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skycat

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Everything posted by skycat

  1. skycat
    I'm almost a complete technophobe so I haven't a clue what that would entail.
  2. skycat
    Sorry to add this, but it appears Paypal charge for the transaction. So I'm adding £1 to cover that. I'll pay the postage.
  3. skycat
    And the price includes postage as long as it's within the UK.
  4. skycat
    Anyone interested in either or both books: please pm me.
  5. skycat
    Joe: there really isn't enough demand for small publishers in hunting and country sports type books, still less for books on lurchers. It is a tiny market. Only very big book sellers who can afford to hold tons of books in stock are able to continue. Even Coch y Bondu and Melbourne say that their sales are dropping all the time. We hunting people are a fast dying breed, it seems. I have the USB containing my books printer-ready. If ever I wanted to publish either book again, I could do so, but I really can't see this happening. Once I run out of books, as I said in the first post, they will s
  6. skycat
    Forgot to say: there are a few copies of Running Dog Maintenance without their jackets (outer covers), which can be had for £18
  7. skycat
    I have just learned that my publishers, Skycat Publications, are no more. The owner, with advancing years, has decided to retire, but the remainder of their stock will still be available from Coch y Bondu and Melbourne books, but I have a few here that I can offer at a discount, and signed by me, Penny Taylor. Running Dog Maintenance (hardback) £20 Tales from the Field (soft back) £7 Both of the above in one order: £25 Please PM me if you are interested in either or both.
  8. skycat
    When I very first started coursing it was with a club whose members were, for the most part, people who didn't really work their dogs. Most were woefully unfit, just like those Deerhounds in the video. One or two member who ran Saluki types, over 25 years ago, went along more for the social aspect, as the coursing was doubled-up, under rules. Those members' dogs never won, they weren't fast enough, but there were usually plenty of hares which gave those people a chance to run their dogs single-handed after the meeting had finished. After a few years went by, nearly everyone was running Saluki
  9. skycat
    It won't bite you! And it's not slimy nasty ugh either. Actually, you better not pick it up with your hands or you might squash it. 'Ask' it nicely to walk on to a bit of leaf or something then place it tenderly in the undergrowth: not on a nettle or anything spiky or stingy. We need to look after all our moths and butterflies in this blighted world.
  10. skycat
    The real Vetbed, as opposed to the cheaper and flimsier copies, is quite heavy, and though dogs can scuff it up, I find that a couple of layers works just fine in kennels. We have some very heavy Vetbed that is now getting on for 20 years old and goes through the wash every week and still looks pretty much the same as when new. Also got some cheaper stuff with a rubber backing that is supposed to be non-slip: didn't last very well and all the backing came off eventually and is now as thin as a blanket. Best to fork out for the real deal and you're set for years and years.
  11. skycat

    Ancestry

    skycat replied to Born Hunter's topic in General Talk

    My dad was Yorkshire, and on my mother's side there is Scottish and Welsh blood: I guess you could say that I'm truly British
  12. skycat
    Thanks for the info.
  13. skycat
    Wonderful photos. In the fifth photo I could see 6 dogs. I'd love to hear more about how they work. Are they all under your control, or are there other people gathering the sheep in as well? I am, as someone fairly ignorant about sheep dogs, fascinated by the way that they work. I've seen loads of videos of gathering in hill flocks, and the dogs never cease to impress me.
  14. skycat
    If you've bought wormers over the counter then it's highly unlikely they'll contain enough of the necessary stuff to do the job properly. There is a reason the over the counter wormers are so cheap. If I've read you wrong, then I apologise. But it really does pay to get the prescription stuff to worm pups correctly. I generally use a multi wormer from the start, even for pups. Drontal Plus is as good as any for most worms, and gets rid of round worms much faster than round worm only wormers.
  15. skycat
    Remember that if a dog has fleas, it also has worms. Don't forget to worm him regularly: every 3 weeks until he's at least 5 months old. 3 weeks is the roundworm life cycle, and if a pup is full of worms it may well have diarrhoea and not eat very well either.
  16. skycat
    5xl, get some pictures up ma manthere one mate Beautifully made pup.
  17. skycat
    Not all bitches regurgitate food. I've only ever had one that did it. I like to leave the bitch with the pups, so long as she can get away from them into her own bed which they cannot get into. Basically, I let the bitch dictate the pace at which the pups are weaned. Some bitches go on producing milk for at least 6 weeks. I've never had a bitch lose condition at all, and by the time the pups are a month old they are usually eating very well and topping up with milk when the bitch goes in to clean and lie with them. The bitch is taken out, of course, whilst the pups are eating, and I don't ever
  18. skycat
    I couldn't agree more: old sheets or towels are the only thing I'd use for the actual whelping process. Depending on the time of year, I then layer Vetbed on top of sheets of newspaper. As Vetbed allows moisture to pass straight through it you need lots of paper underneath to soak liquid up, especially once pups start peeing for themselves. I once had the misfortune to whelp a litter in the very hot summer of 2006 and had a real job keeping bitch and pups cool, to the extent that I had reflective foil at the windows and a fan going day and night and even had to sponge week old pups down with
  19. skycat
    I think that when anyone sells any type of live animal, they should be trying to ensure that the animal is going to a home where it will be cared for according to its needs. I would sooner kill an animal myself than knowingly let it go to a home where it will be abused, neglected. It's a difficult issue, and one where we risk going into very murky waters if we try to argue for greater control over who keeps an animal, because the anti-hunting brigade would say that working dogs are abused, when we know they are fulfilling their genetic potential if they are worked properly, and that they might
  20. skycat
    And some pet homes turn out to be just as dreadful. There are idiots in all walks of life, and that's one of the reasons I hesitate to breed again. People lie all the time when they go to see pups. You'd have to have a lie detector test and strap them into a chair and interrogate them harshly if you want to be 100% sure that the pup will go to a good home, working or not. I used to think I was a good judge of character, but a couple of mistakes cost the welfare of pups. I don't like to think that I was responsible for dogs having a crap life. A very long time ago I worked in a dog rescue, an
  21. skycat
    It's what's in her head that makes her so good: very driven, focused and very intelligent. Not always an easy dog to be with: you can't ever just 'go for a stroll' and relax, because she never switches off if she's anywhere around scent. Doesn't matter what it is: a rabbit is searched for just as determinedly as anything else.
  22. skycat
    In the second one she was only 6 months old, but she's not really changed shape much since she matured. I don't have any working photos as I don't take the camera out with me apart from the odd ferreting day.
  23. skycat
    Wow! That would be the dog to put to one of Dill's lurcher daughters, which would make the pups 3/4 Airedale, 1/4 lurcher. Now that would be seriously interesting, and no doubt extremely useful.
  24. skycat
    Anyone breeding a litter for the first, or even second time, should arm themselves with a great little book called, aptly enough: The Book of the Bitch. Invaluable to those starting out breeding. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Bitch-J-M-Evans/dp/1860540236
  25. skycat
    If you've tried twice and the bitch has either rejected the pups or damaged them badly, then I wouldn't breed from her again. Some bitches do lose the plot, possibly due to hormonal behaviour gone awry, but unless you can hand rear or foster pups on to a sensible bitch I'd not put myself or the bitch through that again.
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