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 :) :)

Gold award

Get you Elvis :)

At Dogs Paws Stenson we have introduced a gold award scheme. 

It is given to dogs who prove our initial thought to be completely wrong.

Elvis was a little nervous upon arrival (not unusual) but he very quickly settled and became a star by playing, running and wrestling with a small group of friends. He/they particularly liked our moat field as they loved playing chase around the trees. When their tongues were hanging out it's then back into their individual units for a well earned rest and food.

Exhausting but fun

As I thought we are so very busy as it's summer.

It is good fun but what a responsibility looking after other peoples "babies".

The cats are easy as never get with others unless they live together and are happy sharing a unit.

Lots of dogs love to play and wrestle so once we have assessed them and carefully manage so they can do just that. Any sign of foul play and they are separated and only go out on their own. Most are very good and go back into their own unit for a rest until next play time.

Some dogs really don't want to be "bothered" by others and that is fine too as we have a number of separate exercise areas. We have strict policies over certain breeds etc too

Where is summer? :)

Lots of you are preparing for summer and booking your pets in with us so please hurry if you are considering using us as not many places left. 

At Cats Whiskers and Dogs Paws it is all about caring for your pets as though they were our own but we will never please everyone, all of the time and that's life.

You do become a little hardened when running your own business especially after in excess of 10 years as some people's expectations are unrealistic and unreasonable but the vast majority of our customers are lovely. They truly care for their pets and look for what they judge to be the best and keep us busy and this summer will be no different.

Although we do now board dogs, they are a good distance from the cattery, down a dip and facing the other way to the cattery. We go to great lengths to keep the dogs quiet too so as not to upset the cats and we don't like incessant dog barking either. In my opinion, if the dogs are well exercised and feel confident and comfortable they don't bark a lot or if they do, not for long

We do have a couple of new cat units with very long runs. Like the existing ones they have a covered outdoor run so rain or shine they can sit out, sheltered and watch the world go by, be that the horses across the fields, birds or butterflies