Surprise - SHE'S home!

Yes, you read that right - she! What we didn't tell you was that the last time we went to visit the pups, we really fell in love with one of the girls, Miss White Paws. We asked if we could have her but were told all the girls were taken, and that she was one of the potential girls they were keeping. We weren't too worried as they are all gorgeous, as you have seen!

However, we had a phone call on Wednesday evening to say the owners of the sire had helped them appraise the pups and felt the boys had better show potential, and they were now keeping a boy, which meant we could either still have a boy, or we could have Miss White Paws!

We had a chat and decided she was the one! We just felt drawn to her. Oscar obviously doing things his way again we all think, breeders included.

So, meet Sherifs Ruby Tuesday, aka Cassidy! Isn't she a doll?!

Before we left for home, the pups had one last snuggle together in the sunshine. The weather here is still beautifully mild despite the fact we're now into November. Lottie had already left for her new home that morning. Seems like her mum and dad have already found this blog, so we will definitely keep in touch which is great!

What a life! Snoozing in the autumn sun.

The pile of pups grows!

We set off for home with Martin driving and me holding the little miss, but she was constantly trying to clamber over to Martin, so we swapped over and she was happier. She didn't seem to mind being in the car at all, but only went to sleep as we were about 5 miles from home, typical!

I went in the house and said hello to Harry and let him out to toilet. I think he was pretty aware something was going on as he was very, very excited. Once he was calm, Martin brought Cassidy in and sat with her on his lap. Harry had a good sniff and was very excited, tail going nineteen to the dozen. When we were happy that he was OK, we let her down on the floor with her in the garden. He was sniffing like crazy and did scoot her around a bit with his nose, but not in a rough way.

I think you can tell from the blurred photo how fast a certain boy was wagging his tail!





I was worried he was being a bit rough, but She was rolling over herself and Martin who is more used to dogs than me assured me that they're tough litle things! We will obviously very carefully monitor them and they won't be left alone at all for now.

She needs to work bit on getting in and out of the door. That's a big step for those little legs, and she gets confused about which bit is the open part of the door!

She's done really well with toileting so far, going promptly when she goes outside. She's been getting lots of praise for being such a clever girl.

See, tail still wagging, a bit slower now though so not such a blur!

After all the excitement of the day it was time for bed. Harry was very tired too. She cried twice in the night, at 2am and at 6.30am, when Martin was getting up anyway as he's had to go into work this morning. Both times we took her out and she went to toilet and went back in her crate. She did cry a bit at 2am, but I sat quietly on the floor by the crate and she quickly fell asleep.

This morning she is full of beans, investigating Oscar's toys. We have friends coming over to meet her today, so no doubt she'll sleep well again tonight - well fingers crossed!

She loves the toy Boy and Baby bought Oscar for his birthday. She's quite strong. She can carry a large Kong around in her mouth no problem!



Hopefully that's sated your desire for puppy news for now!

Katy and Martin x

Cassidy & Co at 7 Weeks

Well, here are the terrors, probably the last photos of them all together before they go off to their new homes.

I think this photo is simply stunning. Can you see the autumn leaf in his or her mouth, so cute! You can also see how fluffy they are getting now.

I think they must be waiting for food here to all be so attentive. The funny thing about this is that they're all outside their run, and the person taking the photo is inside!

We always wondered why Oscar was so obsessed with brooms and brushes - I think we now know if he too learned to chomp on them from an early age! Their ears have grown lots in the last week or 10 days. They are still floppy, cute. Look at those big paws now.

Apparently their absolute favourite toy is a cardboard box, so we shall dig one out for Cassidy. It's always the way isn't it? You can spend silly money on the latest toys, and kids will want to play with the packaging. It seems the same rule applies to puppies!

Looks like this pup has decided s/he's "King of the Castle"!

I love the different facial expressions and body language in this photo. You can really start to get a feel for their individual personalities. Cassidy is to be one of the two bigger boys, who are apparently like two peas in a pod. Puppy number 6 must have been off for a wander when this photo was taken.

And I think this photo must be one of the cutest ever. All six are her if you look closely and can decipher the mass of furry heads, paws, tails and fat puppy tummies!

48 hours and we'll be picking Cassidy up. We're still not sure whether to take Harry over when we go so he can meet him on "neutral" turf, or just bring Cassidy home for the big hello. Any thoughts from people who have introduced a new pup or dog?

Katy and Martin x

A Gift For Me!

Guess what? I am finally free of that daft cone, excellent! It feels wonderful to be free again, and I'm sure ma and pa are appreciating not being bashed in the shins by me numerous times a day! My foot is totally healed and not at all itchy, so hopefully that's the end of that little saga!

I was so pleased, I had to do a little happy dance around the garden! Oh my, look at my mad ears!



And then, to top it all, a parcel arrived all the way from Switzerland! Ma told me it was from Faya, Oscar's sweetheart and it was for me! Gosh, I was stunned. What a sweet girl. It smelt divine and I simply could not wait to see what was lurking within.

Would you look at that? Nice non-slimy, safe chews. And not one, but two!

I think this short video aptly demonstrates how terribly thrilled I was with my gift. Thanks you Faya! Pa is opening a present of his own in the background, I'll tell you more about that another time.



I like to eat my chewies out in the garden where I can enjoy the fresh air and enjoy the last of the sunshine before autumn sets in in earnest.




I made sure that there were no squirrels lurking who might try to intercept my yummy treat. All was quiet, excellent.

I had a sniff to see which end I should start on. It smells so yummy, I can't even describe.

And then down to the serious business of chomping. It's nice and hard, so should give the old pearly whites a bit of a workout, and it should last me a fair while too, so that should please ma's purse-strings!

Merci beaucoup Faya! Tu es gentille! I think Oscar had excellent taste in girlfriends.

I'll leave you with a clip of me munching. I hope I don't make you dribble on your keyboards!

We pick Cassidy up on Friday. I take it you all heard he managed to escape from the breeders and crash the party or Stella's cot at any rate)? I am certainly going to be kept on my tippy toes with that young whippersnapper I can see!

Toodle pip,

Harry x

Welcome Stella!

So our good pal Stanley has a new sissy, and what a gorgeous little minx she is! Scruffy and Lacie set the challenge of writing a welcome limerick for her so here goes!

A fiesty young Lakie called Stella
Came to live with that Goober Stan fella
Poor old Stan was in shock
While new sis ran amok
But he had to admit she was bella!

I also got tagged recently to play this game by Blue recently, but was busy dealing with silly cones and itchy paws. It's called the Name Game ...

1) YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (favorite stuffie + tail characteristic) - Hmm, I don't really "do" stuffed toys, but if I had to I'd choose a tree rat I think, so Squirrel Straight

2) YOUR GANGSTER NAME: (favorite kong-filler + favorite cookie) - Marmite Nutty Crunch

3) YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color + favorite animal species) - Green Dog

4) YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name + city where you were born) - Tawny Stafford...does that sound like a girl's name??!

5) YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of ur last name + first 2 letters of ur first name) - Watt-ha, har, har, what-ho I say!!

6) SUPERHERO NAME: (“The” + 2nd favorite color + favorite drink) - The purple water!

7) NASCAR NAME:(the first names of your grandfathers) - Stephen, hmm not very exciting and racy is it?

8) STRIPPER NAME: (your favorite scent + favorite treat) Cheese cheese. Hmm, I don't think that would draw the crowds...

9) WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names) Mary Leo

10) TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (your vets last name + major city that starts with the same letter) - Drove Dover, hey, an anagram!

11) SPY NAME:(your favorite season/holiday + favorite flower) - Winter Rose...sounding like a girl again!

12) CARTOON NAME:(fav fruit + article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Banana Nudey!

13) HIPPY NAME:(What you ate for breakfast + your favorite plant) - Biscuit Bush

14) YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (“The” + Your fav hobby + fav weather element + “Tour”) - The Walkie Sun Tour!

That was jolly good fun, play along if you'd like!

Toodle pip,
Harry x

Oh Boy!

We had a lovely afternoon playing with the puppies on Tuesday. Harry came with us and seemed to enjoy the drive. He hasn't been great in the car up until now - lots of pacing, whining and panting, but today he seemed much calmer. It was a beautiful warm day so we could have the windows open (he loves sticking his nose out and catching the breeze!).

This is the view from the breeder's house and it's the same in any direction - pretty picturesque isn't it? I would love to wake up to that view every day, but imagine it could be quite bleak living out here in the winter.

Harry enjoyed romping in their huge double-fenced field, and had a good old bark with Oscar's mum and big brother! He didn't manage to catch one of the many pheasants running about though. He loved being made a big fuss of, and they thought he was great and will make an excellent big brother.

The puppies had changed so much even since last visit only 9 days ago! They have grown bigger and are much more playful. They just love fuss and attention and are all super confident. I love the one clinging to the back of David's jeans! Maybe it won't be so amusing when it's my ankle!



We were mobbed by puppies as soon as we went through the garden gate. Mainly because they thought we were great new chew toys I reckon!

Here Martin is having a cuddle with the littlest girl pup. She is growing well, she's just smaller than the others. I met the couple who are likely having her, and they said they'd like to keep in touch, so that will be nice. She is to be named Lottie. Hopefully other new owners will want to exchange phone numbers/addresses too, and as the breeders are keeping one, we will always be able to meet up easily with her.

Martin's shoe laces provided a great new toy, and the ragger tuggie was discarded in an instant! Apologies for some of the photos being blurred but they are so fast, plus their tails were wagging nineteen to the dozen.


Here are two of the boys working hard on those laces. Teamwork almost got them undone!

Their teeth are fully through now and they are testing them out on everything. It's great that the weather has been so mild as it means they have been able to play outside for a while most days. Apparently they day before they had explored the lawn and done lots of grass grazing and leaf munching! not sure a wrought iron table makes the best chew toy though puppy! We have been reading Ian Dunbar's puppy training book, so young Cassidy is hopefully going to become a Kong/chew toy-aholic rather than a furniture muncher.

How do you choose who to play with when confronted with 4 adorable little faces gazing up at you?!

Martin is the Pied Piper of the puppy world!

Those paws are getting bigger! Their fur has grown lots since last visit, and they are starting to get fuzzy now rather than being sleek. I am determined to start hand stripping Cassidy from an early age. That way both of us will get used to it while there's not too much surface area to contend with!

They really are adorable. You can start to see their individual characters coming through more and more. They are all very confident, and all are very good at coming when called. I suppose at this age they are like little sponges soaking up new knowledge. They all know to come when called and sit.

They were all keen to try these steps out! Maggie (mum) and Annie were up and down them and they so wanted to try, but weren't quite brave enough to go more than one or two steps high. We will be putting the baby gate back up once Cassidy comes home so there are no accidents on the stairs and no damage to young joints.

Before we left they had their supper - some Weetabix and warm milk - it didn't last long! There were 2 bowlfuls, and while they started out with two identical bowlfuls, none of them could resist wandering between the bowls to see if there was anything better on offer!

Listen to the contended slurping of 6 little puppies, bliss!



With full tums they went to snuggle up together in their crate, apart from this little guy who decided to catch the last warm rays of the day.

So yes, as the title of the post reveals, Cassidy is a boy! Unfortunately, we still don't know which of the three boys he is, as only David was home today and he wasn't sure which one was selected for us. They are all beautiful, confident, healthy and happy though so we don't mind. We may pop back across early next week so we know for sure, or just wait until the weekend and go to pick him up.


We are really excited now!! Time seems to have passed quickly the last few weeks, in part due to Harry's arrival I suppose. He has given us focus again, which had been so lacking since Oscar's death.

Here's Martin having some snuggles. Sorry it's sideways on - I forget I can't record that way sometimes, doh!

They are all having so much fun together. It seems sad that they're all off to their new lives, but such is the way of the world, and they'll all have lovely new families, and as I said, hopefully they'll all get opportunities to meet up in the future.

Only 8 more days until we can go back to pick Cassidy up! We will have to get Oscar's crate and the baby gate out next week and start getting ourselves and the house prepared. I have told Harry to catch up on his sleep while he can!

Harry's paw is much better. The sore area is all dry now, though I think it is still itchy. We have let him off wearing the cone when we are keeping a close eye on him, but if we are out or overnight he has been wearing it so he's not tempted. Now it is healed I may ask the vet if she can bandage it for a few days to prevent him fiddling during the itchy last stage. That will be so much nicer for him than the cone!

Katy and Martin x

Katy x

On The Mend

I have been most lax at thanking some new friends for awards they have so generously given me in the last week or so. I do apologise, I have been busy getting used to my new life, practicing my computing skills and trying not to bite my foot in a Perfect Tosca manner!

Scruffy and Lacie and Butchy and Snickers gave me this "I LOVE YOUR BLOG" award. Thank you so much, I am honoured. I know a lot of you have received this already. I will pass it onto Oscar's darling Faya.

And little cutie Clover, and handsome Marvin gave me this Halloween themed award. You're making me blush! I'll give this to Mojo, as she is a sweet little Airedale puppy and I know she'll be a great real-life friend to myself and Cassidy.

Thank you for all your extremely kind comments on my lampshade head. I am feeling rather less foolish now as it seems a number of you have been subjected to the same indignity. I am managing to get about a little better, and when I am under close supervision, ma and pa have let me have a snooze without it, bliss!

As you can see, my foot was fairly sore. It looks worse as the vet shaved my hair off as she said that helped control the infection significantly.

The darker area is tough skin. Ma thinks this suggests that I have had this problem for a while and it wasn't treated. The fresher raw bit is where I was biting at it. Looking at it now I am not impressed with myself for making such a mess of my foot! It has healed up lots now though and thanks not the girly pink pills I am much less itchy. I finish taking them tomorrow morning and to be frank I'm a bit sad, as I was getting them hidden in a nice piece of cheese. Note to others - pretend you don't like taking tablets and you too could enjoy the same lumps of delicious fromage! Hopefully this is the last of the infection, but if it flares up again it seem the vet will have to do some investigations to try and deduce the root of the problem.

I went to talk to Oscar to tell him how silly I felt being a big conehead, and he told me ma and pa made him wear one too! Do these people relish making dogs look daft? He told me the looking forlorn thing really works well for getting cuddles and treats. Thank you for the tips little man.

See how well Oscar had perfected the sad cone head face? I need to work harder I think!

We are hopefully off to see the pups tomorrow or Wednesday, and we should definitely be able to decide which one is Cassidy, or perhaps young Cassidy will choose us. Either way it's all very exciting. I passed Oscar's old training school on Saturday morning as the young puppies were going into class and I had an excellent time playing with a baby Labrador. His owners were astonished when ma told them I was 10 - "10 months?" they said, har har har!

Toodle pip,

Harry x

Helmet Headed Harry

I can't believe I'm letting you see these photos, but I hope by now you're all my friends and you won't laugh so much that you fall of your computer chairs.

I have a pesky poorly paw. I had been surreptitiously nibbling and licking at it for a few days to try and sort it out myself, but ma and pa noticed on Monday that I was really going at it. They tried their best to distract me with cuddles and lots of filled Kongs as well as lots of "noooooooo's", but I had such a strong urge to meddle with it that I simply could not leave it be.

I was off to the vet on Wednesday anyway for my vaccination booster, so ma told the (very pretty) vet about it and she had a look. She said I had a nasty skin infection, and my self-prescribed nibble therapy had simply landed me with a secondary infection to top it off. Well, how was I to know? I was just trying to sort it out myself so ma and pa didn't spend all my treat funds on vet bills.

I had to have my paw shaved and cleaned thoroughly. I didn't like this as it was on my sore bits and the vet made me wear a muzzle as I was grumbly with her and a nurse had been badly bitten the previous day by another dog. I was just trying to tell her it hurt. I have never liked my back feet being fiddled with - I had a nasty experience having my dew claws removed as a young pup I think. My old owner told ma and pa about it so they were able to let the vet know I wouldn't like it. Anyhow, once the vet had finished, she gave me lots of cuddles and liver treats and we were friends again. I had my injection with no bother, needles are no problem for me.

The vet isn't sure why I got an infection.. She said it could be something I've walked on (grass, other foliage), food, maybe a bit of stress at moving house (though I am loving it here so I don't think it is that), dust mite allergy (ma was a bit put out at this suggestion!) or perhaps I already had it when I came to live here and my previous owners hadn't picked up on it. Anyway, I have some rather girly pink tablets to clear up the infection and this remarkably embarrassing collar to wear so I break the nibble cycle. I went back to the surgery for the nurse to have a nosy at my paw today and she declared it much better already, hurrah!

Ma is going to take me to the behaviourist at the surgery so I can start to be desensitised to having my paws touched. Ma says this is why it's important to get young puppies used to having every last bit of them poked and prodded. Good luck with that Cassidy! The behaviourist says I have just learned to growl to humans to tell them to back off when they hold my paws and it is a very common issue for dogs not to like having their paws fiddled with. I need help to bury the old memories. She reckons with her help ma and pa should have some skills to work with and help me realise it's not that bad.

So I had to greet my new grandma, grandad, uncle, aunt and baby cousin looking like this! How shameful. And I keep bumping into everyone and everything. They gave me a long/wide cone as they said I had a long nose - how rude! Ma has seen some more flexible ones, so if I have to wear this for longer than a week, she says she may get me one to make getting around the house a bit easier.

I do a very good "woe is me" face don't you think? I actually don't mind wearing it all that much and haven't made a big fuss at all, but this face does get one lots of treats and snuggles. The first night I didn't sleep much, but now I have worked out how to get comfy properly.

Getting up the stairs is a bit tricky, but I have just about got it sussed. It requires holding your head high and then it's full steam ahead!

Thankfully, ma and pa don't make me wear the darned thing when I go for my jaunts around the neighbourhood. I would hate all my new found friends to be laughing at me.

I had great fun with my grandma, grandad and other new relatives. Baby Leo is simply gorgeous and smelt all baby sweet, aah. I have a few photos, I'll post them over the weekend.

Toodle pip,

Harry x