WARNING: This blog has been written under the influence of wine.
Yesterday saw the first of Smudge's pups to be chosen. Colin and Joan traveled down from Kent to visit us and pick their boy from Smudge's litter. I had spoken with Joan on the phone and on meeting the vibe I had got from speaking with her had not been wrong. Colin and Joan arrived bearing cheese, dog toys and a lovely water colour of Henry.

The dog chew toys have gone down well with the pups and dogs, and Joan made them out of old fleece cot blankets. Joan and her husband Colin have a place in France, so brought us a Reblochen cheese which she told me is used in a dish called Tartiflette, so on Google and this evening after shopping this morning for lardons, crusty bread and of course a couple bottles of wine (which I am now the worse for) our family and me eat a hearty supper, followed by a fruit salad of strawberries and mango (as mangoes were being sold off for two a penny). Strawberries and mango with a bit of orange juice, a squeeze of lemon juice, dribble of honey, a sprinkle of Demerara sugar and a dash of double cream, yum !  
Less of my palate. Joan and Colin were a joy to meet and the test of a customer is the meeting of the whole pack, which they took in their stride. Joan and Colin are seasoned dog lovers and it showed. They chose their boy and they have named him Alfie, who if everything goes to plan, will be terrorising squirrels in France, later on this summer.
The slideshow is Smudge's litter over the last couple days. Today we got out the big dog bed and the pups have taken to sleeping in it straight away, as often they can elect to sleeping behind it rather than in it, at first.

Lastly a video of the pups asleep in their new bed with our son Thomas. I make a comment about some people saying you should not let children in the bed of a puppy and that I'm not going to comment on people who say that and as I'm three parts to the wind writing this, I'm not going to comment on it now.
Enjoy the video, now I'm off as I've drunk a couple glasses of wine, husband thinks he's on to a sure thing, that when I get to bed I will be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Lol

P.S, Forgot to mention Jules and Matisse winning Britain's Got Talent. Using a three legged dog in your final routine, was a stroke of genius. Well done to a true dog lover. Watch how Jules takes a lick on the lips from her dogs. The face never lies.  

Smudge's and Henry's pups are now five weeks old. That seems to have flown past and what a beautiful litter of pups they are developing in to.
When I researched doing this cross between a Cavalier and the Brittany spaniel I thought on paper it looked a good option and then came the day to put the theory in to practice. I waited for the arrival of this litter excitedly, but also with a pinch of apprehension.
Now they are here and as I watch them grow into strong, friendly and very curious individuals, the apprehension is lifted and is replaced totally with the excitement of watching each of them become themselves. 

'When Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always."'

Rudyard Kipling
(The Jungle Book)

Caught this little bit of video this afternoon of Treacle engaging to play with a couple of Smudge's pups until some of the dogs bark because a tractor with a rattly trailer on the back came down the road past our home. 
Treacle is two years old and her Mum is Dolly and her Dad is Reggie. Hoping to breed from Treacle next year with Toby. The plan on paper at the moment, would be to keep a male back from this litter to mate in the future with the two bitches we keep back from Smudge's litter. But as they say, 'Even the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry', so I have learnt it is best to never carve anything in stone.

Ysobel has yet again been caught in the act of suckling Smudge's pups. I only have to turn my back and she's made herself at home with them.
Tonight a photo shows her, as I caught her with two pups attached and Ysobel the old girl has started to drop down milk. I wondered if she had, as the pups looked very content on her and on removing her, I just checked her teats and with a gentle squeeze milk is forth coming. 

We have decided on one of the girls we will keep and that is the one with a smudge on its face, much like Mum and we are calling her for now Blottie. Think I know the second girl we will keep, but just want to see them moving around a bit more.
The photos are the pups yesterday and today at 32 and 33 days old.

When you have a big litter of pups, you have to think up ways to make sure they all get enough lovings. Last evening I managed to nurse three of the boys in a rather novel way, on their backs all in a row on my legs. Mushroom of course is at the helm closest to my feet. 

Some pups the camera seems to gravitate to when you have a litter and in Smudge's litter at the moment the pup we have named Mushroom seems to be able to work that lens.
It probably helps that he is a bit more distinctive in markings and I also have a soft spot for him, but I must keep slapping myself round the face and say, "No Jane, you are not keeping a boy." But when did I take any notice of myself. Lol

Thought I better get an update for Primrose, as she is around six weeks pregnant now. I took her date from the time I knew that Toby definitely mated her, but from this date when she was scanned, the fetuses did not look that far on, so her due date is the 11th June, but could be a couple days over, but knowing the birthing history of Primrose and her Mother Ysobel of whelping early, I suspect the 11th June maybe pretty spot on.
Primrose is looking very well in herself and like her Mother Ysobel, she keeps trying to nurse Smudge's pups, which we have to be careful with, as we don't want her to start letting down milk already and lack colostrum for her own pups. 
Primrose was not looking that pregnant up until a couple days ago and I thought that maybe she is carrying only around three pups, but suddenly she is looking a lot more fuller and I would hope at least four at this stage. Primrose surprised us with six last time, as she really did not get very big until the last few days and when scanned then, like this time only three could be accounted for on a scan. 

A week ago this Monday Felicity had Lottie spayed. Lottie is from Primrose's litter born last year with Reggie the Dad. Felicity sent me an email to tell me how Lottie is doing after being spayed.

'Hello Jane,
As I promised, just a quick message on how Lots operation went on Monday.
All went very well and she was able to come home the same day. She was still a little bit woozy on
getting her home but by the evening that had worn off.
I slept on the sofa – and then the floor Monday night to keep an eye on her, but she didn't want to then
stay in her crate so ended up curled up on the floor with me!
She had the last of her painkillers this morning and we are back at the vets tomorrow for her check-up.
She managed keep the ‘elizabethan collar’ on till Wednesday morning (being seriously not happy about wearing it!)
and then getting it caught on the back door yesterday when it ‘popped off’, so that put paid to that!
I just have to watch she doesn’t lick /nibble at her wound at all now.
It is a job to stop her from doing one her favourite things at the moment which is bouncing and she is slightly unsure
negotiating the stairs.
I hope Ysobel and Belle are getting over their ops too, having read your blog yesterday, poor Belle, she must really be scared of the vets. Lots is just the opposite and can’t wait to get in there!!
 
Love and best wishes to you all,
Felicity.x'

Thanks Felicity for letting me know how Lottie is getting on after being spayed. Last week I also took Belle and her Mum Ysobel to the vets to be spayed on Wednesday. Ysobel is Lottie's Granny and Belle is her half Auntie and also half sister having the same Dad. 

Although Belle was not overly happy being at the vets, she has come home and is recovering well. Bitches get over this operation so quickly compared to humans, walking on all fours and not really comprehending that you have had anything done is obviously a major plus.

Ysobel is also dong well and it certainly has not effected her mothering, as the photos show. We keep finding her in with Smudge's pups and we have actually caught a couple of the pups suckling her. Smudge is unconcerned, as living in a pack it is common for bitches to share the nursing. Cavaliers are exceptional mothers.

And a few more photos of Smudge's pups with Smudge from last night and this morning. The pups are now 31 days old. If interested in this litter a cross between the Cavalier and Brittany Spaniel best to contact us by email first at [email protected]

Sorry it's been a few days since I last blogged. The stomach bug that my daughter had been home with last week from school, had managed to jump ship and take sail in me. Felt rough yesterday morning when milking and last night just made it through milking to get home and all hell let loose and it was unwise to be more than ten paces from a toilet. I felt sick, but thankfully all purging has been downstream. 
Must be something pretty virulent, as I can't recall feeling so rough for a long time. Takes a lot to stop me and although I got up first thing this morning with David to let dogs out and tend the pups, I went back to bed and surfaced again around 11 am to find a pile of notes beside the bed from our youngest children, wishing me better soon and telling me how much they love me. Seeing their little worried faces as I surfaced from the bedroom, helps you stop feeling to sorry for yourself. My children are not used to Mum, not being up and busy. 
Anyway less of the self pity and I'm back on the blog tonight for a puppy update. Friday saw us get the pups out on the patio for the first time. We have now fitted up a ramp and the pups already amble in and out of their own accord. These pups do seem pretty forward as litters go. They are now just over four weeks old at  thirty days old today.

The photos are from the last four days and as they develop you can see that all have a good length of nose, but still look like Cavaliers. I suspect most of these will make Mum's size and some in between the size of Mum and Dad. I reckon if you crossed these pups back to a Cavalier, you would have Cavalier types that no one would argue are Cavaliers. Using a little sperm from another breed to add more genetic diversity, exactly what is the problem ?  Out there though are the dog racists (race or breed, two words that mean practically the same) who will be disgusted by cross breeding. Breed though is just a group of animals in a a species that humans have decided to genetically shut off, so I'm a human just opening the door a little wider, because this breed needs some fresh air.

All the pups are now in the collars I bought just over a week ago and at that time were a bit loose on them. So the boys are all wearing dark brown collars with white hearts on and two of the girls are wearing pink strip collars and the other two girls are wearing brown collars with pink circles on. 

Smudge's pups are now 26 days old and today I got a bit of video footage of some of them at the watering hole, also known as a water bowl. 
In the video I comment on being a bit sad at being excited about watching puppies drinking, but when you think about what you are watching, it is actually pretty amazing.
26 days ago these pups were born, blind and death and unable to walk. Their only two senses fully working were their sense of smell and touch. 26 days later their eyes and ears are open and they are up on all fours and able to negotiate with reasonable accuracy the around three meters from their bed, to the water bowl and stand beside the bowl, judge the distance to the water and lap the water. That's pretty amazing in my books.
You will notice in the video and may of already noticed in some of the photos, the missing piece of skirting board either side of the patio doors, which somehow got removed by our last litter of pups and we have yet to repair it. I still have the two bits of skirting board, but it is just one of those jobs, that it never seems to hurt to do it tomorrow.

The slideshow of the pups tonight is from the last three days. If the weather is nice, might look at letting them step out on the patio at the weekend for a few minutes.

Henry the Dad to Smudge's litter is getting ever more curious of his offspring and will be interesting to see him with them when they are out and about the place more.
The two photos of Henry below are Henry curious about what I'm doing sat on the floor and he looks for the bond of a kiss from me and yes, he did get to plant one on me. 

Now for a couple photos of the three boys Henry, Reggie and Toby. Our son Bert took the photo and I called Reggie and luckily the other two stayed in place, to give an almost optical illusion of Reggie disappearing in to thin air.

Last night after the BBC1 news they showed a programme called 'The Dog Factory' as the title might suggest, it was about one of our biggest animal cruelty issues here in the UK, the puppy farming trade. You can see the program at this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05qqf00
If you don't already know about how at least a third of our pet dogs start off in the UK, then watch this. It will not only open your eyes, but also fill them with tears. If thinking of getting a pup, please watch this program as it will show you the tricks of the puppy farm trade and make you understand why patience is so important when looking to get a puppy.
Utterly disgraceful that as a nation of so called dogs lovers, that this can still happen here and on the scale they report. Better legislation and policing is needed, but also the consumer needs to wake up and understand that buying a puppy is not like buying a new pair of shoes, a puppy is another sentient being. Do your research and always see the mother with the pups, because every puppy bought from a puppy farm, gives a life sentences to another mother to never have a life.

Ysobel and her daughter Belle went to the vets this morning to be spayed.
Belle chipped her radius as an eight week puppy and then at twelve weeks old because the trauma to the radius had caused the growth plate to close, she had to have an operation on her radius to open the growth plate to keep it growing at the same speed as the ulna, to stop dislocation of the elbow. The operation was a success, but the stress of going to the vets in pain and being left at the vets has left Belle with a very negative association with the vets and this morning was not an enjoyable experience dropping her off. She is not naughty or either noisy, but she sat on my lap in the waiting room very quiet but shaking slightly, her Mum Ysobel on the other hand happily sat on the floor beside me waiting seemingly unconcerned by the surroundings. 
When I picked them up the nurse told me that Belle and Ysobel had been good girls. Belle had eaten and had a drink but apart from that, had stayed curled up in a ball at the back of her kennel. Both are home now and for the next few days will be crated to stop them being overactive after being spayed. Belle has had a good cuddle and is comfortable with her Mother Ysobel now fast asleep. When you pick them up after being spayed, often you can feel a twang of guilt, as you pick them up drowsy and lack luster, but give them 24 hours to get over the anesthetic and you will start wondering if they have had surgery, as they return to their normal bouncy self. 

Just adding this bit on after publishing, as forgot to mention earlier that the vet had a good listen to Ysobel's heart. Ysobel at five was examined by a cardiologist vet and he heard a very subtle heart murmur, so subtle that three years later the murmur is barely audible to my GP vet, so that was good news and Belle at three and a half years old, he could not hear anything wrong with her heart.
The really interesting thing I found out today though when picking them up from the vets, was from the nurse.  She had found a small tick on Ysobel and asked if she could send it off to the Big Tick Project, which I found out from her is looking at why we are seeing more ticks and seeing them out of what is considered the tick season, the tick season being the warmer months of the year and also why they seem more aggressive. You might like me think that seeing ticks outside the tick season is down to milder weather, but it is thought that ticks are evolving to cope with colder conditions. 
It also seems that many people do not know the potential danger of a tick bite and that some ticks in the UK can give dogs the condition known as Lyme Disease (Borrelia) which if treated to late, can be fatal. 
Here is the link to to Bristol University and details of the Big Tick Project :

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/april/big-tick-project.html

If your vet is helping with this project. If you find a tick on your dog and remove it. Don't bin it, bag it and take it to your vets, to help in the research. You will have to fill in a little questionnaire about where you walk your dog, like woodland, farmland etc.

This video is the follow on from the earlier video on the blog before this one and shows the pups finishing suckling and starting to play with each other and also two of the girls have a framing up to each other moment. 

Short blogs tonight, as had a busy day with this evening having to bake up cakes for a stall at my children's secondary school tomorrow as a fund raiser for  people in Nepal after the devastating earthquakes.  My daughter kindly volunteered my services to help furnish the stall, of course without asking me first. I find making slabs of cake more efficient than baking individual cakes when doing it on an industrial scale. Hopefully they should be able to get at least 24 slices from each slab, 30 slices if you are a bit tight. I've told the two older boys to round up their friends to support their sister on the stall. 
These are truly handmade, as I have yet to feel the need for an electric mixing machine. Mixing by hand is far more fun, especially with children wanting to have a go. Saving you a gym subscription whilst being a far more productive way of burning off calories.

Took this video of Smudge today feeding her nine pups, now 24 days old. You certainly can see that they have grown a lot since being born. 
I'm now going to load up another video taken just after Smudge finished feeding them.

Will be interesting to see the Kennel Clubs response to Simon Swift's statement that mandatory protocols work and voluntary ones have not. Simon Swift, board certified cardiologist  (currently at the University of Florida vet school) and has been responsible for the UK Cavalier breeding scheme for the last twenty years, is at this time in the process of completing his paper on his findings and publishing it. 
You can find about what Simon Swift has already stated about his finding on the CavalierHEALTH.org website page   http://www.cavalierhealth.org/mvdprotocol.htm#Simon_Swift
_reports_that_mandatory_MVD_protocols_work_and
_voluntary_ones_have_not
You will read that the Danish mandatory scheme had a clear effect on  onset of MVD , reducing the age incidence of murmurs by 71%. All the voluntary schemes have shown no effect in reducing onset in Cavaliers and in the UK there seems in bitches to of been an increase rather than decrease, which backs comments made by the Cardiologist vet who I use.
So I think I need to publish that link again to the petition, asking the KC to make heart testing and mri scanning mandatory for parents of Cavalier puppies registered with them. Please sign it if you have not already.
https://www.change.org/p/the-kennel-club-stop-registerin-g-cavalier-king-charles-spaniel-puppies-unless-their-parents-are-mri-scanned-and-heart-tested
Come on KC stop dragging your heels, time is running out for Cavaliers.

Thankfully some people are on the ball and earlier today I received an email from Alison, who has Smudge's litter sibling Maddie. 

Then this evening Alison sent me this slideshow of Maddie having her Birthday dinner, funnily we also had roast lamb for dinner this evening, so Smudge also had a treat of some lamb for her dinner.

Thanks Alison for reminding me it is Smudge and her litter siblings 5th Birthday today and thanks for your updates and support over those 5 years, especially when I lost our Smidge so tragically.  
Hard to believe 5 years have passed since you visited me looking at a pup from another litter, but fell in love with a heavily pregnant Millie and decided to wait for a pup from her. So a big Happy 5th Birthday greeting to Maddie, Charlie, Teddy, Oliver and Flo. Hope you are all doing well and had a lovely day.

Here is the birthday girl Smudge today on her 5th Birthday. Smudge and her Mum Millie are two very special girls, so we decided to do a little photo shoot with the both of them and me. This photo we thought the best of the bunch, but for a bit of fun, I thought I would let you see the photos I normally would leave out. 
 WARNING : Some of the photos below might give you nightmares.

Smudge's pups are now 23 days old today. The photos are from yesterday and today and the collar coding is as follows: 2 green collars on girls. 1 red collar on a girl. 1 pink collar on a girl. 2 brown collars are boys. 2 blue striped collars are boys. 1 blue collar on a boy.
And finally the answer to Alison's question. "This is Smudge's last litter."

Sue, Colin and Dottie after having to abort their visit last Saturday, due to traffic as they traveled from Kent to Cornwall for a weeks holiday,  made it today on their way back home after a lovely week in Cornwall.
Dottie is Lottie's sister from out last blog and is from Primrose's litter born a year ago last weekend and Reggie is her Dad.

Trying to get some photo's of Dottie's visit was not that easy, as Dottie is a busy little girl and there are far to many things to be sniffing and doing when in a home that has a plethora of smell in it, especially when the smells are lots of different dogs.
It was lovely to catch up with Sue and Colin and of course to see Dottie. Always a pleasure to see dogs you have bred as adults and I do appreciate the fact that when down this way, that people who have pups from us, take timeout to visit us. Thanks Sue and Colin for letting us see how you are all getting along and what a lovely dog Dottie has grown in to.

During Dottie's visit my husband did manage to catch this lovely photo of Dottie's Mum Primrose and Grandmother Ysobel.

A few days ago I received this update from Felicity, who has Lottie, who is from Primrose's litter last year with our Reggie. Lottie along with her litter siblings turned one year old last weekend. 

'Hello Jane,
 
Hope all is well with you all – and the little ‘Hudges’.
Just a quick message and a couple of pictures from Lotties birthday on Saturday.
I made her  the cake from Lilys Kitchen recipe book – and actually it didn't taste too bad!!
Lots is booked in for her spay op next Monday 18th, so obviously I will let you know how
things go later on in the week.
We hope to meet up with Sue and Colin and Dottie around the beginning of July.
 
Best wishes,
Love,
 
Felicity and Lottie. xx'

Thanks Felicity for the update on your Lottie. Looks like you all enjoyed her 1st Birthday. Hope all goes well on Monday. Hopefully her sister Dottie will be visiting us tomorrow with Sue and Colin on their way home from their holiday in Cornwall.

Yesterday the forecast was rain and as you can see behind me in the photo taken of me with one of the girls from Smudge's litter yesterday morning, they got the forecast right. What a difference 24 hours makes though, as it has been a very pleasant dry sunny day today.
I'm now using this photo as my profile photo for the blog, as like to update it every now and then. I think I look a bit mad dog lady, but the family assure me it's not that noticeable.

The first slideshow are of the pups yesterday at 20 days old.

The second slideshow is from today and the pups now three weeks old. They are now getting really lively when awake. The eyesight is yet to focus and it is funny to watch them walk up to things and sort of look to think, "There is something there," and then to walk into it and confirm there is something there. Eyes start to be able to focus around 28 days old. They are starting to be verbal and the occasional bark is heard now along with the occasional howl as they start to learn how to use their voice.
As promised, collars went on them today. I nipped in to town this morning getting some new little pup collars and put them on, doing a simple collar coordination. Boy in dark brown collars with white hearts on and girls in pink collars, two pink strips and two pink with a brown pattern on them. I put them on and thought they were a bit loose, but I might get away with them, but after a couple hours of finding pups wearing the collars as breast belts, I decided to see what Velcro collars and kitten collars I had. So just to confuse you all, the collars the pups are wearing now are different than the collars in the photos tonight. Give it a week or so and the collars in the photos should fit enough. 
I will explain the new colour scheme with the next lot of photos of the pups.

 The first slideshow is of the pups yesterday at 18 days old and still stationed in the whelping box.

This morning it became clear that the pups wanted to come out of the whelping box, as getting up with my husband David who was going of to work, we found three of Smudge's pups out of the whelping box snuggled up with Mum on the floor in the pen. So today the whelping box was removed and the pups have the run of the whole pen, which they have taken to showing very little stress and they are already getting up walking off their bedding area and peeing and pooping away from their sleeping area. Thankfully Smudge is still taking care of the pups poop and should do, for around another week or so.  
So the next slideshow is from today with the pups out of the whelping box and the pups are now 19 days old. There are some photos of the pups with our children, as now the access to them is easier being out of the whelping box. Our daughter Florrie was lying with the pups and I thought that it would make for some lovely photos, which I think they are, but to have permission to use them, my daughter has asked me to explain that her ears are not that big in real life, as for some reason her ears do look very defined in the photos. I told her, "There is nothing wrong with a well defined ear and I suspect if they are making a remake of 'Lord Of the Rings', we might get a phone call. You know those ear prosthetics they use don't come cheap." You got to laugh because when it comes down to it, having big ears or ears that look big in a photo, on the scale of the things others have to struggle with, is a pretty minor affliction.

Next is a slideshow of the pups suckling their mum today after coming out of the whelping box. Looking at them, unless being told, at this age they all but look like a pure litter of Cavaliers.

Primrose is coming up to five weeks pregnant to Toby. She is looking very tidy still, but her tummy has a most definite filling to it.

The last slideshow is a few photos of the pack. A couple nice ones of Primrose with her Mum Ysobel. Ysobel is booked in to be spayed next Wednesday with her other daughter Belle. Ysobel is eight years old now and spaying at this age for me takes away the risk of one of the males getting her pregnant and that she does not have to kennel out at all, because when on heat the bitches are kenneled to keep the boys from fretting. 
Belle is three years old and we have decided that we will not breed from her because honestly, we don't consider her of the right temperament to breed from. Belle injured her leg as a pup and had to be crated for sometime on restricted exercise. I think the whole experience of being in the vets as a pup, having surgery and then being crated on restricted exercise at an important time of socializing outside of the pack, lead to her having separation anxiety at a level that we consider her not to be ideal to breed from. She is a lovely dog, but just not a breeding dog.

This morning although with six children to get ready for school and in the car by 8.30am, along with eleven dogs and nine pups running about the place, we find ourselves drawn to the whelping box and now with the pups becoming ever more active and with their eyes open, playing with them takes president for the children after eating breakfast over getting their teeth and hair brushed and socks and shoes on before getting out the door for the school run.
I'm one of the worse for puppy ogling, I must have to admit and I just can't get enough of sniffing them and of course kissing them. Before you ask, "Yes, as a child I was a thumb sucker." I also used to suck my thumb and had a piece of cloth I used to hold twined over my fingers pressed against my nose, for double sensory comfort, whilst sucking my thumb. I grew out of sucking my thumb around the age of five and replaced it with cuddling animals and getting my olfactory fix from them.
Some don't like the smell of dog, but I actually like the smell of dog, as I love the smell of horse and at the moment another lovely smell is that of the cows when they come in from the field and they have had a shower of rain on them. I often wonder with the rise of skin problems in dogs, that maybe we ought to consider whether over bathing and our homes being so warm these days, might be partly contributing to this, along with all the other chemicals we use around the home. 

So the photos are of some of our children and me getting our morning puppy fix. Our oldest daughter Florrie, when our oldest son Bert was taking photos of me with the pups commented on my hair, as last night I let my in house stylist do my hair. Yes, I have my own hair stylist. Mr Pillow has been doing my hair since I can remember. If I go to bed with my hair wet, Mr Pillow does stuff to my hair other hair stylist could only have nightmares about.  I assured Florrie I was not worried about my hair and that people coming to look at photos of the pups would not be overly worried about my hair and if they were that was their problem not mine.

Look out for the photo of Mushroom. He is the pup who is working his magic on me. I know, I don't want a boy, so I'm regularly slapping myself around the face and saying, "No, Jane !" but love rarely cares for reason. "How come the name Mushroom ?" I hear you say. Well, Mushroom has a brown dot on one of his ears, which looks like a button. You have button mushrooms, so logically we are calling him "Mushroom" and of course being a boy, he is a fungi.

Smudge's pups are today 17 days old and I'm still looking to find homes for a couple of the boys and it looks like I might have to release the sales beast within me and do a blog just about how bloody wonderful these pups are and of course how bloody wonderful I am and exactly what you are buying when you buy a puppy from Poundlane. I have been known to sell the occasional bag of sand, so beware. 

Laughing aside, if interested in Smudge's and Henry's litter that are a cross between a Cavalier and Brittany email me at [email protected] with any questions and to arrange a time to have a chat over the phone. Although I feel I may have now put a rod to my own back, as you are going to want me to do a blog about how wonderful these pups are etc etc etc. Lol

Smudge's nine Cavalier cross Brittany pups are now 16 days old. Their eyes are all opening now, a few days before they are fully open and also their ears. This evening we noticed for the first time a pup wagging its tail, which is always a joy to see. 
They are starting to respond to the sound of the human voice and are starting to play with each other in the whelping box. We found one of the girls had some how got out of the whelping box just now, which is fair going for only 16 days old. I think it was more luck then judgement though.

Just a few photos of the rest of the pack, who are all well. Primrose is looking very well at just over four weeks pregnant and I have been a bit overwhelmed by the interest in her pending litter and will try to catch up with my inbox over the next few days, but just want to say, "At this time we are not taking anyone on a waiting list for Primrose's litter."
After doing a blog about waiting lists in 2015 a while ago, I have now put this information on the website page, 'Buying A Puppy From Poundlane' page to tell people that in 2015 we will not take anyone on waiting lists for litters until the pups are born and around four weeks old. As we are retaining pups from both litters in 2015, I thought this way would be easier, as I can pick from each litter without the pressure of waiting lists, it would save me the time of up keeping a waiting list, chasing people up, keeping everyone up to speed on a waiting list and to avoid the disappointment of waiting and not getting a pup for people, but how wrong was I.  

The first update came in admittedly over a week ago now and is from Alison who has Millie and Millie is from Smudge's first ever litter born some three years ago on the 27th April 2012 with Reggie being her Dad.

Thanks Alison and it will be lovely to see you all in the summer. The next update happens to be from Lynda who has Maddie. Maddie is from Primrose's litter born a year ago today and yesterday, as Primrose gave birth in the evening of the 9th April in to the early hours of the 10th April. Reggie is the Dad of Maddie as well.

Thanks Lynda and hope you had a lovely 1st Birthday weekend with your Maddie. Look forward to seeing you all in August.
The last update is from Andrea who has Maddie's litter sibling Colin.

Thanks Andrea for the update on Colin and like Lynda I hope you have had a lovely 1st Birthday weekend with your Colin and if you can get here when on holiday in Cornwall, it will be nice to see you all again.
Yesterday we were looking forward to a visit from Sue and Colin, who have Dottie, who is litter sibling to Colin and Maddie. They were on their way from Kent to Cornwall on holiday and hoped to pop in, but traffic and me going milking at 3.30 pm conspired to the visit unable to happen, but hopefully they will pop in on their way home from holiday. Sorry Sue and Colin, hope you have a lovely week down in Cornwall with Dottie. 
Now all that's left to do now is to wish all Colin's and Maddie's litter siblings a Happy 1st Birthday. So a big Happy 1st Birthday to Dottie, Lottie, Buddy, Henry and of course Colin and Maddie. Hope you all had a lovely 1st Birthday weekend.

Very quick blog tonight, as I'm tired. Smudge's pups are now two weeks old today and their eyes have been starting to open over the last couple days, so over the next few days we should start to see more of the character of each pup emerging. Smudge is doing really well and as before she is caring for her brood with ease. 
The slideshow below are photos from the last two days, so the pups at 13 and 14 days old.

Thought I had better blog before my inbox fulls up with people wanting to know if Primrose is in pups. Yes, she is in pups.

This morning I had to be at the vets at 9.45am for her scan which is pushing it with dropping the children to school and returning home again to sort the dogs and get out to the vets at South Molton on time.
I thought I was going to make it on time, but as I got into South Molton I hit a traffic jam, so diverted out round South Molton and then running late, rather than risk not getting a parking space outside the vets, I parked in the car park by the livestock market and legged it to the vets with Primrose running alongside me on the lead. I was about five minutes late, explained why and then sat in the waiting room, waiting to be called by the vet. 

The vet on examining Primrose confirmed she was in pups and could make out at least three fetuses and I told her that last time she was pregnant, when scanned I was told about three and she gave birth to six. The problem with Primrose is she is very neat in the tummy area and when being scanned, she tends to pull her stomach up, so making it harder to see everything that might be going on in her uterus. 


After the vet had scanned her I needed to go to the bank, which was about a five to ten minute walk from the vets. Rather than put Primrose back in the car, I took Primrose with me to the bank, getting lots of passing comments of "Ahh !" and "Isn't she pretty !" along the way and waiting in line in the bank to bank a cheque, Primrose started to acquire a fan club of ladies queuing behind me. All of them had to speak to her and were surprised that she is nearly five years old and one commented on her lovely colouring, she is a very nice rich coloured Blenheim. Finally I got back to the car with Primrose, who seemed to enjoy her little trot around South Molton and all the attention she got and I thought, "Ain't I glad we live rurally, else I would take a long time to walk not very far with the dogs every day."


The photo below is me with Primrose and Toby the father of the litter Primrose is carrying. I had just got indoors after attending with my husband David, our oldest daughter Florries Summer School Musical Festival, as she is in the school choir and finally getting to vote on the way home, with only minutes to vote left. I'm off now to see if there's anything on the telly about the election. Lol