mum24dog

Well quite. You'd think after all the "investigations" they've done that they'd have got over screaming at the slightest thing. I'm sure it's no coincidence that they very rarely claim to contact any non malevolent spirits. Friendly spirits wouldn't make such good TV, would they? Taken at face value I'm not surprised that most of their contacts tell them to f*** off. They probably want a bit of peace and quiet. Pam

Just been talking to someone at work who has done an overnight vigil at the Winter Gardens and didn't think it was spooky at all. She's also done one at the Carleton nightclub and said that was a bit creepy, but only because a heavy door opened and closed unexpectedly. Maybe the spirits turn up when the Most Haunted lot are around because they want to be on TV. Pam

That's very interesting, in view of the fact that they are claiming there is a portal in the cellar! Is there anywhere local that you think is genuine - apart from at the uni? Pam

All very convenient, isn't it? I can hear that usually too, but the "voices" and other supposedly significant sound - no. Performing seals is a very good description. Pam

I don't normally watch the total load of cack that is Most Haunted but it's local to us this time so it does have some interest. Just wondering if anyone else can ever hear what the team claim to have heard, because I can't? Beats me with all the gadgetry they've got that they can't record or film anything remotely suggestive of paranormal activity, given the number of times they claim to have heard or seen something amazing. My office is behind the Winter Gardens. I've been in the Alhambra (and done quite a bit of legal work on it) and my daughter used to go to the nightclub upstairs. I've also been in the council offices in Dalton Sqare, and Ashton Hall which is part of the Town Hall and visited on Sunday in the programme. (My husband was at the Golf Club yesterday which is to be featured on Wednesday.) If there's anything at all in this spook lark I must be the least psychic person in the world because I've never felt anything odd at all, and neither did my daughter, or my husband. It's a given that any theatre will have a ghost legend so that's no big deal, and I've been on a ghost walk round Lancaster and taken the stories with a pinch of salt. I'll admit that I wouldn't like to spend time in the dark in any of those places - not because I believe but because I'm human and as vulnerable to suggestion as the next person. I do think I believe in something after death - I just don't believe that spirits are going to be interested in performing for a TV show on cue. Pam

I bet a "Who Do You Think You Are?" programme on Nick Griffin would throw up some unwelcome insights (for him) into his own family history. And a test to identify where his mitochondrial DNA came from could be very revealing, as for all of us. Good for Bonnie for pointing out that we all came from Africa originally. Any other starting point to determine national identity is totally arbitrary. Pam

Totally agree too. Pam

So not really accomplished anything of note then? All girl groups are the same to me. Pam

Total outsider here. I don't watch it but caught the last part last night and couldn't work out what the heck was going on. I don't really know who Cheryl Cole is and why she's deemed suitable as a judge. Keep hearing the name but no justification for her celebrity status. Couldn't figure out what she was doing on stage looking extremely pervy. Whitney Houston - rather pathetic. As for the sing off between the strangely dressed girl who was OKish and the lad with the weedy voice - toss a coin and save us the bother of watching. Can't imagine what the rest of them were like. Pam

I had one of those with one of my 4 and yes, it did resolve itself and caused no problems. I don't think I'd better tell you about my first delivery but I did go on to have 3 more children so I obviously got over it. In my day we weren't encouraged to get up and walk around so I can't say if it helps. I agree with collies r best - take whatever drugs you are offered. And one bit of good advice I was given - after the birth you'll probably be offered a sleeping tablet to help you get to sleep at night. Take it. Pam

Casualty has a lot to answer for. Two friends are paramedics - one on a rapid response team trained to deal with major disasters. Plane crash, sinking ship, train derailment etc, she and her colleagues will be there - and not drinking tea either. Not only that, she has been a lifeboat volunteer in her spare time. Got in trouble at work once when she turned out for a rescue when she was off work recovering from an injury and had the bad luck to be televised. (Injury still not totally healed and never will be.) Even the other friend who is a "normal" paramedic has to deal with total s**t a lot of the time. Anyone criticising want to swap places? No - thought not. Pam

Now you're clearly on your way you might want to join the Rescue League - http://www.freewebs.com/darleague/index.htm Pam

Not necessarily and I would say not as you're in the north. Was it Delinquent Dogs in Rotherham you went to? (My daughter accuses me of being a stalker because I'm so nosey. I prefer to call it an interest in other people.) Pam

Probably. We've entered but it depends whether my daughter can be bothered to go as there are only 2 runs each day for both of her dogs. Pam

Well done and I see the experience has prompted you to enter our show on 3rd October. You'll have to come and say Hi and tell me how to pronounce your name correctly for when I do the presentations. (I'm the Show Secretary and will be found looking hot and harassed behind a pile of rosettes.) Pam

Lung cancer tends to have that effect. Pam

100% with you - especially the people who are obsessed with themselves. I can count the number of people who annoy me so much that I can't bear to be near them on the fingers of one hand, and even then I'm likely to feel sorry for them as I try to understand why they are as they are. I've yet to meet anyone who has no redeeming features whatsoever, or anyone who is perfect. Pam

TBH he gives me the impression of using his dogs as a tool for his own purposes rather than treating them as indiviuals and respecting them for what they are. Also someone who isn't secure enough in his own ability to forge a bond with his dog without isolating it socially. Sounds like his version of the Stockholm Syndrome where kidnap victims start to identify with their captors. Pam

Hmmmmm. My daughter used to get repeated ear infections and even when she wasn't in the middle of one could find flying agonising. Going up and down steep hills could have a similar effect. Pam

For those who have misread what I said - [i]Buying from a breeder often shows a lack of imagination[/i]. How can anyone deny that for many people buying a dog is approached in the same way as buying a car or packet of cereal? They go to the nearest supplier because it's easier than considering alternatives? Whilst I don't myself have anything in common with people who have a very specific requirement as to what they want in a dog, I didn't say that there was anything wrong with personal preference. I do, however, struggle when it reaches the level of "must have". I can't recall ever saying "I've always wanted ....." about anything. I'm just not an acquisitive person. Pam And I thought we were talking about going to a breeder to get the sort of dog you want. Temperament is as, if not more important than physical health IMO. Pam

About 8 years ago I rather fancied getting a Toller - checked out breeders, did my research - but as time went on and I became more rescue orientated, I just couldn't do it. I even know a good breeder quite well but still wouldn't. My head says that the majority of people I know with multiple dogs have rescued at some point and if everyone did that the problem would virtually disappear. However, my heart makes it impossible for me to congratulate someone who has bought a pup. People who know me don't tend to insist that I admire their new acquisitions. I find pretence for social purposes very difficult. I don't lecture - I just try to sow the seed to try and make them think about alternatives before they buy but if they carry on regardless I just keep my distance. It is perfectly possible to disagree with people and stay friends. Two of mine recently mated their JRTs. Why FGS? Not as if there's a shortage in rescue. We're still friends. No point in arguing with either of them - not the sort to change their attitudes. Pam

I said "often", not always. If you choose to take my observation personally and be offended, that's up to you. Someone I know did that for exactly the same reason - the breeder dog bought dog has developed multiple health problems just like the rescue dog she had lost. Have any of the rescue dogs I have had been unhealthy? No. Another friend decided she was getting old and just wanted a dog without behavioural problems for a change so she went to a breeder, and now has a GSD that is getting more and more aggressive with other dogs, just like her last one. I'd like a "nice" dog for a change, but I won't go to a breeder for one - I'll just choose my next rescue carefully. Pam

I didn't take Charlie to meet Ross. I knew him and what sort of dog he would accept. It was fine. I didn't take Charlie and Ross to meet Hazel. Same reason. Again, it was fine. I did take the 3 of them to meet Eddie as Charlie wasn't too keen on terriers. I wouldn't have taken him if either he or Charlie had shown aggression towards each other. I wouldn't have been able to guarantee managing it and resolving the issues between them. I didn't take them to meet Cedar. He was only a pup and it would have been fine at the time. Problems between him and Eddie only started after 9 months. And none of them met Kye. I was expecting adjustment problems initially and was right but was confident I could deal with them. Meeting on neutral ground wouldn't have helped at all and wouldn't have influenced my decision to take him. Pam

I just feel disappointment when someone buys from a breeder. Often it shows a lack of imagination. A dog to me isn't a commodity to be bought and sold. I have nothing in common with someone who just has to have a particular breed, and even worse, a dog of that breed with a specific coat colour etc. That's probably because there's virtually nothing material in life that I just have to have, other than in general terms. Of course I have my preferences like anyone else, but they aren't set in stone. I have friends who breed and I wouldn't fall out with them about it, but I can safely say that I would never buy from a breeder. I really don't think that the guilt I would feel would allow me to bond with a bought dog the same way as I do with my rescues. I honestly don't see the point of so many different breeds destined to supply the pet market. There is an excuse for specialist breeding of dogs that are intended to do a job but I don't class being a pet as a job. I accept that rescue could not supply the demand for dogs, but that's the way I would always go. It wouldn't be practical if everyone felt the same as I do. I'm very proud of our agility club - rescue to bought is about 50-50. All the dogs are well loved and cared for. The rarest breed we have (a Spanish Water Dog) was rehomed by the current owner. We have a good number of merle collies, only one bought because it was a merle (and that has severe health problems). More of the merles are rescues than bought. We have 2 rotties - one bought from a breeder, one rescued from a totally unsuitable home. Both lovely dogs. Line up our club dogs and you'd be likely to lose money if you bet on which were rescue and which bought. Pam

Well groomed longer coats with the dead undercoat raked out are much more efficient a keeping most dogs cool than clipping them. The heat from the sun reaches the dog's skin much quicker if it hass a short coat and longer hair keeps the air circulating. Clipping a dog to keep it cool might seem to make sense but the science doesn't bear it out for many dogs. http://www.cvillestyle.com/2008/08/05/the-...og-this-summer/ I have 3 ginger dogs - 2 shorter single coated, one a woolly bear double coated collie cross. Guess which isn't bothered by the heat. Pam