Selfsufficientish.com

imo the whippet has to be part of everyones attempt to be self sufficientish they cost approx 50p/week to keep if food(WAGG WORKER) is bought from B&Qs for £9.99 and mixed with household scraps the average rabbit in the butchers is now 3.50-4.00 pound well in front

Just added a word of caution to the title of this thread because of the BIG photos of Graphic scenes.

ADG wrote:imo the whippet has to be part of everyones attempt to be self sufficientish they cost approx 50p/week to keep if food(WAGG WORKER) is bought from B&Qs for £9.99 and mixed with household scraps the average rabbit in the butchers is now 3.50-4.00 pound well in front

Lovely pictures, and very healthy dogs you've got. Is that last one a hare? I thought they were bigger/slightly different shape, and with bigger ears, but the colour's right isn't it?

Not much use for them here as there are no wild rabbits. You're right though - in the UK coursing dogs should be standard stock for the SS.

And IMHO people getting upset by pictures like these need to take a look at themselves before moaning, as they've lost sight of where their food comes from, not to mention their heritage.

contadino wrote: And IMHO people getting upset by pictures like these need to take a look at themselves before moaning, as they've lost sight of where their food comes from, not to mention their heritage.

Contadino, the problem was that people did not expect to see a hunting photo on the photo competition, it is fine if there is warning in the title of the post. I agree that people need to remember that their food was once alive, but comments regarding heritage are inappropriate. We should respect everyone's individual beliefs.

I certainly have to agree with the "nothing wrong with that" sentiment. The dogs are efficient and, as far as the rabbit's concerned, quick. I, for one, am sick to the back teeth of finding rabbit corpses in the undergrowth - produced by people who can't shoot but think they'll have a go. The rabbit hides away and dies a drawn-out death.

I would object if ADG was merely killing rabbits for the sake of exercising the dogs - but that's patently not the case. Rabbits are a legitimate food source and a pain in the bum if they aren't controlled in some way. I see very little difference between these pics and those of people proudly showing off their rows of cabbages or their stores of sausages.

And, to top it all - some of the photos, as Contadino points out, are very, very good.

Mike

PS - one definition of harvest - "To take or kill (fish or deer, for example) for food, sport, or population control."

MKG wrote:I certainly have to agree with the "nothing wrong with that" sentiment. The dogs are efficient and, as far as the rabbit's concerned, quick. I, for one, am sick to the back teeth of finding rabbit corpses in the undergrowth - produced by people who can't shoot but think they'll have a go. The rabbit hides away and dies a drawn-out death. "

yes i agree - I loathe guns, mostly because of the hurt they can do to people. But also a shot rabbit hs full of shot, and they can go through the gut and flavour the meat etc... I've never actually seen whippets in action - these photos are the closest I've got, (and they are amazing) but I've seen terriers ratting.. its just a quick clean death, over in a flash.

contadino wrote:

ADG wrote:imo the whippet has to be part of everyones attempt to be self sufficientish they cost approx 50p/week to keep if food(WAGG WORKER) is bought from B&Qs for £9.99 and mixed with household scraps the average rabbit in the butchers is now 3.50-4.00 pound well in front

Lovely pictures, and very healthy dogs you've got. Is that last one a hare? I thought they were bigger/slightly different shape, and with bigger ears, but the colour's right isn't it?

Not much use for them here as there are no wild rabbits. You're right though - in the UK coursing dogs should be standard stock for the SS.

And IMHO people getting upset by pictures like these need to take a look at themselves before moaning, as they've lost sight of where their food comes from, not to mention their heritage.

no its a rabbit, its just damp because of dew they always look big when the pic is taken with a whippet due to them being so small lol but thank you for your positive words

Darren

ADG wrote:imo the whippet has to be part of everyones attempt to be self sufficientish .......

you do have a good point there, although I prefer rough lurchers
My lurcher did help define quite a few things about my lifesytle, the getting out into the woods no matter what the weather is doing for a start. walking everyday without fail is great.

I don't consider "comments regarding heritage are inappropriate" , maybe heritage is the wrong word, "culture" would be better.


When my wife first moved up here and took the lurcher for a walk across the golf course 2 old fellas stopped her and started chatting, they remember the days when they where young "the old fellas" would play golf and bring the lurchers with them, if they put up a hare or rabbit people would stop playing golf and start betting on the outcome.

Also, on another occasion while in London occasion I took a shortcut across some wasteland and some woods to get to my grandmothers house, I got to the door and realised that I was alone, I called for her just has my Gran was opening the door, out she poped from the woods with a rabbit in her mouth, and placed it at my Grans feet, "not had one of them since the war" she said, within seconds it was striped and made rabbit stew.

She pointed out that rabbit was eaten all the time during the war, she used to swap eggs for rabbits back then. Back then it was part of life and part of the culture.

the down side of the whippet is thin skin, but I believe if kept properly fit then tend to bounce of things instead of tear skin, the we bred a litter of border terrier x whippet (well 2 actually over 3 yrs) to produce bushing dogs as my son wanted something that took less looking after than a beddy cross one of them is featured in last weeks countrymans weekly , they look like minature norfolk lurchers

yes, that is why I said I prefer a rough lurcher, I found a few whippet /whippet style dogs picking up lasting injurys. mind you saying that, while Loki was quite thick boned, she did pick up a few injurys along the way, thorn in the eye was one of the worst, and a knee injury that "she will never run like that again" from a vet turned into, "that never fixes itself,on any type of dog, ever. that's amazing!" from the same vet 2 weeks later.

anyway, here is a photo of her and me.

the last lurcher show I judged last month i gave to a rough coated bitch she was stunning my best ever dog was rough coated .
Does Loki catch anything nowadays?

Loki was killed by a pack (4) rottweilers that attacked her and my wife while they where out in the woods about 2 years ago.

She was nearly 14 years old when it happened, she was old but would still start to run after rabbits, then remember she was old and just trot along. Like a teenager in a OAPs body.

I do hope that one led to a prosecution and I am sorry to hear about Loki

John Headstrong wrote:Loki was killed by a pack (4) rottweilers that attacked her and my wife while they where out in the woods about 2 years ago.

She was nearly 14 years old when it happened, she was old but would still start to run after rabbits, then remember she was old and just trot along. Like a teenager in a OAPs body.

how very sad. she was a lovely looking dog.

Sorry to hear that about your dog, John - and I hope your wife wasn't injured. But I'm fascinated - Loki, the mischievous one?

Mike