PERRANFELL

Beep & Kes go on tour

2011-05-06T20:39:00.007+01:00

Whilst Miya, Fen and Zip were all winning trophies at the Easter agility show, my Mum and I took a weeks holiday in the Yorkshire Dales.

We had fantastic weather and meet some lovely people.

We spent a day in the lakes taking in some of the mountains that Nige and I had climbed in our youth! Scafell, Langdale and he Old man :O)

We spent the rest of the week in Teesdale visiting Eggerton Hall meeting the lady off of Laddette to Lady, mum was very impressed. We also went to Richmond on the Hill, took me back to my army days as I was based just up the road at Catterick for a short time.

Mum, Beep and Kes all taking a dip in the river

Beep being very brave!

A lovely walk along the river at Walton bridge

Chillin' in the garden

Sleepy puppy :O)

Beep at High Force, only one fall flowing but still breath taking

A walk up the lane above Dalton village, fantastic views from the top

The view across Wastwater (England's deepest lake) towards Wasdale head

Wasdale head is a special place, my favorite spot in all England :O)

Mum having a paddle, I don't think she thought it was going to be THAT cold :O)

Kipper at 4 weeks

2011-02-15T21:09:00.005Z

Here are the lovely Kizzy / Zip pups, now 4 weeks old and are looking gorgeous!

5 lovely boys and 2 lovely girls xx

Introducing Beep

2011-02-04T23:23:00.007Z

Meet Beep!

Our latest addition at Perranfell is Borderspirit Amazing Grace. She is the daugher of Ella (Nedlo Daybreak) and Tigger (Harrjak Tigger)

On the long way home to Cornwall

Stopping off for a play at Granny's

Checking out the new toys

Her new favorite place!

At 9 weeks

Her first PocketSheepSkin, had to be pink!

A rare moment sitting still!

I love those white toes :O)

Helping out in the sewing room

Watching the waves crash in at Porthleven

New year, new beginnings

2011-02-04T21:14:00.020Z

I know its a bit late for a new year post but its been a bit hectic here.

2010 was officially one of our worst years on record. Losing Morley Brown, my dad since I was 5 years old, was very sad and helping mum come to terms with it was extremely harder. We still miss him greatly.

We had put all our hopes into a repeat mate of Kes and Fen's litter. We had hoped for Christmas puppies to raise our spirits but sadly it wasn't to be. We have now retired Fen from stud. He has produced lots of wonderful puppies. Puppies we are very proud of, these include our Zip who we hope will carry on from Fen.

New Beginnings

We are very proud to announce the arrival on 18th January of our first 2nd generation of Perranfell's. Zip became the proud dad of 7 black and white puppies, 5 boys and 2 girls.

The beautiful mum is the lovely Kizzy (Ag Ch Darleyfalls Dark Secret).

Kizzy is owned and handled by Linda Hutchinson. They have had a fantastic agility career to date, including competing in the novice at Olympia, becoming an Agility Champion, making the European Open team in Czech Republic and then the team for the world team in Germany.

Kizzy with her lovely pups at one week old.

Growing so quickly, pups at two weeks.

Here they are

These pups are going to be stunning if they take after mum and dad :O)

Oh and fantastic super fast agility dogs :O)

Clever puppies

2010-07-24T21:00:00.001+01:00

We are very pleased to say that Kes & Fen pups Jink and TJ have both qualified for the novice CSJ final and Zip has qualified for the Alpha final. Well done every one :)

Wild puppy!!

2010-02-15T20:48:00.005Z

Its bedlam! He is every where!! He is bombing around the house scarying everyone. He is currently trying to pull the memory stick out of the laptop!

He seems all teeth at the moment and my hands are the proof. He needs his toe nails cutting but I'm just not brave enough! I try waiting until he is a sleep but by that time I'm shattered!

He loves anything that makes lots to noise, he's now chewing on a small plastic bottle.

He has also started to stalk, very cute watching him ambush the others in the garden.

He is 5 weeks in this photo, he is nearly as big as his mum!

Trying to get a drink but the bar is closing!!

These clips are of him playing "Its your choice" he has played it twice before and has soon got he idea, he is already offering different behaviour.

Offering a sit

Biting hard! Ouch!!

5 weeks!!

2010-02-13T21:26:00.005Z

I'm not sure where this last week has gone. Time is passing far to fast! Spinney has had lots of visitors this week and is loving all the attention.

Butter wouldn't melt

Thinking about it!

Such a cutie :O)

What IS it!!

Ahhh killing the cat tunnel :O)

and the camera!

I can't believe he leaves home in a week, we will miss him so much :O(

Playing with his activity centre

In the garden with Elwyn

Naughty puppy escaping from his pen!

Killing his oversized tennis ball

Playing rough with his mum, she is so soft on him, even when he bites her ears!!

I think Miya will also miss this little chap when he leaves home :O(

Wondering around the garden with Kes

Look at that fluffy little bear!

Here he comes!

Four weeks old!!

2010-02-06T18:38:00.003Z

He spends his evenings curled up with his mum :O)

....... and his days!! Bless

Wondering around the conservatory

Tucking in

Today I bought the PUPPY a cat tunnel, I think I have a NEW puppy!! Elwyn is so naughty :O)

Spinney had his first walk outside today

He took it all in his stride and didn't seem worried at all

He soon took off across the grass :O)

Killing the Bungeefur :O)

Spinney is playing with his new cat balls but is distracted by Zip and Elwyn who are falling out about who can stand on the pile of newspapers outside of the pen! He goes to see whats going on but finds a piece of paper on route and decides to kill that instead :O)

Spinney finally gets to play with his new tunnel, he has been through it a few times but seems to prefer to kill it. Poor Zip is STILL afraid of him although he clearly can't get enough of being near him, so cute!!

I just love this clip, he is watching El watching him, I love the way he crosses his little paws :O)

Humm, yum yum minced beef, Spinney gets his first taste of real meat and seems to enjoy it!!

It seems to be a tradition in this house that all the dogs LOVE cardboard, they all spend hours chewing on it and Spinney seems to be carrying it on!

Playing with Elwyn with dad watching on :O)

Taking over the house!!

2010-02-02T20:43:00.010Z

Who'd have thought it, a tiny little thing that looks so sweet could be so scary!

Our 3 collies seems to be terrified of him :O(

Poor Zip ended up backed into a corner under the TV stood in the toy box, it was very funny, I don't think he appreciated our laughter, poor spinney couldn't understand why this giant kept backing off from him!

Here is Zip looking very worried, he is fine nose to nose but as soon as Spinney play bows he is off :O)

His Dad, Fennec, has always been terrified of puppies. So there is nothing new there, he daren't even look at him!

Such a scary little thing!! Ha-ha

Luckily Elwyn isn't scared. They are starting to play together more and more, El is starting to realise that Spinney is play bowing at him and not doing some strange war dance!!

Is it a bulldog!!

No, its a naughty puppy eating us out of house AND his home :O)

Can you see the naughtiness!! Tonight I've caught him chewing the magazine rack and swinging on the curtains - OMG whats he going to be up to when he is 4 weeks old!!

Playing with his Mum :O)

He goes for her neck but she side swipes him :O)

She seems to be really enjoying her time with him now that he is growing up

He has a little clockwork chicken that vibrates, I thought this might faze him, not on your nellie!!

He seems to enjoy the vibrations on his gums

Strangely he's been watching "Cops with cameras"!! He stopped what he was doing a few times to sit and watch the telly

Billy bunter :O)

Chillin' out

Mastering his waddle :O)

Scragging his teddy!! Well almost, bless him

The bulldozer :O)

Looking out of the window

Investigating the toy box

Moving house

2010-01-30T17:18:00.006Z

Spinney is now 3 weeks old and is ready to take on life in the kitchen.

Cuddling up with the turkey on his final night upstairs.

We had our usual cuddle after breakfast and Spinney was chewing on my chin!! Time to introduce him to a kong I think!

I think he preferred my chin! Much softer on his new teeth!

He soon got the idea :O)

Nearly out of the box, definitely time to move!!

Here he is getting a visit from auntie Kes with Elwyn watching on

El gets his turn with Zip supervising :O)

Elwyn had a mission, to steal the comfort kong!

Spinney doesn't seem to mind sharing his toys :O)

Spinney's new best friend!!

Meeting Elwyn

Elwyn showing Spinney how to squeak the turkey, i think it will be a while before he can do it by himself :O)

Finding the exit :O) he is so confident, I can really recommend the early training, he bounces back so quickly

Learning to walk on newspaper, while Elwyn is STILL trying to steal the comfort kong!! Poor El is getting quite stressed!

Walkabout, getting some exercise around the kitchen :O)

Building confidence

2010-01-28T20:07:00.007Z

I can't believe he'll be 3 weeks old tomorrow. Time is sure passing fast.

I found a new surface for him to try out tonight.

Today's one a day is the contact trainer!

He soon got to grips with it

No problem :O)

He is walking quite well now, considering what his poor legs have to carry :O)

Ah he gets the contact!!

Time for a quick feed!!

Miya enjoying her baby :O)

Catching up with Elwyn

El is so good with pups, he just loves them

I think Spinney will soon be bigger than poor El!

Here he comes!

Bless :O)

Getting a top up at the milk bar, drinking it dry!

It barks!!

2010-01-26T19:12:00.004Z

When I walked into the bedroom first thing this morning I heard a little wuf wuf!! Cheeky little man :O) he is very bossy for a 2 week old!

Doing his one a day - each night he spends a minute getting used to a new surface, last night was the bathroom floor, he wasn't keen on that one. Tonight we tried a thermomat, he didn't mind this, may be it was a bit warmer for him.

Taking everything in his stride.

Checking out the exit!!

He is starting to try to get out, I don't think it will be long before he makes an escape attempt!

He is now picking up his toys and chewing limbs. His teeth are just about to break the surface of his gums, I'm enjoying him gumming my fingers, I'm not looking forward to all those little needles arriving!

Killing the bug :O)

Meeting the family

2010-01-23T20:06:00.005Z

Spinney has had a great day today, he has met a few new faces and seems to have found his voice. He can now growle, its so cute to listen to him. Oh and he managed to pee on me today, hope he doesn't make a habbit of that!

A pressie from Granny :O)

Who's watching who??

That's what he thinks of the monkey! Ha-ha

Meeting Kes

And Elwyn, El loves puppies and I'm hoping he will make a fab littermate for young Spinney, they seemed to hit it off well today :O)

Snuggling up for a nap

Exploring his new toys

Getting his gums around it :O)

Meeting Elwyn

Two weeks today and his eyes are open

2010-01-22T21:29:00.003Z

Here's looking at you!

I still can't believe that last night he had a little slit in his eye and tonight he is following me with his head. He is growing up far too fast!

Here he is playing with the turkey that his daddy sent him, ah bless :O)

Laughing boy, Spinney seems to have a great sense of fun and is playing with his toys.

Growing up fast!

Coming to get me!

He is almost walking now.

I caught him chewing Mr Meerkat's arm today!

On the move

Such a happy chap :O)

Chewing the turkey some more!

Day 12 and the puppy's getting fat!

2010-01-20T20:08:00.005Z

I'm not sure I'll get him into this chocolate tub in a couple of days, he now weighs 1.7 kilos!

Check out those naughty spots :O)

Having a clean from mum

He still has his turkey

He has started to clean his own paws, so cute :O)

Catching up with mum

Bless him, his little nose is nearly all black now

Always with Mr Meerkat!

Miya has been a fantastic mum and loves him very much :O)

Spinney gets a visitor!

2010-01-18T18:55:00.004Z

On Sunday Granny came to visit, bringing more toys, including a comfort wubba kong toy.
Miya definately has her eye on that one!

He weighed in at 1.340 Kilos. I'm not sure how many more weigh in's we'll be able to do as we are now nearly filling the chocolate container!

Still likeing Daddy's new toy, ah bless.

It makes a great chin rest :O)

Or just a buddy to snuggle up with.

With Mr Meerkat.

Chillin out!!

As big as Mr Meerkat already!!

2010-01-18T16:20:00.001Z

Off for a wobble, will his legs carry him!!

Cuddling up with the turkey :O)

Getting his exercise

Dreaming :O)

A parcel arrived from Daddy

2010-01-15T21:38:00.003Z

Today a parcel arrived addressed to Spinney, who would write to a puppy!! Well his new Daddy of course. Inside was a lovely letter to a son and a turkey!! Well I think its a turkey!! Or maybe a vulture but I'd like to think its a turkey!! But whatever it is it was well received :O)

Spinney seemed very interested it in and gave it the once over, I've not seen him get his head up this high away from the milk bar!

Hmmm I think he can smell his new family :O)

Ahhhh its a new chin rest, bless!

The excitement was all too much for this little man.

Spot the puppy! Curled up with his mates :O)

Becoming more independant, taking himself off to a cool corner with the meerkat :O)

Day 7

2010-01-14T18:32:00.004Z

Well its groundhog day here! Everyday I come home from work and weigh the puppy and every day he's put on over 100gms. Today is no different and he now weighs 1070gms, yes one kilo at 7 days old. Kes's litter were 16 days when they hit that milestone!

At the weigh in! This is a chocolate container left over from Christmas, I think you can imagine how big he is!

He has been doing his "Early Neurological stimulation" exercises and is just reading up on whats coming next. He is a clever pup, can read and everything!

Mum thinks he should be getting his sleep and comes to the rescue :O)

See those naughty spots!!

Smiling already ;O)

Night Night

Spinney on day four

2010-01-12T21:57:00.003Z

Well Spinney and Miya are both very well. Miya has had some time out to have a play in the snow and to do a little shaping. She loves working things out and she enjoyed a few minutes learning to lay on a piece of carpet.

Spinney on the other hand seems to love nothing more than spending his spare time at the milk bar!! I was suprised at yesterdays weigh in when he tipped the scales at a whopping 703 gms!! You should have seen my chin drop at tonight's weigh in. I even checked the scales!! He is now 840 gms!!

We have been using soft toys to imitate litter mates, Fen had a meerkat for Christmas that he has kindly donated (don't tell him as he hasn't missed it yet!) Its a brilliant tool to try to push Spinney off a teat, he is so strong I haven't actually managed to get him of one yet but we do manage to get him to fight for his place at the milk bar!! Well he needs some exercise.

We are finding him cuddled up with his toys more and more, after he had spent his first 2 days hiding under Mi's back legs! He started is training today, spending 3 seconds on his back in the palm of my hand and having a cotton bud gently rubbed between his toes.

Spinney's second day

2010-01-10T12:45:00.031Z

Well today has been a lot less traumatic than his first. He is very content and is feeding well.

His mum doesn't leave him unless forced to go out for a toilet break. She is very devoted bless her. She has a little hardness in one teat so I'm trying to make him feed from it in the hope that is doesn't turn into anything nasty, all the others seem fine.

Spinney seems to be enjoying his feeding. He was 530grams when born and is now 560grams.

He briefly met his dad yesterday afternoon, poor Fen is terrified of puppies and wouldn't make eye contact at all, he just wanted to run away!! He is such a softy!! Miya told him off for looking at her first litter and he hasn't forgotten it.

You can just see his little tri bum under his tail!! I think he is going to look just like his mum for tri bits.

2010-01-10T12:43:00.005Z

He loves his wheatbags!

A tired pup, I can't get him to move far right now :O)

Here comes mum to the rescue!

Meet Spinney - AKA Spinach!!

2010-01-09T18:16:00.004Z

Yes his second name is spinach!! Not my name for him but his family to be :O) I think that they somehow knew what was coming! I wish I had.

Miya went into labour at 8:30am on Friday 8th of January and at 8pm after a lot of huffing and puffing we finally had a waterbag. Last time it had come between pups 4 and 5 so I thought this was a good start!

At 9pm she started to push again. After an hour I could see a foot. On further investigation it turned out to be a back foot. Not ideal for the first puppy I thought. Well we only had that foot for a while so I started to panic. The book says its not good and that calling the vets a waste of time as the pup will be dead by the time he gets there and that the owner should do all they can to help. OMG did I try, nothing was working, at 10:20pm I decided drastic action was called for and did my best to find the other foot that was not quite out and started to pull with Miya's contractions.

Nothing seemed to be working, KY, pulling, but still no progress. I didn't want to pull too hard but decided I was going to have to.

At 10:30pm Spinney was born. Still and limp. I wasn't going to give up on him that easily. I rubbed and rubbed, Miya licked, we both worked hard. I swung him gently downwards in a towel to try to get the fluid out of his lungs. I thought I heard him take a breathe but couldn't be sure, my heart was willing it but my head was saying it was just me pushing the air out. I decided to blow down his nose to see if I could clear it. Instantly he coughed up a load of fluid and took a raspy breathe. I just kept rubbing and he took another one. Gradually they became stronger and at 11:50pm I was happy enough to put him in the ready box whilst I had a look at Miya to see if she was OK.

I couldn't feel any more pups and she wasn't bleeding so I was happy to reunite them. Well, when I pulled the blanket off him I couldn't believe my eyes. He pushed himself up into a sit and then tried to stand and fell flat on his chin!! There was no keeping him still. He was soon sucking on a teat and quite content. He is such a strong pup, I weighed him and to my horror he was 18oz, that's the weight of 2 good sized pups! I later measured his ribcage as this had been what was stopping him coming out. It was 8 inches around, poor Miya, I think we were very lucky to get him out. She is only a small girl after all.

Anyway we struggled through the snow to the vets this morning and they were both given a check up. Miya was a bit sore and has some antibiotics just in case! Spinney was looking great, very content to be handled and didn't make a fuss. He seems to have his dads calm nature. His lungs were fine so I was very pleased.

Both mum and baby are doing well, and here he is -

El's Crufts Story 2009

2009-12-27T10:27:00.004Z

I've been putting this together for ages but have finally got the last photo I was waiting for.

I hope I haven't left anyone out.

Dave Alderson and the lovely Bandit!!

2009-12-04T18:02:00.003Z

Here is the lovely Bandit's first run, she is a Fen & Popi pup.

She is very clever!!

Fen & Pip puppies

2009-11-18T12:41:00.003Z

I've added a link to Jeannette and Pip's puppy page.

The 2 girls and 4 boys are all doing well. Fen is very proud of his new babies.

Please pop in and visit them :O)

Preparing Zip for his weave training

2009-07-04T22:33:00.003+01:00

Zip is now 15 months old.

We have decided to train Zip using Susan Garrett's 2x2 method. This method uses behavioural shaping and teach the dog their entries very well. The method is very quick to learn and this is why we have only just started to train Zip. This is the first time we have used this method. Having used the v weaves in the past we have found that our dogs hit their weave entry far to fast, often breaking poles or injuring their shoulders.

Dogs learn the 2x2 method very quickly so you should not start training dogs using this method unless they are over 12 month of age. It does seem odd leaving it this long before starting to teach them to weave but we are in no hurry to get Zip in the ring, he'll hopefully have many years in competition so we are waiting until he is 2 years old before intorducing him to UK KC show.

Before we start our 2x2's we need to teach Zip that he has a rear end and that HE has control of it. We started this at 5 months of age, we taught him to put his feet on different objects, to walk backwards and to lift his rear legs independently on command. We called his left leg "pork" and his right leg "chop"! During his training we've learned that Zip isn't great on picking up verbal cue's but this is a foreign language to him so who am I to complain! I can't speak a second language so how can I expect my dog to! Thank god his body language is good!!

Here is Zip showing off is back up and his back leg lifts

The last supper!

2008-04-18T19:56:00.001+01:00

Oh no, its our last evening all together. Where has the time gone.

Tomorrow lunchtime Dot will be leaving on her great adventure. She'll be having a very busy day. First she'll be driven to Penzance, then onto the helicopter which will whisk her away to the Isles of Scilly. Then a short drive to her new home on St Mary's.

She is a very lucky puppy, all those beaches to walk on and boat trips to take. I'm sure she'll keep her new family entertained!

Good luck Dottie, we'll all miss you.

Pup with no name!

2008-04-13T17:37:00.007+01:00

We are really struggling to find a name for this little chap. Everything we like seems to clash with the other dogs names. He is a sweet little man!

Any ideas?

First adventure

2008-04-13T17:25:00.007+01:00

I spent most of the morning puppy proofing the patio outside of the conservatory. The garden is a bit of a minefield what with plants and the pond so I decided it would be better to keep them off the grass.

Murray was the first out closely followed by Tip. The girls weren't so brave but did manage to muster the courage eventually.

It wasn't long before they were all tearing around.

Kill the bottle!

They are all fast asleep now, lets hope it lasts!!

Pups at 6 weeks

2008-04-13T15:38:00.004+01:00

Well nearly six weeks, its Sunday and they will be six weeks on Tuesday but if today is anything to go by I won't have time to post pictures on a week night!

I took these pictures before I wormed them. I don't think they are speaking to me know!

Ches

Dot
Murray

Ruby
Tia
Tip

Pups at 5 weeks

2008-04-11T17:26:00.002+01:00

Here are some pictures of the pups at 5 weeks.

Ches

Dot

Murray

Ruby

Tia

Tip

At last

2008-04-10T18:40:00.002+01:00

We have broadband!! I can't believe that I waited so long to get it, dial up just became so hard I couldn't bear it any longer.

We now I have no excuse not to get some video uo this weekend!!

Watch this space!!

The great escape!

2008-04-01T19:35:00.005+01:00

I had a bit of a shock when I came home at lunchtime today. I couldn't believe my eyes and I know Nige wouldn't have believed me so I made sure I had photographic evidence!!

I had an escapee!

RUBY!! Fast asleep

As snug as a bug in a rug!

I'm still not sure how she managed it, this is what she had scaled!

The gate is well and truely shut from now on, I'm sure mum will enjoy the peace and quiet!

Where did Easter go?

2008-03-26T21:12:00.009Z

I had so much planned for the Easter weekend, but it went without me getting anything done. I had forgotten what time wasters puppies are.

Nige went of to the Cornish K9 Agility show and I followed him up for the mornings on Friday and Saturday. I managed to get to see a couple of Fens runs, my that dog is flying. He came home with 4 trophies over the weekend (one with me in the pairs!!) He is so happy its a joy to watch. Todd and I got E'd in all of our 3 classes, he was on a mission and I don't think I was on his radar!! But he had a great time.

The pups had lots of visitors, most couldn't believe how much they had grown.

On Monday we moved Kes and the pups into the kitchen. They have all settled in very well and Kes is very good with the Heelers watching on!

This is Tip settling in to the vast puppy pen, I'm sure it won't look so big in a week or two. He is so stunning, I love him to bits, such a character!

Here they all are at 3 weeks

Ches
Dot

Murray

Ruby

Tia

And Tip

Is Murray smiling

2008-03-17T19:03:00.005Z

I can't believe I caught this, it looks like he is grinning, bless him, eyes are nearly open.

First pup videos

2008-03-15T18:48:00.007Z

Well I had me ear bent the other night by the lovely Roy Napper for only having stills on the site. So here you go.

Mums just left!! Lets have a wobble party!

10 Days old

2008-03-13T20:25:00.005Z

Its been a really busy week. The pups are all growing really well. I weighed them on Sunday and most had doubled their birth weight.

Last night I spent a couple of hours cutting toe nails, all 126 of them! The pups are really active and when you touch them they start to move around looking for mum or sucking your fingers, so cutting tiny toe nails was a bit scary! They all survived and no one complained.

I've taken these pics tonight, I found them all in a row so couldn't resist getting my camera out.

CHES

DOT

MURRAY

RUBY

TIA

TIP

Pups first check up

2008-03-07T10:32:00.002Z

We have just got back from the vets, everyone is doing very well and is the picture of health. I didn't get much out of the vet, she was too busy giggling at them!! She did say how strong they were for just 3 days old.

Dot performed the best, she had a little kick and scream, as did Tip. Dear little Tia just fell asleep in her hands.

All safely tucked up with mum now so I'm off to work. Oh just took this picture, I think you can see how much they have grown already.

Well here they all are!

2008-03-05T23:14:00.000Z

Kes started to nest when we got home from work on Monday night. She was digging up the beds and getting restless so around 8pm I took her up stairs to the spare bedroom where I had prepared her whelping room.

I have an airbed against the wall, then the whelping box, then a table with all the necessary bits on it, including the TV! Well not a lot happened before 11pm. She was getting rather uncomfortable as the pups started to move back towards the exit! I stayed with her all night. We did try to curled up and get some sleep but it wouldn’t be long before she would start to lean on me and press hard against me when ever the contractions came. I eventually got her to stay in her whelping box and I think I managed an hour’s sleep between 4 and 5 am.

I awoke to her digging her box like a crazy thing. I had bought a whelping mat with this whelping box, its vetbed with a waterproof backing and a stiff plastic sheet in the centre. It isn’t supposed to move and it did its job brilliantly, she gave it quite a beating.

The first puppy arrived at 8am, this was Tip, I was relieved to see a boy, I’ve been having nightmares that she would have all girls! We cleaned him up gave him a drink and put him in the ready box to await the next pup. Well Tip was having a right old chat with himself which poor Kes found quite distracting, but she eventually produced Ches at 8.55, she is a very pretty little girl and a good size. I think Kes had got the idea now and the rest came at 30-minute intervals, enough time to get them cleaned up and fed before the next arrived. Al was next, he is my favourite of the boys, then Dot, I’ve got a soft spot for her too, she is the smallest but very spirited. Then came Ruby and Murray.

We seemed to have a little break then, my Mum was on her way down and I was starting to think that she was going to miss all the action. But she arrived just in time to see Tia born, it was almost as if Kes was waiting for her to arrive, as soon as she had given mum a smile she had laid down and the pup popped straight out. The time was now 11.10am all over in 3 hours, poor Kes looked shattered but very happy with her brood.

I’ve also managed to put up a new page on the website with individual pictures on so you can get a better look. I’m off to bed now, I haven’t slept since Sunday night! zzzzzzzzzz

The before and after shot!

2008-03-01T19:38:00.003Z

Well here is the evidence! At 8 weeks pregnant you can now see just how big she is.

The first picture was kindly taken by Eva from Dumf and Galwy Border Collies in Germany at Dartmoor show last November. I took the second one this afternoon. She has 4 or 5 days left now. I'm sure she will be glad to unload!

2008-02-29T08:23:00.003Z

Smiley Kes

Kes has a very cute smile, she pulls her lips back on both side and reminds me of the Malteses “wide mouth frog” advert! Well I managed to get it on camera last weekend.
They aren't her full blown smiles but you can get the idea. She is such a sweet little girl, not that anyone watching her agility would notice though!

Kes's puppies

2008-02-21T08:27:00.002Z

Well Kes is getting rather large, I'm sure she is bigger than Miya was at this stage but then she is a bigger bitch anyway so may be its just me.

She really slowed down on her walk last night, she seemed ok in herself but there was no squealing to get off the lead, no tearing after the others, just a sensible mum! Well I think I found out why the sudden change. I often sit on the floor with her stroking her upturned belly. Well last night I felt them wriggling around. They have developed bones this week and it must feel very strange for Kes. I sat for ages feeling the kicking under the skin, its so cute, Kes seems very proud.

2 weeks to go and we should find out what she has been hiding there!!

Lisa

Manchester 08 Judges Critique

2008-02-04T13:47:00.000Z

This is Roy Baker's write up for Elwyn. I have to thank him for his kind words. It's lovely to read, I'm so proud of little El. The judge did also comment on the general lack of schooling that was evident on the day. As you can see he thought El was well practised, I wouldn't have the heart to tell him that El hasn't been to ringcraft training for over a year. I do a couple of stands outside the ring just to remind him but he's just a natural show off. It certainly make my job easy. Lets hope the next judge likes him just as much.

Kes's scan

2008-02-02T18:51:00.000Z

Well yesterday turned out to be a really lovely day. The weather forecast had been terrible and we were expecting heavy snow. It was my mums 70th birthday the day before and she had agreed to come along with me.

Mum lives up on Bodmin moor which is very bleak at this time of the year, she had left home in a hail storm and on arriving at our house some 40 miles south was quite surprised that is was dry. After having a chat and a play with the dogs we set off for Perran Sand to give them a good run before heading off for the scan. We had a lovely walk, the sun was shining and the rain held off.

I had decided not to use my normal vet for this scan; a friend had recently recommended a vet in Penzance, which is about 35 miles south from here. My vet was charging £80, which I thought was a bit expensive, this new vet was charging £40. Well I hadn’t been there before so we went and found it but we were a couple of hours early so we set off to find a pub to treat mum to lunch. I thought that the coast road would be a good place to look. It wasn’t long before we ended up in Mousehole, a quaint little fishing village. We could see out over Mounts Bay, the sun was shining and the sea was so calm, it looked amazing with every shade of turquoise you could imagine.

Well there was one problem! Nige’s Trafic, the road seemed to be getting narrower and narrower, and then came the sign saying it narrowed to 6’ 6”, well I didn’t have a clue how wide it was so I headed up the hill through the village and we came out in a little hamlet called Paul with a very nice pub. We had lunch and then headed back to the vet.

When I had Miya scanned last year my normal vet had laid her on her side and rolled her on her back to scan her. I didn’t know any different and thought that this was how everyone did it. Well I was pleasantly surprised by this new vet. He stood Kes on the table, shaved her belly and started to scan. I was so relieved, I was dreading trying to upturn Kes, she isn’t very keen on being turned upside down. She did seem very relaxed and really happy with the whole thing, it’s so less stressful for the bitch this way.

Well nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see. With Miya’s scan we found a pup and then went on the hunt for the next one. The first view that came up on the screen yesterday was 4 blobs, yes 4 all at once; I gasped OMG and the vet just laughed at me, poor mum didn’t have a clue what was going on. I still can’t believe we saw 4 all in one screen. The vet was not interested in searching for puppies, which I’m in total agreement with; we were just trying to confirm pregnancy. The general rule of thumb is to double what you see, this is only guess work and no one can tell you what you are going to get, but now you can see why I was so shocked! If I saw 4 that could mean 8 puppies! Here’s hoping that everyone was showing themselves and no one was hiding! I really don’t know where I’d put that many puppies!!

After getting over the shock and sending everyone and anyone a text message mum and I set off again. The sun was still shining so we stopped off by Saint Michael’s Mount and had a lovely walk along the beach. The dogs had a fantastic time, I don’t know what it is about the beach but they were all wild despite their earlier walk.

We went home via Truro where we managed to do a little shopping and then it was off home to open mum’s birthday presents and to a lovely meal that Nige had made for us.

Sharing this day with mum’s 70th celebrations had been a real treat for us both, needless to say the dogs had had a brilliant day, they do love their Granma!

Is Kes pregnant??

2008-01-29T12:59:00.000Z

Kes was mated at the beginning of January and is booked in for a scan on Friday 1st February.

Last week she suddenly started to pick at her food, especially in the morning. Well she is still at it so I think she may have a touch of morning sickness. Bless her, she is fine in herself and is still running around like a complete loon.

I daren't get my hopes up too much, can't wait for the scan on Friday.

Manchester Champ show January 2008

2008-01-27T17:37:00.000Z

Well here he is, proudly presenting his CC and Best of Breed certificates. I'm so proud of him, I just can't find the words to express just how much!

I haven't had much time to show him since Crufts 07, I only managed to get to the Welsh KC and to be honest I was really disappointed with coming 2nd. I wouldn't have minded had I thought that the winner was better than El but it didn't want to be in the ring, it's tail was down and it didn't move very well. Where as El had shown his socks off as he always does. Anyway it had left me thinking that I might be wasting my time and I had gone to Manchester thinking that I might give up showing him altogether.

Well what a day. We had got stuck in traffic at the M5/M6 interchange. I was starting to think that my passengers Tina and Linx might miss their class. I'd commented that I didn't mind missing mine as I was probably wasting my time!! Blimey was I wrong.

Well we got to the show and the previous breed in our ring were on Limit Bitch so El & I helped Tina & Linx to get to their bench. We had a little walk outside then I took El back to the van to chill out. I don't take him into the hall until its nearly time to go into the ring, I find he is really on his toes that way.

I went and got changed into some smart clothes and had a chat to some of the Heeler people. It was lovely to see Maggy & Mike Jones, Mike always makes me laugh and brings me down to earth!!

So in the ring we went. I made sure I was first in as I had a feeling that El was going to move well and there's nothing worse than being held up by someone moving slowly. The judge had a quick look and asked us to do two laps of the ring. OMG was El on a mission, by the end of the first lap we had caught up with the last dog. I could hardly keep up with him, he was looking dead straight with a quick glance at any girlies as he went past, he is such a showman. I had a quick look around the ring and after a good performance on the table and some nice comments from the judge I was starting to feel confident. If El hadn't won this class I would have been really disappointed. But I wasn't and he was quickly pulled out in first place.

Now to the challenge. El's no stranger to this, we have been in many and at Crufts 2007 we were pulled out for the reserve CC. But we've been overlooked ever since. I'd started to think that we'd never get pulled out again. Anyway we went in and I made sure I got the very best out of him, which was difficult as the lady behind was using a squeaky toy to get her dogs attention, well she had mine as well! I worked hard and managed to keep El's attention on me and to my astonishment we were pulled out for the CC. I was so proud of him.

Now we had to sit and wait for the bitches to finish, what a wait, lots of things going through my head. Lots of lovely people coming over and congratulating us. Friends rallying around, as excited as I was. I don't think it had sunk in at this stage, I was sort of in limbo, not really knowing what to expect, after all we would normally be on our way home by know!

I tried to get El to have a chill on his bench, we sat and had a cuddle. I told him that we had to give it our best in memory of Norman (Toddie's breeder, who had sadly left us late last year).

Well in we went and he was still flying around the ring, I think he was showing off to the best bitch behind him! The judge had a good look at them both and then stood back. I just kept talking to El, trying to keep him alert, I looked up at the judge and OMG he was coming towards us holding out his hand! We'd done it, we'd won BOB. I think I kissed the judge, well he was a very nice man!! With very good taste!!

Now on to the group judging. This is where all the best of breeds for each group go in under a new judge and the winner goes through to best in show on the last day of the event. There was no pressure on us here. Lancashire Heelers are not normally picked out so I could just enjoy the experience.

El stood on the table really well, probably the best he has ever done. I could see him looking around taking in all the people looking at him. I put him on the floor and prepared to move off. I looked up to pick my route and then looked back down at him. That image will stay in my head for a long time!! We were on a blue carpet with a little white picket fence all around it and flower displays in the corners. And if that wasn't enough there was a spotlight on little Elwyn - a very special moment, blimey I'm welling up just writing this!

Well that was our day at Manchester 2008, I won't bore you with the 5 hours drive home!! Well worth it though. I'll definitely be showing him again in the Spring so watch this space.

Welcome to our blog

2008-01-20T17:15:00.000Z

I thought it was time that I got with it and got around to adding a blog to our site. Not sure how often it’ll get updated but hopefully I’ll find the time.

If Kes is in whelp this will be a great way to keep everyone posted on her progress.

Well I must get on and update the main site or no one will ever see this.