Fal

Gutted for you, but 100% the right decision and you kept the dogs interests at heart not yours. Get a new puppy, you know you want to!

I am after a set of Sako stainless extra low scope rings. If any of you have any tucked away in a safe place sell them to me instead.

I'm in the middle of building a new shed/run for mine. Inside the sleeping quarters will just be concrete on the floor with some horse matts over it to stop chills. Outside, in the run I am tempted to tile it and use epoxy grout, works well from what I've heard.

It's totally cleared up now. I gave him a lot of rest, not even taking him for walks and he fine. He's back jumping and running around like a lunatic. I'm starting to think and hoping that it was a new injury. They out years on me I tell you. If only they could talk...

Scary, it seems to be spreading slowly.

Back last season around November time I sent my lab for a bird and I carried on shooting, he came back with the bird limping on his front leg, I didn't see what happened. He had a month off coming shooting and I kept him on the lead as much as I could. After a month off and some swimming exercises for a week, just literally sending him for water retrieves no running he seemed back to normal, no limping during or after excercise or training. I was doing some training with him last night and sent him on a long retrieve, he flew out as per usual, but as he stopped to scoop the dummy he started limping. I stopped and put the lead on him straight away and put him back in the truck. When I took him home he seemed to be ok again, strange. I gave him a good once over, pads, toes, claws, shins, elbows and I extended his shoulder back and forth and there were no signs of pain at all. Didn't pull away or make a sound at all. This morning when I took them out, he started off jumping around like a mad man and then started limping, initially there was no sign of anything and no limping. I let him do his business and put him back on the lead. I'm starting to worry that he may have done something to his shoulder, I am going to keep him off it as much as I can the weekend and take him to the vet Monday/Tuesday. I am just wondering if any of you have had similar issues, and what the cause was. I don't want to be doing permanent damage to him by letting it recover, then allowing it to flare up again. There has been a big gap between him limping and he's been working and training since so it's strange. Unless it's a totally different injury, which is a possibity I suppose. Thanks, Rhodri

I would get some advocate from the vets or online. Two treatments, bang on two weeks apart. I wouldn't 100% trust the view of it not being mites. I took my dog to the vet twice, no mites they said, took him for the third time, oh it's mites. Any darkish, thick, waxy type gunk coming out of his ears, or building up around it and the first thing I'd do is treat for mites. It normally doesn't smell if it's mites though, but it could be a combo of a bit of an infection and mites? If you are going to try thornit, don't put it in the ear canal, just lightly dust around the inside of the ear.

My old dogs liver totally gave in, it happened so quickly, one day he started not eating his food, then the small amounts he ate he was sick afterwards. I took him to the vets, they run tests and found that his liver was hardly working, it had finally reached the point, over many months, where there wasn't enough of it functioning and it started to show. The dog was still mental, diving around, wagging his tail, licking you to death, he'd lost a bit of weight but not too much. While in the vets he'd had fluids and it had perked him right up, we took him home for the family to see him and say goodbye. When we went down with him it was even more heart breaking as he was acting absolutely fine. It has hard to believe that we'd decided to put this dog that had perked right up to sleep, but the evidence was there, x-rays and bloods etc. He'd never had chocolate before, but always tried to steal some from us whenever we had some, so, whilst on the way to the vets we stopped at the shop and bought a bar of dairy milk. We said our goodbyes, all of us in tears and we fed him the dairy milk whilst the vets was administering the drugs, the joy in his face was amazing. He went out with a smile on his face, scoffing a bar of dairy milk Could we have had longer with him, yes, we 100% could have, the vet gave us a few options but we knew the right thing to do was put the poor guy to sleep. After it was done it sounds silly but the relief I felt knowing my buddy wasn't suffering anymore was a good feeling. I felt he went out at a good time before he was too ill to do anything. It's one of the hardest decisions you will have to make in your life but we owe it to them to make the right call at the right time.

Closest for me is 45 mins, furthest about 1 hour 15 mins.

They also said these were Pinks too, so it's not just Packham!

They actually showed Greys at the start saying they were Pinks!

People create an issue when they have a dog by having it with them non-stop. They have them up on the settee, upstairs, they don't go out because they don't want to leave the pup alone. In real life, when the dog is older it's going to have to be left alone, so it needs to know and get used to this from a pup. The sooner it knows that even when it's left alone, somebody will come back to them, the sooner they will calm down and get used to being left alone. I feed my dogs in their crates, put their water in there, if they fall to sleep anywhere other than the crate I put them in there to sleep. I never put them in there as a punishment, which I have seen people do. My dogs now choose to go them when they want a sleep, when I am leaving the house, after they realise they aren't coming with me, they both just get in their crates and kip! It's hard when they are young and I've been called cruel numerous times for locking the pup in the crate in the night and to sleep, but I think it's more cruel to have a dog that isn't used to being left alone then having separation anxiety when I am not there. Each to their own but getting their routine right from a pup and sticking to it is key in my view.

Aled, I wouldn't worry about the dog being on it's own for the amount of time you are concerned about. Sometimes mine are crated, after a long walk, for a good 5-6 hours.

Great video!!!

Poor deer, that must have been terrible :( Well done for dispatching it.

Yep, of course it could. It's a vicious circle, I'll never trust my spaniel fully around other dogs now. The really bizarre thing is that when he's working he has no interest in any dogs at all, they can be working by his side and he doesn't care he doesn't even acknowledge their presence. It's not a bad thing, but I think he's so intent on hunting all the other stuff goes out of the window.

I had an interesting event when my springer was about 6 months old. I was out walking my dogs in a place where I hardly see anybody, both my lab, which was two at the time and my springer which was 6 months at the time, both off the lead as happy as they come bombing around playing with each other. Next min I could hear a guy screaming to something to come back to him, I guessed it was a dog that had seen us and was coming for us. I called both mine back, my lab came to me as he was properly trained the springer saw this dog running towards him and decided he wanted to play. I could tell this dog was just going to attack, I could tell by it's body language it was intent on attacking him. The dog just ran straight into my springer, my dog was screaming as he was terrified, they both fell into some bramble, I ran to the dogs, the owner was miles away, by now the terrier was on top of my springer grabbing it's belly, I've never heard a dog scream like I did that day, it was horrible. I grabbed the dog by the scruff and pulled it off my dog and threw it behind me. Stupidly I thought that may have been enough. Was it hell, back it came trying to run to my dog and go for it again that's when I knew if I didn't stop it my dog would either run away never to be found again or this dog would kill it. I kicked the dog straight in the face as hard as I could, and although it did shake the dog it still got past me and on my dog again. I punched it as hard as I could in the neck which dazed it enough for my to pick my dog up, then it started jumping up on me to try and get at the dog. I carried on kicking it and ended up winding it. There was no way I was going to risk that dog getting at my dog again so as it was winded I kicked it as hard as I could a few more times to make sure it wouldn't come back at as. The dog ended up running away then the owner appeared, very apologetic etc both my lab and springer were shaking, terrified. My springer has never recovered, he's a totally different dog now, it's directly linked to this attack, now my dog is the dog not to be trusted totally around others. When we see a dog I can see it in him that he's scared but he tries not to show it and sometimes has gone for other dogs. It took me an age to get him to have a bit of confidence with other dogs, it was working, then one day another dog snapped at him and I was back to square one. After the attack the owner of the dog knocked my door to apologise again, as I said to him I was going to punch him if he didn't go away directly after the incident, I was absolutely livid. Anyway, he said he would pay for any vets treatment he needed etc and again apologised. I accepted his apology as my dogs were off the leads too. It would have been a different story if mine had been on the leads and the dog attacked them. If it went on any longer I was prepared to kick that dog to death, it sounds horrific, and it is, but I believe I would have. I'm glad it didn't get to that but as a result I now have a dog that's not totally trustworthy. He's definitely adopted the me or them approach. It's horrible seeing that happen to your dogs, my dog would be dead if I hadn't have intervened I'm sure of it.

13 degrees the truck reckons the temp was this morning, and it has been raining all night. Wildfowling on hold, we had proper frosts here last week, the weather is mad!!! I got out the night before last, absolutely nothing about, saw one very late pack of widgeon but it was too late , they were out of range by the time I saw them.

Caught a bit of this on the news before leaving for work this morning. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38231416 Scary!

A well exercised dog will sleep for most of the day. If you are prepared to put half hour to an hour off the lead walk in or a big training session in first thing in the morning most dogs will be content in a run sleeping the day away, especially a lab. Exercise is the key though I think, personally a dog being left alone for 4-5 hours is acceptable as long as it has the exercise and fuss it needs when you're about. Remember a dog that is around kids will have lots of fun, but will be a lot harder to train unless the family are all on board with the rules! Easy for the kids to play tug of war, a game of chase they all will have an adverse effect on your training. It just depends to what level you want your gundog to be trained. Don't forget we need to get you out this season soon Al!!!! Don't forget to text me when you're free! Rhodri

She is a cracking looking dog!

He's a cracker gerron, I don't know where I'd be without him, I trust him completely. He's turned out a great dog! He's 4 next year.

Got up early Sat morning got to my closest marsh, had two wigeon, not a pair, there seems to be a few more birds banging about now. Going to start hitting the marshes more from now.

Excellent guns, I regretted selling mine!

Try the Eley Lighting boys, I find them excellent! I user the No 3s in 32g or 36g. Best steel load I have found, but, they are becoming pricey now!