Jess Has Been To Nico

 Finally after months of keeping her owner waiting Jess has come in season and today came to be mated to Nico. She's a beautiful L/c bitch with great breeding and a cracking character. Her colour reminded me of Seffe or Tali I guess .. She played ball in the house and was affectionate and confident around us. The only problem was, she didn't want to be mated! But where other dogs have failed Nico succeeded .. give him his due he is a very determined and sensible stud dog! With a 30 min tie I hope and pray this will be successful for her owner as he has waited a long time for a second litter from Jess. She will be coming back for round two on Sunday ...

What Next With This Lad?

At the end of last week I noticed that Ross had a sore bottom. As this had happened before I treated him as I had before. The vets suggested I try the wipes and not the hibi scrub and some more of the cream would be sent out to me. I ran out of cream over the week end but was not concerned with more on the way. But things really were not getting any better. So one night I decided to go back to hibi scrub and I smeared the skin around his bottom with coconut oil. OMG .. by morning it was almost clear .. and of course that day the cream arrived. Anyway I'm still cleaning and checking daily .. so pleasant.
Now Ross is lame, and I mean badly lame. Of course it's the front right. Steve thinks he had a collusion with Sammi in the yard as he was OK first thing. This is not a is he or isn't he limping like it was before .. Ross is now REALLY LAME! I just don't know what to do for the best but on such a stunning day there will be no walks for Ross ... and I guess tomorrow there will be no show for Ross. I'm so scared as it's always the same bloody leg and I bet you know what I'm thinking!!!

Asha's Night

My beautiful Asha was Best Veteran In Show last night at our Training Club show. Thanks to everyone who commented on how well Asha is looking and moving, especially the judge Leana Evans who writes .. "BVIS the beautiful German Shepherd at 10 years old moved like a youngster amazing movement on this bitch, could easily put some younger dogs to shame.." Thanks to everyone for making it an amazing night .. 45 dogs present!!!! I'm now really emotional as I realise I've taken the above photo of Asha next to her mothers ashes ... we only lost Tali in January!

 BPIS, BIS, BVIS with judge Leana Evans

Asha after winning her class

Oh Junior!

It's not just "Blanik GSD's" who love yogurt in our house

even if some wear as much as they eat!!!

Another Video

This morning was rough and I decided to be lazy .. with the rain easing I opted to brave the wind and go out with the troops this afternoon. My word it was bluster and I fully expected to be the only idiot out walking, it was not to be. I decided on short walks along the bottom tack, there is always a little shelter from the wind there. On my first walk I saw a gentleman from the village walking, we exchanged pleasantries and he told me he was walking cross country to Waunfawr (but not with his geese today!) .. I've never done that walk though I have been to the edge of the forest. 

On the second walk I could see a man weaving from path to path but luckily he kept away from us. As I got back to the van and set off to pick up the last lot Rachel arrived with her clan and I decided I would not go back there for the third walk. With my legs aching I wanted a reasonably flat walk which is hard up Moel Tryfan, and also the wind was that strong that I struggled to walk into it, hence the heavy breathing on the video. Again I had left the camera at home, but I just had to film this .. and take a couple of photos. Honestly I was glad Rachel and her Vizsla's had gone onto the bottom track as despite the wind we had a super time on Moel Tryfan and in the shooting range. I just love watching them having so much fun .. Kaiah of course in the lead .. Ross was that excited he dropped his kong, but we did find it before coming home. 

The Fourth Day For Loki

Loki's pattern has been to have diarrhea every 4th day, so if he had it on Tuesday ... he would then have 3 normal days followed by diarrhea. He had it on Saturday but the vets would not accept a sample on a Saturday, it needs to be "fresh" for sending to the lab for analysis. Having been reading online I decided on Saturday to get a bottle of panacur and give him 20ml a day as it is a successful treatment for Giardia. Most dogs become infected with the parasite by drinking water contaminated with feces, as we know  these are in every puddle and ditch. Giardia infects the small intestine, and infected dogs pass microscopic cysts in their stool. Giardia is a very common cause of pet diarrhea in the United States and reasonably common in the UK. Should this treatment be successful I will need to keep a close eye on the others for any loose stools as it can carry from one to the other through the cysts passed in the stools.
Anyway, today is the fourth day and Loki has a normal stool. Of course I don't know if Loki had/has giardia, but as I couldn't get the sample tested on Saturday it gave me a chance to eliminate something else from the equation. The panacur finishes today and now it's a case of wait and see. Because of previous experiences with other dogs, I just can't get optimistic yet ...

Kiri Mctavish From Scotland

Nothing I can say!

No Camera today

I had decided not to bother with dog photos today, but when you see the sky looking like this you are glad you have a smart phone in your pocket ..

PS Health Warning ... This photo does contain dogs, well bitches!!!

I am often amused as I set off on my walks when Steve says, "Try and bring them home dry." He really doesn't understand the difficulty of his request. The mountain is scattered in ditches and puddles, and of course each generation learns from the other exactly where they are. Ziva, like Kiri before her likes to lie in puddles, ditches and lakes, though I must admit she doesn't quite wade in mud like Kiri did. Now I'll have to find the Kiri photos again ... 

Anyway out came the smart phone for a second time ... 

And then for the third time, this time I flicked the video on. Watch out for Kaiah leaping into my face. She ran away laughing and singing "I'm funny as feck!" 

Changing Weather And Walks

People often comment that they don't understand why, when I have all this around me that I often feel the need to put the dogs in the van and go elsewhere. Whilst this is just wonderful I also love the lakes, rivers and woodlands that are on my doorstep. I love to see it all, and so do the dogs. I'm not really a beach lover, never have been but I don't mind going occasionally out of season.  I'm so blessed to live in rural Snowdonia and have so many places to explore and revisit. 

At home today my walks where a blustery mixture of sunshine, showers and hail. Though I got a battering on my way back on the last walk it was nothing that wellies and waterproofs couldn't cope with. Talking of rain, at 2am last night, was that not the heaviest shower I've ever heard?  It sounded like someone was emptying  skip loads of water on the bedroom roof ... and was that not the loudest clap of thunder ever? I sat up in bed an involuntarily came out with "Fucking hell!" I'm honestly sure I've never heard thunder that loud before. So the rain continues ... I think Mother nature is making up for those 4 dry months of Spring and Summer now. 

The Tabby Gang - Edited Post

Don't you just love them

Junior, Jamie and Choo.

And the grey/silver stripy cat

Perry

We've been out for a cuppa and cake with friends in our new village cafe and came back to the tabbys still squashed on one chair. I think one young man is taking more than his allocated space though!!!