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[JudyN]

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I often wonder what Jasper would do if faced with a ferret. He's never seen one, but would his genes kick in so he'd regard them as workmates? Given his different reactions to deer (serious business), rabbits (business, though not quite so serious), squirrels (OK for a bit of fun if he's bored), birds (not worth a second glance) and cats (GRR MUST RID THE WORLD OF THEM, HOW DARE THEY EVEN EXIST?, before he realised that they're good for getting high-value rewards), I can only guess. I wouldn't be surprised if they were scary potentially ankle-bitey things, like chihuahuas and tiny terriers

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

I often wonder what Jasper would do if faced with a ferret. He's never seen one, but would his genes kick in so he'd regard them as workmates? Given his different reactions to deer (serious business), rabbits (business, though not quite so serious), squirrels (OK for a bit of fun if he's bored), birds (not worth a second glance) and cats (GRR MUST RID THE WORLD OF THEM, HOW DARE THEY EVEN EXIST?, before he realised that they're good for getting high-value rewards), I can only guess. I wouldn't be surprised if they were scary potentially ankle-bitey things, like chihuahuas and tiny terriers

You'd soon find out if one got hold of him.

 

[Flobo]

Sorry, couldn't resist!!

 

[JudyN]

That's brilliant, Flobo

We met up with my brother & SIL and their 9-10-year-old lab, Max, at my mum's today. Jasper and Max have met before, though not for a few years, and it was funny watching them interact. At first they pretty much ignored each other after a polite greeting, but later M made a few overtures to play, which J ignored. Then there was a bit of posturing from both sides...

'I'm gonna sniff your bum - you wanna make something of it?'
'I could've had you once, you know'
'Poke'
'Muuuum, he poked me, tell him Mum...'

Later...

'Amma gonna put a paw on your back - what you gonna do about it?'
Death stare..... 'I could've had.....'
'Yeah, yeah, I know, what you gonna do then?'
'Grrrrr...'
'Muuuuuum..........'

It was all low key, and we would have intervened if we thought either was getting bullying, intimidated or fed up with being pestered, but it never got to that point. I think there was one paw on back from each of them throughout the day, so they were at least well matched.

 

[Biker John]

One couple brought two Ferrets to the racing club once. All the Whippets there were interested but none appeared to be thinking 'Got to Kill it'. Mind the ferrets were used to living with Whippets so it's possible their manner helped.

 

[Finsky]

CHICKENS!....we are getting some today! Well...they are only a little chicks but surely 'chickens' still do apply..
Thing is, that we've kept chickens over 20 years, but last 2 years we've been chookless because after falling ill and recovering from it, having new dogs as well...I was pushed to my limits how much I could care for so something had to give in.
But now that I feel much stronger and facing the world with new found vigour and viewing the life with 'do it while you can' set of mind, I've finally got my act together done lots of 'building work' and we are set up to start again...YAYY!

Dogs will be pleased with new found hunting opportunities........yet more training to do...

 

[Hemlock]

Ooooooooh lovely! Chickens make such good pets - people don't realise - and of course you get the best eggs ever.

We have got to the end of our chicken-keeping, and won't replace. We just have one utterly beautiful cockerel now. He was meant to be a pullet but -

The garden will be a lot less bright without him.

 

[Finsky]

Ooooooooh lovely! Chickens make such good pets - people don't realise - and of course you get the best eggs ever.

We have got to the end of our chicken-keeping, and won't replace. We just have one utterly beautiful cockerel now. He was meant to be a pullet but -

The garden will be a lot less bright without him.

You are lucky to able have cockerel. I would LOVE to have one, but I don't want to aggravate neighbours with extra noise...I think we are already creating enough of it
I did once had this 'brilliant' idea of producing few fertilized eggs from my then hens as they were so good quality girls. So....I talked to our friend who said he has got just right sort of cockerel we could borrow for few weeks...he was not supposed to be as loud as cocks usually are.... Well...one evening the cockerel arrived and it was put straight into chicken shed to be let out in the morning to start its 'shift'. At 4 am we were stirred up (more like a jolt wake up call) to this mighty wake up call and I can tell it wasn't quiet call at all!!!! I did say selection of some stronger words than just 'Gordon Bennett'....
There was me running out in my nighty...trying to calm it down for not to aggravate neighbours and their sleep....but no, lad had truly dusted off his vocal cords and was in full swing of letting the world know he had arrived.
I could not wait morning to progress for more 'sociable hours' and to call my friend to come and fetch his feathered tannoy back.
I didn't find it even remotely funny at the time but by afternoon the shock had worn out already. We live on relatively quiet street so any disturbance to it is to be taken seriously. I could quite easily get used to cockerel noises but I have to consider other people too.
I did apologize any sleep interruption our tannoy might have cause but apparently nobody never heard a thing!?

 

[JudyN]

I have a friend who, having kept hens for years, decided to raise some from eggs and use any males for meat. So she got some fertilised eggs and put them under her broody hen. Only one hatched... and it was male. Of course, her young daughters loved it, and named it Sid, and she wondered how on earth she was going to be able to bring herself to dispatch it (which she wanted to do herself and was also a first for her).

Then it started crowing at 5am, and for once 'I'm going to wring his bloody neck' was literally what happened Apparently, when her daughters tucked into their tea that evening, they said, 'Poor Sid... tastes nice though!'

She still has people tell her her approach to food is cruel and she should buy her chicken from a supermarket....

 

[Hemlock]

When Woderwick (we named him from Life of Brian) started to cwow, sorry, crow, I went round all the neighbours with an apology and explanation, and said if he was a nuisance, we'd murder him to save them the trouble. Luckily nobody was at all put out, and the local Pilates class in the church hall leave their doors open specially so they can hear him. We put him in the man-shed overnight, so his early calls are muffled. Every morning we welease Woderwick, hence the Life of Brian connection.

One morning, a little girl screamed when she heard him, not knowing what kind of monster he was. Sad when a little child in a rural village doesn't know what a cockeral crowing is.

 

[Buddy1]

Just spent a delightful morning removing ticks from the dog! All from the side of his head – they must have been lined up ready to jump on – and some were huge!

Don’t usually treat him for ticks, just remove when found, but then I don’t usually need to remove 5 after one walk! Does anyone have any recommendations for tick prevention? Prefer not to use a collar. Thanks.

 

[JudyN]

Don’t usually treat him for ticks, just remove when found, but then I don’t usually need to remove 5 after one walk! Does anyone have any recommendations for tick prevention? Prefer not to use a collar. Thanks.

This is no help as I use a Seresto collar, but I regularly had to remove that many after a walk, mostly from his boy bits, and twice from an eyelid And my boy being a grumpy sod, I mean grumpy little darling to start with, would only tolerate so much of this, so the collar was a lifesaver (not literally, he's not that bad ) for us. But in general I agree that it's best to use a more natural product if you can.

 

[Buddy1]

The other day he had one on his lip which was tricky to remove. @JudyN, my thinking with the collars was they can’t get them wet. Is that correct? He usually has a swim on a walk (or a wallow in a muddy puddle). Also, do they have to wear them all the time?

 

[JudyN]

No, they can wear the Seresto collar in water and you can leave it on permanently. We put J's on in spring and take it off in autumn... or when we get round to it, as it's far easier to cut it off.

There are reports of dogs having seizures soon after they've been put on, and also claims that they can pollute waterways. I'm dubious about these claims - the law of averages say that some dogs will have a seizure purely by chance after one is put on and I doubt the stats show statistial significance, and if the chemical was strong enough to do harm when diluted in a waterway, I'd expect it to show clear side-effects when worn by a dog 24/7. And bear in mind that natural remedies are also 'chemical', and if powerful enough to repel ticks could also have harmful side effects - which won't have been as carefully researched because they are 'natural'.

However, I haven't studied the stats, or the science, so don't claim to be correct in my assumption that it's safe - just be aware of bias/personal anecdote when doing you research (bearing in mind the fiasco over the MMR vaccine). I can say that it's very effective though - J now tends to get about as many ticks a year as we sometimes did on a single walk!

 

[JoanneF]

Our dog food supplier gave us a product called Lupo zeck to deter ticks. I haven't used it so I have no idea if it is effective.

 

[JoanneF]

 

[Buddy1]

Thank you both.
I discovered two more ticks on him this afternoon. Will definitively need to try something, otherwise I’m going to have to carry the tick remover around with me all summer

 

[JudyN]

I still carry one, just in case a tick attaches itself on a walk. What I want to know is, though, where is the black hole that all the tick removers disappear into, though? I've bought several sets of the Otom tick twister, but can I find one when I need one? They just vanish!

 

[Buddy1]

What I want to know is, though, where is the black hole that all the tick removers disappear into, though?

Same here…one day I think I will find them in the same place as my missing reading glasses (4 pairs), face masks, spare car key and, possible, all the ticks that I never discovered and that dropped off him

 

[JudyN]

The fun begins... The scaffolders are here today, erecting scaffolding in preparation for our new roof. So far so good - Jasper spent the morning up in the spare room with Mr R, where it is relatively quiet. He came down at lunchtime and gave me a few anxious looks when he could see the men in the back garden, but whe I told him it was all OK he went back upstairs. So he's not totally happy, but coping, and hopefully will soon accept that this is the 'new normal'.

I had planned to take him over to DS2's in the day, but this doesn't seem like such a good idea given how much he didn't enjoy being on holiday, has gone off the car, and is lacking in confidence on the ramp.