Puppies at five weeks!

October 5, 2012

Puppies at five weeks!

Are they even more gorgeous? They are 6 weeks old today, and every day sees them going further afield, yesterday was their first time going to the toilet outside. It takes a few outings for a litter to feel safe enough to toilet away from the nest, clever Mother Nature protects the young by inhibiting toileting on new ground before the ground is familiar to them. This is the reason, when dog owners first take puppies home, they won’t go to the toilet on walks to begin with, this behaviour is designed to keep the young safe from predators. But it is just the reason I want to get the puppies outside as soon as possible to get them used to going outdoors and speed up their house training.

Next Monday  I will start their training, sits downs and little recalls, regular grooming and a  car ride, the more normal this stuff becomes the easier they will be in their new homes! Not all sold yet!

Thank you to Jo at Jobo design for the great photo’s!

Puppies 3 weeks old today!

September 14, 2012

Gorgeous!

Betty looking glamorous pre puppies!

What a difference a week makes in a litter of puppies! They are now coming out of the box, all eyes are wide open, as are their ears, they respond to sounds now! yesterday was their first time with solid food, I had to shut Betty away from them for two hours to make sure they were a bit hungry, they are so fat I think I should have gone for 4 hours! I gave them some high quality tinned puppy food and they all tucked in a bit, some more than others! It isn’t a pretty sight, lying in the  food seems  as good as eating it, licking it off another puppy is as good as eating from the bowl!

This morning they were so  charming, I went into them and said “hello” and I they greeted me with beeping noises, wagging tails and a scramble toward me, I was soon down on my hands and knees putting my face to them for morning kisses! So gorgeous!

Puppies aged 3 weeks!

Betty and puppy’s

September 10, 2012

Puppies aged 2 weeks

How cute are they now? Amazing the difference 2 weeks makes, as the day progressed the puppies eyes gradually opened and they could definitely start to hear! By next week I won’t be able to keep them in the whelping box they will be escaping!

Betty loves them and is making sure they are the fattest of puppies.

I start to advertise them this week so if you know of anyone who deserves a really well reared puppy? …..

Betty and Babies!

August 30, 2012

See Betty’s babies the day they were born here:
http://www.jobodesign.co.uk/betty.htm
Many thanks to Jo at Jobo design for filming! The clip is from day one, nearly one week on and the babies are all as fat as butter and Betty still loves her new job!
And again thanks to Jo for the new brochure design, see it here:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bym7bAWJ4sBCZkptZnJLd1gzdUk/edit
What Betty is teaching me:
Dogs never forget to treat other dogs as just that a dog!
Betty won’t take any chances with her babies! Pie would like to have a little nose at the new babies, at least that is how I see his behaviour. Betty instinctively knows that looking is how trouble could start. Pie has never hurt another animal in his life, but does Betty know that or care? Most likely not, and in any case the pups are so small it would only take one snap to do fatal damage. So Betty doesn’t want to know what Pie thinks of her babies, he is not allowed near them, that way we are all confidant the pups are safe! Good for you Betty for reminding me we are not in a Disney film!
 

I am pleased to report that Betty is definitely pregnant and due next week! How exciting, some babies to play with!

I took advantage of the great weather last weekend to bath all my animals, they had been a little neglected while I was poorly, so there was a lot of work to do on Betty’s coat to prepare her for Motherhood! She now has very short skirts around her back legs! All that bathing reminded me to give you a tip on how not to take a shower when your dog is wet, if you hold the dogs head or nose, they will not shake! Try it next time and let me know what you think? 🙂 We have some more hot weather on the way this week, do remember that dogs do not lose body heat very quickly, they only sweat through their tongue and  some small glands near their pads, a cold shower in the garden is an excellent way to reduce body heat!

Here are some great photo’s of dogs shaking off water:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/57Sc05/:1edO1MV+Q:Lf$EOVjU/www.petapixel.com/2011/07/28/portraits-of-dogs-as-they-shake-off-water/

Lucy Wheaten Terrier, very tired after a hard mornings training!

My blog has been sadly neglected for a few weeks, but I intend to do better now I am a little more settled after my move!

It was great to see Steve Scruton last week and we had some really interesting phone calls, I really had to think hard as some the questions were more unusual! If you missed the show you have until this Wednesday to catch the show from the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00t170w/Steve_Scruton_20_06_2012/

Betty came in season almost as soon as I moved house, and you know the saying “new home, new baby”? Well I did find time to take Betty to visit a very handsome young miniature Poodle called Casper! It was love, well lust at first sight! I wait to see if we are having new family towards the end of August!

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The Arc

http://www.animalrescuecharity.org.uk/history.php 

dog rescue charity are rescuing dogs from Ireland, in the last couple of months I have had the pleasure of meeting a few, one of them Jenson, who belongs to Nicola and now more recently Miller and Lucy have found a great home with Delia and Clive. Miller and Lucy are Husky cross Collies and they not only look charming but are delightful little people! They are responding brilliantly to training, at first we all thought Miller had some special needs, seems he does, he learns in a very unique way, appearing to not understand at all for several minutes, until the penny drops and he then reacts as if he has been doing “it” all his life!

I look forward to working further with the four of them at the older puppy class that starts at Little Canfield next Tuesday!

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Harley hits the spa!

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Suffering in the name of beauty!

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Wasn't that worth the effort!

At the Thursday class we got talking about how as people we either like to do things that come easily to us or conversely the hard stuff! I found it interesting that the group thought that I would have found dog training easy from the start, which is why I do it for a job! The reality is that it was the opposite for me, I found training my first dog and second, really challenging! That is what hooked me, as soon as I got good at competing with my dog my interest in competition waned! Teaching on the other hand is always challenging, whether is is getting inside the head of the dog or the handler, to find our way through to sucess! Next time you are feeling frustrated that your dog is not progressing as fast as you hoped or expected, just remember that is why I have a job still, lead training particularly takes real dedication and hard work, if it were easy everyone would be able to teach a dog or a person how in 5 minutes!

I believe the reason I am like this is that I am fascinated by learning, I ask myself what can I learn from this, how can I change this behaviour to what I want? If you can develop a sense of curiosity about why your dog is or isn’t doing what it does, you will start to open your minds to the information you need to succeed! So next time you feel like giving up, stop and consider how interesting this could be for you? ! 🙂

Thank you to Corinne for drawing my attention to a very helpful leaflet on dogs and horses! You may remember my blog recently on a problem I have locally with a neighbours dogs when passing with my horse! I have approached them in a friendly manner but sadly they are not ready for help, yet!

The Blue Cross provide a whole host of helpful and free leaflets on all animal care and behaviour, well worth a visit to  their

Lara looks out!

website! There is a link below to the leaflet that Corinne told me about:

http://www.bluecross.org.uk/2146-98538/keep-dogs-and-horses-safe-around-each-other.html

You can hear me on Steve Scruton’s show on BBC Essex Radio this coming Wednesday from 2.15pm to 4pm, on a phone in on dog behaviour problems, or catch up on the iplayer for the following 7 days!

Events

Fun Agility x 3

For anyone wanting to enjoy some fun agility with your dog!

16th – 23rd – 30th April –

Time: 6pm – 7pm

Or a day of agility

May 19th

Times: 10am to 4pm

Avril on BBC Essex

Steve Scruton sound advice phone in on dog training and behaviour

April 18th 2pm – 4pm

Recall Training sessions

These 2 and a half hour sessions focus on lead walking and recall. Foundation training takes place in the safety of the fenced garden at Barbary Cottage, once the building blocks are in place we take the training to the outside world, the paddocks and fields surrounding Barbary! There are a maximum of 5 dogs and handlers in a group.

Times: 10am – 12.30pm

Wednesday May 9th

Saturday April 14th

Dog behaviour/psychology course (Theory course without dogs)

For those that want to know more about how the dogs mind works and what they are thinking!

Date: Saturday April 28th

Times: 10am to 4pm

Training day 

A full day devoted to training your dog, whether you are keen to improve your dogs general obedience or are interested in trying some obedience tests this promises to be a fun day out with other dog lovers!

Monday Times: 10am – 4pm

Fee: £75 includes tea/coffee

Venue: Barbary Cottage

Date: June 18th