Weeding the Garden....

Tilly is seven weeks pregnant today (to her first mating) and we decided that it might be nice if she came and spent a quiet afternoon with us weeding the front garden. Of course she was not amused since she expected to be going off for a run and since there are hare and partridge around, not to mention the sheep on the other side of the hedge - we had to be vigilent just in case she decided to sneek off and do herself some damage. As it was, other than Tilly stalking a hornet, it was Fergus who took himself off for a jolly when we took our eyes off him for two minutes to welcome visitors....

Wales July 2011

Today Gary, myself and Megan returned from a short break away on the Welsh Coast.
We went there on Friday with Tilly and Winnie - we always take a couple of the dogs, taking them all would not be feasible - but Tilly and Winnie were the lucky ones for the second time running this year, since Tilly is expecting puppies and we felt that she would be stressed out by being left behind albeit that she would be at home being looked after by our grown up children and having the company of our other dogs.
We have had a wonderful time with glorious weather. Lazy mornings, and sunny days punctuated with strolls through the dunes and along the beach. Gary is pictured above with Winnie, the picture was taken one evening on the path above our caravan site, just as the sun was setting and Gary and I were there enjoying a drink as the sun set. Both Tilly and Winnie have loved paddling in the sea and running up and down the beach but Tilly - who is now almost seven weeks pregnant and just over two weeks to go until her puppies arrive - has paced herself, although not in her eating habits! Over the last week she has definitely grown and although she was still happy to play, for the most part was also happy to just mooch around and sleep on our bed. Needless to say, whilst I have thoroughly enjoyed our break it will be good to get back into a full sized double bed, since me, Gary and a very pregnant Tilly in a static caravan sized bed was a tight squeeze !!!

Tilly... five weeks and counting

Well Tilly is five weeks to her first mating today and blossoming. She is such a happy little girl and thoroughly enjoying all the attention (and extra food) that she is getting. She is very quiet and contented but happy to come and roll onto her back and show you her 'babies' when asked - a trick that she obviously remembers from her first pregnancy.
The general consensus is that you should not increase a bitches food when they are first in whelp but someone recently said to me that 'they haven't read the text books' and act on instinct and I totally agree. So we have reached a compromise and only slightly increased what we are feeding Tilly but have increased the highly nutritious foods like fish and eggs. Whilst she is still ravenous we have noticed over the last few days that instead of tucking in as she usually would, she is hesitating and sniffing her food before eating. Needless to say very soon she will be telling us what she does and does not want.
Anyway, Gary and I are so excited about having a new edition to the family. Gary has already picked a name should he keep a little boy... Fraggle, after the childrens program Fraggle Rock. So since we like to give each new litter a new theme in respect of their names - this litter is going to be named after favourite childrens programs or characters.
We have updated our website with pictures and details of this litter and in particular images of Bruno which we hope you will enjoy.

Tilly is Expecting Puppies!

Tonight we took Tilly along to the vets to confirm whether or not she was pregnant. To be honest, for me it was a mere formality prior to making the public announcement since I have thought from about a week after mating that she was 'with child' since she seemed very pleased with herself - like the cat that got the cream - but was also ravenous all of the time.
We have mated Tilly to Mandy and Robert Geary's handsome young male Bruno, Germanus Guardian JW (AI) - both Tilly and Bruno are fully health tested and puppies are due on or around 13 August.
Having puppies in the Craig household is a really big event and we are all very excited, not least of all Gary who is keen for a puppy of his own to train and work.
We will update both our blog and website with pictures, pedigree and further details over the next few days.

GWPC Championship Dog Show 2011

Today I attended the German Wirehaired Pointer Club Champ show at the Tomlinsons Canine Centre In Leicestershire. It's a cracking venue for such an event and the weather was glorious too, just to add to the enjoyment of the day. Unfortunately, I missed the 'closing date' so I was unable to enter any dogs myself but went along anyway, since I have recently rejoined the German Wirehaired Pointer Club as Membership Secretary and needed to collect the necessary paperwork from the resigning secretary.
I travelled with friend and fellow enthusiast Tracy Cartwright (Mikicin) and after Tracy hurt her leg, handled her two dogs - Candy (NL Ch Tum Tum Tracy V D Josephine Hoeve (IMP NL) and Oscar (Mikicin Mischief Maker)to win not only their classes in the 'Specials' but their 'Breed' classes too.
Despite all the turbulence of recent weeks, it was lovely to be at a show again and meeting up with old friends.

Wales June 2011

This week, Gary and I trotted off to the Welsh Coast for a few days with a couple of the dogs but strangely, no children. They are all getting to the age now where going away to Wales with mom and dad really doesn't hold any appeal. Funny though how going away with two dogs feels very much like going away with two kids... we took Tilly, who just can't wait to play with any child who wanders her way and if they have a ball, all the better and Winnie who thoroughly enjoyed her romps through the dunes, not to mention chasing the little birds on the sand and paddling in the sea - then she is only two and Tilly is far too 'grown up' to chase birds and paddle!
We took a short hike into the Welsh hills - it was extremely hot and but for the breeze would have been way too hot for such a jaunt but the views from the top were breath taking - Barmouth and Porthmadog to the right and Tywyn to the left and behind uplands that felt like you were at the top of the world. We even came across the ruins of an old farm house that should Gary and I ever come up on the 'big one' on the Lottery, would be our next venture as we would both love to live in such a remote location with such phenomenal views.

Nutrition, Health & Behaviour: The Connection

Today I had the pleasure of attending the UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists' (UKRCB's) seminar 'Nutrition, Health & Behaviour: The Connection', the guest speaker at which was Wendy Volhard who is the author of the book The Holistic Guide For a Healthy Dog. I was the guest of Brigitte Barton who is herself a Canine Behaviourist and recently discovered the benefits of feeding a raw diet.
As the title suggests, the talk was about the relationship between nutrition, health and behaviour in the dog and highlighted how important a good (raw) diet combined with plenty of socialisation, exercise, breed specific pursuits and a stress-free environment are on the health and mental stability of our dogs. Common sense you may think? Not to some lazy dog owners who are content to feed a poor diet and allow their dogs to be couch-potatoes with little or no exercise or mental stimulation and then wonder why they have sickly dogs with behavioural problems.
I am a committed 'raw feeder' but still consider that I have a lot to learn on the subject and therefore welcome the opportunity to attend seminars like the one today, especially when the speaker is someone as knowledgible and dedicated as Wendy.