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The only problem I had in Oz were mozzies, one Christmas we toured SA and western Vic for almost three weeks during the pit shutdown. In the Murrumbidgee irrigation area, they had mozzies so big you could throw a saddle on them and fly off into the sunset!! Biggest bloody mozzies I've ever seen. I lived in Wollongong for a couple of years then Bathurst for over seven years.

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Thank you FLY2, you're not kidding, I had some great reading and trips down memory lane here before I joined last night, great stuff.   Hello Jill, The Mediaevalist (right up my alley) do th

Mosquitoes here are stinkers, they'll chase you, relentless little buggers. There are man-made still water lakes/ponds in every new community, I myself live in a new lake community, beautiful place bu

nice to hear all about people who have moved from Nottingham to Canada, at the ripe old age of 16 {1966 when we won the world cup} my oldest brother Terry Goodwin decided he would go and climb the roc

On June 27, 2017 at 4:32 PM, ABritAbroad said:

loppylugs, I'm surprised there's no mosquitoes back home, or is there now? It's sure wet enough and it's not like Canada is hotter that the UK, we have tonnes up here. I have an Argentine Dogo and he hates mosquitoes, feels every bite like it was a rat biting his ankles, he gets right upset.

When I lived in Airdrie the city released adult dragonflies because it got so bad, thousands of them, within two days you couldn't find a mosquito, it was brilliant.

 

I missed this post somehow.  Funnily enough the mozzies are not too bad here.  They were much worse in Canada.  We don't allow any standing water in old flower pots etc.. Even when they do come out they do not seem as aggressive as the Canadian so and so's.

 

Thought I read somewhere that Argentine Dogo's where not allowed here. Considered too aggressive.  I wouldn't have thought they would be worse than my rotten Beagle.  :rolleyes:

 

Did my internship in Airdrie.  It was a separate town in the early eighties.  Last time I was back it was pretty well swallowed up by Calgary.

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Mosquitoes here are stinkers, they'll chase you, relentless little buggers. There are man-made still water lakes/ponds in every new community, I myself live in a new lake community, beautiful place but it sure can bring them in. Ironically, it was living in Bridgeland where they were the worst, maybe is was still water pockets in The Bow River? Who knows, but wow it was bad there, I'd run for the train just to outrun them!

 

Dogo Argentinos are not allowed in the UK but they are allowed in Canada. 

I'm torn to be honest, here’s why...

I waited years to get my Dogo, waited until I owned my own house, had the time and resources to train one, etc. I researched the breed exhaustively and went in eyes wide open.

He was not my first dog and I also volunteered with at the RSPCA in the UK for 6 years with their staffies that were confiscated by police from dogfighting raids. Never once had an issue with one of those dogs in all my years but I do have a scar on my arm from a Cocker Spaniel that attacked me as a kid :angry:

I flew Rogan to Canada as a pup from Buenos Aires, good parents, well socialized, proven temperament. I saw two litters grow up from the same parents prior and got to see how they turned out, both health wise and temperament wise, all excellent.

 

I don’t have kids so I let the neighbourhood kids socialize with him when he was a pup, he adores kids now and is beside himself if a kid will play with him, he turns into a big goof but is very mindful of his body and his power and is gentle as a lamb with them. 

That said I wouldn’t leave him, or any dog, alone with a child, I do not believe it's responsible. It’s not that I don’t trust him, I don’t trust the kids. I have seen a number of my friend’s kids teasing and tormenting their own dogs when they think an adult isn’t watching, it would be irresponsible for me to take the chance. I’d feel the same with any breed, I believe they are first and foremost an animal and I'm responsible and protect him.

 

He’d never make a guard dog, a perfect stranger can walk into our house and he treats them like long lost friends. He was inherently like that as a pup but I also socialized him daily to everyone and everything. I trained him kindly but consistently. You can’t raise your voice to this breed, this will shut down and won’t even look at you, they are very sensitive to harsh correction and do not need it.

He knows his boundaries, I don’t have to be hard, I have to be consistent.

They are a dog social breed, specifically bred to hunt in packs, if you have one that isn’t dog social there’s been a fault somewhere along the way, either the breeder or the owner did not do their job. 

 

I also have a Corso, now she is a security dog, professionally bred and trained to be so. I have had two attempted home invasions whilst I was at home, prior to getting her. She is highly obedience trained, indifferent to strangers, social with friends and family, and not aggressive. I think people misunderstand the nature required of a dog to do that job, the worst kind of dog is an aggressive, reactive, dog, that’s just a liability.

 

I don’t like seeing dogs in the wrong hands, inexperienced, or malicious hands, they are equally as bad as each other, especially with powerful dogs. I don’t want to see the breed become popular, it never did pitbulls any good.

People can screw up dogs, last thing I’d want to see is someone getting a dogo and training it to be aggressive towards people or other dogs, or just as worse; not training it at all.

They are a powerful hunting dog for wild boar and cougars and are great at what they were bred to do, but they were also bred to be dual natured and very people and dog social. 

I’m not an advocate of banning breeds at all, I think legal consequences for irresponsible dog ownership fall far short of what they should be in most countries. Regardless of breed, we need to raise the bar much higher in protecting the general public and all dogs from idiots.

 

Sorry, not to get political!

 

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I pretty much agree with everything you say, I used to work in peoples houses all the time and never found a bad Staffie either, poodles yes many a time.

 

There are very few 'bad dogs' but lots of bad irresponsible owners and they are the major problem.

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They aren't too common, katyjay. Seems in the US they are mostly owned in Texas by hunters due to the feral boar problem, apparently they do $millions worth of crop damage each year.

Here's my boy in the tub, he's pouting because I wouldn't turn the tap on, a full bath tub is his best treat ever.

http://thumbnail_IMG_5609_zpsohzhvdco.jpg

I'll keep other pics to the pet post as not to sway off topic!

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Have to agree with you, NewBasfordlad. Never had an issue with a bully type breed going for me (though I'm not ignorant to say that they do not exist, of course they do) but I have on a couple of occasions been bitten by smaller dogs. A Dachshund bit my leg last year after it's owners didn't shut their gate and I walked past unsuspectingly. 

 

It's a double standard really, irresponsible owners of less powerful dogs are no less irresponsible than owners of bigger dogs (in my eyes at least) but because bigger dogs can cause more damage they and their owners are judged by a different yard stick. I'd just like to see equal accountability and consequence across the board, an irresponsible owner is just that, regardless of their breed of choice. Some people should just stick to goldfish ;)  

Kinda like a bad driver, be it a Robin Reliant or Bugatti owner, if you're a crap driver and run someone over, you should loose your keys until proven competent to drive more than a shopping trolly (though, you ever had someone run up the back of your ankles with one of them in Asda, hurts like a bugger!) 

 

Ok off my soap box now...

 

What did you do for work, NewBasfordlad?

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Heating and gas engineer, own small business for the last 26 years. I still do the paper work but have a couple of guys who do the hard work. Been in the game since I was 15 apart from a sojourn in to the firearms game, that was until 1991 when everything started to change with new rules and regulations.

 

Had a dog as long as I can remember until I lost the last one a Japanese Akita losing her was just so hard.

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Feral pigs aren't just a Texas problem, they are "moving" farther north each year and are causing problems in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri and other states, we are under instructions to shoot to kill if we see any, by the wildlife and game wardens of Missouri. So far I've not seen any signs of any and none of my neighbors has said anything.

Some weeks back I went for a walk in one of my south fields, I took a rifle with a full 30 round magazine with me just in case, bit foolish as it was an AR15, really way to small a caliber to drop a 200 plus pound feral pig. I figured 30 rounds would eventually stop one, next time I'll take a much larger caliber and a few spare clips.

My greatest fear is opening the front door at night and come face to face with a bear!!

 

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First time I ever heard of the dogo was in a book some years ago, by a guy who owned one.  Wish I could remember the title.  It was a great story but you needed some Kleenex at the end.

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30 rounds yes, but if there are several of the buggers, I'd be up the creek without a paddle, and I don't run very fast these days....LOL 223 isn't really larger game hunting firepower. Most around here hunt with 30-06 rounds.

I do have an SKS.

 

 

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NewBasfordlad, Akitas are beautiful dogs, that's like owning your own bear, what a regal dog. 

Sorry for your loss, you must have years of wonderful memories of her.

Yes, you would've been subject to going into everyone's homes and the mercy of the pets inside, can imagine.

 

Ah, firearms, yes big changes on that front, law wise. My family is big into arms and I have a number of former Armed Forces friends and current police friends through work who are active in the local gun club. I just hosted a scotch party for the lads there - good fun!

Myself, I'm partial to the historic end of the spectrum, duelling pistols, blunderbusses and the likes, I shoot traditional longbow (targets only, not critters, don't have it in my heart)... nothing I'd like to take my chances with on a boar though, thanks, they are like leather tanks with razor sharp cutters.

I saw a video of a bloke once, he had one cornered in the bush, had it in his mind to catch it by the ears as it came out. I knew that wasn't going to end well... sure enough, it ran out past him, flicked it's head as he passed and sliced straight through his groin and femoral artery, he nearly died. Silly sod.

 

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loppylugs, I'm a suck, I can't do sad dog stories. I watch dog rescues on Youtube and I'm a blubbering mess, slays me every time.

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Ayupmeducks, yes they are a big problem aren't they... and not a native species. You can thank those lot across the pond for bringing them over for hunting game, way back in the day.

 

We have two farms in Northern Alberta that provide boar to the restaurant industry. A few got loose, thrived through the seasons and bred, they became an issue. Some towns offered $50 for each one killed so they are rare now but it needs watching as there's a lot of crown forest land up here for them to hide out on.

 

I'm a big animal lover, but I am reasonable enough to understand that these are not a native species and need to be controlled or else they wipe out native animals in their wake and cause mass destruction of crops and attack livestock.

In Argentina they hunt on horseback and use the dogs to catch the boar. They dispatch the boars with a knife to the neck quickly & cleanly. They don't use a gun, could end up shooting the dogs.

 

I once cared for very well known english gentleman, he owned incredible antiques and one was a huge European boar spear, I gave out a very unprofessional and unregal "korrr, look at that!" when he showed me.

He was tickled at least :blush:

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#62 30-06 would be much better that's for sure.

 

Back in the late 80s when we had the firearms business I had an east European gentleman as a customer Polish I believe he used to go home a couple of times a year with the expressed intent of hunting wild boar with his mates. An exacting gentleman he would not use a semi for fear of malfunction only a bolt action and he made his own ammo exactly to his own specification. Imagine my surprise when he came in one day with his rifle, there was a case jammed in the chamber that he wanted removing.

 

The story he told was of hunting boar in the woods, taking a snap shot and only slightly wounding the boar, he went for the reload only to find the gun jammed. The boar chased him up a wood pile and began to destroy said pile to get at him, he was saved by a mate who after he had finished laughing shot the boar. They couldn't get the case out of the gun so that was the end of his hunting that trip. When we examined the gun we found he must have overloaded the cartridge, on firing it had made a nice circular groove in the chamber which the case had expanded into, new barrel and fitting close to £700, an expensive lesson in reloading.

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#63 ABA I was for many years a member of the Nott's & Derby Vintage Arms Society everything front stuffer from small cannon to pistol. My favourite was a 2 band .577 Enfield rifle, with a little hard work and experimentation surprisingly accurate out to 600 yards.

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nice to hear all about people who have moved from Nottingham to Canada, at the ripe old age of 16 {1966 when we won the world cup} my oldest brother Terry Goodwin decided he would go and climb the rockies, just for 6 months he said, he 1st went to Ontario to pay my late aunt [war bride] and uncle a visit, then he and his pal move to BC, then Vancouver, then Calgary, where he met my sister in law, and is still in Alberta and now has two married children and two grandchildren, I still await his return lol, he is the eldest of all our 7 children, he went to Berridge road school, as did my other two brothers Robin and Adrian, myself and my sister Valerie went to Scotholme secondry as did my mum and aunts, I stayed until the senior school closed and moved onto Guilford on bar lane for the last term, anyone on here went on the Carlton pub outings to Skegness back in the 50s ? I lived opposite the pub and the other corner was the Noel Street dairy run by the hurts, one of is called tony hurt who is still big pals with my brother Adrian, I would welcome any reply's gladly oh yes I was Elaine Goodwin and I would love to hear from anyone who would like to reply. x

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Hello Lainy, Welcome to Nottstalgia, It's nice to have another Gedlingite on site. (Poetry anawl) There are quite a few of us about Miduck. Sorry but i didn't go on any of the Skeggy trips from the Carlton, the only time I recall going in there was for my Little Bros wedding reception in the 80s. More of a Grey Goose Gel misen. There is quite a bit about Gedling on here if you look through the threads. Anyway have fun, and we look forward to reading your posts.:biggrin:

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