jonboy99

As it happens , i did read your posts . You are assuming that the guy " deliberately walked in your direction " and that he was waiting from a reaction from your dogs. The fact is that you dont know this and it's irrelevant anyway , he was quite entitled to walk where he wanted , because HE was the one who had his dog under control . Sorry mate , but if you had done the same , we wouldn't be having this discuusion . Truth is , it only happened because you weren't in control of your dogs. Thats the long and short of it . And you didn't answer my question. If the incident had involved a 50 year old woman with a dalmation on a lead instead of a young guy with a staffieon a lead , i wonder if you would be insisting that it was deliberate on her part , or are you letting your preconceptions of satffies cloud your judgement . I am a shooter . I own 2 springers and a lab but have had several staffies in the past.......cracking wee dogs they were too. But just like the lab and springers i have now, i accepted that their behaviour was MY responsibility !

Are you for real mate ? You have dogs over which you exercise little or no control off a lead in a public place . Your dog then takes a charge ( oblivious of your calls ) at a staffie which is minding it,s own business, on a lead , doing no wrong. When your dog gets nailed you somehow absolve yourself of any responsibility and convince yourself that this guy is at fault ! I wonder if the dog had not been a staffie but a flattie, GSP or some other breed that doesnt attract negative press would you have been so quick to apportion blame ? A healthy dose of accountability is what you need mate.

Hi guys. Here are my thoughts on this. If you want a capable shooting companion, then i reckon you can certainly get a suitable pup for less than £600 . Some of the trials guys are hell bent on studying pedigrees and buying- in pups sired by the latest "in " FTCH dog . If that's your thing then you will pay a premium, but £600 seems steep nonetheless. Having said that , chocolate labs are very fashionable and very sought after , especially as pets hence the price. Oddly enough though , amongst the shooting fraternity , they are generally regarded as more difficult to train and not nearly as in demand as blacks and yellows , with black dogs being the current flavour of the month. When buying any gundog , my own opinion is that you are safest to buy a KC registred dog , which will at least allow you to see that the pup is bred along field strain lines. If you choose to breed from the pup in the future , having it KC registered is going to be an obvious advantage. That is not to say that there aren't dogs out there without papers who are first class gundogs...of course there are. IMO £400 is plenty to pay for a lab pup , KC registered , with free insurance ,from a reliable member of the shooting/ trialling fraternity. Stay away from puppy farms!

You need to be very careful in how you proceed here mate. By "reassuring" the older dog , you may actually be reassuring him that his agression is acceptable , or worse, praising him for it. Personally , rather than reassure him i would be making it clear to him that his agression is unacceptable. You gotta be fair though , how the pup is introduced to him is very important . Acclimatising him to the pup in a neutral environment initially is the best policy, always under your supervision until you know they get on. As the pup grows it's totally normal for the older dog to chastise him for rowdy or annoying behaviour, this shouldn't be confused with dominant / aggressive behaviour which shouldn't be tolerated. As time goes on , the pup should find his place in the pecking order. Hope this helps.

Hi Ballymac. Actually i'm from Carryduff in Co Down.I've only been shooting pigeons for 2 or 3 years so i don't know when the law in the republic changed but my understanding of the current law down south is that woodpigeon basically have the same open season as game birds . They can be shot out of season if they are damaging standing/laid crops but shooting over stubble is illegal in the closed season because the crop has been harvested . As you know they can be shot all year round in the North as vermin. I have heard of guys having problems with the Gardai for shooting over stubble , so just be careful if you shoot down South over the summer .

Hi guys . Does anyone know of any decent shooting that may be available in Northern Ireland over stubbles in July and August . Shooting in the Republic is out it would seem , as the laws prohibit shooting pigeons out of season over stubble with decoys. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Ta