Smudge, Primrose and Belle had their MRI scans today at 'The Downs Veterinary Practice' in Bristol. We all set off this morning at 6.30am to get to Bristol at 8am to book them in and as its the school holidays my husband took the day off and we had loaded up our six children for the day out. We had looked at places to twiddle our thumbs whilst waiting to pick the dogs back up (for the scan they are fully anesthetized , so need to recover from this before we can pick them up) and we thought that Blaise Castle Estate looked promising with a cafe open at 9 am so we could be a little extravagant and have a full English breakfast, we where not disappointed. Being owned by Bristol City Council and with free parking and a 650 acres estate with loads of paths and tracks to explore what was not to like. The weather even was conducive in making it an enjoyable day out for us, dry with just a little cut in the wind. Although how ruddy my face feels now maybe there was more cut in the wind than I realised. We got a cooked breakfast, eat slightly alfresco in the cafe by the main car park and then we embarked on a marathon walk with the only thing missing our dogs. It certainly was a place with a dog friendly vibe and if we had known that before hand we would of loaded up a couple more dogs to enjoy our long walk with us. We started the walk at around 9.45 am and returned to the car at around 1pm by then I resembled a pack horse with our youngest and several coats discarded along the way strewn over me, our youngest is only four and she had only started to fail nearing the end. Any one who is taking a trip near Bristol and wants a place to have a good walk I seriously recommend a visit to Blaise Castle estate. We rang the vets to find out if all okay and what sort of time the dogs would be ready and they told us, "around 2.30 pm," so just enough time to get lunch in. We found a little place called 'Toby's Carvery' and refuelled the troops. We then picked up Smudge, Primrose and Belle, still sleepy but recovered enough to go home. We travelled home with not a murmur from them or our children, with four of the children falling asleep on the trip back. We got home just after 4pm to a big welcome from the rest of the dogs, who this morning had been run out at 6am in torch light and then we had put them in a lovely area we have outside for the odd occasions they are left for more than an hour or so. The area is four wooden stables that are rubber matted throughout with a bedding area in one for them and there is a corral area that runs infront of the stables and runs the length of the stables and is secure for dogs and concreted out fully. Now its just a waiting game and will be awaiting Belle's result with the most interest and I suspect the British Veterinary Association (BVA) will view it with interest, as Downs vet practice do a lot of the MRI scanning on this scheme in the Southwest and this is the first crossbreed they have scanned on this scheme. I should get the results within a month but don't hold your breath, as last time it took just over four weeks for results. Timing of turnaround of results I have been told is about where your scanning falls, to when the board gets together monthly to go through scans on this scheme. So just had supper and we have three very sleepy dogs and several sleepy children and the only downside of getting sleepy children you tend to end up with sleepy parents. Thankfully we don't get trick or treaters on Halloween but if any where brave enough to come out in the sticks down our dark lane tonight it might be like trying to raise the dead, in a couple hours time.Lol Photos tonight are of the sleepy trio of dogs and one with one of our sleepy children. Received two lovely email one yesterday and one this morning. The first one is from Bella who turned two years old today and she wanted to wish her litter siblings a Happy Birthday and I also hope that Bella and her litter siblings have all had a lovely day on their 2nd Birthday. Dear Mummy Jane I just had to let you know that I am having a great second birthday. Mummy Margaret and I have been over the fields and we met two BIG dogs and I was fine because they were not interested in me at all. When we got home I had a silly session in the garden rushing around as fast as I could and scattering our three hens everywhere. Somehow I got chicken poo on me and I think I smell lovely. I think I am having a special tea and may be when Mummy goes swimming later she will buy me a present - hopefully a ball I LOVE BALLS. Mummy and Daddy are having sausages for tea and I know I shall get an end - I love little bits of sausage - I could dream of eating a whole sausage later when I have my nap. Happy Second Birthday to all my brothers and sisters and thank you Mummy Jane for giving me life ~(I know Mummy Dolly and Daddy Reggie had something to do with it to, but without you Mummy Jane my Mummy Margaret would not have me). Love Bella Thanks for that Margaret I mean Bella. Reading it did make me smile and then everyone else in the house read it and smiled. Hope you got your ball and those yummy little bits of sausage ? Next is a photo and email with an update from Karen who has Darcey, who is from Dolly's last litter born this year, so is Bella's little sister. Thanks Karen for letting me know how Darcey is getting along and it is amazing how they know their own cats to an interloper. I guess you are going to have to change the bit on your pet insurance about guards dogs now ? Lol Hi Jane, Just a quick update on our lovely girl, now she is 4 months old. Neil took this picture of Darcey in our garden this morning, following the storm. Darcey slept through all the rain and wind, but loved putting her face to the wind when she woke up! When we insured Darcey I was asked to confirm that she wouldn't be used for guarding or security purposes, after laughing my head off I gave the required assurance. But times have changed and Darcey has been chasing off a cat that is using our cats door! Her intelligence in being able to discriminate between her cats and a strange one amazes me. She has been off lead a few times now, and recalls really well, but her favourite walks are those where she is guaranteed to meet lots of people and other dogs! Hope all is well your end and you have survived the storm intact! Karen xx And finally Treacle would like to wish, "Bella and all her big sister's and big brothers a Happy 2nd Birthday and a big Hello to my litter sister Darcey and hope all our litter siblings are well." Photo's are of Treacle asleep with my husband and asleep with her best friend big Henry. These two have become real friends and they play and play. Little Treacle more than holds her own against her big friend Henry. I hope I might catch them on video one day to show how rough they get together and how comical it is to see little Treacle chasing big Henry. We have a couple photo's tonight and an update on one of Ysobel's pups who left us two weeks ago now. Olive was the only girl in the litter and Fay contacted me by email last Sunday to tell me how things where going and below are the emails and conversation we had over the last week. I have put it on the blog tonight to show how I feel a breeder should approach a problem with a puppy once its left their care and how a new puppy owner should hope a breeder should approach a problem once the pup has left their care. What helps greatly here is the fact that Fay waited for a pup and before the pup was even born a rapport with the breeder (me) was already in situ. I cannot stress how important it is to be patient in getting a puppy, never let a breeder push you into rushing your decision on having a pup from them. Getting the right puppy from the right breeder must be more important than, "I want a puppy now !" The emails start with Fay making me aware there could be a problem with Olive. From: Fay To: Jane Howarth Sent: Sunday, 20 October 2013, 8:32 Subject: Re: Olive Hi Jane I can't believe we have had Olive a week! In one way it's gone very fast, in another it's been a week so full it feels a lifetime ago. Olive has settled in very well, and is great travelling in the car, on the lead, and is learning commands already. Her toilet training is excellent with only very few accidents so far. She is quite a character! When at her most playful she runs wild, round in circles barking, grabbing at any toy, piece if clothing or shoe (usually while someone is wearing them!) at the speed of lightening.She loves playing with my mom's toy poodle, Millie. They goad each other into chasing which us lovely to watch. Our boys Freddy and Max laugh at her too, especially when she licks their hands. Olive loves to steal anything that falls from their high chairs, we regularly find spoons and beakers in her basket, and she pulls their socks from their feet if we are not careful! You can see Olive is very relaxed and loves her Bagpuss toy. We had her checked over at the vets and they said she was very healthy though has a slight heart murmur. I just wondered if all of the pups have this due to the cavalier in them? Best Wishes The Shoesmiths When I recieved the above email I rang Fay, some things should be done with the spoken word and this was one of those times. We discussed the vet telling her that she had heard a slight murmur on her heart. My vet had examined this pup twice in our home both time recording her examination and on both examinations, no murmur was heard but this does not mean that Fay's vet had not heard a murmur, as with a growth spurt sometimes pups can develop an innocent murmur which goes with time. I told Fay, "I suspected it would probably turn out to be an innocent murmur and would hopefully be gone when she visited the vet to have the second Lepto 4 vaccination at twelve weeks old." Fay expressed that the vet was a young vet and that she had not filled her with confidence but had explained about innocent murmurs in puppies but had not told her to contact the breeder about this because if something like this is picked up by a vet you should go straight back to the breeder and if a ethical breeder a plan of action should be discussed if the pup has still got a murmur on a second examination. Olive is a well grown pup and Fay did say she was a little stressed in the vets, so this might of made it hard to really listen to the heart or even cause a slight murmur to be heard and when a vet hears the word Cavalier they can start seeing bogeymen. A plan of action was discussed with Fay that if the heart murmur was there still at 12 weeks I would pay for Olive to have further tests to rule out it being any thing other than an innocent heart murmur and if it came to it would of had Olive back with a full refund or the other option if Fay wanted to still keep Olive, if she had a heart problem and if the insurance did not cover her I would still give a full refund and Olive stay with her. Also Fay had a day when Olive decided to have lots of pee accidents which she had been being very good on the houstraining, I suggested it might be just a blip or even something might of just irriatated her and caused mild cystitis or vaginitis which is seen sometimes in female pups around her age and normally resolves itself before you get them to the vets and I said if she was still doing lots of little pees when she sees the vet again to mention it to them. On the 23rd October, Olive had her second Lepto 4 vaccination and the vet checked her heart again. So on the 24th I sent an email asking Fay how this examination had gone. In the email I included a link from a vets site about murmurs which might help her understand more about murmurs heard on a puppies heart. On 24 Oct 2013, at 20:34, Jane Howarth Hello Fay, just contacting you to find out if all went well at the vets yesterday. As I said on the phone, if your vet can still hear a murmur on Olive's heart and if it has not resolved by six months old I will pay for her to be examined further to know if just an innocent murmur or something else. I would of rung you but I have got a sore throat and prone to going into a coughing fit if talking for to long and I also thought it might be good that you have in an email what I said on the phone about the murmur heard by your vet. Found this article on a vets site http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/heart-murmurs-in-dogs/3912 it is about heart murmurs in puppies and might help and hopefully put your mind at rest. Hope all is well. Kind regards Jane Thankfully Fay answered the email quickly and put my mind at rest. From: Fay Shoesmith To: Jane Howarth Sent: Thursday, 24 October 2013, 20:57 Subject: Re: Olive Hi Jane You have been on my mind to contact you but things have been very hectic here (even more than usual which I thought wasn't possible)The vet couldn't hear a murmur this time which is great news. To be honest I was struggling to let myself get attached to Olive and I think it must have been because of the murmur, probably self preservation. So, I'm really pleased she couldn't hear anything. She suggested she may have been a bit dehydrated when she went in last.Thank you very much for your information. Knowing I can ring you is a great comfort! Regarding the peeing in the house, Olive is now back to normal, and if she has an accident in the house it's a decent one, and because she hasn't been let out in time. She seems to have stopped the little puddles every 10 mins which we are also pleased about. Best wishes Fay Thanks for that Fay, Great News ! I know what you mean about not getting to attached. Things where a bit up in the air for you, sorry about that. Glad the peeing has sorted itself out, just a little blip. Now you just need to get on with getting attached to your Olive. All the best and I'm here if needed. Kind regards Jane x Thankfully all turned out okay and no murmur could be heard on the vets second examination. Although I felt pretty sure it was an innocent murmur it did not make me worry any less or I suspect Fay worry any less. If I bred a puppy at 12 weeks old with serious heart problem as MVD it would seriously make me consider not breeding any more. I would be doing a lot of reflection. Ethical responsible breeders will try to do as much as possible to insure that your puppy will come into your home causing the minimal stress to the puppy and you, but sometimes even with the best care taken the road can slightly undulate and if this happens you will really find out what kind of breeder you have got your puppy from. I regularily have people contact me for advice with their pup due to the breeder being unable to be contacted once they have the pup home, so when getting a puppy its a good idea to quizz the breeder about what happens if a problem occurs once the pup comes to you. Funny thing is I'm hard to get hold of to get a pup from but once you have a pup I become easier to get hold of. Well, I hope that's the case. Winter is approaching with each day becoming shorter. The milking I do is now done in mostly the dark hours more than light. The multifuel burner which does all are heating and hot water is now in constant use again and a real fire is a lovely thing in the home but it does lose some of its ambience when your the one taking the ash out and draying the wood in every day during the winter months but as my mum says, "its good to get two yets ( "yet" in Devonshire dialect means heat ) off your wood." Now the pups have all left my attention has returned to health tests and MRI scanning in particular. This Thursday will see me trekking up to Bristol with Smudge, Primrose and Belle for scans. Belle will be the first cross breed we will of scanned, so really interested in seeing what has occured in that first outcross. Fingers crossed its all going the right way. We are going to get Reggie our Poodle scanned and Henry our Brittany will be scanned as well. This seems a logical thing to do as Chiari Malformation can occur in all dog breeds but it is seen as above normal rates in many of the Toy breeds and as more breeds are scanned we might even see more breeds across the board that have Chiari malformation bred into them to fit into a required breed standard look for the head. Unfortunately a breed starts to see real problems develop in the breed from a defect and only as it becomes worsened with each generation that is only when it seems they will look to do something and in many cases it will be to late. It would be good to see breeders from all breeds looking at MRI scanning their breed on the BVA/KC scheme especially if the breed has had its skull changed dramatically in a short time and falls way from what the dogs ancestors, wild wolves skull shape is. As you can tell I sometimes drift into fairy wonderland and breeders MRI scanning through a logical thought process to improve health with the possibility they might be recording a negative for the breed in the long run, what will I come up with next. Imagine if God in the bible was a typo mistake and really it was dog, that would easily explain having your own guardian angel and yes, they will watch you on the toilet, but not the dogs attitude to woman, no , thinking about the attitude to woman it must be God not dog. Lol Drifted a bit there. So it is logical to MRI scan Reggie and Henry because it would be good to know that you are using dogs with out any evidence of Chiari malformation. Poodles, Toy and Miniature have been recorded with Chiari malformation and a few are being found to have Syringomyelia, so I think if you are trying to outcross with the Cavalier to improve things for them, what ever you cross with you should be MRI scanning them to and now with the BVA/KC MRI scanning scheme costing with grants being given to vets in the scheme around £360 to £400 to be done down from being up near and over a £1000 per dog if a breeder is truly trying to improve the Cavaliers lot with crossing both parents need to be scanned regardless of breed. We also have Smudge and Primrose booked for a heart check with Cardiologist Vet Mark Paterson at Abbotkerswell Referral Centre on the 13th November and at this time we are thinking that Smudge will go to Reggie in December when next on heat and Primrose will go to Reggie in around March time, so looking at two Cavapoo litters for 2014. Belle and Jessica turn two the end of the month and we have decided to leave breeding from them until the beginning of 2015. Two litters a year is plenty enough work and with breeding to try to create a spaniel type from three breeds you need time and to proceed with patience. Toby our pure Cavalier boy will turn two soon like his sister Jessica and although he would like to romance the ladies now he is going to have to wait a little longer and I tightly cross my fingers in hope he passes his health tests especially for Syringomyelia. He is such gentle lovely natured dog and a proper little hunting spaniel. It is amazing to watch him leap out over our patio wall and he goes for the corner which is the highest point at around four foot, most dogs have the ability to jump high but it takes a brave dog to jump high especially if missing the jump will envolve falling back on concrete slabs. Its amazing to watch him take off around two metres from the wall and clear it with ease. If he meets a fence to high and it has wire he can climb it, he climbs it. He's a good size frame for a Cavalier standing a good 13 inches at the shoulder but he carries only muscle, not an inch of fat. He carries a lot of muscle in his hind quarters which explains the fact he can jump so well. He's like a rasher of wind (Devonshire dialect for skinny), when he fills out he will make a big, little dog.Lol Must finish up now, milking tomorrow morning, so early to bed for me tonight. So for 2014 we hope at this stage to breed two litters both first cross Cavapoos f1. Once health tests are in we will confirm if these two litters will go ahead and then we will put this up on the Future Litter page. Must get Smudge, Primrose and Reggie booked in for a eye examination as well. Always enjoy my visits to Tavistock and a butty at Sourton and a walk over Dartmoor with the dogs. Its a hard life here in Devon. Lol Just noticed I labelled a photo wrong but can't get back into them to correct it. The photo of Dolly in the dog bed with Primrose, that is not Primrose its her Mum, Ysobel. I was not going to blog tonight after yesterdays blog took me until midnight to finish but I then received a couple updates. So I'm trying not to get to behind with things, so have blogged tonight before the inbox gets to full of updates, as I have allowed in the past. I am rather bogged down with unanswered emails enquiring about future litters and I will get back to every one in the next couple days. The first update tonight is from Dotty's family. Lovely to see your daughters so comfortable with Dotty.Thanks Caroline and hope it goes well weaning her on to two meals aday now. Hi Jane! Hope all is well your end and that Ysobel's puppies had safe journeys to their new homes. Dotty is wonderful and thriving, she s really coming on in her training, and Annabel has even been nominated for an award at the centre for overcoming her fears and young dog handling! Dotty took us by surprise the other day by following some big dogs we were walking with -with great gusto- bellyflopping into a lake (my heart stopped) and (thankfully) swimming!!! I'm not sure she ll throw herself in again in a hurry, but she definitely enjoys paddling and splashing! Did I imagine it or did you suggest when Dotty should go down to 2 meals per day? As they come up to 18wks old I thought I should check with you as opinions seem to vary, and is this something you need to do gradually when it's time? Best wishes to you all Caroline Next update is from Tracey and seems Charlie has a fair pair of lumgs. Hopefully he will soon get used to his crate and I have every confidence in you getting him there Tracey with Roxy to help him as well. Thanks Tracey for the update and cute photos of Charlie and Roxy. Hello Jane, I wanted to give it a couple days before letting you know how the little fellow is getting on. He cried for only 10 minutes in the car just as we set off down the lane, & traveled really well all the way back to Hornchurch Essex! Roxy has told him off a few times as he keeps trying to suckle from her & as young as he is, he has even tried a bit of the ours your father lol but she soon puts him in his place! He has definitely showed us he has a pair of lungs alright.... I have now taken to putting a blanket over his house just to see if this helps as I feel he will benefit from the safe haven feel :-) especially at night time. As you can see from the photos it's really starting to work. Thank you Jane for yet again giving us such a super fantastic puppy. Glad to hear Dexter is doing ok,& would have been nice to have met you Caroline. I also hope all goes well for Olive & Bailey :-) xx As we said we will be Back again in the spring for a visit.... Then again you never know! JOKE :-) xx One thing I did forget to mention was... Charlie so far is going out to the garden when he wants to go to the toilet! :-) take care Jane Best wishes Tracey X:-)X Just got this group of photos tonight of our pack, as Dolly off heat now and the pack can all chill together. My husband had just come home after 8 pm and was eating his chicken stew and dumplings. Which then presented a moment to get some photos of the dogs transfixed on my husband as he eat his supper. Dogs are so switched to our body langauge and its funny to watch them and as David slows up eating they get closer, sensing he has had enough and knowing not long now before they get to clean his plate, who needs a dish washer with these around.Lol. They also understand that when we are scrapping our plate or bowl that we are finished and they will position themselves ready to be given the plate or bowl to clean. Treacle from Dolly's litter has fitted into the pack and we have something we now call the Dyke Van Dyke Syndrome or the Mary Poppins Syndrome occuring with her. Most people on being told her name start to talk cockney and instead of calling her Treacle, we get "alright me old Treacle." I must admit I find I am also suffering from this syndrome, dropping into cockney everytime I call her and even our children seem to be picking up this habit. Treacle is short for the cockney slang treacle tart meaning sweetheart. If you have never watched Mary Poppins and heard Dick Van Dyke's really bad cockney accent, what I have typed may of made no sense but that's alright me old treacle. We are now puppyless. Friday saw Bailey leave us with Carol and on Friday evening Tracey with her family visited us with Roxy before leaving with Charlie on Saturday morning. Tracey had Roxy from us back the beginning of 2011 and it was lovely to catch up with the family and see what a beautiful dog Roxy has grown into. She is a credit to you Tracey, especially coming into a strange home with strange dogs and within minutes really unconcerned by it all. Although she did have to tell Reggie off a few times, as he thought she maybe was here to visit him. Lol On Saturday morning we also saw the departure of Dexter with Caroline and Steve. Then lastly Olive off to join Fay's and Adam's family. Hope all is going well over their first days and nights with you and I'm here if you need me. We have one update already for Dexter and it seems after a bit of initial stress in the car, he is taking things in his stride. Thanks so much for this Caroline and I wish you all the best. Dexter is a lucky chap. Dear Jane and family Just to let you know Dexter arrived safely, after an initial 50 mins of whimpering and howling. He finally fell asleep on my lap, listening to Cliff Richard ( let's just hope he doesn't need Cliff every time he wants to drop off!)LOL. He loves running around the garden, eating leaves ( which I'm trying to discourage) and particularly likes games with the garden broom. He's very clever and has produced the ' goods' in the desired place. A couple of accidents inside but that was our fault for not reading the signs. You won't believe this though!. At 10 pm last night Dexter moved from sleeping on the floor ( near his bed) to his bed, settled him self comfortably and then fell asleep. During the night he didn't cry or whimper, not even once!!!. I woke a couple of times and listened out for any sound but to my absolute amazement not a peep was heard. When Steve got up in the morning Dexter sat and looked up at him. They both had a cuddle before going outside for a little wee!. Dexter has a couple of favourite toys. One being a ' string of sausages' and the other a squeaky duck. We're certain Jane that it is due to you and your family's love and patience that Dexter is such a wonderful puppy. We will keep in touch regularly with updates. With love to you and your family. Caroline, Steve, Josh, Sophie and Dexter xxx Next a few more photo's of Molly over there in Jersey. Molly is from Dolly's litter that left us just over a month ago.Thanks Lynne for the photo's and sharing that lovely landscape. The shedding that is being experienced from Molly at this time I would put down to her shedding her puppy coat, as her sister, Treacle we have kept is dropping her puppy coat at this time. A bit of moulting can be expected from this cross but much less than the Cavalier, even Poodles do moult but it is so low that it is almost not noticeable. It is good to remember this and if looking at the cross between the Cavalier and Poodle because of dog allergies it is adviseable to meet a Cavapoo and try to work out if you are allergic to them or not before purchasing a puppy of this cross. Hi Jane Beautiful sunny day today and so we all took Molly on a cliffpath walk for over an hour this afternoon. She is exceptional off the lead and always waits and comes back when called. She is moulting somewhat at the moment, will this last or is it just puppy fur being shedded? Have a lovely weekend Best regards Lynne, Andy, Alfie & Emma Always love to see Maddie, she is so much like her Mum , Millie especially in these photos of her taken at Alison's local Church before the Blessing of the Animals Service. Thanks Alison, love the one with Ray looking at her and she has her eyes closed in apparent enjoyment of all the attention, just like her mum and her sister Smudge. Dear Jane, these were taken on Sunday before the Blessing of all Animal Service. Apparently they may be in one of the papers. Hope you are all well. Love Alison Thanks Sue for sharing this photo of Lucinda (Lucy) on her 6th Birthday and without a heart murmur. Lucy is a bitch we had that we took on from another breeder just before she was two and we bred one pure litter from her and because we where a bit over dogged we decided to rehome her and Sue who with her husband who live not far from us took her on. Lucy comes and stays with us from time to time when Sue and Jim go on holiday and in 2014 we will, all going well have her company a couple times. Reggie is back to full health. Thanks Sue. Sorry to hear Reggie has been poorly hope he soon gets his usual VIP and vigour back sure he will with your tlc hope all good at Poundland just a nice photo oh Lucy enjoying last of the Summer sunshine on her birthday. Best regards, Sue With no pups around I should now be able to get on with getting the dogs health tests up to date. Its a bit late now for me to type much more but I have been looking up more on health and it looks like it is a wise choice to get the Cavaliers tested for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and this condition is seen in the Brittany, so it looks like Henry should be tested as well. I was looking at a website that promotes health in Cavaliers and is not keen on crossbreeding and this site says for this condition males are affected and females are only carriers but go on this link http://www.laboklin.co.uk click on Dogs on the side bar and then you will have a list in alphabetical order of the health conditions they offer tests for and you will find Muscular Dystrophy, click on this and you will find it is not quite a simplistic as males affected and females just carriers. I'm also thinking that with no register for crossbreeds to record parentage in this country, I will be the only one recording my dogs heritage, so to substantiate my crossbreeding records, I think it is wise for me to DNA profile all our dogs and this would be done through the Animal Health Trust (AHT) who offer this service at £25 per dog. Its something been thinking I should do for a while now whether pure or cross breeding. I personally think all purebreeds should be DNA profiled and all breeding dogs in general but the Kennel Club drag their heels on this. At £25 a dog we can hardly put it down to it being to costly. I have a theory, remember I said, "a theory", would not want to be sued. Could it be that they are a little frightened of maybe some dogs not being what they are on paper. I know with other domestic species that have gone down the DNA profiling route and surprise, surprise some animals where not what was on their pedigree and these where animals being bred at the top end of the market. Surely a Show pure dog breeder would not be guilty of such a thing ? Lol. Click on this link http://www.aht.org.uk and you can find out more about the AHT and the DNA tests they do for dogs and other species. Animal Health Trust is a charity and work hard in helping animals, so maybe you might also like to make a donation towards their valueable work in the field of animal health. I did say I was not going to type much more but got a little carried away. Just noticed its gone midnight, I can hear lots of dog snoring, I'm off to join them. Will hope to nail myself to the floor soon on litters for 2014, once I cast it in stone it will be set, unless on going health tests uncast it. Ysobel's Cavapoo pups will be ten weeks old tomorrow and they will be having their second jabs and on Friday and Saturday they will be leaving us. As you will see from this group of photo's taken today, that they have all had a little trim around their faces and not so obviously around their bottoms. Because they are so fluffy it is a good idea to keep these to areas trimmed and this can be done with scissors if you do not have dog clippers in between visits to the beauty parlour for full trims. Last night in the house we kept getting a waft of badger poo and I sniffed all dogs and could not locate the source of the smell. Today though I found it, a dryed up clump stuck to Bailey's under belly. The pups a couple times a day are released from the patio and have the run of the acre of ground around our property. I did not notice Bailey has obviously already developed a magnetic pull towards badger poo, he found it and I imagine with great joy rolled in it. Needless to say Bailey had his first bath today in the sink. Looking forward to meeting every one again who are having one of these pups and especially meeting up with Tracey and Roxy. Its hard to believe Roxy is coming three years old this December. It will be lovely to see her as an adult dog in the flesh. Once the pups have left I hope to get a breather and time to get on with the POUNDLANE Spaniel page and share some interesting stuff on genetics I have been reading up on. Below is a group of photo's our son Bert has taken and I'm not pouting in the photo with Henry but in conversation with one of our other son's Alfie as Bert snapped us without warning. If you want to get something to help you relax, the best medicine I find is a lump of a dog asleep on your chest and stroke their ears. As you will see it is a two way medicine. Oops, accidently published before doing the word stuff. Will hope to get back later with the words. School run beckons. Back again. First some updates, starting with three pups from Dolly's Cavapoo litter who left us around five weeks ago. The first is Molly over in Jersey. Thanks Andy and Lynne for the updates, video and photos of your Molly. Especially like the email that came with the photos, which I have copied below. Hi Jane, video to follow. Love her, love her, love her!!!! Regards Lynne & Andy And heres the video of Molly. Next is Molly's sister Dotty. Thanks for the updates Caroline and great to hear how your daughters are bonding with her. Hi Jane! Hope all is well your end! Just thought I'd let you know that we're changing to Millie's wolfheart dog food as they were EXTREMELY helpful and it has sorted the loose stool situation. And that Dotty is fabulous still-she's growing fast (and looks identical to your pics of Treacle)! Was so proud as yesterday my daughter Annabel, aged 9, who had severe cynophobia in the past, went (fairly) confidently into the ring and trained Dotty for the whole hour session-including a fantastic recall performance-their bond is obvious, and so very special for us to see! Best wishes Caroline x Last but not least from Dolly's last litter is Darcey. Thanks Karen for the updates and photos. Hi Jane, Sorry we haven't been in touch, we waved goodbye to Cary's exchange partner this morning and I must confess I am reeling ! As you can see Darcey is just fabulous! I have had to tell someone this morning that we will not be breeding from her, the lady was almost in tears! She continues to delight everyone who meets her, she has zero problems with other dogs and is a star with children. She starts puppy classes on 1.10, but already knows sit, stay and down. Everyone who meets her comments on her looks and they must think I am heartless mummy when I say but they are all like her! We have had gardeners in this morning and she demonstrated her fearlessness by watching while they used a power saw! Hope all is well at Pound Lane and love to all of you! Karen Next tonight is Poppy who is from Dolly's Cavapoo litter 2011 and she is a full sister to the three above but not obviously from the same litter. Thanks Julie for these cute photo's and update. Always good to hear from you. I think a lot of dog owners will know the 'look' you mention and recognise it from the photo. Hi Jane Thought I'd send you a couple of photos of Poppy, including one taken by my daughter capturing what we now call 'the look'. This look is used by Poppy on various members of the family in order to get what she wants and is used to ask for different things from each of us. She uses it on me whenever I'm in the hall with my keys for an extra walk or just to come with me, on my husband for a taste of something he's eating and with my daughters to be on their laps while doing their homework at the kitchen table (not the most efficient way of getting homework done!). As you can see from the photos it is pretty hard to resist. She continues to be an absolute delight and I honestly can't get over how much we all love her. I take her up to Durham on the train to visit my parents as her appearance really perks up my dad who has dementia. He'll often get mixed up with who I am but never forgets who Poppy is! Best wishes and a big get well hug for Reggie. Julie and family x Last update now with Jenson who had his first Birthday just over a week ago on the 22nd August. Thanks Nadine for this group of photo's of Jenson. Hi Jane, Firstly, we wish Reggie a speedy recovery, we're sure he'll be back to his usual sprightly self really soon. Thank you for the birthday wishes for Jenson. We had a lovely day celebrating with him yesterday. Please see attached for some recent photos of Jenson. He is a gorgeous dog, really lively and such a character. When we go for a walk inevitably someone stops us to ask what breed he is or comment on how handsome he is... which, though biased, we always agree! Love to you and your family. Nadine, Ben, Lula and Jenson x I just would like to say at the end of the updates tonight. Reggie is back fighting fit and thank you for all the get well wishes for him. Much appreciated. Ysobel pups are now just over nine weeks old and all will have their lastfull weekend with us this weekend and the next weekend they will of all flown the nest. Their second vaccinations are booked on the next Wednesday and I am busy getting their puppy packs ready for them to join their families. Ysobel has done a grand job yet again of raising her pups and they are ready for the off. The first group of photos are over the last few days. The next group of photos are of the pups today just after going out in the rain, hence Charlie looking a bit wet and curly. These four pups have got real Teddy Bear coats. Because its getting a bit late just a few words on activities at Poundlane. Firstly breeding from Smudge with Reggie is not yet written in stone and a few second thoughts are creeping into the old grey matter and when you see the photos below of Smudge and Henry together you might understand. Smudge is not just a good looking dog, if temperament was measured on some sort of scale she would be exceptional. From a pup just days old it was evident she just was very happy being close to humans and happily would lie in your hand relaxed on her back Like her Mum when you touch her you can see that it instantly relaxes her. I'm pretty sure we will only breed one more litter from Smudge and this litter I will want to retain at least one if not two pups. So I'm thinking I might be kicking my self if I don't breed her with Henry. That would mean not going on her heat around December time but waiting until the later part of 2014. Crossing with the Brittany which is a more lively breed it is best to use the most soundest of tempered Cavaliers, as we attempt to breed a healthier Cavalier type spaniel. Although Henry is also a very affectionate dog who sleeps most of the time on his back, which shows he is not to stressed about much. He also loves human contact and very bright at six months old already knows how to open most doors in the house, can ask (bark) on command,sits, lies, leaves an object on the word leave and retrieves. Nearly forgot that he also kisses on the command, "Kiss, Henry." Unless I have been just terrible fortunate I think the Brittany may prove to be the right cross. Very low average breeding coefficient in this breed and four generations back on Henry's pedigree he has eight relatives with unknown parentage on his Dads side. No noticeable line breeding on Dads line but a line coming through on the Dams side with her parents being second cousins. Believe me for a purebreed he is about as good as it gets for genetic diversity. I did say just a few words and it is getting late, so will try and wind it up for now. I think a Smudge, Henry litter might be a good mix, just concerned about to much white and maybe a pirate or two, which is when their is only coat colour over one side of the face over and around the eye but that is just aesthetics. I know next year I can put my hand on my heart, all health tests okay that Jessica will have a litter of first cross Cavapoo f1's but still not so sure on other litters. Once Ysobel's pups have left we will get on with getting MRI scans done for the rest of the pack and that will also give me some help in making the next moves with breeding from our dogs. Some may of noticed a new page, The POUNDLANE Spaniel. This page I will hope to soon get thoughts and an outline of what I am trying to achieve and for those who think you can't breed without a wriiten standard I'm going to give you one, admittedly a vague one but it neither the less will be a place I will strive to arrive at, a spaniel happy and healthier than the pure Cavalier. Now I must go leaving you with photos of Henry looking a bit like a Beagle or is that a bit like a Irish Red and White Setter. Nearly forgot these funny photos our son Bert took of Treacle and Henry snuggled up together. They are real mates, as the photos bear out. Finally because I have had such lovely email updates lately and from some who before having a pup from me, have either never had any pet or never a dog as a pet and are realising the bond is much stronger than they imagined that connects between a dog and a human. I finish tonight on this touching quote, "Until one has loved an animal, a part of the soul remains unawakened", by Anatole France. |
“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you,but he will make a fool of himself, too.”
― Samuel Butler Me (Jane) with Puddin' and Teagol, waiting patiently to flush a patch of kale, December 2019
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March 2022
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