Two days ago discovered how to video with my camera, you can see the results on my "Videos" page. Will try & get a bit of footage of all are Cavaliers on there eventually.
Dolly is looking very pregnant & still has 3 weeks to go & I am sure 100% now that Ysabel is pregnant too.
Now Dolly is 6 weeks she is sleeping in the whelping box which hopefully will be were she gives birth & she is now being given food which is Royal Canin Reproduction which is for Mums from 6 weeks into gestation & while lactating.

And then there were three. Down to three of Millies pups as Madison left yesterday for her new home & recieved phone call last night to say she had travelled well in the car & was happily playing on the floor as her new owner was talking to me. The new owners of Madison have been with this litter from the start, so was actually a bit emotional when they  left with Madison, as over the time they have visited & waited to have her we have got to know each other well & I know that Madison is going to have a more than great home & life with them.
Flo leaves on Tuesday & Oliver stays until the 14th August as his new owner has commitments to honour & as we are keeping Smudge it is no hardship to have another pup running along for a bit more. They are all really developing as idividuals now & are into everything.

Have been trimming claws today, really only dew claws need trimming on are dogs as all of them get enough running around to keep the other claws worn down. The dew claw is a little pad with a claw which appears on both front legs on the inside about 2-3cm up from the paw, they can also be found on the inside of the back legs of some dogs still and I have two dogs with dew claws on their back legs which are Millie with a claw on both back legs & Pippa who only has one back leg with a dew claw. These claws need to be checked regularily as they recieve no natural wear & will keep growing & curl back round into the dogs paw causing injury & pain to your dog. They are thought to be the remains of a fifth pad & claw much like are thumb, but through evolution is slowly disappearing due to the fact that it is not really needed, in a lot of working dogs they are removed at birth because they are prone to tearing them of in later life with then the risk of damage & infection to the leg. 
Caught Millie with her pups regurgatating again to day. This is a very primeveal instinct which most Mums will do if allowed. It is when the bitch eats & then goes in with their pups when they are from about 6-8 weeks. The pups should have the natural instinct to crowd Mum around her face & lick her mouth around the corners & this will then make the Mum bring up her stomach contents & is the way wolves feed their pups in the wild until old enough to chew & ripe raw meat & bones themselves. Millie though can get a bit to enthusiastic doing this & you have to be careful that she is digesting some of her food as she could then lose weight, so the best thing to do is when you feed the Mum do not let her in with her pups for at least 2 hours by then the food is to far along the digestive system to be regurgatated. Today though is Sunday & most Sundays we have Roast Dinner & today was chicken which after, as we always have two chickens we strip all the soft tissue off & give the dogs a treat which includes Millie. After eating her treat, I saw her jumping in with her pups thinking she's going to give them a little drink, forgetting about her regurgatating to then see her bring up every thing she had just eaten, so the pups also got Roast Chicken today.

Its quite obvious now that Dolly is pregnant & hopefully looks like she is carrying a nice size litter at this stage, 5 weeks & 1 day since first mating. Ysabel is also, I am 95% sure in pups just going to give her a few more days to be 100% sure before shouting it from the roof tops, she is 4 weeks since first mating. 
Have given Dolly & Ysabel a clip today as both are quite heavily feathered girls, this clip is along the belly, legs, tail & ears, as I have found out from experience that this is beneficial to Mum & pups. The Mum keeps cleaner & is less likely to get to hot in with her pups & the pups can find her teats easier & you can see they are sucking properly.
Millies 4 pups which are still with me, but are sold & are now coming up to 9 weeks, are now starting to look like little dogs not so tubby puppy looking. Although Smudge, the girl who we are keeping, she is still a tubby little thing & you could say with her that we know which pup eat all the pies.
Naughty Millie & Pupster decided to go of on a jaunt this morning & visit are neighbours who kindly returned them all covered in mud & badger poo. I think they actually look forward to their little visits as they always comment on what lovely dogs they are & the fact that they have not seen them for a while, if they have not been to them for a long time. Mind you they are the bonny type of dog, that I think that you would have to be terribly hard hearted to not have them bring a smile to your face. Millie & Pupster have been banished to the straw barn & will bring them in later to give them a good bath, straw is I find one of the best things for dogs to clean & dry off with.
We have started are perimeter fence & hopefully when finished it will stop the occasional jaunt without me taking place. 
 

Charlie & Teddy two of Millies pups have gone to their new homes today & although we have four pups still left, it already seems a bit quiet & we have definately have noticed their leaving. Best wishes to their new owners who they will surely bring lots of love & fun into their homes.
All pups had vaccinations, were microchipped & vet checked today. All of them are fit & well & really seemed to enjoy their trip in the car.
Update on Bobby are young Tricoloured boy who we hope to be a stud dog in the future, he has settled in really well, but was a bit out of sorts for a day or two with the passing away of Smidge who had taken him truly under his wing & where ever Smidge was Bobby was not far behind, now it seems that rather than gravitating towards Pupster who has taken on the top male role he has gravitated to Millie who seems happy to tolerate his puppy ways & occassionally chastising him if he gets a bit to rough. Millie is to now totally back to her old ways again eight weeks after having her pups & is of chasing the local wildlife at a drop of a hat, so have to be careful that she does not sneak of with Bobby who is a little to young for one of Millies hunting trips.

Well it only seems the other day Millie had her pups & now I have just taken my last picture of them all together, as tomorrow they have first vaccination & are microchipped, then in the afternoon Teddy & Charlie go to their new homes. Have packed their little bags of goodies to help them settle into their new homes & will now put them to bed as a very big day for them tomorrow.

Slowly getting used to not seeing Smidge around the place, luckily I have had Millies Pups to keep me busy & what a bunch of six confident &  happy pups they are & on Monday 12th July they will start to go of to their new homes, the time has just flown by, but we are keeping one of these back ,Smudge as my children have called her & actually chose her to. She will hopefully keep us busy for a day or two house training her & socialising her. She seems a bit of a character & likes her food so hopefully will not be fussy like her Mum.

Have not had a very good couple of days, as on Tuesday the 6th July 2010, I left for Tavistock in the morning to get seven of are dogs eye tested & all the dogs had clear eye certificates, so drove back the road in good spirits. When I reached home I opened the gates to come in & my husband who had been home, opened the back door & my old boy Smidge trundled down to meet me as he has done hundreds of times before & I drove past him slowly like I have done hundreds of times , but to my horror I felt a bump under my back wheel. I stopped & realized I had run my Smidge over & he was dead. This is the only thing that I can be thankful about is the fact that when  he was hit he must of broke his back & spinal cord instantly as he was just winding down when I held him, their was nothing in his eyes. This has been devastating for my family & me. I am going over & over, if only but this will not change anything, I must just think that I was so lucky to have had nearly 14 great years with this wonderful friend, who we have laid to rest beside his Grandmother Lucy in our garden. Rest in peace Smidge, it was a privileged to have known you.

Took this photo last night forgot the flash, but thought the plate on the floor which Smidge & his mates had just licked off, looks like Smidge has got a halo, pherhaps he could be patron saint of licking off dinner plates.