a lurcher, especially if the lurcher marks stuff in cover. But I always take bushing pups out on their own once they have a bit of an idea what to do. Being out with an older sensible dog, lurcher or busher, can help a pup's confidence, but it also needs to learn to go it alone.
  22. skycat
    Or kneecap maybe? Just a guess but "patella luxation" is not uncommon. Meant to say knee cap: which is held in place by ligaments that fit into grooves in the bone. If they slip out, the joint cannot bend as it should. Needs attention now.
  23. skycat
    If the joint has been damaged and the dewclaw and its pad are sticking out more than they should, then of course get it taken off.
  24. skycat
    Could the knee be dislocated? That would account for the odd angle of the leg and the fact that she can't bend it. Can't believe a vet just said leave it and rest! If the knee is in the wrong place then no amount of rest will put it right. If the ligaments have slipped out of place it needs urgent attention. See another vet!
  25. skycat
    I know that most people have issues leaving dew claws on lurchers, but in over 30 years, I've only ever had to have one dog's dewclaws removed as an adult. I think it depends a lot on the breeding, and how large and floppy the dew claws are. If you have a type/breed/line that is known to have those sort of dewclaws, then it is best to remove them at a couple of days old. But if they are small, neat, and don't grow away from the leg, then leave them on. Dogs do use their dewclaws to hold onto bones they are chewing, and they can, on wet ground, act as grips when turning fast. I'm sure most will
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