Wednesday 28 December 2011

Phew Christmas is over

Oh! yes it is lovely for the children to be showered in gifts and the expectation are so high for so many.

My own children were suitably spoilt too. On Christmas day though, my boys wanted to go outside and continue building their tree house and what a construction it is. I love it when they work together on a project, I stand back and listen to them chattering and bouncing ideas from on another. They are very confident at using tools, both manual and electrical, skills so few have these days. I will put a picture on when they are happy for me to do so as this is their project.

The cattery was completely full over Christmas and we had dog boarders in too so, coupled with my own animals and puppies to tend I have been very busy but it is all good for business and keeps me out of mischief :)

The puppies are stunning with their gorgeous, thick, fleecy coats. Some have gone to their new homes, the families are very pleased with them and they have settled well. I still have some available but puppy sales are always slow around Christmas, partly due to previous campaigns and partly due to the weather.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Sorry I haven't been on for a while!

I thought I was busy before but adding the two litters of puppies and project managing the dog boarding building has exhausted me.

We are getting there though. The puppies are starting to leave home and lots are sold. I love having them in the house as they get oooodles of  attention and the resulting puppies are confident and very lively, just as puppies should be.

We have had our first dog guests, Maisy and Leo. They were lovely and it all works very well as they were snug with the under floor heating and thoroughly enjoyed the space to run and play in the run.

Christmas is my only neglected area as we have no decorations or tree up in the house. This is on the agenda today.
Of course I have bought my boys gifts as if you cannot look after children at Christmas that is a travasty.

Thursday 15 December 2011

We are open!

We have our first guests arriving in the dog boarding tomorrow.

I am so pleased with the building. It looks fantastic and we have had a steady flow of people viewing it and everyone has been suitably impressed by it. I do think the space the dogs have, under floor heating and the over all feel of the place helps.

Whilst we have sold a number of our lovely puppies, we do have some still available. This is never a good time of the year to have puppies available. They are stunning though. I am particularly impressed with Lulu's litter, our first multi generational litter. They are very chunky and their coat is quite fleecy already and lovely colour.

Just heard the forecast and snow is on it's way.

Sunday 11 December 2011

Growing up fast


These are boys. 5 weeks old now. Fully wormed and eating well. They wrestle and play lots. They are getting ooodles of attention from my boys and the steam of visitors who come just to see them.

Having puppies in the house has mixed blessings as yes they do make a lot of mess and smells but they also get lots of attention and used to family life with a busy house hold so they leave here very confident and ready for their onward life.

We have had a lot of interest and many are secured with a deposit paid. Yes I am  mindful of people potentially buying for Christmas but I do think in reality that seldom happens.

Monday 5 December 2011

They are so soft coated

These are two girls from Lulu's litter. They are lovely puppies. Full of fun and boisterous, just how 3 week old puppies should be.

The cattery is almost full for Christmas and we have bookings for dog boarding business too.
No laying in here on 25th December and my lovely boys have offered to help me on Christmas morning to sort all the animals before our festivities begin. They are stars!

Thursday 1 December 2011

All go

The roof is almost completed on the dog boarding.
The windows and doors will be in next week.
I have appointed a plumber and electrician but most importantly I have had many enquiries.

It is not easy to know which is the best media to utilise to launch a new business so I am trying to cover all with adverts in the Derby Telegraph and the free sheets. I have posters and business cards to distribute. I have activity on my website and have an entry going into yell.com and Yellow pages. Fingers crossed :)

I did manage a little lollop on my beautiful horse this week. Well it was a lovely day. He looks fantastic as we clipped him at the weekend and he has such a lovely shine. He now has a heavy tog rug on to keep him warm but at least he won't sweet up too much when my eldest takes him jumping.