Meeting The Pups

Mr Blue - beautiful Long Coat male 

Mr Orange - absolutely stunning short-coat boy, really chunky with a thick coat. The photo does him no justice. 

Mr Green - another very "coated" short coat. Smaller than Mr Orange, but currently constructionally very pleasing. 

Miss Purple – a stunning long-coat female who, much like her mum, will be a glorious colour. 

Miss Pink - well what can I say? A stunning short-coat female with slightly less coat than her short-coat siblings. Maybe her colour is also a less deep tan than her sister, but her attitude and movement continually caught my eye. Already she seems to have a very coordinated gait. 

Of course it's too early to pick a puppy, but if I had to, today – it would be her!  

A Walk With Three

A lovely walk with the two girls and Ross this morning. I know I seem to start off on this path often, but I keep finding other little circuits I can do off the main track. Again, I didn't see anyone, and we had a nice hour out. 

Getting There

 Well it arrived – after initially saying they could not deliver as we were too far, the previous owners kindly bought it here for us, and along with Frank and Linda, helped us get it into the pen. It's a cozy pet kennel, and obviously only here for emergencies in the new pen. We all agreed that this was the right spot for it, anywhere else simply made it a stepping stone for someone to get out! 

Royal Cheshire Show

The Royal Cheshire Show yesterday reminded me of what dog shows are all about. OMG we had so much fun. Within our bunch of friends there was no bitchiness, no bad atmosphere and no one spitting their dummy out because they didn't win. Of course that went on, but not in our lovely group! 

A little dampener on the day was hearing about people's behaviour at other shows. Well, I'm not shocked, just disappointed that people can behave in such a selfish, childish way. You know I tend to see the good in people, and I hope the good in them shines, but sometimes they let themselves down, and it's a reminder for me of keeping the boundaries that I have set in place! It's a shame really, as they reasonably new to the game and as word gets about, they're making themselves very unpopular. 

As you can see, Meerah was totally out of coat, but look at it this way, nothing to hide here, is there? There is so much to like about her, I just wish she had less second thigh and that she wasn't so bloody tall, but all in all it's a pleasing picture that will only continue to improve. She hammered it around that ring yesterday. My word, I knew she could move, but I didn't realise she could go that fast! 

Owen had handled Orin once before in a challenge, but yesterday he took him in the class. Wow, it was amazing to watch. I know Orin knows the job, but the two of them did so well together. Owens' long legs were indeed a match for Orin's power and speed. I just wish it had been recorded - Owen came out of the ring simply buzzing and begging to handle him again. He posted on the club chat "1st Place in graduate class with beautiful Meerah and 3rd Place in the open class with handsome Orin 🥰. We are Super proud of the dogs performance in the ring… I felt like our star of the day was Orin. he made my day. It’s days like these that make it all worth it… the time I shared in that ring with Orin made the day so special. He went round that ring like a dream with me, he never put a paw wrong, and I improved on my show handling. A great day for us ❤️."  

Yes of course you can handle him again Owen.

Stretching Our Legs

Cheshire Show Today

Orin was 3rd in open

Meerah stood alone in her class. 

With no one to handle her, Beti had a day out! 

Getting There

The pen is coming along well. The two bottom photos show where we started and where we are now! I had to include the top photo because Meerah made me laugh. Because water stands for so long where the pen is, we had to do a raised floor, like we did in the big pen. So after levelling it out, we used pallets and then covered them in the rubber mats. Still a fair few bits to do, but we'll get there! 

Pups Are Three Weeks

Green, Orange and Blue boys

Purple and Pink 

At the moment, Green looks like Orin did at the same age. Pink and blue are very typical of Blanik pups. Purple maybe looks a little bit like Siska's sister did, but Orange is not a "Face" I've seen here in the nest. Maybe his lighter forehead (As in less black not pale) is what looks different. I'm only looking at photos, and a puppy cannot be chosen from a photo or a head, but pink absolutely melts my heart here. I see Sammi, Kaiah, Siska and Beti there, a round face with soft features ... 

A Get Away To Minffordd

A nice walk in Minffordd mid-morning after making myself a little unpopular with my mum. Well, the medical profession says she needs to move more. Ok I only managed to get her to walk the length of two houses, but she did it! The girls and I had about 40 mins out, them sniffing, mooching and enjoying themselves whilst I got my head together before going back to make Mum lunch. 

I came home and with some assistance from Ross I levelled out the ground in the pen. Stupidly I tried to move one of the pallets by myself, being 6ft x 4ft of hardwood, I didn't get very far. Now I wonder how the hell we'll get them into the pen! 😔

Seasons, Pens And Memories

 Last night I dreamt about Phil and Rita Corcoran. It's funny how the mind plays these games with us isn't it? I've not seen them for 10 years, they were one of the few people who came to visit me at Walton hospital. I worked for them at the Ozanam Centre in the late nineties; they were/are just lovely people, always kind, considerate and thoughtful. The kind of people I'd like to hope I've aspired to be. (but without the religion!) Phil greeted me every morning with "Bore da cariad", and my cup of tea was ready on the table for me. He never knew, but every morning I threw it away and made a fresh one, he'd made it 10 minutes earlier when he'd been in to put the ovens on for me and it was really stewed. After working there for 9 years, going to work for Lesley was indeed a shock, a total contrast; she is a very volatile person, and the explosions were regular and ferocious. There was more chance of getting a cuppa thrown at me than made for me at Freshfields, LOL. I'm really not good at dealing with people like that and there were a few times that I almost walked away; many others did, but it's not in my nature to give up on people, though I do find that sometimes for self-preservation I have to change the boundaries. In Welsh we have a saying,  "Wrth gicio a brathu mae cariad yn magu"- Whilst kicking and biting, love develops, and yeah, the friendship and trust did grow as well as the admiration for a person totally dedicated to saving all the animals. She once said, and it's stuck with me, "don't feel sorry for the animals in rescue, feel sorry for the ones who didn't get there! 

I have jack shit idea what's going on with Meerah. Orin left half his breakfast, and I certainly won't be walking her and Zeus together after today. The boy had ideas above his station, and Sammi was livid about it all. It was so funny to watch, "No sex on my watch!" Meerah and Sammi love to play chase in the field, Sammi gives up a lot sooner than she used to but still enjoys giving it a good go! 

Orin and Siska are now playing naughty games. She is not showing any outward sign of coming in season, but Orin either knows differently or he's getting confused by Meerah's season. Siska looks great, her coat is in full bloom, but her seasons are always unpredictable, so all I can do is watch and wait. Reno is back in France, but to be honest, with other plans for Blanik, leaving Siska till her next season for her second litter would possibly be wiser!

We've progressed with the pen. I spent part of the morning clearing it out. A little bit of an emotional moment when I found one of Kai's toys under the rubbish. One of those "indestructible" toys that was ripped to shreds! He was just a star, bigger, louder and more annoying than Ross. 😄 

This afternoon Steve came with me to Anglesey to pick up some mesh panels to finish the pen. It was the furthest he'd been in a very long time, and he's suffering for it, so I doubt he'll be able to visit the pups with me next Friday, unless he thinks he can travel better in the car of course! Anyway, what a place! Wow, the guy said everything is for sale here apart from the wife and dog! I have no doubts; if I need something again, I'll message Alan!