Looks like Harvey is going to be the last festive greeting for 2014. Thanks Liza for making the time to update me on Harvey and to let me know how much mayhem and destruction he has left in his path. 

"Hi Jane and Family 

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas - apologies for late email. I had a busy one with family so thought I'd get one in before 2015 ! 

Harvey has had a lovely 1st Christmas and is getting on really well. As you can see he is sporting his new Christmas scarf, helping to wrap pressies and the last is an example of what he does if left to his own devices.
He has enjoyed opening presents that were not meant for him, he has pee'd up two Christmas trees - one at work and a friends artificial one, has stolen most of the baubles off the tree, pulled the lights off and shook teddy father Christmas to death. As you know he is a total foodie which is developing in to a thief and was even caught eating the left over goose off the Christmas table while our backs were turned snoozing on the sofa. Despite disgracing himself on many occasions and no one trusting him he is much loved and is a real character. I'd love to know how naughty (Jake/Brian) turned out as Harvey was his side kick. 

He is having his operation (castration) on 2 January which is a little early as I would prefer to wait a year but as you know one of his testicles never dropped so I thought it best and this will give him a few days rest before returning back to work. 

Well - i wish you all a very Happy 2015 
Love and best wishes Liza & Harvey xxxx"

Harvey's brother Jake visited us the end of August and seemed very settled in with his family, but I dare say he might of got up to some mischief at Christmas, t'is the season for it. 
Liza mentions about Harvey's retained testicle which with Harvey being 10 months old has not dropped yet and I would say that at this age now, it probably will not. When Harvey is castrated the vet will also remove the retained testicle, sometimes, no testicle is found and the dog has only one testicle. Unless the dog is being bought for breeding a retained testicle is not something that should cause concern and if castrating at a later date can be removed easily enough with the other dropped testicle. My old Cavalier boy Smidge had a retained testicle and he was castrated at around twelve months old.
Thanks again Liza and all the best for the New Year ! 

I am now winding it up for 2014. The photo was taken just now by our youngest Tilly, I was rubbing my eyes, as had just been cooking onions, to look up and see a camera in my face. 
I'm milking tomorrow morning, so one of the places I milk for, the nephew can go out on the lash (drinking). Lightweights these days, when I was a young slip of a thing I could go out, come home in the early hours, get changed and go straight back out to work, mind you my thing was dancing and not drinking until I bring up more than I put in (Why does that happen ?), can't see the enjoyment of memory loss and making yourself feel like shit the next day and look like shit as well, although it is interesting watching  people who do, especially if not much on the telly. Lol
I like working on New Years morning as it's almost surreal driving to and from the farms I milk for, as you won't see a soul, as if humanity has been wiped from the planet over night, although I suspect many will feel like the living dead when they awake on New Years day. 
For someone who was not going to blog the other day until 2015, I seem to have had rather a lot to say, so finally for 2014, for those out on the lash, be careful out there tonight and help those who can't help themselves and for the rest of us seeing in the New Year from the comfort of our sofa or armchair have an enjoyable evening with your feet up watching, I suspect repeats on the telly. The last photo on the blog for 2014 I'm going to hand you over to Henry, looking probably like a lot of you are going to look like tomorrow morning, wasted. Lol

P.S, Forgot to mention above that I will get round to answering email inquiries that I have had over the Christmas period in the New Year and please read the "Future Litter" page before contacting me, as it states the litters we hope to breed in 2015 and will save you time and me, thanks !

I know I said I would be back in the New Year, but this bit of video I got of Henry with our oldest son Bert in the backhouse (utility) this morning could not wait and what could be more festive than the eating of a good old Brussel sprout, to see out the old year. Our dogs just keep giving.
WARNING : For those who are Brussel sprout intolerant this video contains graphic images of Brussel sprouts and of raw Brussel Sprout eating.

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves and from the emails I'm receiving it looks like you are. The first festive greeting is from Charlie (Charlie is the father of Smudge and Primrose and we re-homed him when he was five years old with Vincent and Sheila. His story can be found on the 'The boys' page) who on Halloween this year became Count Charlie. Thanks Vincent and Sheila for such lovely photo's of Charlie, who will be 9 years old soon and seems to be very well in himself, looking at these photos. Looking forward to seeing Vincent, Sheila and Charlie in the New Year on their annual visit to use.

The festive greetings on this blog now are funnily enough all from Charlie's Grandchildren and the first is from Maddie and Millie. Millie is from Smudge's first litter of nine pups born 2012 with dad Reggie. Millie is Alison's dog and this year her Mum Lynda came to me and had Maddie from Primrose's litter born earlier this year with dad being Reggie, so Millie and Maddie are half sister, as they have the same dad, but both their mum's have the same father, which is Charlie, so they are also half cousins as well. Thanks Alison and Lynda for letting me know how Maddie is enjoying her first Christmas with you all and her sister/cousin Millie.

Last greeting is from Mollie who is from Smudge's litter born this year in the Spring with dad being Reggie, so she is Millie's (above) full sister but from a different litter and half sister to Maddie (above), as the same dad, Reggie and  Charlie is her Granddad as well, as he is the father of her mother, Smudge. 
Thanks Mollie for letting me know how you are enjoying your first Christmas and being so well behaved with the Christmas tree decorations, as they are so tantalizingly temptingly hanging there, as if asking to be plucked off and chewed, although it seems the lure of shoelaces you cannot resist and who cannot blame you, wriggly little blighters that smell of all sorts of things, they must be destroyed. Lol
Thanks Rhian, Russ, Bobbie and Mollie and have a great New Year !

We have been having fun here at Poundlane during this festive time. The dogs have probably been getting to many treats and not so much exercise, but they seem happy enough, especially with all the extra things to chew around the home aka children's toys.
Watching our three girls getting to grips with rollerskating, as the girls all asked for roller skates this year, has brought an unexpected abundance of laughing from us, laughing at them trying to balance and unfortunately flailing out a hand to get ballast on the nearest thing, which just happens to be a sister or both sisters who are as well flailing out their hands seeking ballast. My husband and me where so enjoying watching the moment, we did not think to capture it on film, but I suppose that is what a memory is for and you can embellish it far more easier than a film. Lol
My husband and me banned gifts to us this year from each other and the children. Why ?, because before Christmas I discussed with my husband about gifts, as I don't really want any thing, honestly,  I can't think of a thing I want, but I did need a new pair of leggings for milking and unfortunately had got them before my husband could and wrap them up lovingly and put under the tree. Lol. Apart from paying off the mortgage, really nothing I want, but one thing I would like to do, is go out with my husband. We don't go out often, just the two of us, especially of an evening. 
This year we went out once in the evening for a meal and that was my birthday. We don't go out much, not because we don't want to go out, it's because we have a busy time and getting it set right between children, dogs and our work, and that neither of us is feeling tired, takes some juggling. Who wants to go out when they feel absolutely knackered ? So finding the window of opportunity is hard. If you get on with someone you get on with them, so not going out is not so hard, if you enjoy the company of someone, you can laugh just as easily sat huggled up on the sofa with a cheap bottle of wine, together watching telly, as a couple who don't get on so well falling out whilst eating an expensive meal out. Going out is something we almost feel you must be doing to keep a relationship alive, but we are not all the same and believe me we don't go out much, but our relationship is pretty much alive, because whatever happens or has happened somehow one of us will make the other laugh, t'is the key, me thinks, a very black sense of humour and it does help occasionally to listen to your partner, but not necessarily doing what they tell you to do. Lol
And you thought this blog was about dogs, but we do like to have a wander sometimes. So cutting to the chase, we have a window of opportunity and we have booked a table for the 2nd January at 8.30 pm and hell or high water we will both make it. Who don't like someone else doing the cooking and washing up from time to time and as we both like trying anything once (food I mean, easy now), the chance to expand their palates ? I have designated myself as driver, so will not partake of alcohol until we arrive home, contrary to what some might think to my references to the jungle juice from time to time, I drink around two glass of wine a fortnight, as enjoy drinking, not drinking to get drunk, there is a subtle difference and need no drink or drug to enhance my experience of life, I pretty much have the ability to be an idiot without either substance. So with children, dogs, work and dining, I'm hoping to be off the blog now until the New Year, so be careful out there bringing that ole New Year in. "I may be sometime", but 2015, "I'll be back." Lol 

Last couple Christmas greetings before the big day. The first is from Archie's family. Archie is from Dolly's litter back the end of  2011 and was Reggie's first litter. Thanks Tony for the update and sweet photos of your Archie and have a wonderful christmas with your family.

The next greeting is from Archie's family. Archie is from Primrose's litter with dad being Reggie born 2012. Thanks Ann for the photo of your daughter and Archie ready for Christmas. Wishing you all a merry Christmas ! 

Now before the big day all that is left to do is send out my season greetings from Poundlane. Thanks for all the emails, e-cards and postal season greetings, much appreciated. For all those having their first Christmas with a Poundlane dog, have a wonderful time and I'm here if any problems and the same goes to everyone who has had a pup from us, we are here for the long haul to help. 
As you might of noticed from the last couple photos with me in, I am having a bit of a right knee trouser crisis at the moment and the photo below I thought perfect to send my Christmas greeting for 2014, because it obviously is not perfect and that is life, so enjoy every little imperfection this Christmas, have a wonderful festive season one and all, and lastly a very lickie Christmas from Reggie. Lol

Three Christmas greeting with the first from Lucy aka Lucinda. Thanks Sue and Jim. Have a lovely Christmas and hope all is going well in your new home.

Next greetings are from the Lunn family who have Archie who's mum is Smudge and dad is Reggie and is from Smudge's first litter born in 2012. Good to hear from you Angie wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and thanks for the update and photos of Archie.

Last greeting tonight is from Archie's sister, Flora, but Flora is from Smudge's second litter born Spring this year with the dad being Reggie again. Thanks Lucy and Alan for letting me know how special Flora is to you and have a  great first Christmas together.

"Dear Jane
Just a quick email to wish you and your family a very happy Christmas!
Flora ( Smudge and Reggie '14) is fantastic, she has been life changing and we love her for it.
So, no sparkling trinket or exquisite perfume under the tree this year for me , instead a very sensible weather proof dog walking coat,  -  wouldn't have it any other way!
Very best wishes to you all for 2015.
Love from Lucy and Alan , and a big lick and a 100 wags from Flora"

Finished milking tonight, don't work now until Boxing day evening, so I'm now in the zone, my Christmas mojo has arrived on cue, countdown started and I'm cranking up the children. Christmas is a marathon event, it's about pacing yourself, peek to early and it will be tears before bedtime come Christmas day. Sprinting ain't my thing, I'm more steady, stamina with an unflinching determination to complete mission Christmas. It's Christmas !  I'm coming through, let the games begin. Lol

Henry likes to watch proceedings when ever cooking. Put up sweet pastry yesterday, so I could when I came home from milking this morning get some mince pies and jam tarts in the oven quickly. I'm the only one who really likes mince pies in our home, but tomorrow we will have the in-laws over for tea and they like mince pies, so hopefully can load off a few of these on them. The jam tarts though will be gone in a wink of an eye and for the record, Henry did get a bit of sweet pastry for his patience.

Just got my Yule Log finished as well, normally I dust with icing sugar just before displaying, but have gone with these snowflake sprinkles which I'm not sure I'm going to live to regret putting on now by tomorrow, when I find them dissolved on the cake, nothing though a dousing of icing sugar will not cure, I hope. 

Getting into the festive season with eating by candlelight, which the children really enjoy.
I was not going to blog tonight but I'm here to share a link I have just been sent to a petition to stop unethical breeding and change breed standards #prettyugly.
Please spare the time to take a look and if you agree, please sign the petition and spread the word about it. Just click on the link below.


https://www.change.org/p/stop-unethical-breeding-and-change-breed-standards-prettyugly

The tree has gone up this evening and after milking this morning, I went to town and got the last shopping before Christmas day, so we are officially on Christmas lock down. For me now other than walking the dogs and milking on Tuesday, I'm not going out anywhere, with six children we tend to take visitors rather than visit and come Tuesday evening after my last milking until after Christmas day, I will be winding up six already very excited children.
We will be putting up tree security (putting a pen around the tree), as we already have had one Christmas tree decoration casualty, which was a salt dough gingerbread man, which I found Treacle with and was mutilated beyond repair. 
Winter solstice (shortest day, longest night) today here in the UK and for those of us who work in agriculture worth raising a glass to, as we get the other side of winter. I'm off now to raise a glass to the original  winter festival. One of the oldest known festivals. Humans have worshiped many Gods and they come and go, humans have only ever seen one sun. Don't forget to raise a glass to the sun this evening, its rising, is pivotal to our surviving.

Introducing Super Dotty aka Dotty who is Treacle's sister. Thanks Caroline for these very cute photos of your Dotty, she sure looks super. Have a lovely Christmas. 

Just for a laugh I thought I would put up this bit of video taken of me at first unknowingly. The video was taken a couple months ago and stored with the subtitle, 'Look at me !' because I could not think of anything better at the time, but to edit it off now would mean losing most of the clip, so hence the double titling at the start. I was jokingly pretending being a villain, but not sure I'm nailing evil, but I think I'm getting there with mad. Every Super hero has to have an arch nemesis, so here is Super Dotty's arch nemesis, Mad Dog Lady. Lol

Christmas greetings are coming in and thanks for the e-cards and cards in the post I have received, so far. 
The first greeting on here from my inbox is from Karen who has Darcey. Darcey is our Treacle's sister and their Mum is Dolly and dad Reggie, born Spring 2013. Karen's husband I know does a very stressful job and Karen has health problems that means she is a stay at home wife and mother, but it seems Darcey has inspired Karen to start up a business from home. Love the name of the website 'While Darcey sleeps.' Karen from my experience is a very genuine and nice person to deal with, so please take a look at her website www.whiledarceysleeps.com 
Have a lovely Christmas Darcey and your family. Thanks Karen.

The next greeting is from Glenda who has Bayley, who's Mum is the wanderer Millie and Dad is Reggie. Bayley was from Millie's last litter born in the Spring of 2012. Good to hear that his tummy has settled with a change of diet, but sad to hear (seemingly to often these days I hear of dogs attacking others) of dogs attacking him. Forgot in replying the email to say to Glenda, "although he has the more Poodle coat, he don't half look like his Mum in his eyes. I bet he really has got begging off to a T, with those soulful eyes. Lol"

Thanks Glenda and wishing you all a wonderful Christmas time.

"Hello Jane,
We wish you and the family a very Happy Christmas and good luck with litters for 2015.
Enclosed are a  couple of recent photos of Bayley.  
As you can see he has grown into a very handsome boy, he is admired by everyone that meets him.He is a very obedient dog and a very loving companion. He is thoroughly spoilt and very much loved.
Unfortunately,  we have had two attacks which has made him nervous around dogs he doesn't know.  Fortunately we walk with four regular dogs which has given him his confidence back.
Health wise,  since changing his diet we have had no more problems with his tummy. He is on Nature's Diet and Lilly's kitchen kibble. 
 I am still an avid reader of your blog and find it very amusing and informative, thank you.

Kind regards

Glenda Moran"

Primrose visited the vet this morning and he agreed with me, that the eye is doing well and will heal without the need for surgical intervention. Photos below of her eye show reduction of clouding of the eye and blood vessels in situ healing the corneal ulcer caused by a scratch injury to the cornea.

This morning at the vets, the results of Henry's hip scoring had arrived and the vet gave them to me and it's not the best news (caught me slightly broadside), because for his breed his score is above the Breed Mean and Median. It is advised to breed from dogs below the Breed mean and Median.
Now when the vet showed me this and I looked at his x-ray of his hips (I am trying to get a copy of the x-ray, I have found in the past difficulty in getting them from vets, maybe due to the fact that some might be dishonest and an x-ray may not be used with the dog it was of and dare I say, it also is to stop you getting a second opinion on it without going back through the BVA scheme).  I did not think the subluxation was as severe as the score reflects. I have seen a lot of x-rays, grading is slightly  subjective and is not an exact science, personally I think the right hip is more a low 2 and the left hip is a low 3 for subluxation. The score is out of 0 to 6 for subluxation, giving a dog a score of 4 is inferring a two third subluxation of the head of the femur outside the socket, which looking at it as a lay person, this cannot be seen. The femur head on both hips looks fully and normally formed and the sockets are well formed and not shallow everything looks tight although there is some subluxation. 

To understand Henry's grades and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Hip scoring system you will need to read the following  links,  

http://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health
_Schemes/Interpretation-and-_use-of-BVA-KC_Hip-Scores(1).pdf

http://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health
_Schemes/BVA-canine-health-schemes_-_median-versus-mean-hip-scores.pdf

 or go to the BVA website at  www.bva.co.uk click on Canine Health Schemes, then click on Hip Scheme.

Hope you are up to speed because you will need to read all of the above to fully understand hip dysplasia and the grading of it with the BVA.
Looking at the x-ray with the vet, with the grades, his reaction is that he has to recommend not breeding from him by the BVA recommendations and adds, often people still breed although the dog has not been graded that favourably within it's breed. My reflex reaction at the time was to say, "Looks like I'll be bringing him in to be castrated, as I should not breed from him then." I asked what he thought his chances are of developing symptomatic problems of hip dysplasia and he said, " looking at the x-ray he would not be surprised, if he never had any symptoms, not even in old age" and leaving the surgery with getting my head around things, what the vet last said, made me wonder that I might of reacted with haste in my righting off of Henry being bred with Smudge, so home to the computer and to try and get some clarity on what is something sitting in the grey area for me.

 Can I justify breeding from Henry because other breeds the bar is set lower, can I get that one past you ? 
Breeding Henry and Smudge together is not trying to get anything by anyone. Henry has some subluxation and has slight exostosis (benign outgrowth of cartilaginous tissue on a bone), which is only just noticeable on the x-ray. If you look at his grade compared on the other schemes he falls on the OFA under Fair to Mild and between a 3 to 9 in Switzerland and 0 to 1 in Sweden looking at both hips individually,  although as the BVA state, these grades can be misleading in comparing. Using words though to define grading I think can sometimes be better than using numbers, because being told your dog has "severe hip dysplasia" tells you straight, rather than with a Bulldog being given a grade of 40 which with the OFA you would be told is "Severe", but on the BVA scheme that looks okay within it's breed, might see a lot more consideration taken in breeding, because one of the worst sayings in pure breeding is, "For his/her breed that's good or normal."  The BVA scheme seems to be proliferating  that ideology, "it's okay within the breed" rather than dispelling it with hip grading.

In life we have black and white, when things fall in these areas, the decisions is made for you and life is simple, but when something falls into the grey area things get complicated and sometimes you may make a call others will look at and think you mad or a genius (that's if the call turns out a good one). 
Hip Dysplasia has a white area and a very black area, then it has a lot of grey area. I have to decide with Henry how much into the grey area he is.
He is nearly two years old and shows no outer symptoms of hip dysplasia. He has very good muscle formation in his hind quarters, down his legs to the hocks and is a very active dog, that loves to run and jump. He shows no weakness in his back end when rising or moving. The subluxation may be partly down to the fact that Henry has been a very active dog and I see that it is advised with some breeds that are prone to severe hip dysplasia to keep them crated whilst still growing and if given the choice between a dog kept crated and a high chance of behavioral problems due to such restriction or mild hip dysplasia, I will go for mild hip dysplasia every time. If you are crating dogs for the best time of their youth, due to the high chance of developing hip dysplasia, you have to question breeding such dogs. A dog at two that has no hip dysplasia because it has been crated for the best part of its life, is it a better breeding proposition than a dog that has been very active with mild hip dysplasia ?
 I found an interesting blog whilst researching hip dysplasia called, 'Just another backyard breeder' and her entry on the 25th January 2013 is interesting about hip dysplasia and the grading schemes in her country, 
http://justanotherbackyardbreeder.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/hip-dysplasia/
Looking at the BVA grading system for hip dysplasia is funny as we do not put dogs on a level playing field and the grade is supposed to be looked at within it's breed and that is where I struggle, because surely bad hips is bad hips but if Henry was a Neapolitan Mastiff he would be seen as well within the parameters to breed from by the BVA and if Henry was a Bulldog or Otterhound he could have double the hip score and be in the parameters of recommendation to bred from by the BVA. So if a Otterhound or Bulldog he could actually be symptomatic and within the recommendations by the BVA to be bred from, no wonder those breeds are in such trouble. The other thing with the Neapolitan Mastiff, Bulldog and Otterhound are these are heavy breeds, so if diagnosed with any level of hip dysplasia the likelihood of it progressing to a painful symptomatic stage is higher than in a lighter built dog like a Brittany. For me looking at the BVA grading system, it seems to not be serving dogs equally, but I know why there is always this softly softly approach, because if you set the bar to high or equal for all dogs, some breeds would lose so many dogs from the breed, that a risk of breeding other genetic problems into the breed becomes even higher, so for now the Kennel Club and the BVA will support the breeding from dogs with symptomatic signs of hip dysplasia, it looks like. A dog falling anywhere near 45, surely for most of us falls into the black area and to think I'm worrying about breeding from a dog with a score of 20, when a Bulldog breeder is still recommended to breed from a dog graded 45 and under.
The chart below is data up until 1/11/2011 and I rung the BVA today after getting the results for some advice and was told that they have just updated this chart and are yet to publish it on the website. The Mean for the Brittany is now 18 and the Median is now 15, so this scheme in three years of data has lowered the bar for the Brittany rather than heightened it, which surely is not how a health scheme should work ? Will be interesting to take a look at this updated data for all breeds, when they get round to putting it up on their website.

It is thought over fifty percent of larger breeds have some level of hip dysplasia, interesting reading is this article on hip dysplasia http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/hip%20dysplasia.htm
After having an information overload today, I have made the decision to go ahead with mating Henry with Smudge.
To me looking at all evidence, I can find, to breed Smudge with Henry is a healthier option than breeding her with a Cavalier and more to gain than lose. Henry being bred to a smaller breed looking at the evidence available should more likely see improvement in the hips than to worsen them. I could go on but I must get to bed. I will finish on why I'm breeding this litter and simple, it is for myself, selfish I know, but true and if it goes well and they arrive safely, I would keep each pup if I could. I've made the call and so, on my own head be it. 

Can't help but smile when you find a photo like this in your email inbox. This is Luna and Dexter who are brother and sister, but not from the same litter. Luna is from Reggie's first ever litter which was with Dolly and she was born the end of  2011. Dexter is from the next litter Dolly had with Reggie, the Spring of 2013, which is the same litter our Treacle is from. Thanks Debbie and Sean. Lovely to hear from you and have a lovely Christmas.

Now for a slideshow of the Poundlane pack relaxing over the weekend. Primrose is back at the vets tomorrow morning to check how her eye is doing. I'm hoping from just looking at it, we have turned a corner and  we have light appearing at the end of the tunnel, so fingers crossed that on inspection by the vet tomorrow, that he confirms all is going the right way.

Can't end the weekend without a dessert. As Christmas approaches, so trifle season starts. I make trifle all year round, but at Christmas I get out my serious trifle bowl and do a trifle trial with it before the big day. This trifle bowl, I would of eat trifle from as a child. In there is two pints of jelly with a homemade Victoria sandwich that was going a little stale, with a few more lashings of raspberry jam spread on each piece, then two pints of custard, topped off with just under a pint of whipped double cream and dark chocolate flakes. I'm not keen on alcohol in trifle, probably because my mother used to over do the sherry when I was a child. After two sittings, lunch and supper (supper I was milking and returned to find the bowl empty) the trifle has duly been destroyed totally.
My children have asked,  "Why do you keep taking photos of food ?"  "Obviously it's because , I'm a saddo," I told them. Lol

Lastly, maybe Molly is right about God, as she explained in my last blog, why she believes in God, because look what I found in our living room earlier checking up on us.

Things were going well this morning, getting the children ready for school, until just after 8 am when I went to start the car up to warm through, just before we leave. The peg where the car key is kept was empty and after around twenty minutes looking for it, we could not find it .
 Last night we had gone to our children's secondary school to watch our daughter Florrie singing in the choir, my husband had drove home, so he would of last had the car keys, we don't have a spare set, as they got lost a while ago and have never surfaced since. So I checked husband's coat and looked in the laundry basket for the trousers he had worn, but they were not there, so thought he might of worn them to work, so tried to ring him, but no luck, as when he is milking, unless he is in a certain place in the milking parlour his phone does not receive a signal. Tried ringing who he works for with no luck, so time was pushing on and the most important thing was to get the children to school, so rang emergency back up, the in-laws. My father-in-law came over and set off with the first three to Chulmleigh  secondary school and the plan was for him to return and take the other three to Junior school. 
After the first three children went off, I decided to have another look around the place and decided to check again if he had put the trousers he wore last night back in his wardrobe and Bingo ! Although they were not visible and had been put folded on top of other folded trousers and then fallen in behind the pile on the shelf and it was only because I put my hand in around the shelf that is higher than me and felt what I thought was corduroy against my hand and low and behold there were the trousers he wore last night with the car key in the back pocket. 
Thankfully I had found them, as I not only had to get the children to school, but also importantly I had to get Primrose to the vets for a 9.30 am appointment. My husband finally rang me back around 11 am and he had got my message saying, "Did he know where the car key is ?" and the one telling him I had found the key. Now I did not cast a stone at him, because I will confess that I did the same thing to him about a fortnight ago, leaving the key in my coat pocket.

Now Primrose was visiting the vets this morning to check up on an eye injury she has which  has developed in to a Corneal Ulcer. Primrose injured her eye last Friday evening, as I noticed the eye slightly shut and on examination a scratch could be seen on the cornea to the edge of the eye. Saturday morning the eye had misted totally over and treatment was started. On this last Wednesday if you read the blog, you will know Primrose along with Smudge and Toby traveled to Abbotskerswell to have a cardiologist vet examine their hearts on the British Veterinary Association (BVA) health scheme. The vet examined her heart which was okay and he had not noticed her eye, until in passing I mentioned the eye and then they wanted their eye specialist to examine it, but he was not in that surgery and took photos to send him and they asked that I brought her back for him to treat the eye, but I said, "I wanted my vet to look at it and if he now feels it needs further treatment, to see if we can get a vet closer to home." I understand corneal ulcers are extremely painful and you can potentially lose the eye, but I did feel that they overreacted and although I would not wish for Primrose to lose her eye, losing an eye for a dog, is not the same as a human and we have to be careful when treating dogs, that we use human fears and prejudices as part of our reasoning for over zealous treatment. Dogs function brilliantly with one eye and other dogs don't point at them and go, "Look at that dog with only one eye." 
By the time I got back home and saw my vet again with her at 3.30 pm the same day, they had emailed him saying, "The eye needed emergency surgery today", now I personally am a little reserved about a vet making a diagnoses from just a photo of an eye on the way to proceed with treatment and I got a distinct feeling that there was peer pressure being put on my vet and when he told me what the other vet had told him, should be the treatment for her eye, I said, "Nothing like a bit of peer pressure." He laughed and asked if the vet that had contacted him had actually seen the eye, other than photos and I said, "No" and because the vet had actually not seen the eye in person, his thoughts on the eye after examining it thoroughly, was that it did not need emergency surgery and if it did need surgery, would I want to be referred to Abbotkerswell or he knows a vet that is a qualified ophthalmologist at a Bideford surgery, as Bideford is so much closer, I said, "if she needs to be looked at by an ophthalmologist then I would prefer to go to Bideford and could you inform Abbotkerswell, you have seen the dog today and how we are preceeding." Which he said he would do. He also said "If I would wait, he would ring the vet at Bideford now and ask his advice as well." He came back from that phone call saying, "He is a laid back chap and told me to forget what the other vet is saying and treat the eye as he would if he had not had the email from the other vet." So my vet and me decided to allow Primrose's eye a chance to heal itself with less invasive treatment and for me to come back today, Friday morning to reassess it again. 

Now part of the reasoning for seeing how the eye proceeded was that the injury was to the edge of the eye and this gives it a better chance of blood vessels getting to it quicker to start the healing process. The cornea is very special tissue and is completely transparent and lacks pigment and also lacks blood vessels, so it can be transparent. Due to not having blood vessels, if it gets injured it can struggle to heal until blood vessels can grow across the eye to start the healing process. My vet told me that the blood vessels when an injury occurs to the eye will grow towards it at around a millimeter a day, so if the injury is in the middle of the eye, you can imagine it would take several days before the injury would even start to do any healing and the potential for other problems like infection or even collapsing of the cornea if the injury deep enough could occur. 
 I found this website explanation of Corneal Ulcers one of the better ones for us laymen, 
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/eyes/corneal-ulcers-in-dogs-and-cats/ 
This morning Primrose's eye was examined again and the photos below have been taken this morning. Although it does not look very nice when you pull the eyelids back to fully see the extent of the ulcer, one thing that can be seen is redness and that redness is good because it means we have blood vessels in the area and hopefully we may not be looking at surgery. We are not out of the woods yet, by no means and Primrose will be back at the vets on Monday to reassess the eye again. 
The treatment she is receiving is Rimadyl once a day for pain and inflammation, Chloramphenicol at least four times a day, to stop bacterial infection and  Remend  Corneal repair gel at least four times a day and this gel forms a protective film over the eye to help with the natural healing process.
 

Well it's the 12th December and it may of escaped some people's notice here in the UK that Christmas is approaching. Lol.  I did the first precarious ascent into the loft of the Christmas period, two weeks ago to retrieve the advent calendars, so the children could fill them with treats.
Whether you believe in Jesus or not, who don't like a few bright lights and making time for friend and family, dancing around naked and howling at the moon, maybe that last ones a bit more of a North Devon thing. Lol.  You don't have to buy into the over commercialization of something to still enjoy it. Look at sex (I don't mean that literally now), totally over commercialized, but don't stop the most of us, given half the chance at some love making now does it. Lol
Now for a children say the funniest things bit. The other day our first born, Bert was telling at the dinner table that he did not believe in God, and Molly who is seven years old said, "I believe in God." now Bert was getting ready to argue with her the existence of God, but I gentle put my hand on his arm and told him to be quiet and I asked Molly why she believed in God. This is her reply. "I believe in God, because of Father Christmas. God tells Father Christmas who has been good and then Father Christmas knows who to deliver presents to and I get presents every Christmas, so God must exist." I don't know where she has got this from, I might presume school, as a Church of England School, because I thought Mum and Dad tell Father Christmas if you have been good, who the hell have I been ringing for the last fifteen years then, Lol
When she had finished what she was saying, Bert was gearing up to burst her bubble and I again touched his arm and told him to remember she is only seven and to give her time to read and understand more about things. I did though think funnily that she has just blown Richard Dawkins out of the water, because I don't thing he has covered the Father Christmas hypothesis in explaining the existence of god yet. Lol
Now you see I was born in the year of the monkey, under the king of the zodiac, Leo and to top it all I was born with a membrane of skin over my face and that makes me a caul bearer and until I got the internet I thought that just meant I have less of a chance of drowning, but apparently I'm special, of course we are all special, but some of us are just a little bit more special or we like to think we are (we all know someone like that don't we ?). So with such credentials I'm  just going to say. " Move over David Icke (If you don't know who David Icke is Google him and you will see) because there's a new messiah in town and Christmas is being moved to July.Lol
Sorry for the madness it's the season for it and of course the messiah would not be a woman, utter madness, mind God does like to mess with your head and really could she do any worse a job. Lol

Have a lovely weekend !

Henry has had his hips x-rayed today and is now home from the vets. For this the dog has to be put under full anesthetic. The green bandage on Henry's leg is to stop any bleeding, after they have removed the needle used to administrate anesthetic into the vein in the leg and can be removed after a short while, which Henry started to do once we got home and I finished the job for him, rather than have loads of little bits of green bandage and cotton wool all over the place. 
 
It is a six week turnaround for grading, so won't know for a day or two the results, the vet was non-committal on the x-rays, which I can understand, but did say he thought they looked okay and the dog was worth grading, because apparently the nurse who released him to me said, "If his hips were bad he would say and tell you the dog is not worth grading and should not be bred from really."

Leaving your dog in the vets is never nice and equally it can be very stressful for your dog in a strange environment with strangers and then having an anesthetic which can be very disorientating. 
When I picked Henry up the nurse said, "He had been very well behaved and was a beautiful looking dog",  and the receptionist I paid said, "Oh, Henry is yours, I've just been cuddling him, he's lovely."   

The photo above though of Henry I think conveys his feeling on being left in the vets today and over dosing it with a load of anthropomorphism, if he could talk I think he might say, "I don't know if I can trust you any more ?" Hopefully some good old cuddles and a few treats will get him back on side.  

Kim has just left a lovely comment on my last blog about Albie and reminding me that it is Albie's fourth birthday today. Albie was one of seven pups in a litter born to Blenheim Lucy who I blogged an update on, on the 1/12/2014 and his Dad is my sister's Poodle, Rollo. So a Happy Fourth birthday to Albie and his litter siblings Big Poppy, Little Poppy, Roxy, Bailey, Barney and Sammy. Lucy had two litters with us and she managed to give birth exactly a year apart to the day, so I'm also going to wish a Happy Third Birthday to Albie's siblings from Lucy's second litter and the Dad being Reggie, who are  Mojo, Henry, Spencer, Honey and Sadie. Hope you are all well and having a lovely day.
Thanks Kim for keeping in touch and Albie looks a lovely chap. Kim and her husband run a family business in the playground industry called TK Play Ltd and if you want to see more of Albie and what he gets up to at work with Kim's husband you can find out at their website   www.tkplay.co.uk 
Thanks again Kim, lovely to hear from you.

A bit strange here at the moment, as no Henry. I dropped him off at the vets to have his hips x-rayed for grading this morning and he has left rather a bigger space home here than than I had imagined. Not long to pick him up now though.

On Friday evening I got home from milking to find an email that brought a smile to my face, an update from Blenheim Lucy. Lucy came to us around the age of three and we bred two lovely Cavapoo litters from her and at the age of five, she was cardiologist vet heart examined and found to have a heart murmur, the early stage of Mitrial Valve Degeneration (MVD). Tony and Judith who had visited us meeting Lucy hoping to have a pup from her, when I contacted them about her heart murmur and thus not breeding from her again, then re homed Lucy, having had Cavaliers before and knowing about MVD. Lucy had come to us from being an only dog and although she is sociable, we thought in her later years she might be suited better to being in a one dog home. Frighteningly nearly two years have passed since Lucy left us and she is still well and looks as if the MVD is slow onset. She is now around seven years old. Thanks Tony and Judith for letting me know all is going so well with Lucy.

Hi Jane and family
 
Do you realize it will be 2 years this January 2015 that we took in Lucy - where has the time gone??
 
She has well and truly settled in with us and knows she is thoroughly spoilt!  Wherever we go in the house or garden Lucy is always there by our side -she likes to be included in everything!   If we have not given her enough attention, especially when we are watching a TV program she will come up and pat one of us on the leg a couple of times!   If we ignore her up she comes again with her special toy "Rudie" (red nosed reindeer) and plonks it on our knee! This is Lucy with Ducky.

We have now moved, still in Crewkerne, but the other side of town, and we have a much bigger garden, with a woodland and a stream so at the moment we are keeping a watchful eye on Lucy as she is very inquisitive and would find a hole somewhere to get through and be gone!      Unfortunately the pesky squirrels are too fast for her!!  
 
Trust all is well with you and the family and we will send you some more photos soon.
 
Best wishes
 
Tony, Judith and LUCY

Next is an update from Lynne who has Kayla from Smudge's litter born the beginning of this year and is now around nine months old. Thanks Lynne, she looks a lovely girl.

Hi Jane

I hope everything's OK with you all.  I just wanted to send you some photos of our gorgeous Kayla.  We are really enjoying her, she's such a funny, friendly little character.

Best wishes

Lynne

This bit of video footage I caught of the dogs Friday morning. Our dogs all pretty well get on and they love as a team digging for rats and sometimes catching the occasional short-tailed vole also called the field vole. Cavaliers can easily dispatch a rat, which can surprise some, as they think of these little spaniels as just lap dogs, but as they say, "let the dog see the rabbit" or in this case the rat and they will know what to do without any instruction. 
A funny little story is back in the summer I saw Treacle slinking into the back house and although I could not see any thing hanging from her mouth, she looked guilty, so I opened her mouth to find a live field vole, which I removed, found out were they had dug it up from, put it back and covered the hole with wire mesh. 
The video shows the dogs digging, but not with any great enthusiasm, so there was not much scent around. Dogs will indicate by vigour how good a scent is and how imminent they are to flushing something up. Ysobel and her daughter Primrose are exceptional diggers and often will dig until nearly dropping, both I have seen dispatch rats with the accuracy of any Jack Russel. Just shake'em.