Life goes on

Losing one of Primrose's pups yesterday was upsetting, but when you have Smudge's nine puppy rascals running about the place up to mischief you can't stay down for long. 
Life goes on and Smudge's Brittany cross Cavalier pups are now 6 weeks and 6 days old, so all but 7 weeks old. This is a real cracking, lovely,  robust and friendly bunch of pups and I can't tell you how pleased I am with the result of this cross. Although my enthusiasm for this litter thus far is not reflected in interest by the general public. The four already chosen have been from a really lovely bunch of people who are looking for friendly, happy, healthy family dogs.
I think this lack of interest, might reflect the fact that this cross is not common and people may worry what they will get. What you will get is a Spaniel with less coat than most, small to medium in size, needing a good hours exercise a day, that for your trouble, will pay you with total loyalty and a whole lot of love.

Alfie and Mushroom look like they're having a cuddle

Yesterday I got this footage of Smudge's pups and you will see that with this bunch about it would be very hard to stay glum for any amount of time. 

A only got a couple photos yesterday of Smudge's pups. We still have three pups available and those pups are one girl we have called Tinkerbell and two boys we have called Mushroom and Freckled Nose. If interested email me Jane at howarthmurch@btinternet.com for more details.

Now to end on a story about Smudge the mother of the pups above, that will make you smile. In the video above, you will see Smudge escape her pups, as she jumps up on a bench and pops over the pen fence on to a chair the other side. This arrangement is so she can go in with her pups as she pleases. She has almost weaned them herself by now.
Now Smudge's pups are all but clean over night, just the odd pee and this has been helped by their mother Smudge. For the last 10 days or so around 3 to 4 am each morning I am woken by Smudge scratching at the hallway door up to the bedroom, which is not something she normally does. I'm in the first bedroom right next to this door and with pups on the ground, my bedroom door is left ajar at night. So I awake hearing the scratching and appear in the front room to see Smudge sitting, she looks up at me and then looks to the patio door where her pups are lined up squeaking to go out.  It took a couple times to twig that this was not just a coincidence as Smudge did not want to go out herself and I would open the door and the pups go and do their business.  
She has figured out when her pups need to go out, I need to be woken up and she's figured out how to do that. The scratching is not rapid or panicky, but done almost gently in groups of around three scratches and then listen, if nothing another three gentle scratches and listen. Pretty clever I think.