A new home

Holly left home today.

She is our 4 year old, standard poodle who developed Addison's disease.

The family know all about her condition, they researched it on the internet. They have a 4 year old Airdale terrier and are happy to give Holly a go. They took her this afternoon. She appears to have settled well. I have a picture of her curled up in her new home, fast asleep. The Airdale has accepted her well and the two of them had a nice walk today.

It surprises me just how readily our dogs settle with major changes in their lives as they very rarely leave our farm and don't meet other dogs/ people very often, yet Holly was invited to jump into the car of people she had only just met and off she went. A good job she is not a child or I would be scolding her.

I hope it works out as this is a good result for her but we will miss her.

The cattery and small pets are quite busy throughout February and I really need to get my horse out and get him fit for my son to take to camp in the summer. Not sure why I should do all the hard work but I do enjoy it.

What lovely dogs

Teddy looks a happy boy.

 He slept for two days after his meeting with pippa.

What a lovely little dog. His temperament is fantastic and very accepting of change. I'm looking forward to meeting their offspring.

This is Buster. he is our 4 year old, first cross Labradoodle (f1). If you have been on doodledogs Gemma is his Mum. He is huge, very fast and incredibly agile. You can do absolutely anything with him and he just loves attention. He does shed his coat but he doesn't need to be clipped.
Bella (f1b) is looking on. She does look tiny here but she is approaching the size of a labrador. Her coat is fantastic, spiral curls. She is going to the poochy parlour next week to have it tidied up.

Why do dogs" tie"?

Why do a dog and a bitch tie during mating?

In the wild, in a pack the bitches hormones change as her season begins. She will not be receptive until between day 11 to 18 and some bitches are only receptive for 24 hours.

The males in the pack will have been fighting to establish who is the dominant, strongest and earned the right to farther the litter.

As soon as she is ready to be mated the winner will oblige and a gland at the base of his penis (Bulbus glandis) enlarges during copulation preventing him from withdrawing. The "tie" can last from 2 mins up to an hour but this ensures the ripened eggs are fertilised by him and the resulting puppies are his.

Pippa (Jack Russell) and Teddy (Toy Poodle)  have tied here and we hope this will lead to a litter of
Jackapoos. They will arrive in 9 weeks time if the mating was successful.



 

The joy of girls!

Bea and Pippa are both in season. Neither are to mate with Oscar but they plan otherwise!!!

As soon as the door is open, Bea especially rushes to where he is in his pen. She is so desperate to be mated she doesn't even stop to do her business. She is having a rest this season so the door to him is securely locked and bolted but such is her instinct to reproduce I have to carry her back to the house to part her from him.

Pippa will be mated with a miniature, apricot poodle on about day 11 to 18. This is when the eggs are released and the bitch will allow herself to be mated. Before then he has no chance.

We are looking to produce jackapoos of course. They are sooooo cute.

Just a few pictures

 This is buster. He is my partners, lovely Labradoodle. He is the class bafoon but so clever and we all love him. Here he is walking on the frozen canal. he weighs 17kg . Brave or daft?

 Lisa and Bruce our two cats waiting patiently for their tea. Cats are soooo fussy with their food and unlike dogs they will go hungry rather than eat.

This is Milly, my sister-in-laws cocker spaniel. She is expecting a litter on 6th february. We are thinking of having a little girl to add to our collection. She has a fantastic temperament and is the perfect family pet.

Leaving home!

What a contented picture.

They have just had their second meal, a good wrestle with Poppy and Toffee and are shattered. Tomorrow they start to leave for their new life.

There are a few excited families out there and I wish them well and hope their experience with their puppy is a good one. Above all else I hope they have fun as owning a well trained dog is so rewarding.

I am always at the end of the phone or email should they run into difficulties but as long as they are firm and teach the puppy the rules from a very early age they should all do well.

Puppies are like children in that they thrive well if they have boundaries which are clear and consistent.
There will be days when you wonder why you got the puppy, but the next day it will remind you.

We just can't put our children in a crate!

Happy New Year

All our animals had a good time. They enjoyed extra attention and the turkey dinner remains were thoroughly enjoyed.

The puppies are gorgeous, full of fun and quite demanding. They are weaning very well and know my "puppy" call when I go to feed them. They are great at moving onto the paper to do their business.
Just one waiting for it's new owners to call. Quite a few of the people who have paid deposits have been to play and get a puppy fix.

I rode my horse for the first time in weeks due to the weather. He was being a little frisky and then, yes he did it, dumped me!!. Boy! was that ground hard but I landed on my bottom so not too much damage. As long as we can physically we horse riders get back on and I did.

I am hoping to do a little dressage in the spring so need to put the training in now.