Hunting Training Day on Partridge

Following on from the lecture yesterday, today I took Winnie and Coco on a Hunting Training Day being run by Chris and Peter Guest (Bardantop) on super ground just outside of Evesham, hunting partridge. Gary was unable to attend as he was off doing 'boys stuff' in Spain.
The weather started off clear and fresh but by early afternoon the dreaded weather front had set in and the day was cut short as dogs and handlers were cold and wet through.
A thoroughly enjoyable day. No points as the birds were wily after surviving the shooting season but I had two smashing runs with Coco (face wind and back wind) and a not so successful run of a cheek wind with Winnie who of course has had a season working shoots with Gary and was not so pleased with the change of handler.
Great to watch all the dogs that were training - there is a lot to be said for watching other dogs working and thrilled that Ian and Jayne brought Louie along, together with Gail with Isla.

Canine Nutrition, Hypothyroidism and Vaccination for the 21st Century with Nick Thompson

This weekend my friend and business partner and I attended the above seminar, the speaker at which was Nick Thompson a vet of over 22 years who specialises in homeopathy, acupuncture, nutrition and herbal medicine. Nick was a very entertaining speaker and certainly gave us all food for thought.
The talk covered - an introduction to raw feeding, hypothyroidism, behaviour, epilepsy and chronic disease and finally vaccinations.
Over the years Lisa and I have been very lucky to have attended several lectures and seminars given by some very notable (often world renowned) specialists including -
* Jean Dodds who is considered to be one of the foremost experts in pet healthcare and a specialist in canine hypothyroidism.
* Christopher Day - over 40 years experience, Chris Day specialises in herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, holistic/alternative/ complimentary and natural remedies.
* Wendy Volhard - over 35 years experience in working with dogs, training, nutrition, health and behaviour.
* Catherine O'Driscoll founder of Canine Health Concern.
I would like to think that my dogs' lives have been enriched by all the knowledge that these experts have imparted.

Week Away in Pembrokeshire

Early February and following on from the end of the shooting season, we took a week away with friends Ian and Jayne and the three dogs Winnie, Louie and Coco and went to Newport in Pembrokeshire. We booked a cottage with Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire and would certainly highly recommend anyone using them to book holiday accommodation as we were thrilled with our cottage, which had a definite wow factor - nothing was lacking and the proximity to the beach and town was perfect. The icing on the cake was discovering the local dog friendly pub The Castle Inn where the locals made us feel very much at home and the food was fabulous - our party voted their home made burgers, steak and sticky toffee pudding the 'best ever' and their Sunday carvery was in my daughters opinion the 'best Sunday lunch' she had ever had :-)
The weather was kind to us, not a drop of rain until our departure and the beach was just the best place to run and swim the dogs. Definitely intend to go back there in the future.