What a year so far!!

Many don't consider kennels and why should you but we have had no guests for months and months.

We haven't had to close as social distancing isn't a problem but with no one going anywhere no one has needed our services.

I have received cancellation after cancellation for bookings already made which is heartbreaking for all concerned.

having started the year with the dreadful weather and folk cancelling as couldn't get where they were going it has been a nightmare first half of the year.

Enough doom and gloom

My boys have all been home the whole time so we have got on top of some good projects, they have been making furniture from wood, cooking or baking delicious cakes. Waistline gone!!
We have started breaking our young horse which has been a pleasure so far.

My girls have come into season so we should have puppies available and we are starting to see a few bookings but I doubt it will be until next year before we see anything like normality

We are hanging on in there and hope to see you all soon

Hope you are all staying safe

Regards
Bev

A new year

Lets hope we have better weather as it has been a challenge trying to keep dogs in our care well exercised and clean what with all this rain.

Thankfully most of our 16 large runs slope and we have part stoned them but some areas are quite boggy so we have used wood bark

It is tricky as I don't want concrete everywhere and most dogs love to run on soft ground but also we do like dogs to leave us fairly clean so thank goodness for our large stack of towels to dry/clean them off a little.

Even though we are very close to the water table and lots around us flooded our kennels are fine

We are looking forward to a busy year with many bookings already made as happy customers book well in advance as at certain times of the year we will be turning people away so if you are considering using us please feel free to call in any day at either 9ish OR 5 ish as it will be nice to meet you :)

Lhasa Apso and kittens available

We have a very lovely 8 year old Lhasa Apso to find a caring home for. 

Sadly her owner can no longer care for her as having to go into a home. 

We have known her for years and she really is a lovely little dog.

Any interest please call me directly on 05525 941 421

I'm sure she will be snapped up so make that call :)

Missy, our junior pest control officer has adorable kittens looking for a home too

They are very well handled so very confident of course

Weening now and wormed

Any interest please call Jamie directly on 07496 797910

You really won't be disappointed, they are gorgeous

Rain, rain and more rain

The dogs in the kennels love to come out into one of the big runs, rain or shine which is fine by us as we put our waterproofs on and out we go but we are a little fed up of getting drenched. Lets hope for a cold spell to freeze and dry everything up a little.

The poor farmers are struggling to harvest the remainder of their crops so a dry spell would help them too

Never for ever

A very sad day yesterday as we said goodbye to Bae, our much loved Labradoodle.

She was 16 years old and has been great fun
We kept her as at 6 weeks of age she could jump the barrier and at almost 16 years of age she could jump (without touching ) the 5 bar gate

She was our matriarch and until recently kept the youngsters in order.

She has been in my boys lives all of those years too of course

She will be missed but at least she hasn't suffered

Winter on it's way

I have recently spent some time and money changing the shutters in the kennels for lighter weight ones so easier to open and close. This is important as when we do last checking and shut down at 10pm ish it needs to be quick and easy. If it is cold we also flick their under floor heating on at that point too. 

With winter on it's way and being rural we can have some serious minus degrees. I do consider our insulation but having the heating in every dog unit does help keep the water pipes freezing.

Our next project is to establish some more dog runs. We do already have 15 but as we have a stict policy as to who can go out with who and we don't take risks, you can never have too many also by having lots we can have a lot of dogs out, at the same time but safely separated which is important to us at Dogs Paws Stenson

We do have quite a few bookings for 2019 already as people clearly don't want to risk not getting either a dog or cat unit, enabling us to care for their pets whilst they are away on holiday

That is not our car Danni :)

Our senior pest control officer - Danni - is so cheeky as she jumped into someone else's car. 

She thinks she rules the roost and she probably does. She is phased by nothing and no one, not even the largest of dogs which may bark at her, she just smacks them.

She does a great job at keeping the "pests" under control but she and her assistant Missy do insist on bringing us all the dead bodies 

Keeping cool

I am so very pleased we have built the kennels as we have with a cool granite floor and roof from front to back as with the weather the way it is dogs can easily die from heat exhaustion but we are COOL

The self filling water dispensers are "worth their weight in gold" too as I need never worry about dehydration as the dogs always have water and cannot knock the bowls over

Some of our runs have trees for shade and we have erected a wooden fence to create additional shade but at afternoon let out we are very careful how long the dogs are our in the sunshine for, especially the black/chocolate.

We do sometimes put the hose on them and they love it, those who don't stand back but those who do jump, bite and play in the water. We have a couple of trays of water in the play pens too for them to splash and cool off in.

We have had many lovely dogs boarding with us and I thank their owners for continuing to support us.
I have met some very "tricky" dogs with quite tricky owners but I'm afraid they aren't welcome at Dogs Paws

A challenging winter

The boarding dogs and cats have all been warm enough as have their own heating in their own unit.

The self filling water dispensers have proved a little more challenging with the very low temperatures as the pipes froze and then popped apart on de frosting which surprised me as I thought the under floor heating would help through the night. I have he'd to resort to the "old fashioned" way of buckets to fill the water pots but repairs will soon be made and the automatic system in full swing yet again.

No real plans for this year in terms of building but improving what we have already. One job is double fencing all the runs, that way the dogs in neighbouring runs cannot get to each other, even if they wanted to.

We do enjoy what we do even in this inclement weather as the animals always make us smile

Cleaning, cleaning with a little painting in between :)

This is what we do at this time of year as dogs are so destructive and messy. We do, of course, on a daily basis clean but a deep clean is what will stop our kennels ever harbouring diseases or becoming smelly. We use a specialist detergent called Virkon too

We are quiet at the moment so it"s preparation for our next busy time which will be Christmas now

We are open 365 days a year and have quite a few pets to care for over the Christmas period as people go away or have family visiting so we get to care for their pets. 

What ever the reason we don't mind. The pets have a nice time and all are lovely and snug, the dogs have under floor heating the cats heat pads and they all get a Christmas treat too

Summer worked well with the extra dog runs. We now have 14 separate exercise areas which means we can have a lot of dogs out at the same time but not together. We have very strict policies as to who can safely go out with who so no one is put in any danger of having a fight. It also means all dogs in our care have a long period, twice a day to be out in a run playing, doing their business or what ever they like but not sat in solitary confinement  24/7

We do have a few small groups who will get along well together and it is so lovely watching them, having total freedom to run, play and wrestle then when they are back in their own unit they are quiet as tired. It makes the job worth while especially if we have had one in who starts off a little nervous but after time spent comes out of its shell and joins in the fun and goes home shattered

Phew!

Summer madness is almost over and we have been busy with lots of new and happy customers at the same time we maintain our standards and ensure our existing customers are happy too.

We have had a couple of tricky dogs in this year but it hasn't posed a problem as we now have so many different exercise areas to keep them at a safe distance from the rest and we very tight policies as to who, what breeds can go out together or need to be out alone. Even with the very sociable we never have more than 3/4 playing together and no dogs are ever left out unattended.

It has, as always been fun too. We have introduced a gold award scheme. The idea is that my staff take it in turns, on a weekly basis to award it to a dog. The usual criterion is those coming for the first time, who are quite nervous but settle well and leave having enjoyed themselves as this is important to me and my team.

At this time of year we focus on repairs and cleaning and making any improvements as necessary ready for our next busy period.

Dog fleas!!

For all we have many, many dogs in and out of our kennels we have never had any fleas.

A boarding dog came in with them recently thank goodness we have bult our kennels of materials fleas cannot live in and we have a rigorous cleaning policy as there were no fleas left behind.

The family are fumigating their house to rid there of them as well as the dog herself.

I do think the use if Frontline has made a difference as we seldom see any of the little kritters

Can you spot Missy?

Cats Whiskers, boarding for cats and small pets has an assistant, pest control officer

Missy

So, how is life down on the farm? :)

This time of year is always busy as people go on holiday. We do have a little availability for both cats and dogs having said that but I'm sure the few remaining spaces will soon be taken.

Having an additional 6 dog runs  (15 in total now) is making life so much earlier as we can get several dogs out, safely, at the same time.
As they have all had a good run around  in the outdoor runs, our kennels are very quiet as they all sleep when back in their  own unit.

I do feel quite humble as to how well our very new kennels are doing and with little advertising too. We must be doing something right :)

We have a new, assistant pest control officer and when I work out how to get photos from my phone onto here, I will show you her cuteness. Danni, our senior pest control officer has taken several weeks to accept her and has just started playing with her. Danni still loves to meet and greet all our guests, especially those for Cats Whiskers. She tends to stay up high and look down her nose at the Dogs Paws guests.

I get little time to ride in the summer but my young, at times cheeky horse is doing well. I may even fit a dressage test into life one day :)

Must go, lots to do but hope to see you soon

New runs

As summer approaches we are all prepared as now have 6 additional exercise areas.

This means we can have more dogs out, at the same time but not in the same run so they are safe. They do tend to run up and down the fencing so get oooodles of exercise.

If we have a couple of dogs who would be good together then we do mix but keep an eye on them of course.

My theory is that if the dogs have lots of time out and are well exercised then they are quiet in between and that certainly appears to be the case as we have many dogs in just now and not a sound.

Council have increased out licensed number so we still have a little availability in August

We are back

Our blog hosting system failed so we have been off line for a while but now we are back :) :)

So what is new??

The kennels are doing well with lots of bookings coming in from both existing and new customers so the word is spreading that we are good at what we do!!

Happy customers make it happen, that is both pets and their owners

I do love it when we get a dog in who is nervous and sometimes a little intimidated by kennels and with a little patience and gentle handling we bring them round, they come out, hold their head up and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Their owners arrive and they find a happy, waggy tailed dog to great them. Sooo rewarding

I am not planning on building or growing the business anymore this year as I do feel there is a limit by which you loose that personal touch and I do love to be able to let all the pet owners know just how their much loved pet has been as I have spent the time caring for them

Personal level  My eldest at age 20 has been offered a great promotion and is in a very secure position. Very proud Mum

My middle son is loving his university life, gaining great grades and has a fantastic placement lined up for his middle year  Very proud Mum

My youngest is knuckling down to his A levels and is formulating his life plan Very proud Mum

Dog milk

My boys were telling me of a study whereby the researchers gave a group of people milk to drink and asked their opinion. All said it was very nice, rich in flavour and very drinkable.

They were then informed it was dogs milk :)

Could you imagine my having a doggy milking parlour :) From Rottweiler to my little poodle

Apparently dogs milk doesn't carry the bacteria cows milk does so wouldn't need to be pasteurised and judging how incredibly quickly my puppies grow it is very rich and nutritious

I wonder if will ever take off :)

It's been sooooo long

I cannot believe I haven't blogged since September 2016

At Dogs Paws /Cats Whiskers we have been busy. As always we have been caring for a number of pets but also getting on top of maintenance jobs after Summer. Dogs really are messy but such fun.

We scrub down and re paint all of the dogs units as necessary. The cat units are all hoovered thoroughly (including the run) and we re paint the walls as needed.

All time consuming jobs but it does keep things looking good and smelling great.

Cats Whiskers is 10 years old already. Where do the years go?

The plans for this year are to establish some more dog runs. To do this I need the ground to dry out as need to bring many tonnes of stone in to lift the ground level so the dogs are not on grass/mud, which it soon becomes with a couple of dogs playing in it

Having watched how the dogs played last summer when we were very busy I will now build the runs with a good gap between them so the dogs concentrate on playing not having a pop at your neighbours :)

We have quite a number of bookings already and I am finding people book a year hence to secure their place.

I promise not to take so long before i'm on here again :)

They are not your puppies Phoebe :)

Aunty Phoebe just loves to be a Mum as she allows the Labradoodle puppies to suckle off her. She has no milk but if I allowed her to let them do it long enough it would stimulate her to produce. It has happened before

The puppies, now 6 weeks old are being very well socialised, as you can see. They run on our yard with several of my adult dogs are are really not phased by any of them

They just exude confidence 

Next week vet check, jabs and ready to leave us for their new life

136 bookings in August

What a great summer we have had at Dogs Paws 136 separate booking for dog. 

Some single, some double and for varying lengths of time but WOW what fun it has been. 

Yes at times challenging making sure that each and every dog has all the care and attention needed. There are always a handful of dogs who will happily play out together but I am so very pleased we have a number of separate exercise areas so we can have lots out playing and staying safe.

Next year we will have another 6 runs in the far paddock so lots of space to play

We have taken a lot of bookings already for summer 2017 and the feedback for our efforts has been fantastic

There has been a team of 8 helping me over the summer to whom I will extend a huge thank you

This was just our third summer with the kennels and never advertised so we must be doing lots right

Thanks everyone

The cattery of course is still very important to us and has also been very busy as usual. We have had quite a few young kittens who are always a pleasure to look after and we can always find time to play

Someone has to do it :) :)