Shabz

Me too!

I'd go with the tin can with stones in it. That does work!

What about an HPR?? I have a gwp who would do everything you want. You can have a cup of tea before every shot if you want too! All the time in the world! You need to be active though, as with a spaniel.

As a point of debate, I'm not sure many owners of gwps have the breeds best interests at heart? You see litters advertised all the time that are not health tested. Irresponsible, maybe, but the breed does have one of the lowest average hip scores of all breeds and von Willebrands disease is very rare. I'm not saying that this is an excuse or that it isn't necessary but the chances are very low of there being a problem. Anyway, I looked into DNA tests and it doesn't cost nearly as much as I'd thought, so if there are surplus pups, I'll test them individually before selling them.

A friend of mines dog escaped while he was on holiday, he'd left it with another friend who it had run away from. It was only brought back to him because of the microchipped. They phoned him when he was in Italy!

Fair one!! Just stay away from the chrome and you'll be grand! Personally, I'd rock up to a wedding in the old ford 4000 tractor we have!

Yes! It does! You'll drive that vitara waaaay more dangerous places than I'll drive my hilux! That's why you ripped the suspension off!

My motivation for breeding is for betterment of my kennel. Yes, cost is a factor in why I haven't had her health tested and the sire is owned by a friend, chosen for working ability. I'm planning on keeping two of the pups myself and have promised four to friends (assuming she has that many). All at what it costs me for docking, rearing and injections etc. Believe me, if I were trying to make money from her, I'd have had her health tested! These pups from expert breeders, although obviously very good puppies and what i would reccomend if asked, command a very high price! Far more than I would charge. Hopefully, she won't have more than six. But I know that they do. Thanks for the link, and the book reccomendation, I wasn't aware of either and I'll check out both. I'm very grateful to the breeders before me, but I like to think that I had a little to do with her training too. She's been hard work for a couple of years!

some pictures of the dogs and their pedigrees. i bought a 6x4 shed on my way home today, i'll have some work to do this weekend! i'm gonna pave an extra area next to my existing kennel and run some electric to it and sort some running water somehow!

a picture of the bitch and her pedigree another of her pointing her too the sire

That's not a strange request at all! I've often thought about building a rabbit pen! I don't have the space unfortunately. Good luck!

Actionpigeons, I thought about buying a shed. I was a bit concerned about putting a heat lamp in a small wooden kennel, for fire hazards and over heating them. Thanks. It might be a bit cheaper too!

The dam and sire haven't had the health checks done, no, but neither have ever displayed any sign of von willebrands disease and both are in fine health with good confirmation. No problems with eye(lid)s either. The vet checked the bitch over, but I didn't go into DNA tests etc. I'll try and put some pictures of them and their pedigrees up, so you can see the breeding. The sire comes from gavic lines and the dam is gavic and trudvang. I chose the sire because of the distance between the pedigrees, there arent many of the same dog in both ( nearly none in the pups pedigrees), that and his working ability and temperament. They're both very chilled (as chilled as I've seen a gwp at least) dogs, not at all sharp. I found a vet that will dock them, as someone that will be looking for one in the future, would that be important to you? I was considering having half docked so that the others may compete in shows. It's not my cup of tea, but I'd hate to breed a potential dual champion for it not to be allowed for lack of tail! Saying that, the pup(s) that I'd keep would be docked.

http://mobile.johnnorris.co.uk/shop/ty_982-*deals-of-the-week/11313-seeland-countrylife-neoprene-boots-2200.html Seeland ones for £50! Are hunters still made in Dumfries?? If so, good choice. Even if they are rubbish

I have a mk5 double cab hilux and it costs me a fortune to keep on the road. These are reported to be the least reliable model. It is a little underpowered (102bhp) compared with newer l200s (140bhp??) But I firmly believe that my engine will last a lot longer because it isnt as powerful! Depends what you want it for?? If you want a nice truck that you can drive to a wedding, buy a clean l200. If you want a workhorse that you won't be too bothered about scratching it off road then buy a hilux. Where I work, the other lads have a ford ranger, a mk 6 hilux, a new l200 a new Nissan navara and a discovery 3. Mine goes the furthest off road because they all can't drive past low branches in case they scratch them!

My pointer barks sometimes (usually when I'm three minutes late feeding her) and my neighbour hounds me about it. If I owned the house, I'd less than politely tell him where to go, but I have to smile and apologies. You'd definitely be better off with the dog at home though, if at all possible. They have to be quite a nuisance before they can actually do anything. Barking constantly for 24hrs a day etc.

Hi all, I have an awesome working gwp (her full brother is one of three ftch gwps in the country), she's good on birds, foxes and I've just started deer stalking and she seems to be taking to that like a duck to water, so I've decided to breed from her. I found a sire that works with birds of prey and points well on feathered game in the hope that pups will have some falconry skills too (I don't know if that's how it works, but it can't harm and I know the dog has great game finding ability and that's good enough for me!) So, I had the bitch lined a week or so ago, and am looking for advice on how to prepare. They're due on August 11th and will be whelped outside. I've sorted a separate run but need to get a kennel in there. I'm hoping August will be warm enough for them but will get a heat lamp in case. Can anyone reccomend a suitable kennel? What size will I need? Will I need a whelping box inside it? What else can I get to help me be fully prepared? Do I need to organise tail docking? My bitch isn't docked and it's never been a problem for her, but docking would probably help sell the surplus puppies after I've kept the ones i'm keeping? Thanks in advance, It'll be the first litter that I've bred and want to be as prepared as possible! Cheers, Shabz.

You can buy horse drinkers on eBay for about £25-30 and a 100 litre water butt from Argos for about the same money. Just fill the butt up with a bucket??

Hi people, I just joined and hadn't noticed the intro threads! I'm shabz, live in Scottish Borders, eventually got round to getting my sgc and fac at the tender age of 34! I've shot quite a lot though, shotguns and a little bit of rifle. I have a couple of dogs, a pointer (gwp) and a yellow lab. These were the main reason that I got the guns! Gotta work the dogs!

Ha! Thanks! I didn't really think I needed any more!

Hi all, new to the forum! I just bought a lanber o/u second hand from a mate, he can't find the rest of the chokes, the ones that are in it have three dots and four dots on them. I cant remember which way they go?? Is three dots 3/4 choke?? What's 4 dots?? Sorry for being an eejit! Anyone know where I can get new chokes?? Thanks in advance!

I have a PAC collar, I bought it because my gwp wouldn't come to recall and would run across roads etc. it was a fantastic tool. I couldn't trust myself to use it for training. Expensive, but I wouldnt be using a cheap one on my dog!