How kelpies doing?

[Shortstraw 476]

3 hours ago, Neal said:

Jigsaw, in hindsight, are you glad you made the decision to breed your own? If so, would you be tempted to do it again or was it definitely a one off? The only reason I ask is because, over the last thirty years, I've only owned ten dogs (five lurchers followed by the five kelpies) but never bred a litter. I was tempted once and nearly bred a litter from my first two kelpies, but things conspired against me and she had to be spayed during the season before I'd planned to try it. I'm just wondering if now I'm old enough and wise enough to give it a go. I still wouldn't do it for a few years but I'm wondering whether to get a bitch next instead and then I can make the choice of what I mate her to i.e. whether to go pure kelpie, kelpie x whippet, kelpie x collie or possibly kelpie x gundog?

I think my musings are partly because, in March next year, I'll be older than my mum so it gets you thinking about all the things you've achieved and all the things you've not done yet. I had hoped to have moved to Devon before I was older than her but, unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances, that move is on hold for the time being and I'm wondering if having a litter of pups is one other thing I'll regret not doing.

Ive had the same amount as you......from pup to the sad day they pass. With the silly dog prices I often wish I hadn’t had my spaniel lurcher spayed, but I also haven’t bred a litter of pups. Im just not willing to pay the amounts people are demanding these days. In the future I was also hoping to get a spaniel x whippet or kelpie whippet.....don’t really want more than 50% sighthound, in fact my spaniel lurcher is less than 50% sighthound.

I haven’t had much look recently with skin tears...so thin skin I want to avoid. My other little lurcher tore her skin on her thigh last week, I was just having a stroll in the woods and I heard her yelp. She pulled back the skin on her thigh just exposing her thigh, but luckily no flesh damage.....was about two inch x five inch.....had to take her to out of hours vet 100 mile round trip and a cost of £810....ouch.

If circumstances and timing were right I might be tempted with a bitch kelpie x whippet.....keep me updated if you do.

[MagyarAgar 88]

6 hours ago, Neal said:

Jigsaw, in hindsight, are you glad you made the decision to breed your own? If so, would you be tempted to do it again or was it definitely a one off? The only reason I ask is because, over the last thirty years, I've only owned ten dogs (five lurchers followed by the five kelpies) but never bred a litter. I was tempted once and nearly bred a litter from my first two kelpies, but things conspired against me and she had to be spayed during the season before I'd planned to try it. I'm just wondering if now I'm old enough and wise enough to give it a go. I still wouldn't do it for a few years but I'm wondering whether to get a bitch next instead and then I can make the choice of what I mate her to i.e. whether to go pure kelpie, kelpie x whippet, kelpie x collie or possibly kelpie x gundog?

I think my musings are partly because, in March next year, I'll be older than my mum so it gets you thinking about all the things you've achieved and all the things you've not done yet. I had hoped to have moved to Devon before I was older than her but, unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances, that move is on hold for the time being and I'm wondering if having a litter of pups is one other thing I'll regret not doing.

Count me in for a Kelpie X whippet (or Whippet/Greyhound ) pup, in a couple of years! In my mind these should be some handy pocket rockets.

What would you want from a Kelpie X Gundog? And which Gundog breed do you have in mind?

[Shortstraw 476]

9 hours ago, Neal said:

Jigsaw, in hindsight, are you glad you made the decision to breed your own? If so, would you be tempted to do it again or was it definitely a one off? The only reason I ask is because, over the last thirty years, I've only owned ten dogs (five lurchers followed by the five kelpies) but never bred a litter. I was tempted once and nearly bred a litter from my first two kelpies, but things conspired against me and she had to be spayed during the season before I'd planned to try it. I'm just wondering if now I'm old enough and wise enough to give it a go. I still wouldn't do it for a few years but I'm wondering whether to get a bitch next instead and then I can make the choice of what I mate her to i.e. whether to go pure kelpie, kelpie x whippet, kelpie x collie or possibly kelpie x gundog?

I think my musings are partly because, in March next year, I'll be older than my mum so it gets you thinking about all the things you've achieved and all the things you've not done yet. I had hoped to have moved to Devon before I was older than her but, unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances, that move is on hold for the time being and I'm wondering if having a litter of pups is one other thing I'll regret not doing.

I don’t know if this really has whippet in it, but my god........

 

[Shortstraw 476]

These days given I just mooch about and let the dogs just do their own thing I’m less attracted to speed.....to be fair I don’t care if they catch anything anymore......I just enjoy walking and watching the dogs work. Strange the older I’ve got the more interested I’ve got in their hunting up and less in the catching.....end of the day I just enjoy been out with the dogs and a flask of tea.

[Shortstraw 476]

2 minutes ago, W. Katchum said:

Mate my bitch here clears my garden fence at 6ft from a standstill, can carry a bunny over a 5 bar gate since she was about 6 month old an thinks she is a monkey haha so it must be in the kelpie genes

I can imagine.......they certainly got athletic build to them. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll have a kelpie x or maybe another spaniel x, but you can guarantee when one pops up it’s at a bad time and when you bloody want one you can’t find one. I planned on getting another in maybe 5 years, but who knows a lot can happen between now and then.

[Maximus Ferret 2,063]

On 23/08/2020 at 10:52, jigsaw said:

Still out, looking for a goat, not a sign, I think they may be shot out and few if any left, the bitch has hunted up and flushed 3 pheasants, that's about the extent of her activities to date

Did you poke around the lowland forestry blocks? In this kind of weather they seem to go down off the hill into sheltered places. I think they don't like the rain much.

[nothernlite 18,088]

Its when a dog is at it best mooching working for its catch or chase 

[Neal 1,869]

9 hours ago, jigsaw said:

I like the fact I bred a litter, I fret a bit that they might not all turn out as good as I hope, in the parting of them I worry trying to get good homes, permanent homes which is why the dog pup has been with me so long, I only bred the pups as I couldn't locate a pup anywhere else, if I had found a genuine lad with pups I'd never have bred, I go a bit over the top at times on things I'm passionate about.... I'd have no bother on rearing a litteragain but I'd buy in if at all possible... Saying that I am very happy with what I've bred, I got all good ratings on them bar one so far, but it's early days yet

I get where you're coming from. Before I had Rusty (my first kelpie) back in 2000 I had a kelpie/collie x greyhound from Dave Sleight in 1998 (the one I sent you the photo of). I'd not bought the Countryman's Weekly for a couple of years so didn't know he'd bred a litter of whippet crosses until the whippet/greyhound crosses (Purdey's litter) came up. I originally wanted to hold out for him to breed another whippet x litter as, by this time, I'd met Dave and Gem (the bitch he kept who went on to win the lurcher Field Trial) and I really liked her (she looked more like a staffy cross whippet). Unfortunately, he didn't breed that cross again which is partly why I decided to go for Moss' litter instead i.e. greyhound cross. I guess I'm still hankering back to that type of dog.

 

3 hours ago, MagyarAgar said:

Count me in for a Kelpie X whippet (or Whippet/Greyhound ) pup, in a couple of years! In my mind these should be some handy pocket rockets.

What would you want from a Kelpie X Gundog? And which Gundog breed do you have in mind?

No idea! I was just thinking aloud. It was more a case of not wanting to rule anything out in the future and thinking that, when the time comes, I'd mate a future bitch to whatever was out there that I fancied at the time (trying to convince myself that I'm not kennel blind). It was probably just a case of that I've always liked gundogs but never owned one...once again, another dog I've always liked was a one off in an article in the Shooting News which was a whippet cross with some labrador in it...didn't look anything like you'd expect though, more like a solid jet black whippet. I've always prefered the little whippet crosses that look nondescript but have that little something extra that nobody expects.

Ned's still only two so I probably won't be getting another pup for at least two years and then (even if she turned out good enough to breed from) another four years or so after that before a litter. Like Shortstraw was saying, I prefer taking the dogs out and watching them try their best and taking something home is just a bonus...then again that's what people with crap dogs always say!

[jigsaw 11,865]

1 hour ago, Maximus Ferret said:

Did you poke around the lowland forestry blocks? In this kind of weather they seem to go down off the hill into sheltered places. I think they don't like the rain much.

Yeah I tried 3 blocks yesterday, I was from 6.30 till 12 looking, there wasn't a path nor droppings anywhere to be seen, speaking with the farmers in the area, they've not seen any in months

[Maximus Ferret 2,063]

Hope they're not totally gone. It'll be a bit sad if they are. Just before Christmas I found a pile of various carcasses including hares, just shot and dumped in the brambles in one of the blocks. Why would anyone lamp stuff with a rifle just to dump it, mindless b*****ds.(I'm presuming it was lamped). Can't see what enjoyment was in that.

[jigsaw 11,865]

7 hours ago, Maximus Ferret said:

Hope they're not totally gone. It'll be a bit sad if they are. Just before Christmas I found a pile of various carcasses including hares, just shot and dumped in the brambles in one of the blocks. Why would anyone lamp stuff with a rifle just to dump it, mindless b*****ds.(I'm presuming it was lamped). Can't see what enjoyment was in that.

If their not gone their reduced to small numbers and I won't shoot any of them if their like that.... I had the same experience, found 15 goats shot and left to rot where they fell, and Coillte shot over 40 a few years back and dumped them in a wood, sickening to see

[Black neck 15,986]

13 hours ago, jigsaw said:

If their not gone their reduced to small numbers and I won't shoot any of them if their like that.... I had the same experience, found 15 goats shot and left to rot where they fell, and Coillte shot over 40 a few years back and dumped them in a wood, sickening to see

Whats the coillte sir

[SheepChaser 8,089]

12 minutes ago, Black neck said:

Whats the coillte sir

Irish forestry company 

[jigsaw 11,865]

1 hour ago, Black neck said:

Whats the coillte sir

Forestry management department 

[jigsaw 11,865]

1 hour ago, SheepChaser said:

Irish forestry company 

Good man, didn't see your reply until after I wrote mine lol