Phil Ledbetter's Comments

welcome to the site Phil, I am sure you'll enjoy. please upload some photos of your doggies!
greetings from far-away Hungary
laura &the girls

Hi there Phil. Welcome to the site Sure you will enjoy it, have you got any pictures?? can't wait to see them
Dee and the girls

Ah yes the dreaded muzzles, I actually hate them, but they are necessary, when the dogs are on the beach they eat the kelp and jelly-fish and when they are in the woods and fields they just eat anything that is there, so the muzzles are an economic necessity. It saves me a lot of money at the vet, or a cleaning bill for the bedroom carpet (when they sick whatever they have eaten up) Thank you for the compliment on the girls, at the moment they are caked in mud and dripping everywhere, still what else would I do with my time.
Dee and the girls

Hi Phil, Welcome from snowy England!

Hi Phil, thanks for your comment on my photo...the two dogs on the September photo are brother and sister. both pure Brackenfield lines...they do have coat but it is very very straight and needs very little maintenance kind regards Catherine

I don't have the Homeopathic connections that I used to have, the vets have stopped them from prescribing to animals, so now it has to be a vet that prescribes. But it was nearly 20 years ago, Keta had it in the Lumber Region and yes she had anti-inflammatory liquid (Metacam) I gave her many tablets and combinations of tablets I only wish I could remember what they were. She was 15 when she finally succumbed to it. If she is responding to the treatment that your vet is giving her, just keep giving her whatever it is that you are giving her, I hope that you have her with you for a long time. Please let me know how she is keeping I would be really honoured if you would. And I am so sorry that I can't remember what she was given.

Hello there
Lovely setters you have there
What are there names?
Beautiful coat they have
Happy new year
Write back soon
Rhona, Bruce and Lucy xx

Thankyou Phil. Yes, my Irish Tess does have beautiful, very long ears. Most from her particular line do also. She is a very quiet, calm Irish and is just a joy to have in our family. My English girl Megg is also very quiet, and yes, in general I think that the English Setters are quieter than Irish. Both my girls are the same age, almost 7. We got them as baby puppies together.
Your dogs are gorgeous also. Love looking through all the beautiful photo's.
Lynn, Tess (Irish) and Megg (English) from Oz.

hello
yes Artie has PRA unfortunatly. he is a fine dog very active and manage to live quite a happy and normal life. ive read "blind dogs" book and it helped me a lot and with just a litle training he was so normal that people thought he had blue eyes. blind dogs are normal dogs that cant see :-) he thought me! See his first steps learning to be confident in the first week of rescue here: http://www.youtube.com/user/port2miles
he lives now at marbelha with gill and giles bower that are so happy to have him. he is a strong dog. he didnt know how to walk proprely when i rescued him and just a few weeks after and he was running. it was really good to have meet him!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxrrTm0wiaM&feature=channel
regards

hello
Sorry we dont own a very large property but thats the fun off it
I can take my dogs out places we have never been before and let them run wild in the countryside but i only go places where i am alowed and have access too, no private land.
You have lovely dogs too and thank you for the comments on Bruce and Lucy
Your dogs have such lovely names too
how are they all?
Write back soon xx
Rhona , Bruce and Lucy xx

Hello
Yes many places
In parks you have to keep your dog on the lead if it is a chilrens park
But in the countryside and forests and fields we have permission to let them off as long as we clean up after them and as they do as there told and my dogs always do that so there is no problem.
There is a forest not far from our house, about 2miles away where i let them off everyday and the council has gave everyone permission to do so as long as they clean up after them.
There are many fields next to rivers and paths and lots of countryside that the council have gave us permission to let off our dogs in the UK and beaches etc
Sometimes they make paths and fields public just for dogs and hillwalkers etc.
Why is it not like that in the USA?
write back soon
Rhona, Bruce and Lucy xx

Galashiels is about 40miles away from Edinburgh
Quite nice town with places to explore
Edinburgh is quite good to.
They have a lovely beach, The silver knowes, and we love letting the dogs off thre to run about
Another public Beach.
How are you and the dogs?

Hello
Nice to know the dogs are doing well
In scotland we do use acres but i dont quite understand exactly how big an acre is.
All i know is miles and kilometres and metres etc.
How big is 3 acres? roughly?
thank you
Rhona, Bruce and Lucy xx

They teach us all i think but i am only in 3rd year and i have never got acres very much and the square kilometres doesnt really help sorry :)
but thank you anyways for looking it up for me.
How are the setters doing?
Love Bruce, Lucy and Me xx

Oh yes trying to find the suitable male, doesn't matter where you are this seems to be really difficult.. I don't want to go down the 'popular sire syndrome' road, and the only dog that I like is in a different country, and my girl doesn't have a passport so things are getting fraught, I do have a back-up over here but I would prefer my first choice..... I think that you have a greater choice on the continent.....GOOD LUCK and I am sure that it will all work out in the end.
Dee and the girls

Ah yes I do know what you are saying, one thing that I would argue is the Bloat thing...I think that it is hereditary, my daughter is a geneticist and she was trying to ''get to the bottom'' of this dreadful problem but nobody really wanted to say that they had it in their lines, so nothing got done, I too think that the breed has got too big, but we here don't actually have a hight standard, the Irish do however (I think) and I think that it is 25'' tops for bitches and 27'' for the dogs, but don't quote me on that, I haven't looked to confirm it. I also wouldn't like them to get too much smaller it is a very fine line...... Don't worry about soap boxes they are good on this site, have you read any of the Forum's they make good reading....and a good argument, it can get quite heated but we all bounce back, after taking the knives out of our backs.....Ha Ha its all good fun, but sometimes it is very informative. Dee and the girls

Hello again.
The dogs are great there getting on very wel and today i called both dogs once and they came back just like that. Im really proud of them.
Im sorry i dont have any kids.
How are your dogs??
Comment back soon
Rhona, Bruce and Lucy x

Aww.....haha :-):-)
all is very well here and the weather is beautiful
lovely sunny days in Scotland now and not as much snow anymore either. How is the weather there?
I guess my dogs are my kids and my best friends too i love them to pieces
if i have any problems i always go to them and they cheer me up :-):-)
How are your ones?How is everything there?
Rhona, Bruce and Lucy xx

aww......
Its nice to hear that the little ones are getting fostered
i just read your blog about health problems about one of your foster kids having discospondylosis. So very sad. I hope that in those last 6 months she lives a lovely life instead of being cooped up in a 10 x 10 run.
Well today it nice and sunny again and its just about time to take the kids out for there run. Usually a good few hours a day.
May i ask you a question
Is six hours a day too much for a setter? perhaps the puppy?
just incase
thanks
Rhona, Bruce and Lucy xx