Just turned on the computer to find a lovely email with photo's from Tracey who has Foxy who is one of Primrose's sisters. Foxy is the little girl born last year to Ysabel who had an inquinal hernia & had it operated on at 6 weeks old.
An inquinal hernia is a tear or hole in the muscles that line the groin area & thus the contents within can leak through this hole causing a bulge in the groin area under the skin which normally can be pushed back. In this area it needs to be repaired as soon as possible in a puppy as the worse case scenario is that its bladder could come through this hole & become stragulated & cause major complications for the pup. Foxy had the surgery at 6 weeks old & she was fine recovering very quickly & after a week you would not know that she had anything done but she must not be bred from as can be caused at birth from the pressure being born but also could be hereditary.
Tracey informs me that things are going well with Foxy. Not long after Tracey got Foxy they where out walking & Foxy was attacked by another dog that looked like a Staffy cross. Tracey could not find the owners of the dog & luckily Foxy was not seriously injured but it left Foxy with a real fear of other dogs but Tracey tells me that they have worked through this & Foxy is now confident with smaller dogs but still a bit wary of bigger dogs which is very understandable & for Tracey to get this far after the dog attack is great news as when she rang be after the attack she told me that Foxy was very frightened of any dog approaching her.
Tracey also has two cats & the younger one has taken to Foxy but the older cat "is a work in progress" says Tracey but she says that "they both lie on the bed either side of her in the evening."
Tracey finishes her email by saying " I think getting Foxy is the best thing I have done, she is definitely great company & a loyal friend, she loves doing things with me, even watches me cook & clean & has got me out & about. I would not be without her now." Thanks for the update Tracey. Keep the great work up with your special little girl !

Just a quick blog tonight. The weather here in the UK is lovely at the moment & we could actually do with a bit of rain just to keep the grass growing. Living in the countryside & my husband working in farming the weather is a very important part of the job, dictating your days work most days & with the lack of rain lately the first cut of silage for the year which a lot of farmers do in the first week of May is looking a little sparse at the moment.
Millie & Bonnie are both around the 4 weeks pregnant stage & we will be scanning them both at the vets on Tuesday so fingers firmly crossed.
All the dogs are having lazy dog days with the heat at the moment, lying around asleep in the shade during the worst heat of the day & then coming to life in the evening running around playing chase me tumbling over each other wrestling playfully as the day closes. As they say its a dogs life ! Happy Easter Holidays !

Over the very busy last few days I recieved an email & photos from Sue who has Bailey from Lucy's Cavapoo litter. Bailey is now just over 4 months old & like Roxy his sister has just had his first trim at the dog salon, you can certainly see he is Roxy's brother. Sue says " Bailey is an absolute joy & everyone loves him. He loves eating shoes & plant pots, including those that have plants in ! He has taken to training really well & we are looking forward to taking him away with us in a couple weeks time. He is a lovely boy with such a good nature & we feel lucky to have him. " Sue also asked about neutering Bailey as some say 6 months & some say leave until 12 months. Myself if both testicles are there would not hesitate to neuter at 6 months old as in America some neuter & spay at 6 weeks of age which I feel maybe a little early for myself. The arguement most times to neuter later is that the dog grows on better but having Pupster neutered at 6 months old & he is now 7 years old did not effect his growth as he is are biggest Cavalier. Size of the dog is more connected to genes than his testicles !
Bailey is a very handsome & cute Cavapoo boy as you can see from his photos. Thanks for the update & photos Sue he looks a very happy chap.

Today arrived two emails that I have been waiting on. The results of Rocco & Reggie's Optigen tests. The heart rate increased as thay appeared on the screen & with a churning in my stomach I clicked on the first email to find out that Rocco's test result is Normal/Clear. One down one to go & with another click there was Reggie's test result Normal/Clear. This is brilliant & this means that Rocco & Reggie do not carry the genes for prcd a type of Progressive Retinal Atrophy(PRA) that accounts for upto 75% of PRA in Poodles. They both still need to be BVA eye screened each year incase they develop other forms of PRA that are a lot less prevalent in the breed. Hopefully as more gene test develop then there maybe a time that they can genetically screen Poodles for all known variants of PRA.
Reggie is now 4 months old & is such a character & my son has been teaching him to high five the last couple days as he already gives you his paw to say "How do you do !". Poodles are very bright & want to learn & happily learn without constant treat rewards as it seems your praise & affection are enough. Rocco is now 1 year & 4 months old & now with the all clear on his Optigen test will as soon as Lucinda comes into heat will hopefully become a father in the near future. Rocco has a very gentle nature & is very athletic seeming to put no effort into moving & especially jumping over things.
Photos of Reggie & Rocco taken today.

Got a lovely photo of Ysabel today to then notice in the photo that it looks like she has a bird box balanced on her back but she carries it off well. Got a nice photo of her daughter Primrose today as well, she is now 8 months old & is a proper little rascal who is so loving, being an absolute star with are youngest children. Just like Mum very good tempered & athletic.

Oliver says "Hello !" today & Madeleine sent me a photo of Oliver too. Oliver is Smudge's brother who's Mum is Millie. He is nearly 1 years old & is a very handsome young man who has even won over Madeleine's Dad "who was determined not to be won over" says Madeleine. It seems that he loves playing football & Madeleine's Dad loves playing this with him. He loves to fetch as well which is the spaniel in him coming out. Hopefully Madeleine is going to visit us near his birthday  which will be great to see him & Madeliene. We kept Oliver upto nearly 14 weeks for Madeleine so you enivitable get that bit closer to them so to see him in the flesh again will be a special moment for me & hopefully him. Thanks Madeleine for all the updates throughout his first year & look forward to seeing the two of you soon.

Today I finally caught the phantom dog treat thief. It is my 2 year old daughter Matilda. In are feed room I keep a bin full of treats & chews for the dogs & recently I have gone into the feed room to find the bin lid removed & obvious signs of dog treats missing & lots of dogs licking their lips. Well today I caught Matilda red handed supplying treats to all the dogs. I have the photograghic evidence below.lol 

Its been yet another dark & damp day here today but got a couple nice photo's of the dogs & sneaked in one photo of are young horse that I have just broken in. Millie let me get a couple nice photo's of her even though she had been rolling in badger poo again when out on her walk. Yet another bath for Millie !

Last night as I finished up on the computer late an email came in. It was from Toni with a photo of Poppy with Joe. Toni & Joe with Poppy (who is from Lucy's litter, are last litter of Cavapoos) had gone out for the evening for a meal, as at the pub they went to they allow dogs in the outdoor eating area. Poppy was very good having a sneaky piece of chicken & then loved lying out in the evening sun listening to Bob Marley. The other great news Toni told me is how well Poppy is doing at Puppy Classes being top of the class at recall & heel work which she says is a big acheivement as all the other dogs in the class are collies. Poppy has been doing so well at Puppy classes that Toni has been asked if she would be interested in having Poppy trained as a "School Dog" to work with children with special needs, emotional & anger difficulties & to go into primary schools to teach children respect for animals ! Toni thinks that this would be a fantastic opportunity for Poppy & her as Toni starts teacher training in september as she already works with disabled children. The news about being asked to train Poppy as a "School dog" is great news to me as the breeder of Poppy & her being a Cavapoo makes me feel even stronger that this is the right cross to do. Toni has to be given lots of credit to as she has put the work in with Poppy & is benefiting from the time & energy she & Joe have put in to their special girl Poppy. Thanks again Toni just brilliant !

Its been a bit dreary here today with drizzle & then heavy rain this evening with my Mum returning with my oldest son Bert from rugby training looking like a drowned rat. Forgot to say on my last blog that one of the highlights of last weekend was watching Bert score a cracking try for Barnstaple under 11s. It was text book try scored by the winger after creating the overlap. Enough of this self indulgence about my children but I was very proud of him !
Back to the dogs. Yesterday was a bit nippy but bright & I got out the camera with the dogs especially Oscar being very obliging as I took photo's of them. Oscar is another lucky find for us as we got him last year at the age of one years old. He is now two & is a very good example of a black & tan Cavalier but also he has a very indearing temperment with lovely manners. Sharon who I got him from he is a credit to her rearing of him. He also has taken to being a stud dog like a duck to water & does not get stressed with his very happy go lucky manner. Being a stud dogs takes a certain type of dog to thrive as a stud dog. They need temperment as they do need charm & social skills to court the girls & not stress to much. A good robust stud dog with a stable temperment will pass these atributes to his offspring. When breeding just because you can mate two dogs dosen't always mean you should mate those two dogs !
Below are the photo's & a playful moment between Oscar, Smudge & Rocco. Yesterday my three year old horse had front shoes put on for the first time & the farrier arrived I had to quickly put the dogs in out the way, some went in the stable we store straw in & when the farrier left they looked so cute curled up in the straw so got a few photo's of the 


 

Managed to get lots done this weekend with the dry warm weather helping us get on with lots of outdoor jobs. We have managed to get are back paddock dog proof & have a half an acre safe area for the dogs to wonder in the daytime. We have 13 dogs all in toll & with Bobby leaving for his new home on this coming Sunday that will then be 12. We have 5 dogs which live kennelled with 9 dogs living indoors but during the daytime then all the dogs run together in the kennels & run area. The dogs mix together without any problems. Only when girls are in season we then seperate the male dogs & the in season female as the boys can frame up to each other which is only natural. The 5 dogs that live outdoors are Oscar who lives with Bonnie & Lucinda. Bonnie & Lucinda are sisters from the same litter so tend to always house together & then we have Rocco who lives with Dolly. Dolly has a very gentle friendly nature & really hit it of with Rocco when he arrived here so she seemed the natural choice to pair him with. All these dogs are housetrained & wonder are house when the weather is good but unfortunately the two boys will mark which is cocking their legs & doing little wees everywhere to mark their territorys & let other dogs know they have been there which makes it hard to let them live indoors.
Reggie has had a haircut & with him moving at a vital moment he has a higher than intended hairline on his head but it will grow out. My husband says he looks like Max Wall who was a comedian who had a funny haircut & walk. If you know who I mean then we are all showing are age.lol. Reggie other than the little mishap on his head was very good to trim giving him a number 4 all over. Reggie is a real character & think I may of got a little gem in him. The children love him & he has a very soft mouth but when playing does what you could call air biting & you can hear his teeth snap shut & I jokingly said "he reminded me of the little dinosaurs called velociraptor's so my son Bert has come up with the name Reggie Raptor for Reggie now, which I think sounds more like a rap singers name but Reggie seems to like being called Reggie Raptor coming eagerly to it when called but I think I might get a few strange looks  shouting this name at the beach.
Millie is three weeks tomorrow from her first mating & do not want to be to confident but I think we may be hearing the patter of tiny paws in the not so distant future with Millie, so fingers firmly crossed. Millie had a bath to night, as on her afternoon stroll she found some badger poo to roll in. She is now spotlessly clean again & with the joy she has in having a bath & being rubbed of I wonder whether rolling in badger poo was just so she could have a bath.
Below is a video tonight of are three babies playing which is Smudge who is nearly one year old, Primrose who is 8 months old & Reggie who is nearly 4 months old. The play seems very rough but no one was hurt & this is how young dogs play together which is to me a joy to watch. Note Lucy who just walks into frame & how submissive Smudge is to her as she is nearly 4 years old & second in command in are pack. She stands over Reggie as if checking he is okay then turns away as if saying he's okay & then battle commences again. Lucy has adopted Reggie as he came to us just as her last pup left from her litter & I think she considers him her son as she cleans him & also plays with him like a Mum would with her own young.
I have split the footage into two videos to be able to put on my blog but they played for a lot longer than my footage breaking occassionally to have a breather & a drink from the back house. Be careful with the volume as it was windy & this sounds very loud on the video & also you will notice that Primrose likes to verbalise a lot when playing. Primrose is not a yappy dog other than when she plays which is quite funny to watch.
The three in the video are out for the count now fast asleep as I type this.

Paula sent me this lovely photo of Jasper on his first birthday relaxing in the garden after all the fuss made of him on his first birthday. Jasper's Mum is Bonnie & Father is Paula says "He is doing well, I have never known a more confident dog than him !" He does look a happy confident chap in the photo & Happy Belated Birthday Jasper ! Thanks Paula for the lovely photo of your special boy.

The weekend is upon us & the children have broke up from school for the Easter holidays. The weather has been glourious the last week. I have been busy grooming & caring for the dogs with also getting are 3 year old colt horse Percy broken in & have been riding him out for the last three days & touch wood he has been a star.
Horses have been a big part of my life with the majority of my working life spent on the back of one. The breaking in of a horse has always been something I enjoy starting them on the road but my dogs are the ones who are constant at my side & when the time comes that I can not put my foot in the stirrup & get up on a horse my dogs will be waiting to console me of this passing but not for a few years yet hopefully.
Millie hopefully is over 2 weeks pregnant now & is looking really well. She is her normal gentle self, loving to get close & cuddle in with you. Her daughter Smudge is nearly a year old now & with the photo's of them I have put on to night you can see Millie is her Mum. Smudge is a big girl for a Cavalier & has her mum's very gentle soft nature & beautiful colour being snow white with the deep red brown like a Blenheim should be.
Got a lovely photo of Reggie are young Miniature Poodle boy under are Weeping Willow tree. He is such a character & is showing a great love for water with playing in the water bowl to playing with the spray from the hose when you are washing down the patio. All Poodles orginate from water retrieving dogs & Reggie certainly loves water.
The sun is out so will try & get some out & about photo's of the dogs over the weekend & maybe some of Percy the horse !

Had a lovely weekend starting on saturday with a card arriving from Charlie. Charlie is are stud dog who was diagnosed at over 5 with a grade  2 heart murmer. We had him neutered & Sheila & Vincent have taken him on to join their family. The card that they thoughtfully sent to me for Mothers day from Charlie just confirms to me that he has gone to a very loving home & from the card looks like he's loving it. Thanks so much Sheila & Vincent !
Only a couple photo's from me tonight which is of the card from Charlie & the dogs having their sunday treat of leftover bits from sunday roast.

Got some lovely photo's sent to me over the weekend of two of are Cavapoo pups. The first is Roxy who featured in my last blog but has now just had her first haircut & she is a little beauty. Clipping around the face , bottom & feet of a Cavapoo or any heavy coated dogs is often a good idea as helps to keep these areas clean. Tracey said "she smelt gorgeous when she came home" & she also looks it to.
The next group of photo's are of Alfie who is coming up 8 months old & he has just had his second haircut. Alfie's Mum is Dolly & he was the bruiser of the litter & he had the looks & personality to, he certainly is fulfilling his early promise of being a very good looking dog. Vanessa says "He is truly a stunner & everyone stops & admires him when we take him out".
Thanks for the lovely photo's Tracey & Vanessa your Cavapoos are a credit to you.

On sunday 4th April 2011 Lucinda's litter from last year of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels reached their first birthday & Jean who has Scrumpy from this litter  sent me some lovely photo's to show me how Scrumpy is getting on. Scrumpy gave Jean & family a scare a couple months ago & had a couple seizures in a matter of a few days, she rang me for advice & hopefully support. Scrumpy went through lots of tests including a MRI scan & CSF (Spinal fluids being taken) to see if a reason could be found , anything hereditary was ruled out & no reason can be found for this episode of seizures. He is now over a month since having any & Jean opted for not putting him on medication, so fingers crossed & he is okay. I had a similier thing happen with Smudge last year so when Jean told me of Scrumpy I was a little worried as they both have the same Dad but after tests ruled out hereditary cause & have found no reason, like Smudge it may be that Scrumpy just gave himself a joult or bag that may of caused a very a slight bleed & slight concusion which may of caused these seizures for a couple days & by the time he was scanned it was not visable.
Happy Birthday Scrumpy ! Jean says " Thanks Jane for a loving friend he is very well & unfortunantly very spoilt. Full of character." Thanks Jean for the updates & lovely photo's over the year & its great to know he is so well in his mischeivous self as he had us all worried there for a moment.

Wow ! its four days since I last blogged & we are now in April. Recieved some lovely photo's today of Roxy who's mum is Lucy & is now 4 months old in a couple days time. Roxy is going on really well being easy to train & very good indoors. This is Tracey's first family dog & they put so much work in to finding Roxy it is lovely to see that it has paid them dividends. She loved her first puppy party & is doing really well at her puppy training classes. I think from the photo's you can see that Roxy looks a very loved & chilled out lady. Thanks Tracey !

Bonnie & Millie have now both gone off heat & the next big date is scanning them around 28 days from last mating. With them being only two days apart from last mating we will scan them both at the same time making Millie being scanned at 30 days from last mating, so will scan around the 25th April. This scan will let us know that they are in pups & roughly how many pups they are carrying. If carrying a good size litter normally you can tell by just looking at them at 28 days that they are in pups but I would not put money on it, so scanning is good for us as if the bitch is not in pups you do not change their diet but if in pups you know to cater their diet for the growing pups inside her.
Most bitches after coming off heat will get a bit of filling in their teats & this is natural as the bitches body thinks it is pregnant even if it is not & starts to make changes in the body. Around 6 weeks after heat her body if not pregnant realises & stops preparing the body for birth but if your bitch carries on acting like she is in pups although not by bedding up (digging her bed more than usual), howling & her teats getting bigger & sometimes producing milk this is called a phantom pregnancy. If they have more than one of these it may be a good idea to speak to your vet as if not breeding from her it may be best to spay her.
Mothers Day this sunday in the UK but unfortunately for me no lie on as my oldest son has been selected to play for Barnstaple U11s Rugby team in the Devon Festival at sunny Exmouth which is a hour & half away & my other two sons are in Barnstaple playing rugby. I am doing the home games & husband David is covering the away games as it will take up most of the day. So up early to run out the dogs, feed all the children of to rugby & for me back at midday to hopefully get some jobs done & roast on for the evening. Nearly end of the rugby season & love the kids doing it but it is nice not to have to rush on a Sunday morning but Bert has taken a liking to cricket which is worrying me. lol
Have been grooming mad lately & if you want something to relax you grooming a dog on your lap does it for me. Only Lucy is what we call out of coat at the moment which is were the coat is starry & lacks shine but for Lucy this is because she had a litter of pups 4 months ago & with the hormonal flushes like a woman after having pups & nursing them they will moult heavily & go dull in the coat. Bitches coat condition & pigment in their eyes & nose can change during their reproduction cycle & when you notice your bitch if not spayed looking very good in her coat can be a good indicater that they are coming on heat soon & eye & nose pigment will darken when on heat in some bitches & lighten when nursing pups. After having a heat if not in pups most bitches will moult a bit more than usual & go a bit dull in the coat. This is nature making the bitch look her best at mating time so she can attract a mate as  just like humans it helps if there is a bit of mutual attraction or chemistry between the dog & bitch & this is called natural selection. On occassion you will get a bitch right on heat who will not allow a certain dog to mate her & this can happen the other way around. I have had this happen & changed the dog & had a healthy litter of pups & the dog produced healthy pups with other girls. We do not practice getting a bitch in pups at all costs or producing offspring from a dog who will not mate naturally. Believe me the dog breeding world is a very weird one with very weird practices going on in order to get two dogs to mate together when they do not want to or unnessary helping when they are novices. Dogs have been procreating for a long time with out human intervention & personally if they can not manage it as nature intended should it happen ? The Kennel Club have just opened the door for artificial insemination of bitches with certain rules which could easily be overcome by most. I understand that this in theory will allow pure breeders to use dogs further afield so hopefully widening their kennels genetics but what I see realistically happening are dogs that prolificate within pure breeds being able to sire even more pups within their breed so actually the opposite happening & in the not so distant future in some purebreeds less genetic diversity. The other effect I see happening in time are some breeds unable to concieve naturally at all & also not being able to give birth naturally at all. We are almost at this point already with some of the very small Toy breeds & breeds with very large heads or flat faces.
Breeders seriously need to step back & really ask themselves are they breeding for health, temperment & happiness or just to attain a look that has no benefit to the dog what so ever but will attain them a championship rossette or a premium price for their pup ?
Thats my rant for April out the way.lol . Have a great weekend one & all. Back on Monday hopefully !