Conor Wright

Some of the comments here are a bit ott. Yes it's a pain in the hole having to get a licence to tow a trailer and I imagine almost everyone on here can do it perfectly well, although possibly not in such a way as to pass the exam. ie with the door open etc. Have a think for a minute about those who aren't so proficient, do we really want more road users unable to reverse their caravans, occasional users of small car trailers overloading through sheer ignorance, idiots thinking their suzuki jimny can tow a three tonner. There will always be chancers, I've been one for years! But theres a difference in plodding down a country lane at 40k with a bit too much load on and tearing down a dual carriage way overloaded and swaying precariously. On balance I guess what I'm saying, somewhat reluctantly is that there is a place for a practical test to ensure that an operator of a vehicle trailer combination is in fact capable of operating that vehicle. The sad reality is that many who do it well and will never have a crash of their own making whilst towing have no way to prove their competence after the fact unless they have the test done, so the test is an expensive and inconvenient necessity for them. I'm not sure if I think this is a good thing or not. I mean, it's great for those who don't need it, ie the competent ones, those who do it daily etc. It's one less bit of unnecessary faff. I'm just thinking about the weekend warriors and I'm not so sure..

I believe you. only have a couple of hours driving experience on a fastrac, loved it on the road, very wary of it on the land! Was with a dump trailer in spongey but dry peaty conditions (you know the six inch summer crust that forms above the soup below!) Still, you'd expect to have enough traction to pull on hard standing. I reckon a fendt, valtra etc would have grunted a bit where billhooks fastrac went down but would have made it out the other side with a slight lift of the plough. Shame she went down (not too many men say that!) It's gonna leave a soft spot there for a few years.

On hard-core?! Sounds more like driver at fault than machine. Unless there wasn't enough of it and it broke through?

The stihl hedgetrimmers are not waterproof, nor are the saws. Main reason I didn't get one. Its too often I arrive to a soaked leylandii hedge and within seconds of starting the trimmer is saturated. Big turn off for me with the battery kit.

Bit like mogs, the small rear wheels can let you down at times!

About two hours from me, youre welcome to see them for yourself if you feel the need!

It's grand, no offence taken. I will fully agree that there is a problem here with people breeding for money with no regard for the animals. We don't have much in the way of fancy facilities but we give both pups and mother the best lives we possibly can. Where in Ireland are you? I'm in Galway.

Nope, first litter from my own 4 year old bitch naturally mated with a friends dog. 11 in the litter all ikc regd and chipped. All pics are taken by me at my own property. Feel free to check up with the ikc or see older pics here on the arbdogs thread. My partner has an Instagram page for the dogs too #larchwooddogs I appreciate your concern, however in this case its misplaced.

You're right. Still worth giving them a warning shot. From a safe distance

No. If I didn't see or hear anything then so be it, there's nothing that can be done. but I couldn't sit at home watching some c3nt taking what I've worked hard for (maybe that has something to do with it, all my kit is bought up front, maybe hp or leased gear is seen as more disposable) and not do something about it.

Usually I'd recommend the powerful deep heating effect of tiger balm, maybe not in this location though!

Is the wire OK?

That's the difference between a properly trained protection dog and a family pet that barks at strangers. A properly trained dog won't take the bait. I'd be more worried about a fatal attack on the dog by knife, taser etc. In which case you're dealing with serious criminals and a gun may have to be deployed as a self defence measure. To be honest, if they are willing to harm the dog, they probably wouldn't think twice about harming people either and they will be no loss to society.

Pups are coming on so well! It's been great, sadly saying goodbye to them now, keeping one because I fell in love!

There are age restrictions this side regarding the transport of dogs, rightly so in my opinion. Also I would have to meet you in person to sort out paperwork. That said, I'm not saying no! I do think it would be easier for you to get one closer to home unfortunately. They are great dogs, one is already gone to be trained as a cadaver dog, hoping another makes the grade as a conflict resolution/ crowd control dog too. Pm me if you want to chat more, I've somewhat derailed the thread. Apologies.

If you can get yourself over to Galway I'd be happy to see you with your very own arbdog!

Nice dogs. I couldn't be without one myself!

You might like these then!

Very nice.

Fwiw my advice would be to remove the pops, they will potentially outgrow their positions relatively quickly. Wouldn't touch the cherry. That's a specimen and an asset to the garden. As regards it being poisonous to pets, it's highly highly unlikely they will voluntarily consume enough to actually poison themselves.The risk is virtually nil. There is a long list of potentially poisonous plants which are commonly found in gardens, I wouldn't be concerned about it to be honest.

I once explained to a man that it gave more surface area to the board and helped it dry faster. The reality was that it was the second last bit on a fairly gritty ex roadside ash and I wasn't arsed sharpening the chain again. Not saying he believed me, but he bought the board!

That's a whopper! Worth keeping imo, might be able to make some little thing out of it.

Don't know for coppice but for 50% removal of a twenty two year old ash plantation of 3.4 acres took two of us 9 days. Not long days but we didn't mess around when we were there. Plus two days for a mini forwarder to bring to roadside. The other half will be removed next year due to dieback. Hasn't grown an inch the last few years.

Solutions, not problems!

Pups are doing well. 7 weeks when photos were taken, will be 8 tomorrow.