Changes

There are some changes afoot here today. Though I let Orin and Siska out together first thing, when I took them out again after their breakfast had settled there was some definite flirting going on. This morning is the first time that Siska has tried to get Orin's attention, but he is still far more interested in Beti! Still I didn't feel safe putting them in the pen together, with her flirting and standing, and him already wound up because of Beti's crescendo I don't think he would take much convincing!!

Beti has been quite desperate to get herself a man, even trying to climb onto the coal bunker to get to Orin who was temporally in the small pen. She has also been trying to get to Zeus, and even resorted to Ross this morning, he replied, "No, you're alright I've got my kong!" 

Siska has a blood test tomorrow at 9 am ... wish me luck for a busy weekend ahead! 

Everyone Still Together

Orin and Siska - Yes, still together!

If she is now progressing normally, and I've worked it out correctly, then by tomorrow evening she'll be between 8 and 9 nmol/L, so I've put the test forward to Thursday morning with the hope it will put her somewhere around 12 - 15.nmol/L. If that is the case then she'll be set to ovulate on Friday and Sunday would be ideal for mating ... but of course it does seem that Siska is writing her own rules!

Sammi, Zeus and Meerah

I so wish I had someone with me in the field on days like today, someone to point the phone at Sammi and video her playing with Meerah. WOW, the old lady can't half shift. I can't do it myself as I'm hanging on to knob head!!!!

Beti and Ross

My pair of lovable loonies always make me smile. 💗

Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Live At The 02 Arena, London / 2018)

Today I say goodbye to Dave for the last time. 

I want to post this memory from the 02 Arena, 3 Oct 2018. It was the first time we’d performed in nearly 17 years and it was meant to be the last... as it turned out it wasn’t to be and I'm glad it wasn't because we still had some more to do, we just didn't realise it at the time. 

I picked this memory because I think it was probably our most emotional and arguably our greatest moment. In an Arena show where there are bells and whistles, smoke and mirrors, lights, visuals, singers and added players, I felt the last moment should come down to just me and Dave, how we started, a singer and a synth player that set a blueprint for other British bands that came after. Such a nice and simple combination. Like a cabaret duo on a sea front promenade pub or bar singing current hits and standards with a bontempi organ and an over reverbed mic.

 I went and stood next to Dave so the cameras could get the money shot and the focus would just be on the pair of us. The Arena lit up with phones, over 20,000 people singing along, it was a magic moment and what it’d all been about in the first place.

Goodbye Dave and thank you, Soft Cell was yours, I was just the singer 🎤 🎹 ❤️

Marc Almond 

Back On The Mountain

With everyone back in, fed and watered, I was back in bed by 7.25am. A lovely cuppa and some Facebook snooping time before snuggling back under the duvet till Steve woke up. My God, somehow it was 9am - shit, where did that time go? Within minutes the phone rang, Katrina .. OMG, don't tell her I'm in bed, what will she think!!! 😏

Anyway, she had been thinking since I messaged her yesterday, and just had to let me know today; when she mated Anna to Zique a year or so ago she tested her on a Tuesday and the result was 1.1nmol/L, she re-tested on the Friday and it was up to 11.8nmol/L and by Sunday, the day of mating it was 45.9nmol/L. Oh bloody hell, now she did go up quickly, I wonder if I should change my Wednesday test to Tuesday? Once she gets going Siska usually doubles every 36 hrs or so meaning that by Wednesday AM she should be around 6.6nmol/L, I think I'll leave it till Wednesday unless Orin tells me otherwise.

Beti is behaving like the slapper of the house, she's desperate to get to Orin or Zeus, either will do but of course Ross now is of no interest for anything other than to play in puddles and chase the kong. I need to get him a new aqua kong, the black one sinks and was almost lost again today. 

I love the photo of Beti in the rays of the sun, just a lucky moment in time and a photo to treasure. I know some people think I'm nuts with all the photos I take, but it's the photos I didn't take that I regret, never the ones I took! Anyway, I don't have to explain myself to anyone, I can take as many photos as I like and post them all on my Facebook page. 

I walked everyone on the mountain today, it was great to see the guys excited to be back there. I guess the break has done us all good as we'd all got a little bored with the same old, though my main reason for staying away was the cattle. Just glad they were not there today. 

Everyone On Home Ground Today

Blanik Liszka - Test 3

 I love this photo of Siska - isn't she just stunning in her full coat, and I see more of her mother in her these days. 

Anyway, the results for test 3 left me speechless, 1.1 nmol'L. Come on Siska these tests are costing me a fortune, this is day 17, and she had ovulated by day 17 last time. Ok the benefit now is that I can get to our two appointments this week, I'm not going to retest till Wednesday, and just hope that by then she's over 7nmol/L and we can at least pinpoint when she'll be ready for mating! Whilst I am putting my faith in the science and not the tradition of mating around day 14, Orin is also confirming that Siska is of little interest at the moment - Beti on the other hand? Well yeah she's stunning to him!

Gyrn Goch with Orin and Siska

Nursery Tremadog

After a very long morning at the doctors' surgery with Mum, I was only too glad of a quick walk in the nursery with Orin and Siska. Because of the time, I was rushing round the woodland of my childhood,  but I thought, sod it, relax, enjoy it, look at the surrounding beauty! 

Then There Was Three

Orin and Siska had run in the field early and another after I'd finished the other walks, but with no one left to walk with Ross I decided to give him some one to one time on the mountain. I thought he'd love it, Loki used to, but sadly Ross didn't, he seemed lost and kept looking back waiting for the girls. 

Look at that sky!

Two Walks In The Same Place

Lesson of the day, get Meerah out of the van before Beti. 

 Naughty Meerah! LOL 

A Wintry Morning

How Did That Happen

Well, I didn't expect that this morning! I had been telling Steve since the summer that this frame, gateway, was no longer safe only to be reassured that "it's not going anywhere!" Well, never underestimate the power of the wind in Fron! Mind you, I was glad to hear from Ian that everything had been thrown all over their garden in Caernarfon too. Odd thing was, they didn't hear it no more than we did! 

At 7am this morning Orin was howling, he also left his breakfast. I'm really unsure what's going on with Siska, but after doing some research, it's not a split season, more likely she's just a bit slow starting. I think Beti, who started later, is progressing quicker and that is confusing Orin. 

Anyway back to this morning, I let Zeus and Sammi out, they came in for breakfast, proving I'm not observant at that time of day, I then let Ross, Beti and Meerah out. Ross and Beti came in, "Meerah, Meerah, where are you?" I went out in my dressing gown, OMG it was cold and there was no Meerah. I called again, and she came bouncing happily from the gable end of the cottage ... "woohoo I've been down there!" But what a good girl for coming back. I trusted Orin and Siska to go out and not disappear ... they came in for breakfast  ... and the realisation of where Zeus could have gone dawned on me! He always goes back out after breakfast, hell no, he'd be gone, but then I had a "cunning plan" and I tied him to the bench on the long line. Of course you know exactly where he was when I went to get him back in! I guess I've won the first battle of Winter (and it's only Autumn) but there's no doubt as the winds increase Zeus and I will have a few more run-ins! (No Bob the builder hasn't been, the second photo is from a few weeks ago!)

Test 2

Well my head is well and truly cabbaged, though Orin is now taking more notice of Siska, the test result was 0.6. So basically she still hasn't started to rise. Maybe Beti being in season is confusing Orin, because without doubt he's more interested in her than he was. I had noted that Siska was bleeding very little and not very swollen. Looking back to March, I had "Day 1" as the 2nd of March, but "Orin not eating" on the 26th of March ... so that was a very long time from the first spots to what I would say was ovulation.  Now with the appointments moved to next week and the following week, life will become more difficult, but I can't miss this, I really can't.

I Have A Question

The chat topic on one of the Facebook breed pages for this week ... "KC Breed Shows, KC All Breeds and Regionals. Why do we enter, why do we not?" 

To be honest, I haven't answered, I'd have too much to say, but I have been amused by some of the comments. Some people believe it's their way or the highway. I think we are lucky to have the options to enter different types of shows, an option not available in other breeds, different ways of showing suit different types of dogs, and to be honest I'm offended that some people believe our dogs are inferior because we chose not to enter regionals. For instance, they are not suitable for Siska, can you imagine her at a Regional? "You want me to go round again? Well, you can F.Off!!" Beti, on the other hand, has the exuberance to do it, that doesn't mean that Beti is a better bitch than Siska does it?  Of course, Beti can't compete at Regionals because of her shit elbow, I get that as they are run to promote breeding stock not just show dogs, but of course I'm still disappointed about it! 

Sadly, I do think the Regionals are digging their own graves with the never ending rules and rule changes. Orin has all his health tests, yet he can't go because he can't get a Breed Survey because I did his health tests with Animal Genetics and not Laboklin. (As I have done with all my other dogs) How pathetic is that? More insulting is that the quality dogs in this country can't get a "V" grading (Excellent) without working qualifications, they can only get S.G (Very Good). A matter raised on the chat is that the UK are picking and choosing what rules they want to follow, if they were to totally follow the WUSV rules then breeding between both coat varieties and the exhibition of this progeny would not be permissible, and in my opinion that would destroy the LSH who already have significant abnormalities that rarely occur in SH dogs. Being able to breed both coat varieties to each other can only help the breed, particularly the LSH long term. 

Let's go back to the beginning, over the years I've exhibited at Exemptions shows (Now called Companion Shows), Limit, Open and Premier shows, Breed Champs, All breed and group champs shows as well as regionals. I've enjoyed shows in all the criteria, and I've had some disappointing days in all the criteria too. In "the good old days" Breed Champ were run in a very similar way to the current Regionals, yes they were KC licensed, but there were grading cards, foreign judges and lovely prizes. It's amusing to hear that some people think they "invented" this style of showing in the UK, sorry we've all being doing it since forever. (LOL)

So which style of showing do I currently enjoy the most? Well probably, the General Champ shows, and I've done Breed Champ, Regionals and Generals this year. I would love to have my options open to do all three depending on the judges, sadly that's not possible for me. The Generals suit my current show team, and that's where my buddies of old hang out, that is also very important to me, it's a day out at a dog show, and my friends are such an important part of that. 

Just to finish, all I'd say is that we should all enjoy our dogs and the activity we chose to do with them. We should also support each other in our chosen dog sport and stop making derogatory remarks about others and their choices. What's right for me is not right for you and vice versa .. but OMG I did giggle at someone slating the General Champs when they have accepted a judging appointment at one next year.

Photos - 

1 - Blade at an open show

2 - Kai at a breed Champ show

3 - Mikey after winning his class at a General Champ

4 - Beti at a breed Champ.

5 - A young Orin at a Regional

Cattle In Carmel

I parked by the entrance onto the bridal path in Carmel, leaving Orin and Siska in the van, I set off on the first circuit with Beti and Ross. The sun was low and bright, and it was bloody difficult to see ahead, but hell I trust them both so they were off the lead as soon as we went over the bridge. The stream was wild and the track flooded, who cares when you have the right clothes and footwear eh? We have a lovely walk .. the old knee struggling just a little on the down hill stretch, anyway, back to the van to swap dogs. 

I had decided to start off on the same track but go left with Orin and Siska and come out by Capel Y Bryn. Both routes are about the same distance with plenty of freedom and some road walking. After crossing the bridge and going onto the first left turn I saw an over grown track that I'd wanted to attempt had been cut back, it took no more than a minute to get to the gate, and about the same amount of time to open it! There was a lot of noise from the cattle, Oh hell I was safe here, they must be in fields somewhere. Then I saw the Alpaca starting to look very spooked, Orin and Siska stopped walking and looked behind them ... the cattle were getting louder, and momentarily I wondered if there were horses galloping up the track. Then all of a sudden I saw a black and white cow tearing up the track, the very track I'd been walking minutes ago. Shit, there was a lot of noise, but being uncomfortable as I am in their company, I stayed hidden behind the gate. Ok so now there was no choice, we had to stay on this path and see where we'd come out!

I followed the freshly cut path until I got here .. Hmm nope they were not coming over and there was no way I could lift a 42kg Orin over it! They both tried taking their front feet up as high as they could but forgot about their back feet .. Blaniks need to learn how to go over stiles! To be honest, it was such a mess over the other side that maybe it was best we didn't try, but how sad another cottage left to rack and ruin in another lovely location! 

The problem now was that if I went back, where were the cattle? But there was no choice, I had to go back. After getting through the new gate I sneaked quietly along the edges of the track ... I couldn't see any cattle anywhere, but hell, I was scared. I managed to get to the next gate and through it, relief, no cattle but there had been plenty of fresh shit! After going through that gate I knew I was safe, but I couldn't help but wonder what had spooked them that they came running up a footpath like that, even crossing that narrow wooden bridge? I always felt safe from them on this footpath ... now I'll be more wary! 

Walking Those Carmel Circuits

Walking In Penygroes/Llanllyfni

Sammi and Zeus

Beti and Meerah 

On My Own

I've hidden nothing from Steve about my forthcoming plans for Blanik. He may not be dancing for joy, but he's giving me full support for the mating and hopefully another Siska daughter in the pack. I've involved him in my choice of stud dog, discussing my reasons for my choice, like I said I have his full support ... but now he's realised that I'm taking Siska to Merthyr Tidfyl alone, well he's not amused with me. I've explained to him that I have no choice, my friends all have something else going on, and I've accepted the fact that if I don't go alone I won't be going. He suggested I leave it till her next season so I'd have company for the journey, sorry that is not happening! To be honest, I'm not that concerned about it, If I've learned something about myself this year, then I've learned that when needs be I have the strength to do things on my own! 

Test One And Round One

Following yesterday's storm, I'd read that there were road closers due to flooding and fallen trees. I set off for the vet 10 mins earlier than normal, and with no difficulties got there 10 minutes earlier than my appointment! With no one else waiting we were straight in, bloods taken and out again. Whilst on our walk the vet rang with the results, as predicted by Orin, Siska was very low, 0.8nmol/L, the vet suggested I re-test her on Tuesday. With Steve back at the hospital on Tuesday morning, I've made an appointment for mid-afternoon. 

Whilst standing at the counter at the vet waiting to pay, I was convinced a French Bulldog behind me was growing at Siska, but she took no notice. Eventually I looked round and had a proper look, no he wasn't growling, just breathing. How terribly sad, and no I'm not a hater of brachycephalic breeds, I particularly love Frenchies, but just the colour of this one proved he was badly bred, like looking at an "Isabella" GSD. (Google it - if you must!) In my opinion, bred for a colour that is not in the standard, to make money, without consideration for health and welfare!

Anyway I weighed Siska, she is 33kg, I think she looks spot on. I also weighed Orin, he was 42.4kg, so yeah I was right to cut his food back a touch, though I guess he's only a kg, two at most too heavy. 

Back to Siska - Her first test when she was mated to Lucca was on day 11, that too was low and was 0.9nmol/L. Her second test was on day 14 and was 5.1nmol/L and the third test was on day 17 and was 23nmol/L. She was mated that day, and the following day. Her second test will again be on day 14 this time ... and she may have to have another on day 16. The next 2 tests will dictate when we go for the mating/s. Mum has a Doctor's appointment at 10.15am on Friday and there is only me that can take her, so that could alter my plans and decisions too. Early indications are that Siska will be ready for mating, Friday - Monday, and depending on her results over the week I will make a decision to take her once or twice. Once during the optimal fertilisation period should be ideal ... but like I said, I'll read the numbers, ask Orin and make the decision myself on what works for the best for everyone. 

On the way back from the vets we had a very disappointing walk in Bont Fechan. We stepped over the first tree that was across the path - but I just couldn't see a safe way past this second one! Ah well, back we went and then just 10 mins along the old road! I saw a lady with a couple of whippets wearing woolly jumpers, she told the path had been closed for weeks and no one had done anything about it. I wish I'd thought to ask if anyone had reported it? It's not my playground, so I'll leave them to it. 

I then popped to Mum's for an hour and got home in time for a sandwich before going to the hospital with Steve for the first in what seems like an endless list of medical appointments over the next month or so!