That's Amore !, Updates and Cakes !

Last night it was time "for the dog to see the rabbit", with Reggie being the dog and Dolly  being the proverbial rabbit. When you have your own stud dogs that lives with your girls it is a good idea, even when you want to mate them to keep them apart as the girl becomes closer to being ready for amore, this time apart will make the male dog more keen to conquest her when they are put together.
Yesterday evening after returning from milking I decided to let Reggie have some time together with Dolly, thought I might just get time to eat my tea that my husband had lovingly prepared and put back for me in the micro wave, before they got down to business  but Reggie was very keen and I  got to eat my tea that had twice been micro waved by then, around 9pm after kneeling on the back house floor for nearly 45 minutes whilst Dolly and Reggie where tied. The glamour of it all !
After the first mating we will then try them every 48 hours until the bitch shows she is not interested. This normally means the bitch is mated between 2 to 3 times.
Dolly is looking so well and its hard to believe she has had three litters before and will turn 6 years old in August. She still can climb up wire fencing and can jump in and out of our patio with ease, our patio wall is over 3ft 6inches high, for a Cavalier thats a fair height to jump over. This will be her last litter and we will hope to keep one back from this litter.
The photo's of Dolly, Belle and Jessica are of them at this moment around my feet while I am on the on the computer.

We have three updates tonight with one from Millie's litter born March 2013 and two from Millie's daughter Smudge's litter born April 2013.
First we have Ruby from Millie's litter of seven born March 2013. Thanks Lisa for all the lovely photo's and update on your Ruby . Good to hear all is well and that Ruby is turning into a cuddle bunny.

Hi Jane and family, 
Just thought I would send you a bit of a belated update to mark Ruby's first birthday on 19th March! The first 9 photos are of Ruby sporting her new haircut which she had done about a month ago but which unfortunately didn't coincide with the Spring weather I was expecting so I've felt rather guilty about leaving her cold in this inclement weather! Photo 10 is of Ruby when we first brought her home and the last two are of shaggy but just as adorable Ruby! Funnily enough though, after losing her coat, she seemed to revert back to puppy behaviour!! Everywhere we go she attracts attention and we are always asked what breed she is. She is a lovely dog and we are so enjoying having her with us - she recently enjoyed a trip to Dartmouth and Bantham Beach! Ruby had her first heat and she kept herself really clean so it wasn't really the problem I thought it might be. I have contacted the vet about having her spayed in May. She has recently started to enjoy cuddles on the lap which she previously didn't seem to want but now does not need a second bidding! Apart from that all is well and all our best wishes to you and your family.
Love, Lisa and family x

Next is Archie from Smudge's litter born the 27th April 2013, so won't be long before his first Birthday. Thanks Angie for this cute photo and update and your support for my brother's Just Giving page. Might be seeing a bit more of Archie in August, as he might come to me for a week  or so whilst his family are on holiday.


Hello Jane,

 Hope all well at your end.  Still really enjoying all your blogs! Your brother did really well  -followed him on the Just Giving page.  A brilliant achievement!

We can`t believe it will soon be his first birthday! We are planning a party!!!!!! He is brilliant fun and so funny! His favourite thing at the moment is rolling in the dunes on Exmouth beach!

Hello to all the family from us and Archie!

 Best wishes,

 Angie and Archie xx J

Archie

Last on the updates tonight is Lola from Smudge's litter April 2013, so she is Archie's sister. Thanks Sue for this, its always great to hear how our pups are getting on, as they settle into their new homes and encounter the day to day challenges of them training their new families. Lol. Really wonderful to hear that Lola is such a part of your family Sue.



Hi Jane,

I hope you and the family are well, I've been following your blogs and always look forward to your updates but have not been so good at keeping in touch!  How time has flown by and I really wanted to update you now, as Lola will be one year old on 27th April - we can't imagine a time when she wasn't with us.
Lola really is to us the most perfect dog ever!  She was really easy to housetrain, in fact when she came to us she was almost there anyway and any little 'accidents' were due to heavy rain outside or me not seeing the signs quickly enough!  She has such a lovely temperament and is so eager to please, training has been a real pleasure - she has done her kennel club puppy classes and bronze medal and is about to give agility classes a go too!  She so enjoys dog training and seems to thrive on the stimulation, and of course socialising with other dogs is a bonus!
Like quite a few others, we too have a shortage of socks in our house!  Lola is quite adept at pinching anything at floor level and then turns it into a frantic game of chase, whilst we try to rescue whatever it is she's taken! She is also quite vocal if she spots anything with four legs on the television, starting with a low grumble can build to quite manic barking (Ashley and Pudsey send her nuts!).  Although it has to be said, her bark is worse than her bite - whoever walks through our door is bombarded by a welcome from Lola, much fuss, wagging of tail and licks.  She is so much part of the family, we just can't remember what life was like before her.  The children adore Lola and she almost seems to sense how we are feeling.  During a recent bout of flu, I was laid up in bed and she just lay beside me with her head on my legs, looking up at me, she is just so lovely. 
Jane, we are so happy with Lola and everyone who meets her thinks she is such a well behaved, friendly dog and that is thanks to you for giving Lola such a wonderful start in life - we really can't thank you enough.  
Kind regards,Sue and the rest of the clan x

Lets end on a bit of fun. As any one in the UK will know, its been the Easter break for school children, so the last two weeks have been hectic, balancing six children, 9 dogs, my Mum, work and must not forget 11 chicken, although my oldest son has been very good in helping to look after the chicken, especially as they are now all coming into lay. I must mention here my long suffering husband who never hinders or holds me back, as my old mother says, "You got a gooden there !" without the cohesive nature of our relationship, we would not get half what we do done. We don't do lists, we don't do schedules but we seem to get stuff done, both of us are pretty laid back and see the funny side of any thing, which does help. So before I get to soppy, after two hectic weeks which saw my Mum back in hospital on Thursday and hopefully she's back home tomorrow, we had Grampy's (my father-in-law's) Birthday on Friday. Our children go there on Friday evenings for around three hours whilst we both milk that evening and they have supper with them, so we set about on Friday making a cake for Grampy, the result of you can see below. As you will guess from the cake Grampy's business is brain surgery. Lol.
Well, the children really enjoy making cakes and fondant icing is much the same as play dough but tastes nicer, as evident when we finished making Grampy's cake and I was sure I had some fondant icing over but it had seemed to of vanished into thin air, so we thought that perhaps we should look at doing celebration cakes on a global scale. We have a business name "Spittle and Daub Celebration Cakes", any one who has ever made cakes and decorated them with many little fingers helping will hopefully get that title.Lol. Below are photo's of the Spittle and Daub team who also double up as the Poundlane Puppy handling team. We are taking orders. Lol