P’s father was HUGE. he is growing at a fantastic rate and currently is about 32kg at 10mo

😯

Indy is 22.5kg at 9 months! Then again – he is from full working stock and his mum was quite slight, so I’m not expecting him to be a monster of a dog even when he’s full grown.

Sharkbait – I love that photo of Jasmine on the table. I take it she’s not allowed up there? Indy has the same look when he knows he’s comfy and naughty in equal measure…

not nearly enough bona fido pheasant botherers on this thread

Oi, don’t let Hope hear you say that

Likewise – Indy is offended by the idea he couldn’t bother pheasants…

Look. Here’s one he caught earlier…

Also – he wants Stox to know that Indy is definitely a boy’s name…

Indy the terror pup (as a pup) – I’m trying to learn how to teach him to be a “proper” gundog. I’m failing him at the moment – he’ll run out on command, stop on command, take direction – but I’m shocking at getting him to retrieve to hand. Must try harder…

wrecker – Member

I think he starred the swearies out himself. Hence 7.5.
There’s a swear filter, use it.

Nope – all courtesy of the filter – It picked up on my nice array of “Fs”, “Ws” and “Ts” even a “C” I think… Now that i’ve calmed down slightly and taken to some self-criticism, I do regret not using more compound swearies. Will try harder next time to reach that all important 10/10…

On a serious note – I’d be interested if you’ve actually used that repair service Frankers – The nice man in the market said he would fix it for £40 but that he’d take it off to London to see the “technicians” which scared me slightly…

are you really that naive?

Thanks, I’m actually INCREDIBLY naive.

Wait – Are you trying to say that maybe, just maybe it was cheaper because I was also paying through the nose for my monthly bills? 😉

I was making the point that their charge for fixing it is the same as the charge i paid to “buy” it in the first place – i wasn’t figuring the bills into the equation… My big CAPITAL rant would have been somewhat weakened if i’d applied some kind of logic to it.

You obviously went in as an angry man.

Nah – i was all cheerful cos I’d been playing with the iPad mini and decided i was getting one (for MrsH – not me obviously) for Christmas.

Good assessment, Philly. I was erring towards and 8.5,

Why thank you – that means a lot. I’ll work on the cohernace next time 😳

I wonder if an stw ban for swear filter avoidance will improve the OP’s mood

I’m stumped – where’s the swear filter avoidance? I deliberatly went with lots of nice recognisable sweareys so the filter would pick them up for me…

Where can you get a 4S for £140?

When i bought it on 2 year contract, I paid something like £150ish – so not that far off the £140 they’re asking for…

Cement bonded asbestos? There’s even a thread that was just below this one on how to gift wrap it…

Once or twice a week. Used to be more regular, especially when my (now) wife worked behind the bar. The evenings when I drank more than she took home were fun/embarassing.

It has also tailed off a little as our local-local (end of the road) doesn’t allow dogs, so I have to walk to the 10-minute-local with the pup, which makes nipping back to put dinner on between rounds a hassle…

Footflaps: At the risk of sounding a bit, you know, “stalker-ish” I can work out from your photos to within about 4 houses of where you live. I hope you’re planning on buying some big fat locks for this man-cave to keep your bikes safe…

I try to do the hiding thing with mine on most walks – it stops the little sod from deciding which way he wants to go and scooting off into the distance.

Speaking from the experience of friends who just adopted a 1 year old rescue, I’d take it slow until you really have got recall sorted. Not to say you shouldn’t let them off the lead at all (in fact I’m a firm believer in letting them off the lead very early on) – but just that you might want to hold off on riding with the dog unitl you’ve spent several months making sure you can always get them back when you want them while out walking and running. Reducing the chance of failure from the outset is rarely a bad idea.

Not answering your questions, but do you own it as Joint Tenants or Tennants in Common? If JT then urgently look at switching it to Tennants in Common because otherwise if you get squished by a bus the whole house passes to her regardless of any wishes you might have to the contrary..

Homemade.
[proud pie maker]

[/proud pie maker]

I think we can probably close the rest of the Chat Forum now.

See a need, fill a need.

As for growing up to be the next generation of tax payers. When the dog can avail himself of the NHS, a state pension, criminal justice system, public services, national defence, roads, the rail network etc etc etc and has an income against which to pay tax I’ll fill in the forms myself – (he can’t – he was sadly born without opposable thumbs and can’t hold a pen).

But i don’t see what thet has to do with why i should pay for his carbon footprint, but you can’t pay for your kids’. Given that having children is the most irresponsible thing you can do in your life (from a purely environmental standpoint of course), I don’t see your problem with my proposal. You can tax my dog’s carbon footprint when you tax your own.

PS: There is no way that any of what I’ve said so far was meant tongue in cheek. Definitely not. 🙄

pleaderwilliams – Member

Aside from all of that, and hoping to stir up the already rabid debate. I think dog owners (all pet owners in fact, although large dogs are among the worst), should have to pay a yearly pet tax to offset their substantial carbon footprint.

I’d support that* if you made all parents pay an annual child tax to offset their substantial carbon footprint.

*You’re welcome 😉

EDIT: Three winky faces in a row – does that mean someone wins a prize?

i think its pretty clear that i’m talking about the type who leave their dog’s shit everywhere.

you’re not one of those, are you?

Nope, I’m not one of those. I always clear up after mine, no matter where he does it. (Unlike my father-in-law I’m ashamed to say, who thinks that as long as his two crap in the long grass somewhere and he can’t see it, then it doesn’t exist)

But it’s not pretty clear you’re just talking about the irresponsible ones when you say things like this:

if i were a landowner, with lots of dogs walking across it, i bet there’s a fair chance that there’s loads of shit left there too – i’d be pretty pissed off with dog walkers too

However, we agree on one point – it is completely disgusting, unnecessary and irresponsible for people to fail to clear up after their dog – but I can’t understand why there are so many black-and-white, vehement anti-dog views on here. The idea that some ‘dog owners are bad therefore all dog owners are bad’ is prevalent. And almost any thread on it becomes an attack on dog owners. It is akin to the drivel in my local paper trashing all “cyclists” as if they act as a collective, because of a few red light jumpers or people out in the dark with no lights on.

I’m with Woody, a bit more tolerance from everyone wouldn’t go amiss.

I’ve got the little Aga stove in my house and I’m very happy with it. Having said that – I’d probably be equally happy with whatever I’d picked. My advice would be to go for whatever suits your budget and you like the look of.

The only bad thing I can say about the Aga stove is that the firebox is a little on the skimpy side, so longer logs need to be chopped in half.

purely because dog walkers are too lazy/imbecilic to clean up after their dogs.

Are you honestly so weak minded that you think in such simplistic terms about “dog walkers”?

Are you incapable of comprehending the idea that maybe in life there are some people who are good at things, and some people who are bad at things, and lumping both together based on some loosely shared characteristics is the preserve of the hard-of-thinking.

Just to drive home my point one extra special time for you. Not all “dog walkers” leave crap on walks – so treating all “dog walkers” with disdain is idiotic.

Some worrying coprophilia going on here. Where exactly did this become an issue about dogs crapping anywhere? No mention of it in the OP. Yet as usual the STW dog haterz leap in to obsess over excrement.

I mostly help Oil & Gas and Mining companies to understand what they should avoid trashing for the biodiversity assessment arm of an “intergovernmental agency”.

toby1 – Member

Note: there are villages around the Cambridge area for the peasants to live in (I.e. me)

Those of us a few steps above peasant but several steps below Cambridge Mill Road’s “unique independent character*” live in Ely…

*This means they’re not allowed a Sainsbury’s

The soundtrack is only rivalled in the movie-soundtrack greatness stakes by Flash and Tron: Legacy

Right, I’m off to listen to some Queen followed by Daft Punk…

If you want mountain biking in Tanzania, (although as noted, not on Kili) you could try Summits Africa: http://www.summits-africa.com/%5B/url%5D

I know Ake and Ema who run the company – great guys, good bikers, and they do lots of stuff across East Africa for the more adventurously minded.

They’re based in Arusha (where I used to live!)

I mis-read the thread title and was about to reply: because he was born that way…

DT78 – Member
Wife frowns every time I speak….

Just a frown?… I get a full on scowl and growl from MrsH…

Good to hear lots of positive stories – my Lab is 8 months and when he gets closer to 18 months I really want to get him a little brother. MrsH is a little more hesitant – so hearing good things from you all strengthens my case. It will mean *another* 12 months of short walks and destructo-pup – but I figure that having two for the best part of a decade after that will more than make up for the short-term hassle.

No peppers in mine, 4 different cuts of meat (including chorizo), tomatoes, chillies, onions, spices and then beans. Slow cook until meat has practically dissolved…

The issues with places being spelt incorrectly, roads missing and crap satellite views are far bigger issues IMHO.

This.

If it doesn’t have the correct names, in the correct places then it isn’t technically a *map*. It is a kid’s drawing. And is therefore useless.

I like Apple stuff, I have lots of Apple stuff. But this isn’t a map, and they have completely screwed up.

How about putting one of his favourite toys in a cardboard box, tape it up, and let him destroy the box to get it out. This will keep my destructo-pup entertained for a good while. Can also do it with bits of cardboard layered around a treat in a pass-the-parcel stylee.

Really? People rate the Wire that much? I got 3/4 of the way through the first episode of series one and switched it off. Incredibly dull. If you all promise it gets better I might give it a try again.

West Wing on the other hand…

Dot: Ours were hidding under a nasty cheap carpet, covered in adhesive, paint splatter, concrete and random plaster. A couple of weeks of back-breaking work (seriously – I needed physio) had them all shiney and nice looking again – but they were all in situ so I’m afriad I didn’t have to get any reclaimed ones to finish the job. Good luck.

edit: having said that – this place is round the corner from my folks, really good, and may have what you’re after – Hadley Reclaimed

Agreed, so normal in fact that clothing sizes appear to have changed over time. In my teens and twenties I was always a medium size, now I’m 40 and the best part of 2 stone heavier and I’m still a medium. How does that work?

I’m six foot but slim built. I now have to buy extra small sizes in some shops. Fat Face (oh the ironing) don’t make jumpers small enough for me any more so I can’t shop there.

Mine belts out the heat like crazy – so we definitely don’t suffer having it recessed into the fireplace.

Plus the front of the hearth must stick out past the front of the stove by a minimum (building regs) amount – so we’d need to extend the hearth out into the room even more if we did that. It’d end up with a huge bit of floor given over to the fire.

Our chimney is lined and the top of the fireplace has a big metal plate across it to deflect heat into the room which probably helps. I don’t know if it makes a difference but our stove is cast iron and not steel.

My Aga stove with exposed brick – complete with puppy (fire guard now removed as I can trust the dog not to go and burn himself, so it looks much better)

Yes you can, but need to setup place names such as Home or Work.

Ahhh… My calendar was defaulting to my Outlook calendar – which is where I keep tasks and reminders – I apparently have to use the iCloud calendar before I am allowed to set geofencing.

It can set reminders now – we’ll see hoe good they are.

I wish they would let you place or edit a map pin for locations. Instead it forces you to use post code centres – I don’t kno about any of you but I don’t live at the centre of my post code, nor do many people I know – so I’m going to continue to be directed to the wrong end of the road whenever I use Maps. Grrr…

GrahamS – can you clear something up for me please – I’m preety sure I can’t create a geofenced reminder via Siri – is that correct?

My understanding is that as pets get older they’re more likely to need treatment – so they put premiums up. 4 does sound a bit young though…

CaptJon – You want to push with the ball of your foot – so the gym instructor is probably not far wrong saying to put the strap over the widest part. However I find the footplate on Concept2 machines can make people do funny things.

When you say the angle feels odd – do you mean that as you come into the finsh you feel like the back of your legs get pulled taut, and that as you come into the catch you feel like you can’t compress fully?

A couple of things to try to make it more comfortable and get a better foot position:

Set the footplate height as normal – now wedge your trainer in the heel restraint and DON’T use the strap. Try erging for a bit and see if this feels better, pointing your toes into the finish. If you find it is more comfortable – it probably means you have the footstrap a little too far down your feet which is restricting your foot from coming up off the footplate. Lower them slightly (1 or 2 notches) so the strap goes over your foot closer to your toes. Try again and see if this feels better.

Alternatively – take your shoes off (and socks if you think you’ll get away with it in the gym), without shoes you’ll need to raise the footplate by several notches, but try to fit the strap over roughly the widest part of your foot to start with, give it a try and adjust to feel comfortable (up or down a notch at a time). Take note of where on your foot the strap goes over. Then try to mimic this position with your shoes back on.

What features do I need to be looking for?

One with magic pop-up rowing coach?

Seriously – doesn’t matter what machine you buy – if you can’t use it you won’t do anything except get out of breath.

As a rowing coach -I’d strongly recommend you get down your local club to learn, or find a gym where they know what they’re talking about. There is nothing quite as painful as going to the gym and seeing people batter around back and forth wasting masses of energy for zero benefit.

To answer your actual question – look for a Concept 2, second hand, ideally not one from a gym or rowing club as they’ll have been beaten to death, you want one from someone who got it, got bored of it and now wants rid