Diary of our Dogs - FOR PHOTOS PLEASE GO TO THE APPROPRIATE GALLERY PAGE

12/04/22 Well this is the longest I've not updated the website for, and theres a couple of reasons really. As some of you know, my job involves working with computers and screens and during the pandemic I worked from home. After 8 hours working, pretty much the last thing I wanted to look at was a computer screen! Much prefering to be oudoors with the dogs. Also, after losing dear Hazel, I found it difficult to describe the normal comings and goings without dwelling on her memory, and even now, nearly 2 years later it's still a little hard......

Anyway, a lot has happened during the intervening time. Amber had her fourth and final litter, and we kept a little girl pup which we've called Maple in memory of her Aunt. She's now a year old and is almost ready to make the transition into adulthood. In fact she finally came into season a couple of days ago.

But the big news is that young Willow has had her first litter! The father is our own Kingston, so we know the lines of the pups quite well! In fact all our dogs are related in some way to either the maternal or paternal side: Rowan (grandfather), Kingston (father), Amber (grandmother) Willow (mum - of course!) and Maple (a very young Auntie) The pups were born on the 9th of April and all is going well so far. We do have some boys and girls available so if you're interested please contact using the email address on the contacts page.

Now, there has been issues with litters and mums being stolen recently - which i find abhorrent - so I probably won't be setting up a specific page for litter photo's etc. But Carol will be sending regular pic's etc with her mobile to those who are having a puppy. I will try to do some more updates on here, promise!

23/0820 Time marches on and already the evenings are drawing in. As I type this I'm looking out over the slowly fading hills of south east Cornwall. All very tranquil now, but it certainly wasn't a few days ago when the wind and rain hit us with the force of a small thermo-nuclear explosion! Our latest addition, Willow, is shortly to have a rude awakening: up until now, she's enjoyed the life of being a puppy, plenty to eat, plenty of play, and a little gentle training with heel walking, and sit / stay commands. Any retrieving she's done has all been light hearted fun in the back garden. But this week coming she is about to find out that it's a little different. Tomorrow she's off to Dartmoor for her first "proper" training session and then on Wednesday, now that lockdown has lifted somewhat, Willow is off to puppy training classes! The others are all ok, Kingston and Rowan are still not particularly comfortable with each other's company, but with 2 girls in the house I guess I can understand that. Morning walks are very pleasant this time of year, but I've already hunted out my head torch (and Carol has also bought me a new one) in readiness for the winter morning walks in the darkness. 

5/7/20 A long time since my last update, and a heart breaking one as well. As some of you know, after a very short and sudden illness I took the horrible decision to let my dear girl Hazel go to Rainbow Bridge to join my others (including her Mum) already there. We're still not 100% sure what happened, but it appears from the blood and urine tests that her liver just stopped working - whether it was caused by a viral infection, or by her body rejecting it (this is rare, but it does happen) we don't know. Apart from those tests, she also had 2 utltrasound exams, and an absloute plethora of drugs to try and kick start the liver, but it was to no avail, and I sadly said goodbye to my little darling one monday morning early in June. The ultrasounds did show that it wasn't caused by any cancerous growths, so we, and our vet are at a bit of a loss as to know what caused it. Hazel was just coming up to 6 years old and I will miss her terribly.

 

Life goes on with the others however, Rowan is starting to slow a little, Amber doesn't seem to be missing Hazel too much, Kingston is enjoying all his gundog training, and our new addition Willow is having a fine time being a mischevious little pup!

I will try to update more regularly and finally, finally get round to sorting this website out a little, but my head just isn't ready to tackle it at the moment, Rob.

8/3/20 An update about our trip to the vets on Friday, and I'm really pleaed to say it all went off rather smoothly! We had a slightly later appointment than we usually have (at 10am) and this really seemed to help. The pups were slightly sleepy and all had been for wees and poo's before we left. The journey to and from was remarkable, especially when they all fell asleep on the way back! Only one pup had a little wee at the vets, and they were all calm and not wriggly on the vet's examination table. So, a successful visit, and not too traumatic for the pups, who, once back in the pen, decided to spend most of the day asleep! And now it;s time to say goodbye as they all make the next great jump in their lives with their new owners. Even the girl we are keeping, named Willow (after her grandmother) will certainly have a shock on Tuesday as she graduates from the pen  into her crate in the kitchen.

4/3/20 We've had a little dry weather! And th pups have been outside to experience the great outdoors. After a certain initial reluctance, the pups started to explore the decking area ans after a couple of minutes they were running around as if they owned the place! It's wonderful to watch and play with them out there, and I'm sure it helps the pups for what is about to come; yes, we are fast approaching the day when all the pups will be going to the vets. I've prepared them as much as I can: They'vve all been in the crate, both alone and with another pup, and I've also put a crate in the back of the car with a couple of pups at a time. The big thing will be the motion and movement of the car. And then, the pups will be off to their new homes!

1/3/20 The beginning of March, and I was hoping for a change in the weather, but it hasn't happened yet! The outside play area is all set up and ready, and I'm just waiting for a break in the rain and wind so that the pups can go out and stretch their legs. I have been feeding the pups in a slightly different way: For each meal I get one of the pups out to feed on its own - just so that they are all used to feeding on their own when they go to their new homes. They are growing every day - and they now range from 3.5 to 4 kgs. The toilet box is being used quite a bit now, although there are the usual "accidents"!

25/2/20 The time seems to be flying by at the moment and today, as the pups turn 6 weeks old is a momentous day in their development. They don't know it of course, but Amber has given them their last drink of milk this evening. It's a little sad for us knowing that Amber won't really spend any more time with her pups, but its good to know that she's been a briliant Mum and has looked after them superbly. She hasn't complained about going in to feed them, and has catered for their every need. She also laid down for them to feed right to the very end, which is unusual, as the mum usually stands (and will refuse to lay down) for the last few days. So, now it's up to us to provide for the pups, and they are now eating for solid meals a day, with the kibble only slightly pre-soaked with water. Over the next week the water will be reduced until its just a sprinkle. We have completed the 5 week worming regime with no worms seen (as usual). And so, we now just wait for the pups to grow, and hope the weather will improve (some hope!) so that they can go outside to play.

18/2/20 5 weeks old today! Gosh the time is flying by and we will begin the 5 week worming schedule tomorrow. The pups are now eating 3 solid meals each day, interspersed by top ups of milk from Amber. The pups love playing with Amber when they've had enough milk and especially enjoy jumping on her paws and on her back. She does draw the line with them biting her ears though! The pups are now spending the nights on their own, and they certainly enjoy their first meal of the day at 6am. I'm really hoping that the weather improves soon as I want to set up the outside play area, but its just too wet and windy at the moment. It's a good experience for the pups to go outside with their litter mates so that they can get used too it with some familiar "friends". Ideally, this will happen when they're six and a half weeks old. If I can't set it up then we'll take the pups outside 2 or 3 at a time so they can experience it.

14/2/20 The pups are now at a stage where most of visible development has finished. There is of course the gradual change of their diet however, and they have now increased to 2 meals a day, and are going to increase to 3 a day from tomorrow. It's astonishing to watch how quickly they have adapted to eating proper food, and also at how quickly the pups recognise the sounds of their dishes! Amber is still feeding them as well so life is good for the pups! All this food also has another side effect and that's poo! Thankfully a fair proportion seems to be in the toilet box which we really do appreciate! Their development from now on is more subtle and more to do with the "mental" side. A good example of this is how the pups learn bite inhibition; i.e. what constitutes just playing and what actually hurts. It basically boils down to another pup squealing if a play bite becomes too hard, and moving away from the pup thats biting. It's also a good technique for humans to use with a playful puppy thats becoming too playful or excited. The pups have a good memory and will remember this from their time in the litter.

9/2/20 A very busy weekend! Firstly we have met some of the people who are having a puppy and it's been a pleasure to meet everyone. Unfortunately I missed those of you who visited on Saturday as I had to catch up with my son to watch a football match in Colchester! - which we lost; badly...... Enough of that. Some real developments for the pups this afternoon as they had their first "solid" meal. It consists of puppy kibble which has been crushed and mixed with water to make a smooth paste. Happily all the pups seemed to like it and very quickly started to munch away. This was followed with a milk top up provided by Amber. One result of this is that the pups will now start to poo regularly, and this evening I have placed the toilet box (with wee-mat) in position and removed the roll bars. Hopefully the pups will work out that it's better to use this for their toiletting needs! Truthfully, it's hit and miss for the first couple of weeks but gradually they will use it more and have less "accidents" in the playing / feeding / sleeping area. Indeed, its the first steps of toilet training as generally a puppy will avoid weeing in an area that it sleeps. I'll put some new photos in the gallery to show all this.

4/2/20 Developments are coming thick and fast now! The pups are 3 weeks old today, and are now recognisable as mini-dogs as their bodies are catching up with the size of the heads. Along with this increase in size, their hearing has now developed to a level where they can hear Amber when she moves about in the room. The pups are also aware of the way in which Amber gets into the whelping pen, and they all gravitate to this part of the pen when they think she's coming in to feed them. I have started to play the noises CD in the background. As many of you know, this is designed to gradually introduce a whole range of sounds that could potentially startle the pups in adulthood: fireworks, guns, dustbin lorries, aeroplanes, crying babies etc. I start it off at a low volume and increase this slowly over the coming weeks. The idea is to desensitise the pusp to all these unusual noises. Another new development was the introduction of  small bowl of water for the pups to learn how to lap. It's a slow process this one, as they get a lot of liquid from their milk, but they'll need the ability for when we start to wean them - which isn't far away!

30/1/20 Lots happening now! What a change a couple of days make. The pups' eyes are pretty much fully open now, and they are beginning to focus. It's a good job as they are much more confident on their feet and can move quite quickly and confidently. This give Amber a problem as they are getting under her as she tries to lay down to feed them! This is where we give her a little hand by trying to keep the pups out of the way. Along with all this visible development, one other, less obvious development happens; hearing. Yes the pups are beginning to hear things now,and they certainly like the sound of their own little voices! All very cute at 4.00 in the afternoon, but not so much at 4.00 in the morning..... We have started the two week worming treatment as a precaution, and it's just a small dose of a semi-liquid paste squirted ontothe tongue. I'm not sure whether the pups like the taste or not, but Amber (who also must have the same medicine, but a much larger dose) seems to love it. The other item requiring attention was the pups' nails and tonight they had their nails cut for the first time. This is quite a delicate operation, but we use a very small set of human nail clippers which are ideal for their very small nails. Hopefully some new pics in the gallery will appear shortly.

25/1/20 After a quiet few days, things are starting to happen! We first noticed a pup trying to get up on its' feet on thursday evening and since then all the pups have been trying, some quite successfully, to stand and walk a little on all fours. At the same time as this, the pups' eyes have started to open. It's wonderful to just sit and watch for ten minutes at this marvel of nature, after all, the pups are not even 2 weeks old. It doesn't last much more than 10 minutes as all the pups then just fall off to sleep wherever they end up! Dear Amber is slighlty bemused by their ability to move so quickly now, and she likes a little help to arrange all the pups for feeding. I've tried to take photos of both the walking and theeyes, but it's virtually impossible to catch the moment! Hopefully I'll get the best of the pics in the gallery shortly.

20/1/20 A fairly quiet weekend with the pups, more feeding from mum and sleeping and that's about it! Amber however is being treated royally at the moment as she's managing to get through 2 cooked chicken breasts per day, some rice, and her normal kibble! It's all needed for milk generation, so her tummy isworking overtime digesting it all. I weighed the pups tonight, and they'veall put on weight, approx. 3 ozs, with the boys gaining a little more than the girls - that'squite normal as the boys always seem to be a bit greeder. There should be some new pics in the gallery soon, but in the meantime, hers a photo of the pups' father:

17/1/20 Two days have passed since the pups were born and I'm really happy to say that so far it's been going very well. Amber is being a very attentive Mum and has stayed with the pups almost for the entire time. In fact, this evening was the first time she's left the pups to eat her food; up until now I've had to feed her in the whelping pen! When she needs the toilet, Amber gets out of the pen, and immediately goes to the door. This is followed by a frantic few minutes as she rushes to her favourite spot, goes toilet and then hurries back to the pups as quickly as I can open the doors! The pups are either suckling or sleeping. They can move around quite well now, with a crawling action, but they are entirely dependant on the sense of smell to work out where Amber is. I took Amber to the vets the morning after the pups were born for a check up. This is primarily to make sure that her womb is empty and there is a pup refusing to come out! It's also possible to see how much debris has been left behind. Happily there isn't much and this greatly reduces the chance of any infections developing. So, after the frantic activity of the last few days, the next few will actually be a quite boring in terms of visible puppy development. They will start putting weight on from now on, and I'll weigh them every couple of days to make sure this is happening. Finally, all the new owners have been arranged, and if you were on our list and haven't been lucky enough to get tone this time then I truly am very sorry. I know it's disappointing for you, and it does upset me that we can never seemingly have enough to go round!

15/1/20 Well dear Amber caught us out a litlle and she's given birth to her puppies 2 days early! Mum and pups are all doing fine. Ok, to the details. Amber started the last stages of labour yesterday morning, and gave birth to the first pup at 10pm last night. The actual births went remarkably smoothly and she gave birth to the last pup at 2am this morning. She had 7 in total, 2 girls and 5 boys, and ranged in weight from 16ozs to 18 ozs. (No "runts"). We're nearly 24 hours on now, so the really critical period is nearly over and we'll be able to sleep a little easier. We will be contacting those people on our waiting list in the next 24 hours or so. I'll be stting up a special page for the puppy photos at the weekend hopefully, but in the meantime, here's a photo taken earlier today:

8/1/20 Firstly belated good wishes to all of you who read these ramblings for the new year! And some important and GOOD news to start the year off: AMBER IS PREGNANT! This was planned, and was a re-visit back to Ebble who we used unsuccessfuly last year. Thankfully good fortune smiled upon us this time, and Amber is now heavily pregnant and due to give birth in the later part of next week. I have been exremely busy with setting the whelping room back up again, and changing a couple of things around to hopefully make it easier in the coming weeks. Amber was scanned just before Christmas and we saw a"definite" 5 pups, so there could be anything from 4 to 10! The scans are incredibly difficult to be accurate with, as some pups might hide behind others, and it's hard to disguish on a screen the 3 dimensional nature of a females' womb. If you want a pup, but aren't on our waiting list, please contact us ASAP as the list is building up!

In other news, Kingston's gundog training is progressing well: he's now 2 years old and he is maturing nicely. It's a strange thing, but the three main retrieving gundog breeds mature at different rates, and it's most evident when the training is complex: Thankfully Goldies aren't the worst.... Hazel is recovering well from being a Mum, she has put all the weight back on, and her coathas started to re-grow. Rowan, is just Rowan: set in his ways now he's an "old man" but he's still got plenty of energy if there's a dummy to retrieve.

26/11/19 Hazel's pups have now been gone nearly three weeks and we are almost back to normal. It sounds like all the pups have settled into their new homes and way of life reallywell, and it's such a pleasure to receive all the photos, videos, and texts showing how they are getting on. Hazel is ok, she's a little underweight so I've been feeding her up a little now that her milk has dried up. It's a shame the weather has been so bad recently as the field are far too wet to let her have a good run and some decent retrieves. On to Amber and she has mated with Ebble! This was a return mating as it didn't happen with Ebble earlier on in the year. All our fingers are crossed that she becomes pregnant this time and if she is, the puos are due to be born in mid January. Poor old Rowan and Kingston haven't been anywhere near Amber for the last month as we certainly didn't want any accidents, but thankfully she's past the critical point now and tonight Rowan was back in the front room with the girls. He's laid out at my feet as I type this just enjoying the company once again.

1/11/19 well what a busy 3 days! And primarily why I haven't found time to update the diary until now. Firstly, we made the all important trip to the vets with the pups on wednesday. All went smoothly, the journey down and back was not too noisy, and the pups all seemed to be fairly relaxed about it. It's always a stressful time for us at the vets, as we must ensure that the right chip details are recorded for all the pups, along with the zctual examination of each pup by Patrick, our vet. Anyway I'm really pleased to say that all the pups were given a clean bill of health and none seemed fazed by the trip. Yesterday was a "day of paperwork" for me as all the pups went today / and a couple tomorrow. There's lots of it to prepare and fill out, and doing it all as a batch saves some time, but not much! As I type this, I am puppy sitting thelast two pups who are due to go tomorrow morning, and then begins the long process of disinfecting everything and slowly returning my house to normal. I have to say though, I am going to miss the pups quite a lot: The games, the sounds the cuddles and the sheer pleasure of watching them grow and develop from the moment they were born. It always humbles me a little as I watch the miracle of nature unfold before my eyes.

29/10/19 And so we are into our final few days with the pups. A big day for them (and us) as we make the trip to our vets in the morning. I have prepared the pups as much as I can, with a little crate training both in the house and in the car, but the real test comes tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have no "little" accidents in the crates but we'll be well prepared if any pup does. I'll hopefully take some photos at the vets and get them up tomorrow. Sadly the weather forecast isn't good for the next couple of days, so it may be a wet play time in the kitchen. And then it'll be time for the pups to leave us and start their new lives!

25/10/19 Well we are now approaching the last weekend that the pups are with us, and the realisation that soon we will be saying goodbye to to them. It's a bit of a sad time, they have been at the centre of our lives from a week before they were born. From the moment we wake up to the point at which we go to bed, it's been looking after Hazel and the pups and catering for their every need. Soon we'll be able to relax, but a part of our lives will go with the pups, and the house will seem just that little bit quieter once again. Anyway, the pups have been out every day this week apart from today as the weather has been absolutely horrible.Tomorrow isn't much better, so they'll have to wait until sunday for another run round. We have been busy however with a little bit of crate training in preparation for the trip to the vets. On sunday I will sort the car, and the crates will go in so I can start a little acclimatization before 'V day'.

21/10/19 What a busy weekend! the weather has been really kind to us, and as a result the pups have spent plenty of time running and playing around outside. This is such a benefit to both us and the pups! For me it means that I can really take my time and give the whelping pen a good clean. More importantly it means that the pups experience a complete change of environmet, not only sounds, but smells and even a different "feel" under their feet. It also gives them more room to exercise- which they really take advantage of! One strange occurence this afternoon was when they heard a dog barking in the village. They all instantly stopped what they were doing and fell silent. It is obviously an instinctive reaction to the bark of an "alien" dog - just as they woiuld do in the wild. It was quite and experience to watch. The pups have also made their final transition in terms of their diet: Yes Hazel fed them for the last time on Sunday morning. A bit of a sad time, but the pups don't seem to miss Hazel too much, it's rather Hazel wanting to make sure the pups are ok. - This passes pretty quickly, especially as Hazel is back out walking with the others, and hopefully I'll do some training with her at the weekend. So, what's next? Well the final development for the pups will be onto dry food, which we've already started by adding less water to the kibble. Then we have the fun of a little crate training and being in the car which I'll be starting on Sunday. Busy times!

16/10/19 The pups are now nearly 6 weeks old, and today they experienced one of the biggest changes to their environment - yes, the weather has been extremely kind to us in the last couple of days and I've errected the play area outside. Today the pups spent a good hour in the afternoon running and playing out there. The pups started off very quietly and followed Carol around, but after ten minutes they became much more confident and started to have a good old romp around. It's certainly tired them out this evening! We have also been through the five week worming regime, and the "most badly behaved" award goes to....... Hazel herself! Yes, Hazel realyy doesn't like the taste of the worming paste, and the poor girl needs a full syringe load of the stuff each time! Talking of Hazel, she now only stands for the pups to feed from her. THis is an instinctive change for her, as in the wild this is technique would be used in the process of natural selection. The pups are now on their full 4 meals a day, and I've started to reduce the amount of water that's added to the kibble, so the pups will be eating dry kibble by the time they're 7 weeks old. Hopefully there will be some new pics in the gallery in a mo.

9/10/19 Such a lot has happened in the last few days! Firstly we have met just about all of our new puppy owners and it was a joy to meet you all. There's a lot of explaining to do, as required by the assured breeders scheme, but I think everyone understood it..... All the pups now have names, so hello to: Tegen, Skoy, Rufus, Tucker, Bella, Buddy, Alfie and Cooper. Weaning has been very successful so far, and we're now up to 3 meals a day. It's really the last physical developmental phase for the pups as their digestive system adapts to solid food as well as Hazel's milk. Hazel is still providing milk of course, but the pups' are quite rough with her, and I think she doesn't really like going in anymore. Instinct makes her go and feed the pups, and she will whine if she feels she needs to be with them. Hazel has also been away at night from the pups for the last couple of nights, and the pups don't seem to have noticed! This has allowed Carol to return to the bedroom, and the puppy room has been re-arranged to have a sofa and a small crate in it. This should allow me to start a little crate training with the pups in a week or so, both to help with the journey to the vets and more importantly for when they go to their new homes!

3/10/19 The pups have started weaning! And, so far, all is going well. I start the pups on puppy kibble that is really soaked in water and mashed to the consistency of runny mash potato. This makes it very much easier for them to pick up with their tongues and swallow. It also means that their little tummies are not overloaded with dryish food. They are fed in individual bowls, so that I can monitor how much each pup is eating, this is quite easy at the moment, but as the pups become more aware of my technique for placing the bowls, I suspect that I'll have difficulty keeping them from crowding the first 2 bowls that go in. Tomorrow will be the start of two meals a day. This process also produces another thing: proper poo! And, yes, the pups have started! It's not much at the moment and hopefully when they're upto 4 meals a day they will be using the toilet area regularly. This weekend is going to be a busy one for us as we meet our potential puppy owners, it should be a really fun time!

29/9/19 After a hectic weekend, it's time to relax for a little while! The whelping pen is now undergoing a bit of a change: the side bars have come out as the pups are strong enough (and quick enough!) to avoid being squashed by Hazel. This makes room for the toilet area to go in, and also increases the room for weaning. Yes, it'll soon be time for the pups to have their first "solid" meal. This will be Tuesday hopefully.  The pups now have a different range of toys with them, as they are starting to play a little more when they are awake. The biggest change over the weekend was the pups have started to drink water! Just a little, in a small bowl, and yes they do stand in it, but it's a big leap forward and necessary for when weaning begins. The pups also had their first experience of water in a different way today: They had their first little bath! well, a little dip to be honest. See the gallery for new photos. We also had a very unexpected and chance meeting with one of Hazel's pups from her previous litter. Freddie and his owner were driving by and saw that I was outside, so they stopped for a quick chat and a chance for me to take this photo:

26/9/19 Such a lot ishappening with the pups' development that it's difficult to keep up! Firstly their eyes are now pretty much focusing properly and they are aware of movemnet in front of them. We know tis as they look for Hazel when she's in the room by moving over to the gap in the whelping pen to catch a glimpse of her. Along with this, the pups can now hear! This development means its a little more difficult to move around without waking them up> It also means that I can now start playing the noises CD, so they start getting used to a range of noises as soon as possible - quite important as fireworks night will soon be with us. The pups are also beginning to play with each other for brief periods when they're not asleep. These periods of play time will extend as they will spend less time sleeping as they get older. It'll soon be time to start giving them toys to play with.

22/9/19 Such a lot has happened in the last few days! Firstly, the pups' eyes have fully opened- wonderful to see this happen, and alongside of this, they are much steadier (and quicker) on their feet. Poor Hazel has to be really quick to settle down for them to feed or else the pups are underneath her before she can get down. Hazel is really quite good at this, and she shuffles herself into a position where all the pups can feed without our help. We've placed a couple of soft toys in the pen for the pups to play with, but they seem more intent on just clambering over them. The pups are now 2 weeks old and that means...... worming! This isn't our favourite job, but it's essential. Thankfully we use a paste that doesnt require a huge amount of liquid, so it's not too difficult. We've got another 2 days of this to go, and Hazel also has the same. Hopefully there'll be some new photos in the gallery shortly.

17/9/19 The pups are in a relatively quiet period in terms of their development, as they just basically drink milk and sleep. This allows them to grow very quickly and when I weighed them all last night, they had all doubled their birth weight - pretty good going in 10 days! They are beginning to struggle up onto their feet, but it's only a quick wobble before falling back onto their bellies - very hilarious to watch. Feeding time with mum is 5 minutes of frenzied activity, followed by falling asleep, some of them still suckling Hazel. The pups are now starting to be able to wee without help from Mum, which is good in terms of their development, and also means the whelping pen is being cleaned twice a day from now on. My poor washing machine.... Anyway, there should be a new pic in the gallery tonight showing all the pups on Hazel. Just look at how they have grown.

13/9/19 Unbelievably the pups are a week old today! Well tonight to be more accurate. Hazel is still being very attentive, she even likes to lay out with the pups when they're not feeding (see the latest photos in the gallery). More amazingly, we are beginning to see signs of both the pups tring to get on their feet and their eyes opening! It will be a few more days before the eyes are fully open, but it's great to see such progress. Hazel is spending a little time away, and she especially enjoys retrieving some dummies in the back garden - the sessions are very short as she soon wants to get back to her pups. I weighed the pups last night and they are gaining weight at a fair rate. In fact, on average they gained 8ozs each since they were born, about half of the birth weights. Onething the photos don't show is the noise they make! lots of little chirrups and squeaks, which can be quite loud, especially during the night......

10/9/19Hazel is still devoting all of her time to the pups, but is willing to spend a little time outside of the pen now, just resting. The pups are gaining weight now, having put on approx. 3ozs each in the last couple of days. They are moving around a quite a speed already, which sometimes leads to us making a frantic count to make sure one of them hasn't ended upbehind Hazel. We have bars in the whelping pen, to makes sure that a pup can't be squeezed accidentally by Mum, but it's far more reassuring to have counted them all "present and correct". Hopefully I'll get a couple more photos in the gallery tonight and also sort out the captions which seem to have dissappeared!

8/9/19 Just a quick update to say Mum and pups had a peaceful night, just feeding and sleeping. Hazel is being so attentive at the moment, and just loves spending her time in the pen even when all thhe pups are asleep. Her appetite has returned and she's now eating 4 meals a day, augmented with fresh chicken and pilchards (but not together!). I've set up the page for the photo's of Hazels pups and I'll get some photo's in later on today. Anyway, I've just looked at the photos on our website and realised there's no photo's of Kingston, the dad, as an adult! So hopefully there'll be one below:

7/9/19 HAZEL HAS GIVEN BIRTH! Our dear girl gave birth to 8 pups during the night. (She started at 9pm, and finished at 2.00am). Mum and pups are all doing very well at the moment, They've all been for a trip to the vets for a check up and are now perfectly happy in the whelping pen. Hazel has been brilliant with the pups, not wanting to leave them for an instant, and just laying out so the pups can suckle whenever they want. The pups are remarkably mobile, even at this young age: They can't walk of course, but are very adept at "swimming" their way around. They find their way onto mum's teats using their sense of smell as they can't see or hear as yet. It's a great time-waster, just watching them move around and squeek if they stray to far from Mum. This usually then involves a helping hand from us to return them to Hazel as she doesn't want to disturb the other pups. Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll set up a new photo gallery page (if I can remember how!) so I can put lots of photos in, but in the meantime, there should be one appearing below anytime soon......

6/9/19 Well, Hazel is getting ready to give birth! I've set up the whelping room in the last couple of weeks and Hazel has been in there for the last couple of days. Overnight she has been nesting furiously, scrabbling all the sheets and blankets into what she thinks will be a comfortable nest. Hazel is panting quite a bit, which is normal and she is still drinking. She's not interested in any food, but is certainly keeping tags on where we are, especially Carol. So, the next update will hopefully be good news! In the meantime, here's the photo as promised from the last update:

23/8/19 Wow how time flies by! Well I have some very good news to tell! Hazel is pregnant and is due to give birth sometime during the first week in September. She is finally beginning to show and her apetite has certainly increased. WE do feed a little more than normal at this stage, but it's a balancing act as it's not too good if Hazel puts on too much bodyweight. She is still walking everyday with the other dogs, as I like to keep her fit, but there's no running or training allowed - which she does miss. I'm going to try and increase the regularity of the updates from now on, and hopefully I'll put a phot of Hazel up with the next update.

17/7/19 My sincerest apologies for the complete lack of updates over the last few months: I have been extremely busy and don't get too much time to sit down these days. In fact, the only reason I'm inside now is because it's started to rain - just a small amount but enough for an excuse to stop for the evening. So much has happened, both dog and non-dog related, that it's difficult to know where to start, but here goes: Kingston went for his first eye exam at the beginning of June, and I'm pleased to say that he passed, with no problems. SO, he is now all set to be a stud dog, taking over from dear old Rowan,who, truthfully is pretty much past it (poor boy!). ANd the really good news is that Kingston mated with Hazel just over a week ago! He mated a total of 3 times, and it was amazing to see how he went from being a complete novice, to very thorough in just the space of 3 days. Hopefully, hopefully Hazel will be pregnant now, but we won't know for definite for a few weeks until she's scanned at 30 days. If she is, the pups are due to be born at the beginning of september. Kingston's gundog training is progressing well, including some water retrieves. He's also doing a lot of training "in company" and this has helped him to really calm down around other dogs. Rowan, who's nearly 10 now, is starting to take things a little easier: He's not quite so keen on running around, although he'll still "go for it" if there's a retrieve in the offing. Amber and Hazel are 5 years old today, and I can remember their birth as if it was yesterday:The emotions when dear old Willow gave birth to their litter (and her final one) and the realisation that enough girls were born so that both Carol and myself could choose which pup we wanted! Non-dog stuff thats happened since the last update includes the rather disasterous performance of "my" football team Plymouth Argyle. My lad and I are often travelling all over the country supporting them, but this last season, has been hard to be enthusiastic about, especially seeing us lose up at Accrington, 5-1, which pretty much relegated us.

17/2/19 Well, I just can't believe how time is flying by!

Firstly, and most importantly, for those who are on our waiting list, and who still want a puppy from us, please can you contact us again as we've started a new list. This is primarily because of Hazel missing on her last season and the list is now getting rather "old".

We've had what I consider to be pretty good weather in Cornwall this Winter: Simply this means that it hasn't rained a great deal when I've been walking the dogs in the morning. The roads and fields are still wet of course, but at least we don't return home completely soaked through. The snow didn't hang around for too long thank goodness as Rowan tries to eat it. I'm sure he thinks that the stuff just shouldn't be on his lawn and therefore he needs to get rid of it. KIngston has made his first steps towards becoming a trained gundog! He had his "first" proper session with our friend on wednesday. He didn't do too badly, and all the effort that we've put in over the last year with the basic obedience is certainly going to help in the coming months. Amber and Hazel are just fine, no sign of Amber coming into season yet, although Rowan is beginning to show a little interest: this usually means that her hormones are on the change, so I expect her to start her season in the next month or so.

3/1/19 First update of the new year! And firstly may I say Thank you to all of you who sent Christmas cards to us. We've really enjoyed reading those that had pictures and updates of pups from our previous litters; it was especially heart-warming to read about some of dear Holly's pups. We didn't feel up to sending our own cards this year, as this has been our first Christmas for 12 years without Holly and we didn't celebrate too much....

Anyway, I was hoping to bring you some good news about Hazel and her mating with Rowan, but, unfortunately Hazel isn't pregnant. We had her scanned an couple of days ago, and sadly she hasn't taken this time. So, we will be mating Amber on her next season (anticipated to be March time) and as we want to keep a girl, we will most probably use a different male, albeit a working retriever like ours.

I am going to try and update this on a more regular basis from now on, and I will also be deleting some of the previous years. I also intend to update the other pages, but, along with all the other things that occupy my time, this may not happen for a while.

6/12/18 Unbelievably 2 months have gone by, and such a lot has happened, some good news, and some very sad news to report and partly the reason why I haven't felt like doing this update.

Firstly to the good news, and this is in two parts: Kingston is now a year old, and it was therefore his time for his hip scoring. This duly happened on his first birthday (not a great present for him as it meant a trip to the vets). For the first time we have also had his elbows graded as this is now a recommendation from the Kennel Club. I am pleased to report that his scores were excellent: 4:3 for his hip scores, and 0:0 for his elbow grades. This is well within the KC recommendations for breeding, and means that we can use him, subject to his eye testing (June next year) when he's old enough.

The second part of the good news is that we've mated Hazel with Rowan! This happened last week, and Ro mated 3 times to hopefully catch Hazel just at the right time. I did take Hazel for a couple of blood tests to check exactly when she'd ovulate, so hopefully the timing was just right and Hazel will soon (well in nine weeks) have some pups! We're already looking forward to it as we both need some cheering up.....

 

And finally to the sad news. I am very saddened to have to tell you all that my dear Holly is no longer with us. I took the very difficult decision, after several agonising days to release her from the obvious pain that she was in. It started some two months ago, with a little lameness in her back legs, which gradually became worse, and also started to affect her front ones as well. She had reached the grand old age of 12, and has given us such wonderful memories, both with her laid back manner, her times as a brilliant mum to her pups, the laugh we had when she beat Rowan in a training session with a cracking retrieve that NONE of us thought she'd get, and the way she'd greet all the people that she's met over the years. Holly was brilliant with children who were nervous of dogs as she'd just stand there until the children had relaxed, then she'd greet them. And so, Holly, you are now running free, without the pain, with your litter mate Willow, your daughter Pip, your niece Maple, and our dear Bramble over at Rainbow Bridge. Miss you loads xxx

6/10/18 Where did september go? Unbelievable how the days are flying by. One consequence of this is the dark mornings and the increasingly early sunsets, which means that the dogs are having the morning walks by torch light. I must admit I don't like this time of year, and as I look out over the back garden and the hills beyond it's certainly looking like an autuminal scene with the last of the sun's rays reflecting on the barn opposite. A scene that looks rather cold and a little menacing to be honest. Anyway, enough of that, all the dogs are ok. Kingston is responding well to his training, his "manners" on the lead are pretty much sorted, and work has begun on some simple retrieving basics. Holly is feeling her age a little, as she seems to be a bit stiff on her back legs when she gets up, but she soon gets going if you've got a lead in your hand! Rowan has got a little grey in his muzzle now, but he hasn't slowed down at all, and still scampers after a dummy when thrown. Hazel and Amber are fine, still causing the occasional bit of mischief, but lovable none-the-less. On to puppy news: Well we are waiting for Hazel to come into season so we can mate her with Rowan. I think she'll be in season around mid-november but it's all informed guesswork really. Anyway, below should be an updated phot ok Kingston taken this week:

Kingston posing for the camera,3/10/18. Age 11months

 

24/8/18 All is relatively quiet here at Goldendance; Kingston's obedience and general training continues, and with the introduction of the whistle and hand commands it's starting to come together at last. His heel work is much improved on the lead, but still a little wayward off lead. We've done a little retrieving, nothing too serious - he's very good at marking the fall, and finding, but not so keen on bringing it straight back to hand - something else to work on! Amber is in season at the moment, so Rowan is seperate drom her as we don't have "accidents", and the poor old boy certainly knows she's in season. Hes not too loud, just a rather pathetic whimpering sound, but it can get rather monotonous. To try and take his mind off it, I take him to the field twice a week for a good run / training session which he really enjoys. Holly is 12 years old at the end of the month and she just seems to be enjoying life now. Interestingly, I took Holly over for an eye test when the others had their annual check up. Holly doesn't need one now as her breeding days are well and truly behind her, but the specialist vet who performs the test wanted an older dog so that a trainee could have a look, especially as Holly always had a "clear" certificate. Anyway, the really good news is that there are no heriditary diseases showing up in her eyes even at her age, but not so good is that shes probably a little long sighted now, with a couple of "floaters" in one eye. It's nothing to worry about, but the floaters can be a little annoying for her. (I know, because I have one in one of my eyes) What was even more incredible was that Holly seemed to remember the procedure and even the room in which the eye tests are done - incredible as it was 5 years ago since she was last tested!

17/7/18 An early morning entry for the diary. And its birthday wishes to quite a few pups, Namely Holly's last litter who were 5 years old yesterday, and Willow's last litter who are 4 years old today! Wilow's litter includes our very own Hazel and Amber, and was one of the more memorable litters during their whelping, as we realised with some joy that both Carol and I could have a litttle girl to train. How time has flown by and both dogs have become Mums themselves. Anyway, the main problem in the last month or so has been keeping the dogs cool - not often we have that problem.... This has meant confining their walking and training to the very early morning periods and allowing them just to rest up during the day. I'd love to get a paddling pool, but it'd have to be a very big one to be able to cope with all 5 at once! I took Rowan up to the field we train in on Sunday, primarily to give him a complete test of his retrieving skills. And it was wonderful to see that he hasn't forgotten a thing: Blinds, lefts and rights, go backs, overs etc, it's all still there. It makes me even more determined to get it right with Kingston as well when the time comes.

20/6/18 Gosh, nearly a month since the last entry on here! Where has the time gone? Well for Ambers pups it's been spent settling into their new homes and having trips to their vets for their injections. I'm pleased to say all of them have settled in very well and they are experiencoing a wide range of "things" wih their new owners. It has seemingly been very quiet here without them, but all our dogs have been enjoying the extra attention now we have more time. Dear Holly, who's now nearly 12 years old has finally been "semi-retired" from walking with the others as the old girl just can't keep up with the pace. Instead, we just wander around the village at her speed, which generally means poking her nose into every nook and cranny and not really getting very far! Kingston's training is back into full swing again, still fine tuning the basics before we move onto the more formal retrieving training. It's a little boring for us, but building a good obedience foundation is far more important at this stage. In other news, I've been working like mad in the evenings and at weekends to try and catch up on the back log of "maintenance" job in and around the house. So far all the hedges and trees have been cut, the kennels and potting shed etc have had their preservative coatings: next on the list is re-levelling the path to the patio and painting the back of the house and all before the football season starts - It's no wonder I don't get a chance to update this more often.....

23/5/18 This will be the last update specifically about Amber's litter as all the pups have now gone to their new homes. Yes, the pups; Bonnie, Cleo, Maple, Jensen and Toffee left us over the weekend and travelled to their new homes, mainly in the south east of England. It was a sad time for both myself and Carol as we've spent the last eight weeks or so caring and nuturing the pups, feeding, and cleaning up after them. It suddenly seems very quiet here and we've got time to do other things! We do miss the pups, especially all the joy they have brought to us as we've watched them develop and learn new things. Right, time to record the last few days: Firstly our visit to the vets was not without incident, and I'm glad I took spare vet beds for the crates - enough said. The pups seemed to enjoy their time at the vets, running around in the consulting room and none of them actually seemed to notice being examined by our vet or indeed when the microchip was implanted.  With the weather being so kind, the pups spent a lot of time outside playing on the decking - which meant that they all slept well when they were tired out. 8 week worming was easy: A tablet this time and no complaint from any pup as they swallowed it. I kept to feeding the pups in individual bowls as this helped to keep an eye on the greedy ones. And so we have said goodbye to another litter. We have had lots of photos and messages about how the pups are settling in, and long may this continue as its wonderful to see them grow and settle into their new homes.

15/5/18 Gosh time has really flown by! We have been really busy here with all of the preparations for the pups' forthcoming visit to the vets, preparing all the paperwork and generally looking after the pups. As the weather has been so good, the pups have been outside to play at least 3 times a day, and they love it! It's obviously a larger area so they can charge around or just rest as the will takes them. We also have a whole different set of toys for them to play with and they certainly enjoy the variation. The pups had their second bath at the weekend and they all seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully I'll put a couple of pics in the gallery. And so, to our final "big day" tomorrow: the trip to our vets. The pups are prepared as much as I can get them: They've all been in and around the crate, I've even had them in the back of the car with the engine running. Hopefully the motion of the car moving will be the only new experience they have, apart from seeing the vet himself of course. And then? Well that's the sad part for us as we will wave goodbye to the pups over the next few days. They have all been wonderful and a really pleasant litter to have (apart from waking me up at 5.30 this morning!)

7/5/18 We're in another realatively quiet period here with the pups. There's no more physical development now, apart from growing and they are now "just" miniature dogs! The transition onto solid food has been quite smooth, and I am increasing the quantity a little each day. The food is also not soaked in as much water now, as I'm gradually moving towards feeding them dry food. The pups have been outside quite a lot in the last few days, taking advantage of the un-usually good weather for a bank holiday weekend. We will start a little crate training in the next few days, preparing them for the trip to the vets and for when they go to their new homes. Finally, the noises CD is now quite loud! I don't know how the pups manage to go to sleep  listening to it!

1/5/18 A few bits of news to get through. Firstly, I forgot to mention in the last update that the pups have had their first bath. We like to give them at least a couple of baths as this gets them used to yet another experience for later on. Talking of experiences, the pups had their first taste of the big outside world yesterday! (and today). Yes, they all had a play session outside on the decking, and after the initial shock of being outside, they certainly enjoyed themselves playing and running around. The whelping pen is now re-arranged with a chair instead of the bed, and I've put a small crate in here to start the process of crate training. Finaly, today was the day when Amber gave the pups her last feed. It's always a bit sad for us as we know this, Amber and the pups don't realise yet, but tomorrow they will, so We're expecting a little whinging - especially from Amber..... Hopefully I'll get some pics of all 3 events for the pups into the gallery.

29/4/18 Hurray! The 5 week worming schedule is finished, and as is usual for us, no signs of any worms. The pups didn't seem to mind having the paste squirted onto their tongues and seemed to rather enjoy all the attention and cuddles that went with the treatment. At 8 weeks its just a tablet; much easier and quicker and less noticeable for the pups. The pups are up to 4 meals a day now, with Amber only feeding them twice per day. It will soon be time for Amber's last feed, probably wednesday, and it's always a sad time for us when mum gives her last feed. Amber has given such a lot to the pups; She's always been there when they needed milk and comfort; never complained about them biting her teats and has looked after them so well. Hopefully there'll be some new pics with the next update.

24/4/18 We're in a bit of a quiet period here as far as the pups are concerned. They are now eating 3 meals a day and relying a little less on Ambers milk. This is building up to the big day when Amber will not feed them anymore and the pups will be eating 4 meals a day. This is usually around the 6 week mark, but can be slighlty earlier depending on the mum. Dear old Holly was a brilliant mum; Up until her pups were five and a half weeks old, and then she wanted nothing more to do with them! I think Amber will go to the six week mark, but we won't let her go any longer than that. Our next task is the worming at 5 weeks of age. Not a nice job, but always important to do. The pups are playing quite a bit now, when they're awake, including with each other. The outside area is ready for them now, but unfortunztely the weather has done the usual thing on us. Hopefully it'll improve in the next couple of weeks so that they can go outside to play.

20/4/18 Time is certainly flying by here, and with the better weather I've been able to catch up with a lot of overdue outside jobs; hence the lack of an update. Well the pups are truly puppy like now! They are eating two meals a day, drinking a little water and, unbelievably for their age, 95% of all "poo" is done in the toiletting area! They've not quite got it with the "wee" yet, but it won't be long. The pups are certainly playing more, both with each other and with the various toys that we give them. Their latest addition is a baby play gym which they do seem to like pulling around. Hopefully it'll show up in one of the photos. Amber is still feeding them of course, but with a little reluctance as the pups teeth have come through - it came as a bit of a shock to me as one tried to mouth my hand as I was sorting out its' food! The noises CD is getting louder and the pups can certainly hear it and all the other sounds in the house. They certainly won't be scared of a washing machine as the thing seems to be on constantly here. As I type this they are just settling down for another nap after eating their tea. I wish I could do the same......

15/4/18 Some significant changes and events for the pups in the last couple of days! Firstly and most importantly for the pups- They have started weaning. This marks a milestone in their development, as up til now they have been solely relying on mum's milk. We start off very gently with one small meal a day, and we'll gradually build this up over the next couple of weeks to 4 meals. The meal consists of puppy kibble which has been soaked with warm water until its the consistency of wall paper paste. We use individual bowls to start, so that we can monitor each pups' eating habit. Truthfully, it went better that normal, with all the pups eating well and not making too much mess. The second development is that I've introduced the seperate toiletting area into the whelping pen. This has a wee mat init, and we'll start to encourage the pups to toilet in there. This helps the pups later on as they learn toilet training in their new homes i.e. there is a separate place to go to the toilet. Amber is coping well with the changes and goes in quite happily to feed them. This weekend we have started to meet all our new puppy owners; its been a busy time for us, and I hope that all of you enjoying seeing Amber and the pups. Hopefully I'll get lots of new pics into the gallery soon.

12/4/18 Today was the first of several changes for the pups, as I removed the pig rails from inside the whelping pen. These rails prevent Amber from inadvertently squashing a young pup, but now the pups are strong enough to climb around or over Amber if she lays on them. This recognises a milestone in the pups development, as they are now quite confident on their feet and can see quite clearly. This speed of movement also gives Amber a problem as they can get underneath her when she tries to lay down to feed them. The separate toilet area will be going in during the next few days, and hopefully the pups will soon learn to use it.

7/4/18 Well it's all happened at once! The pups eyes are now pretty much fully open and they're up on their feet. Not only that, they are beginning to have periods when they're all awake and starting to play with each other, and are also more aware of their surroundings. This is a marked change from only a couple of days ago, when their routine consisted pretty much of suckling and sleeping. Amber is feeding them approx. every two and a half hours, and also spending some time away from the pups, just resting and being with our other dogs. I think the pups' hearing is also developing, as they now seem to recognise the call "pup-pups" whenever we call it. We have nearly finished the two week worming schedule (once a day for three days) and it's gone really quite well. The pups don't seem to object too much and Amber actually seems to like the stuff! (Mum and pups are done at the same time using the same worming paste). Oiur next task will be to start playing the noises CD when they are awake, to start the socialising with the different sounds that they'll make when they leave us.

4/4/18 April already and the pups are 2 weeks old today! The time has certainly flown by, although for those of you waiting to see the pups it must seem like an age. Anyway, the pups are struggling up onto their feet! It's really quite funny to watch, as they wobble back and forth, trying to work out how to actually move in the direction they want to go. Along with this, their eyes are now defiitely showing signs of being open. There is now definite black "gaps" where their eyes will be, and once they are fully open it'll be a few more days for them to focus properly. Then Amber had better watch out as they'll be able to see her and move quickly towards her. We start the 2 week worming regime tomorrow, not that we've seen any worms (as usual) but it's always a good preventative. Hopefully there'll be some more photos in the gallery in a few minutes.

31/3/18 All ok here, things are a little quiet with the pups as there's not much new to report. The pups are getting heavy and more mobile with one or two trying to stand on their front legs. All their eyes are beginning to open, but it's just a feint crack at the moment and impossible to photograph! These two events; eyes opening and up on their feet, happen pretty much simultaneously as there's no point in one and not the other. Their ability to hear follows on from this approx 3 or 4 days later. As I type this, all the pups are sleeping and wriggling. It's wonderful to watch and a real "time-waster" as i could just watch and be amused by their little movements. Hopefully I'll get some more pictures in the gallery, including one in the weighing scales as they weren't very awake when I weighed them yesterday.

27/3/18 We're entering what I suppose is a "quiet" period for the pups in that there's not a great deal of visible development: Their eye slits are becoming more defined, and their ears are beginning to develop more, but these are only minor changes.The main difference is that they are now putting on a goodly amount of weight, on average 5 ozs in the last 2 days. They are getting very mobile, managing to regulate their position in the pen so that they are either warm under the heat lamp or moving away from it to cool off. I'll put a couple of pics in the gallery, one showing the boys together and the other is the girls.

25/3/18 I've managed it! I've remembered how to insert a page into the website, so there is a new tab at the top showing some more pictures of Ambers' puppies. I'll add all future photo's to this, and hopefully build up a time line showing how the pups develop. At the moment, the pups are in what I call the "hippo" stage in terms of looks: ie the head is way out of proportion to their bodies! The pups are actually growing although it's not apparent: They have all put on approx 3 ozs in weight in the last 2 days. It's quite difficult to weigh them sometimes as they do wriggle when they're in the scales, but as soon as I get one that falls asleep in there I'll take a photo. It's reasonably easy to tell the boys apart at the moment as one has a slight white patch of fur on his head, but the girls are very similar. This will change over the course of the next few weeks, and we'll be able to tell the difference at about 4 weeks of age. Amber is continuing to be a wonderful Mum. She's now worked at that at 4 days old she doesn't need to be in with them all the time, so she'll hop out to eat and drink, and have a relaxing half an hour asleep - by the whelping pen of course! Over the course of the next few updates I do intend to put some more photo's in the main Gallery - now I've remembered how to do it.

23/3/18 Amber and pups are all fine and doing well. The pups have become a little more mobile today - its amazing how quickly they learn how to crawl -and this has upset Amber a little as she loves them to stay close and not stray to far from her! Amber hasn't left the pups at all since they've been born apart from dashes for toiletting needs and a quick "clean-up" shower outside with our warm water supply (which was specially put in for the dogs). I've weighed the pups tonight and all have put on a little weight, which is a good sign as usually it takes 2 or 3 days before they recover from the experience of being born. I won't be able to do an update tomorrow, but hopefully I'll have some good time on Sunday to get the new gallery sorted out with some decent pictures.

22/3/18 9pm Well what a busy day for Amber and the pups! (and us as well of course) The pups have been having a wonderful time: Eating and sleeping and Amber has been busy doing the same and feeding the pups as well! We also took a trip to the vets this morning for Amber and the pups to be checked, and everything is fine so far. The journey is always a bit fraught as Amber just wants to be with her pups all the time. Amber has also now found her appetite - she's having four reasonably big meals a day, supplemented with chicken and pasta, and also some high protein food.

Ok, Amber had 5 pups, all between 16 and 20 ozs in weight. The split was 3 girls and 2 boys and they are all quite even in their colour.

Finally, we are in the process of contacting everyone on our waiting list. If you haven't heard from us yet, please be patient as we both really do need to try and get some sleep when we're nor dealing with Amber, her pups and the other dogs.

22/3/18 8.30am Firstly AMBER HAS HAD HER PUPS! which explains the lack of an update yesterday evening - as we were in the thick of it so to speak. Amber is doing very well at the moment, she doesn't want to leave her pups for any longer than absolutely necessary and then only to toilet. I'm even feeding her in the whelping pen as she was so anxious to get back when I tried to feed her in the kitchen. We're off to the vets this morning for a Mum/pups check up to make sure everything is ok, but the pups are feeding well, poo-ing and weeing with Amber's help and they seem contented. I will be posting a photo of them all later on today, and we hope to start contacting people later on as well.

20/3/18 Just a quick update to say no movement yet! Hopefully, hopefully I'll have some more positive news tomorrow, so Carol and I are just resting up as well as Amber, saving our energy!

19/3/18 No news to report yet I'm afraid: Amber is just resting up in the whelping pen, preparing herself for the time to come. Her temperature hasn't yet dropped for the final time, so I doubt if it'll be tomorrow, and so we wait patiently and somewhat anxiously........

18/3/18 Well, we are very close to Amber giving birth now, and thankfully what snow we have had hasn't settled at all. Amber is quite settled in the whelping room and just rests up in the pen saving her energy. We are about as ready as we can be, I've even got the car ready just in case we have to dash to the vets - fingers crossed we don't have to..... Carol is now sleeping in the whelping room and I've taken to the front room sofa so that I'm on hand as quickly as possilbe should Amber start during the night. I will never forget Willow's first litter as she started at 4am! I'll try and update this daily from now on as I know lots of you are waiting on the news.

11/3/18 A busy week here as I've been re-arranging our dining room ready for Amber and her puppies. She's got between 7 / 10 days to go, but they could actually be born quite safely from now on, soI do like to be prepared early. It has involved a fair amount of re-arrangement as the whole room is set up just for Amber and her puppies, and it also gives her a feeling of privacy and a quiet room away from the others. Our dogs aren't normally allowed in this room, so Amber will feel quite priviledged to be in there. Hopefully she'll find it to her taste! Amber is still walking with the adult dogs, but I've shortened this distance so that she doesn't get too tired. It's quite important that she still exercises as it keeps her fit and health, ready for the exhausting time of whelping. Amber seems happy enough at the moment; she certainly enjoys her extra little meal at lunchtime, especially as she'll have a tin of sardines or a hard boiled egg with it. Kingston has decided that he doesn't like the rain hitting his ears! He was out in some heavy rain the other evening and he kept on shaking his head or rubbing his ears against me when the rain hit them. He's going to have to get used to the rain living in Cornwall!! All the other dogs are ok, dear Holly will be off to the dog groomers before long; her coat has "frizzled" over the winter and the old girl looks like a fluff ball! (well compared to the others anyway)

A picture of Amber, just beginning to "look" pregnant 3/3/18

4/3/18 Time is absolutely flying by! Amber is progressing well with her pregnancy so far, she has not had any morning sickness and certainly hasn't gone off her food! In fact, she's now having and extra meal at mid-day. This is only a light meal, just to help her with the growth of her puppies. She'll really need the extra food once the pups are born. She's beginning to show a little now, which isn't suprising as she's only 2 week (or so) away! I shall start getting the whelping room ready for her soon, just so that she's quite comfortable and settled in there before she starts whelping. The snow hasn't altered our routine here, Walks have still got to be done (although a bit shortened) and my front grass is now looking rather trampled as the snow has all melted. Kingston didn't pay much attention to it, in fact, it was only Rowan and Hazel who seemed interested; Hazel just wanted to jump around in the stuff, and Rowan seemed to want to get rid of it all by trying to eat it! - I soon put a stop to that! As I type this, all the snow has gone from this part of Cornwall to be replaced by our usual fare of rain. And therefore back to the almost never ending task of drying the dogs after their walks. Kingstons training is on-going of course, and pretty much limited to the basics of obedience: Sit, heel, come and into bed. We're also beginning to introduce the hand signals and whistle commands - it can get a little tedious, but it's so essential if we want Kingston to enter working cometitions later on.

19/2/18 I've held off with the latest update,because I wanted to give some positive news on Amber, and it's very positive! We took Amber to our vets tonight for a scan and she is definitely pregnant, We saw quite a few embryos inside her, but its almost impossible to determine how many due to the 3 dimensional view that would be required. The important points were that there's a good amount: not too many or too few as both of these can cause problems. So, we're really happy about this, and dear Rowan has sired another litter for us! All being well, the pups are due around the 14th of march, but it depends on whether it was the first or second mating that "took" as these were two days apart. We do have a waiting list for this litter, so if you are interested in having a pup please contact us on the email address on the contact page sooner rather than later....

Other news: Our new pup, Kingston, is growing fast. He's learnt quite a bit so far, but I think he most enjoys getting out and about and experiences new things -his favourite seems to be wandering around outside shops and supermarkets meeting people and watching cars go by. His toilet training is going well, no accidents in the house so far and long may this continue! Toilet training is always a "fraught" area as it's so easy to make it difficult (if that makes sense). He's also learning a cue word for going for a wee - this is "busy busy" and hopefully when he's older he'll be able to wee on command. (very useful on the dark, wet and windy nights that we get in Cornwall). Rowan, Holly and Hazel are all ok, just enjoying their walks and lazing in front of the logburner when the fire's in.

14/1/18 A first update of the new year and the first for 6 weeks! No excuses for my tardiness I'm afraid, just laziness and the fact that I spend a fair proportion of my day sat at a computer in work, so its pretty much the last thing I want to do when there's so many other "distractions" at home. Lots of exciting things to report, and I'll try and do them in order. Firstly, we had a "boarder" with us over the christmas and new year: Holly (a pup from Hazel's litter) came to stay for three weeks whilst her owners returned to see family in New Zealand. Holly had a fine old time with us and has grown into a beautiful girl - a credit to Janine, Warwick, Orla and the boys. So, after a busy busy christmas break, there's been no let up for us as we collected our new puppy, Kingston, on the same day that Holly went home. Kingston (hopefully a photo will appear below) is of course Rowan's son. He's now 10 weeks old and is an absolute bundle of joy. Training so far has been confined to getting him used to his crate, toiletting, and experiencing as much of the outside world as possible. This is in our arms when we visit anywhere as his vaccinations arent yet complete. We've been to the vets twice (once with Amber) around the village several times, outside our "local" supermarket for an hour or so, and even a visit to the local car tyre garage (for the noises). He's also listening to the noises CD and today was his first time hearing a starting pistol - his reaction was pretty good and he didnt move on the second shot. We've started on the obedience training - all very gently of course, and also some simple play retrieves - which he absolutely loves. The final big news today is that AMBER MATED WITH ROWAN! We knew that Amber was coming into season a while ago, because Rowan seems to be able to tell about 3 weeks before it happens. This time we haven't split them apart so soon,in fact it was friday that we kept Rowan away, and this seems to have kept his "ardour" slightly in check and he was very gentlemanly like in the actual mating. All being well, we'll repeat the mating on tuesday. And finaly: My new years resolutions are to try and update this more often and for those of you who know me, to get to more away football games supporting Argyle (but don't tell Carol!)

4/11/17 Rowan has sired another litter of Pups. Not one of our girls this time, but with a girl called Tess who is a full sister of our dearly departed Bramble. Tess had 3 boys and 2 girls, and we know that a couple are still available. So if you want a Rowan pup, and can't wait until Amber has her next litter then contact us and we'll arrange for your details to be passed on. We'll be having a boy pup, and I know Tess's owners will be keeping a girl, so don't hesitate if you want one. Rowan is also now back with the girls after Haze's season has finished - he was a bit ken around her to start with, but all 4 have settled back down with each other quite quickly - partly because they all want to lay in front of the log burner. We've really enjoyed the decent weather recently, with lots of long, dry walks and no mess in the house - long may it continue.....

26/10/17 Wow I can't believe how much time has passed since the last update! My fault of course but such a lot has happened here to keep me busy. In fact, It's taken 10 minutes to get the laptop up and running again after being off for so long....

Anyway, Dog news first. Rowan has mated with another girl! She's called Tess, and is a full sister of dear Bramble (but not litter mate) Tess is not owned by us, but she's a full working goldie, with a cracking pedigree. The pups are due to be born soon, and we are helping her owner with names of people who want a pup. Our fingers are crossed, as we want a little boy pup - a sort of "Son of Rowan" - really looking forward to it to be honest - although not the toilet training in the middle of winter! All our dogs are ok, Hazel's in season at the moment but we won't be mating her this time of course as it's far too close to her last litter. Holly has had a little "pampering" session in that we took her to a dog grooming palour to get her coat sorted. It's quite funny really, but as she's gone into her "old age" her hair seems to grow much faster and is really quite fluffy! All very cute, but a bit of a bind to keep clean with dirty wet roads to walk around.

Secondly, we have had our second "inspection" by the kennel club Assured breeder scheme. This as some of you know is a scheme run by the kennel club to encourage "best practice" by dog breeders. I'm pleased to say we passed with flying colours, after an inspection which lasted 3 hours including a pretty thorough examination of our premises and all of the paperwork.

Finally, to non-dog news. After all of these years, Carol now has a nice new shiny kitchen (and dining room)! Yes, we finally took the plunge and gutted the kitcken and dining room, then had a new floor in the kitchen, and new units etc put in. I've had lots of fun slavishly painting walls, ceilings and skirting boards, and seemingly 1000's of other little jobs that needed doing. It's all finished now, apart from finding a couple of new units to go in the dining room. I thought that I'd be able to rest over the winter, but Carol is already making dark mutterings about me finally finishing the lounge off.....Heyho!

Oh, and of course there's the football - up until last week I wouldn't have mentioned it, but finally we got our first win on the road, up at Wimbledon and yes,Dan and I were there to see it! We're still bottom of the division but I'm a bit more hopeful now.

8/9/17 Gosh a whole month or so has gone by without and update! My apologies for this! I'd like to say I've been on a long holiday but I haven't. It's mainly because I've been catching up on a lot of DIY jobs, along with following Plymouth Argyle around the country as the football season has started again. Anyway all of the dogs are ok, Hazel has recovered her body shape after her recent litter, and her coat has finally started to grow again and she's beginning to look like a peoper working retriever again. otherwise, its just been lots of exercise and training for them all. Even Holly has had some fun retrievng in the back garden!

17/7/17 Firstly birthday wishes to the following pups! For the 16th July 2013: Mini, Sally, Kiba, Jasper,Simba and Reuben. And for today, 17th July 2014: Dunnock, Merlot, Ollie, Lottie, Kara, and of course Amber and Hazel, our two girls. It always astounds me how fast the time passes by, especially as I seem to remember all of them as puppies, rather than full grown dogs!

Anyway, on to more serious news: Dear Holly has been through another operation to remove another lump from one of her teats. This involves the removal of the complete mamory gland and is quite a large operation. Unfortunately the lump was cancerous, but I think we caught it earl and our vet is hopeful that it won't have spread. Our fingers are crossed. Holly seems ok at the moment, just a bit restless as she can only have limited exercise. I have kept her separate from the others whilst she recovers, but she seemed a bit lonely, so now Rowan is with her - as long as he behaves himself. Amber and Hazel are ok: Amber's season is over, so Rowan has calmed down, and Hazel is slowly recovering from having her litter. She's lost quite a bit of fur (which is normal) and she's looking a little underweight, so she's still on a little puppy food mixed in with her adult food. All are enjoying their early morning qalks as its nice and cool.

4/7/17 All of Hazel's pups have gone to their new homes now, in fact the last pup left us on sunday, 25/6, but I've been so busy since that this is the first time I've been able to find time to sit and update the diary (more on that later). So far, all of the puppies; Holly, Luna, Rosie, Freddie, Monty, Oggie and Rusty have settled in well and seem to be behaving themselves! By all accounts our starting the crate training has helped in their new homes and its always good to hear that our hard work is helping in this way. And so, as another litter has left us, we now return to "normal". It does seem strange not rushing around thinking about what needs to be done with / for the pups, but I've been very busy: Firstly cleaning and disinfecting everything we used with the litter. This is a long, laborious task, but essential to ensure that there isn't any disease lurking on the whelping pen/ bedding / crates / boxes etc. Also, the garden has been a bit neglected so I've been getting back on top of that. And I've had a bit of a break! Yes, Carol packed our son and I off to London this weekend to see Green Day (and some other rather good bands) at Hyde Park. We had a brilliant time! And what's even better is that football is back this Saturday! It's only pre-season friendlies, but anything is better than nothing.....

22/6/17 VT day: or otherwise known as Vet Trip day! Oh what fun the pups had. Actually it all went rather well. Thankfully the weather was kind so thed pups had a good play outside before we made the trip and they were all pretty sleepy in the car: They soon came awake at the vets though, and had a fine old time playing in the consultation room as each pup took their turn for their examination and microchip insertion. All the pups are healthy and with all the boys have their testicles in the right place. One of the pups even managed to fall asleep on the floor! Then it was back in the crates for the journey home. They were so well behaved that we stopped off at my local fruit and veg shop so that the people who work there could come and meet them (They all knew about the pups as I use the shop regularly). Back home and a quick feed later, all the pups had a good long sleep, tired out by all the excitement. And so, we are now at the final stage: Saying goodbye to the pups as they start leaving for their new homes tomorrow. As always, we do get attached to each of the pups. We have watched their characters and personalities develop over the last 8 weeks and it's going to leave a large gap in our lives when they leave. Both Carol and I each have our own favourites, differents pups, and we do wonder sometimes which one we'd choose if we were to keep one. I'm not say who of course, so don't ask when you come! There will be a couple of new pics in the gallery of our trip to the vets.

19/6/17 Phew isnt it hot all of a sudden! This means that the puppies are drinking more of course and we try and keep them a little cooler with a large fan blowing most of the day. It's also meant that they can go outside to play, and I have errected a gazebo to keep most of the sun off them. We bathed them on saturday morning after outside play and he pups really enjoyed it. We used a large baby bath and some just sat in it, whilst others tried to catch the bubbles. Then a quick run on the grass to dry off a little followed by a rub down with a towel. The crate training is going ok, and hopefully tomorrow I'll put a crate in the car for their next bit of acclimatisation.. And now we look forward to Thursday and our visit to the vets......

14/6/17 Finally, finally the better weather has arrived! This has meant that the pups have been able to go outside for a playtime all together.This has a number of benefits for the pups: firstly it gives them a chance to "burn off" some energy by running around in a bigger space.Secondly it gives them another, different experience, and thirdly they get some awareness of what "outside" is. We have also been taking the pups individually out to play on the grass. It's far too difficult to just let them all run free on the grass as they do like to explore with their mouths! One consequence of all of this exploring has meant that the pups have been having regular baths which they all seem to enjoy. On a slight sad note, Hazel has now finished her motherly duties. We like to take the mum away from the pups when they are around 6 weeks of age so that the pups are used to being without mum before they go to their new homes. It also helps the Mum with her recovery process after looking after the pups and supplying all the milk. In the wild, by now most of the pups would have naturally passed away, leaving perhaps two or three for the mother to look after. However, due to the domestication, and the care that the pups and mum receives, the litter is much bigger at this stage, and its very hard for the mum to keep on supplying the milk. Dear Hazel has probably lost 2 or 3 kgs from her normal weight, even though she's had 4 meals a day, with added protein. So now, it's time for her to recover and take things easy for a while - until we start training again of course! I think Hazel has missed her pups more than they have missed her to be honest, but that's pretty much normal as the pups are now eating so much food! Hopefully there will be a couple of photos of the pups playing outside in the gallery shortly

6/6/17 Time seems to by flying by at the moment. We have now completed worming at 5 weeks, and again the pups behaved very well considering. Hazel, however definitely does not like the paste! Hazel is still feeding the pups, but now in a slightly different way: The pups will have their "solid" puppy food first, and Hazel will then come in after to top them up. This reduces the pups voracious appetite for her milk, and they don't hurt her so much. Hazel is also standing for them to feed from, a left over instinct from before dogs were domesticated and I think this is also slightly easier for her as well. It'll soon be time for Hazel to stop feeding her pups: A sad day for us to see, but very necessary for the pups to be fully accustomed to being without mum before they leave for their new homes. The play area outside is now ready! Unfortunately the weather here has been absolutely awful since I finished it, so they havent been out ther yet! How frustrating is that?

31/5/17 Weaning is now in earnest! The pups are now eating four meals a day, spread equally throughout, along with Hazel coming in as well. It never ceases to suprise me how greedy the pups are, as they will suckle on Hazel immediately after eating their food. Over the next week or so, we will increase the amount of food, and decrease the number of visits Hazel makes to feed them, until the process is completed by Hazel not feeding them any more. The pups are playing more now, and we have given them a baby play gym to play with. The pups learnt pretty quickly that by pulling the toys then the gym plays tunes and now we have a musical accompanyment to every play time! We met most of our new puppy owners over the course of the weekend and it was a great pleasure to meet you all. And now we are over half way through; the pups are over 4 weeks old so its time to look forward to outside playtimes, some crate training and of course worming at 5 weeks......

26/5/17 Sorry about the typing in the last update - I was having "issues" wth the space bar! Anyway, the final re-arrangement of the whelping pen has taken place - The separate toilet area is now in place. I'm pleased to say that the pups have started to use it, and although it's a bit hit or miss at the moment it should improve, and will help with toilet training when the pups go to their new homes. We started feeding twice a day yesterday, and it will be up to 3 times probably on sunday. All the pups seem to love their food, and the result is - normal looking poo!!! In all seriousness, it's really good to see this as it means that all of their "insides" have developed as they should. And now? Well, all of the major physical developments have happened, so it's time for the pups to grow and play!

22/5/17 Weaning has started! Yes, the pups had their first "proper" meal yesterday. This is basically puppy kibble which has been soaked in warm water so it's like a paste. This is then put into7 individual bowls so that it's easy for me to check that each pup is eating ok. They start off quite hesitantly, but after a minute or so they were all eating furiously! Then they decide to swap around, put their feet in it, or just roll around on the bowls! It also helps Hazel a little as they aren't so hungry for their next lot of milk. We will build up gradually the number of meals they have to 4 a day, and we'll also reduce the amount of water. The aim is to have them eating dry kibble by the time they leave us. Hopefully I'll get some pics into the gallery shortly.

19/5/17 worming was completed on monday, and the pups behaved brilliantly! Hazel, however, didn't really like the paste and I had a fun time with her! Normally it's a tablet of course, but whilst she's feeding the pups it needs to be the same brand as the pups, so she has to have the paste we use. Anyway its all done, until we have to repeat it all again at 5 weeks of age..... Some other changes have occured. I have taken out the roll bars as the pups are now sufficiently strong and mobile enough to move out of the way. This gives them more room to move around and less chance of them getting stuck as they have started to climb on the bars. We have also put a wee mat in the corner. This is to try and start their toilet training, in readiness for the proper box to go in next week. It's all a bit "hit or miss" at the moment, but the pups will work out where to wee (and poo) quite soon - hopefully!!! We have also started to play the "noises" CD to the pups: Yes their hearing has started to develop now, and the CD is designed to "de-sensitise" the pups to all sorts of everyday sounds, including fireworks before they leave us. We find it especially useful as it also has the sound of shot guns and its important that all of our dogs don't react badly to the sound of gunshot. Hopefully I'll get another couple of up to date photos into the gallery in a moment.

14/7/17 I can't believe a whole week has gone by! Such a lot has happened for the pups: Firstly and most importantly, all the pups eyes are now open! It's wonderful to watch the way they open, it starts off with just a slit, which gradually widens over a couple of days to being fully open. They can't focus properly yet, and that happens in the next few days. At the same time, all the pups start struggling up onto their feet. Again, its a gradual process, usually starting off with the front feet, then the back. It's incredible to watch as they wobble on all 4's, then fall over as they're not sure how to actually make the first steps. All of this development means that Hazel has to lay down pretty quickly when she goes in to feed them. Hazel is now spending more time out of the whelping pen, and this is a natural thing to do: She is confident that the pups are safe, and that they will be ok if she leaves for an hour or so. This mimics what would happen in the wild as a mum would have to go out hunting for food. Talking of food, Hazel is having a wonderful time with hers, as her normal diet has been supplemented with fresh chicken, pilchards, sardines and tuna (amongst other "goodies"). The pups are now two weeks old and that means...... worming! Not our favourite job, but necessary. We've very rarely seen worms in our pups, as we try to keep everything as clean as possible, but we still do the treatments. A note on the photos. I have tried in the last couple of days to take some decent shots of the pups standing, and also with their eyes open - I havent done very well as may be apparent from the latest photos in the gallery!

7/5/17 Sunday evening already, isn't time flying! The pups are just over a week old now, and we're in a "quiet" period for them developmental wise: Basically the pups are growing quite quickly, and behind the scenes so to speak their eyes are beginning to develop, to the stage where they will start opening in the next few days. In fact if you look closely at one of the pics in the gallery you may just be able to see the darkening around one of the pups eye slits - a sign that it will soon be opening. The pups will also soon be trying to get up on their feet  - it's wonderful to watch this, but it does mean that Hazel must lay down quite quickly when she wants to feed them or else they will get underneath her! Hazel seems to be thriving at the moment, she's eating well and her "no. 2's" is back to normal thank goodness. She is still cleaning them and making sure they do their toilet and I think her motherly bond with them is really quite strong. She certainly gets quite concerned if one wanders too far away or starts squealing a bit too much.

3/5/17 The good news is that all the pups are growing and feeding well on Mum. I have weighed them all twice since being born, and they have all added approx 8oz to their birth weight. This is pretty good going, showing us that Hazel is producing plenty of milk, and all of the pups can suckle well. The pups are now much more mobile than when they were born. It's incredible to watch how quickly they can move towards mum when they want a feed. They move with a sort of crawl-swim action at the moment, but it's quite effective when they want to move. Direction is by scent, so the pup smells where mum is and then moves towards the smell. Occasionally a pup will get disorientated and then it'll start whining with quite a high pitched squeek as if to say "mum come and get me!" At this point we usually end up moving the pup so that Hazel doesn't disturb the others that are feeding. Hopefully there'll be some new pic's in the gallery shortly.

30/4/17 The first 24 hours have passed and all the pups are thriving. Hazel has been absolutely fantastic with them, she doesn't want to leave them at all apart from needing the toilet. She doesn't even want to leave them to go and eat her food! Ok, Hazel had a total of 7 pups, 3 girls and 4 boys. They all weighed between 14 to 16 oz's when they were born and I will weigh them tomorrow to make sure they are all gaining in weight. I have set up a special photo page for Hazels' pups and I will start putting photo's in it - as soon as I manage to take some decent ones!

29/4/17 HAZEL GIVEN BIRTH TO HER PUPS! Yes it's happened! After a very restless night, Hazel went into labour at 7am this morning, and gave birth to her final one just on 11.30. Hazel was absolutely brilliant and has taken to motherhood better than I would have thought possible. Hazel did rather look at the first pup with astonishment, but with a little coaxing she started to lick it and then there was no holding her back. We then made a trip to our vets this afternoon to check both mum and pups and everthing looks fine, so we're back home now, Hazel's had a good evening meal and she's now cleaning her pups as they feed from her. We now enter a critical period for the pups, and for the next 24 hours we will be in constant attendance to make sure all is well. We will contact as many of you as we can, but please be patient as we're both very tired and also need to eat ourselves. Thanks, Rob

Hazel being very attentive to her newly born pups, 29/04/17

20/4/17 Gosh isn't time flying by! With all this good weather we have concentrated on two things: dog training, and trying to get as many of the "outside" chores completed before Hazel has her pups. Hazel is progressing well, she's really "showing" now and her milk has started to come through. She can have the pups safely from now on, but it should be another week or so hopefully. I have set up the whelping pen, and I'm in the process of getting everything else ready for her. Hazel is still going for her morning walk, but its a bit shorter now, and I'll probably stop this weekend, just to minimize the risk of infection. Hazel is eating three meals a day now, along with some tasty treats such as boiled rggs, pilchards, tuna and chicken (but not at the same time!) Training for Amber has continued, with plenty of the boring obedience "stuff" thrown in for good measure. I took Holly out on Dartmoor last night for a good run - dear Holly has never had formal training (although she's a "natural" retriever) and therefore she misses out on some of the fun. But not last night! We walked over to Trowlesworthy Tor stone row and circle and she absolutely loved it - muddy paws all round! We've also had a wonderful visit from some of our previous pups: Honey and Buster (who live together) came to see us whilst their owners were on holiday in Cornwall, and Ember also came again. It's wonderful to see them all grown up and it brings back pleasant memories of their dearly departed mothers: Pippin, WIllow and Bramble respectively. Carol has also been on a bit of an adventure: She went upto  north somerset to see one of Amber's pups: Kyle. Much fun was had by all - except me of course as I stayed home and got on with lots of chores! Anyway, for those of you who know me, I just can't resist typing this next bit: Plymouth Argyle, "my" football team, have gained promotion to League 1 - I'm a very happy person at the moment!!!

03/04/17 Well, having missed an update, I have some really good news: HAZEL IS PREGNANT! I took Hazel to our vets on Friday evening for an ultrasound scan and there they were, some little pups on the screen! We couldn't tell how many of course as its's difficult to get a three dimensional image on a two dimensionl screen, but we could see two banks of 3.The main thing is that there aren't too many or indeed too few: A large litter gives problems with milk supply for mum, too small (say 2) gives a different problem in that the pups grow too big and birthing is much more difficult. So, all being well the pups are due to be born at the end of April which concides with "my" team's last home game of the season! Hazel comes first of course..... In other news, Amber has resumed her training as we hope to gain her working gundog certificate in september. We are currently "teaching" her to jump over obstacles on command - which is a little more difficult than may at first appear. This is especially true for fences which can be seen through. Rowan will be going out for a session on Dartmoor this week, just so he can have a good run and to brush up on some techniques and terrain that I can't train him on in a field.

21/03/17 A quiet week with not a great deal happening. Its still too early to tell whether Hazel is definitely pregnant, although one or two signs show that she may well be: Her teats changed in appearance for a while, and, more noticeably she hasn't been so keen on her morning meal as she usually is. She's also a little quieter than usual and not quite so playful. We will be getting her scanned using ultrasound, but this will be in a couple of weeks time. Otherwise, all of the dogs are ok, we are still trying to keep as dry as we can when out walking, but it seems to be a losing battle at the moment. And today, the day of the spring equinox, when we should be looking forward to the spring proper, has seen us suffering rain, hail, gusting winds and ice on the roads first thing this morning!

13/03/17 Such a lot to get through on this update! Firstly all of Ambers' pups have now settled in with their new owners and all seem to be getting on really well. Thanks to allof you for your updates via our facebook page; it's a real joy to see pictures and videos of their progress, especially the "training" ones. Please remember that we are always here if you need any advice or help, as we've usually already experienced whatever problem / concern you may have.

Secondly, we mated Rowan with Hazel a week or so ago! What a fun time that was.... Hazel behaved pretty well considering how keen Rowan was, mind you, she made some rather strange "grumbling" sounds the first time she mated: Not growling, it just seemed as if she was having a bit of a moan at Rowan! Anyway, if all goes well, and if she is pregnant, her pups are due on or around the 29th of April. This unfortunately clashes with my team's last home game of the season!!! Hazel comes first though, and I'll miss it even if it means missing the celebrations if we get promotion. We won't know for another couple of weeks whether she is pregnant or not, so our fingers are crossed. Our waiting list is already growing, so if you'd like a pup from Hazel, then I suggest you contact us (via our email) as soon as you can.

Finally,  our warmest congratulations go to Vicky and her dog Digby on achieving his Gold Good Citizen Dog Scheme award. Digby was one of dear Brambles' pups, with Rowan as his father, and its wonderful to see him grown into a beautiful dog. Well done Vicky for achieving this with Digby.

06/03/17 I'm a little late in typing this, the last update on Amber's pups: Well "our" pups have now gone to their new homes and it was a wek of mixed emotions for us. Firstly we are always pleased to see how happy and excited the new owners are as they collect their chosen puppy, but at the same time we are rather sad as we say goodbye to each one, as they have become so much of our life over the past eight weeks. We have seen them grow from helpless, blind and deaf little creatures into almost fully independant animals with their own personalities. I am always amazed when I watch this development as it's so rapid, and I'm always very relieved when the pups are 6 weeks old and fully weaned. We had a number of "firsts" with this litter, some good, some not so..... Firstly, this was the first litter that never "dirtied" the boxes I use when cleaning the whelping pen. It was also the first litter that decided to have a "midnight" party (well 1.30am) and they actually moved the toilet box to the middle of the pen and were running around it! (I will now use a clamp to keep it in place for future litters) Very sadly, this was our first litter that we lost a "live born" pup - The poor fellow only lived for an hour, and he had a very difficult birth as he was the first one out. He was born at the vets and our vet said at the time that he probably wouldn't survive. I named him Rambo (after rowan and Amber) And he's buried with our other still born pups from previous litters (not too many thankfully). And so, after a week of cleaning and disinfecting, our house is back to normal - but how long for???? More news in the next update.

20/02/17. Life goes on here at Goldendance, and today was a big day for all the pups; their first visit to the vets. We have prepared them for this, by firstly getting them used to being in a crate, and yesterday I put them all in the car and started the engine. This helps greatly with reducing both the pups' anxiety and our worry at making this journey, and to be fair the pups all behaved brilliantly, with no "accidents" in the crate and only one "wee" at the vets. It's really quite amusing to watch them react to the movement of the car as they sway around in the back. Anyway, the visit went really well, with all the pups given a clean bill of health, and all have their microchips. It's really quite funny to watch other peoples reactions when they see the pups, and all of the staff at the vets come out to take a quick look as well. The journey home was uneventful and the pups ate heartily as soon as we had them back in the pen. And, now they've had a really good sleep, I'm just waiting for them all to wake up and start their play time. Hopefully I'll get a couple of photo's into the gallery of the pups at the vets.

UPDATE ON BRAMBLE 18/02/17

This is quite possibly one of the most heartbreaking updates I've ever had to type: As a lot of you are aware, Bramble has been suffering from a limp after a couple of training accidents last summer. After many x-rays and biopsies, it was found by a bone specialist in Exeter, that her bloody supply to her ulna bone had ceased. After a serious operation to remove part of that bone in December, things were looking up and the limp had almost gone. However, she started limping again 4 weeks ago, and it bcame progressively worse. After another trip to Exeter and more X-rays and tests, we had the worst possible news: More bone was dying. So, on weds morning we took the immensely difficult and heart wrenching decision to end her suffering. I spoke to both the specialist in Exeter and our local vet and we all agreed that this was the right decision. So after taking Bramble for one last walk around the village, which was extremely painful for me to watch her limp around, and a little retrieve in the back garden, I took her to our vet for the last time. I have to admit, that both myself and Ruth, our vet, were in tears as we prepared dear Bramble. Ruth was the vet who performed Bramble's cesearian only 16 months ago. And now dear Bramble is running free with our other dearly departed dogs up at Rainbow Bridge: Willow, Maple (and her unborn pups), Pippin, and of course Bramble's two stillborn pups. Good bye Bramble and God bless you; you were a fantastic dog, with such a wonderful temperament and a real will to retrieve. We will miss you dearly. xxx

Bramble, waiting for her last retrieve, 15th Feb 2017. RIP my darling, we miss you so much. xxx

14/02/17 A busy, busy time for us now, as Amber has relinquished her duties.... We are now with the pups all the time that they are awake, and this is helping with their toilet training as we can ensure that they go in the correct place. We also stimulate them more by playing with them and having playtime in the kitchen. The pups love this as they can run around to their hearts content, and be amused by the washing machine when the drum turns around! The pups have also had their first "proper" bath in the sink. They all seemed to enjoy being in the water which isn't really a suprise as goldies are quite at home in it. (Goldies paws are partially "webbed" - a feature that was bred into them when they were first "created" over 100 years ago. This was so that they could retrieve on water). Hopefully I'll get a couple of pictures into the gallery later on of their bathtime. All the pups have pet names now, and in no particular order they are: Mazli, Merryn, Kyle, Duke, and Hudson, with the girl being named after her mum, Amber. The kennel names are based on the first names of the characters from the Poldark books and television serial, which was of course based in Cornwall. I'm still waiting for news on the tests Bramble had, and our fingers are still very much crossed.....

07/02/17 Again, apologies for the time taken to get an update done, I'll explain more later. Today was a momentous day for the pups: Amber has not been in to feed them. It's always a difficult time, both for mum and pups, but this has to be done so that the pups are well adjusted to life without mum before they go to their new homes. Amber has suprised me for a couple of reasons: Firstly, she always wanted to lay down for her pups to suckle. Usually at around 5 weeks, the mum will stand so that the pups have to stretch up, but Amber was never comfortable to do this when I tried to encourage her. Secondly, she never tried to re-gurgitate any of her own food, in spite of one or two pups trying to make her do it. I'm glad she didn't, as I wanted Amber to absorb all the goodness from her food. Today, Amber has been a little restless which is not suprising, but tonight she has been out for a nice walk (with Hazel), her first in over 7 weeks. She really enjoyed sniffing around and she's now curled up in bed fast asleep. Amber has been a wonderful mum, looked after her pups really well, and now it's time for her to rest and to recover her bodyweight and condition. Otehr news on the pups: 5 week worming went by without incident. THe pups all behaved impecably and didn't really notice me squirting the paste onto their tongues. At 8 weeks they'll be heavy enough to have a tablet, which really is much easier. The whelping room has now been re-arranged. The bed has gone and been replaced with a crate and a chair. The crate is the one tha we'll use to start their crate training and also one of the ones we use to go to the vets. And finally, the pups have had a wonderful time exploring our kitchen for the first time today! As usual, they start off all quiet and unsure of where they are, then after 5 minutes they're up and running around as if they were born there.

In other news, and the reason why I'm so late with this update. Dear Bramble's limp has slighlty worsened, so I took her to the specialist in Exeter on Monday evening, ready for examination on Tuesday. This was basically some more x-rays and another couple of biopsies and I picked her up yesterday evening. The good news is that there is nothing obviously badly wrong, but in some respects this isn't so good as it's difficult to know whats going on. Results from the tests should be with us tomorrow, so our fingers are very much crossed - again.

02/02/17 Well February already and the pups are 5 weeks old today. Sorry for the lack of updates for the last few days, but I've been very busy, and also had an evening off to go and watch "my" football team at Yeovil on Tuesday evening - a frustrating evening as we lost 2-1 and my son and I got very wet on an open terrace - I must be mad.... Anyway, We shall celebrate by starting the 5 week worming doses tonight. The pups are now eating 4 "solid" meals every day, in preparation for when Amber comes away from the pups for the final time. We have started to reduce the amount of water in their food, but it's still quite squishy. The pups nowe have a baby play gym to keep them amused, and they love to dangle and pull the toys that hang from it. The toilet box is being used sometimes, and hopefully it will be used more as they grow older. Our next step will be for the pups to start playing in the kitcken. This is to give them more stimulation when they are awake, and also expose them to new sights, sounds and floor surfaces.

27/01/17 The days seem to be flying by at the moment, and it does seem that our dogs and pups are occupying all of my waking hours - apart from when I'm at work of course.The pups are now on two meals a day, and this will increase to 3 tomorrow. Truthfully, this litter have been absolutely brilliant with their solid food - so far..... They all eat together, and pretty much keep to their own bowls until they've nearly finished. It's better this way to start with as it gives me a chance to monitor how much each pup is eating. Soon, I'll change to having 2 or 3 larger bowls. This itroduces an element of competition for the food, and hopefully means thatthey never develop the habit of "grazing" when they grow up. Its much better for toilet training that the pup / dog eats all his or her meal in one go. Thankfully all of our dogs eat the food in one go, and usually pretty quickly as well. I weighed the pups last night and they are all in the range of 3 to 3.5 kg now. The girl is slightly lighter than the boys and this is quite normal. Thankfully some of the pups now have the names from their owners, so we can start using them when we handle the pups. The pups have pretty much finished on their development, sight, hearing, walking, eating solids and lapping water is now normal for them. However, the final part is still to come. This is the day that we take Amber away, and they live on solid food alone. It's not a day that we enjoy, as the mother can sometimes become distressed, but it is very necessary and must be done well before the pups go off to their new homes.

23/01/17 What a busy weekend! Lots of changes for the pups: The main one is that we've started weaning. Their first meal was saturday afternoon and they all coped really well. I don't think they actually ate a great deal, but they all had individual bowls and each pup certainly had a few mouthfuls. However, by this evening I was adding more food to each bowl so they certainly seem to enjoy it. Tomorrow we start on two meals a day, and this will increase so that by the weekend they will be upto 4 meals. This obviously will help Amber as hopefully the pups wont be quite so demanding for milk. The pups also have started to lap at the water bowl! We start off by gently dipping their mouth into the bowl and they quite quickly get the idea of how to lap.Unfortunately they also like to stand in the bowl, so we dont tend to leave it in the pen for very long. The roll bars are now out, so the pups have a little more room, although now that the toiletting box is in its a bit smaller! The pups are a bit hit and miss with the toilet at the moment, although today for the first time a couple of pups have used it for a wee. This is pretty much the set up for the next four weeks. But we have our favourite time to come: This is when we let the pups have the run of our kitchen for an hour or so each day - lots of fun and games for both the pups and us. Unfortunately what with the cold and wet weather I dont think we'll get too much opportunity to havbe them outside all together, but we will take them out individually from 7 weeks old.

20/01/17 Friday evening, a time to relax? Not really as I plan for what needs doing for the pups this weekend. I will be introducing the toiletting area tomorrow and also removing the roll bars. The bars can now come out as the pups are strong enough and mobile enough to move out of the way of Amber if she accidently lays on one. It will also stop the pups from getting stuck! The toilet is a seperate cubicle with a wee mat in it. The pups soon start to learn how to use this instead of weeing anywhere - it's a bit hit and miss at first - but come 8 weeks old, most toiletting will be done there, and this helps with toilet training when they go with their new owners. More development has occured; the pups' teaeth hsve now started to come through, and this now leads on to the next step: weaning. We have lots of fun with this - and I'll explain why when it happens!

17/01/17 Another milestone reached- worming at two weeks is now complete (well yesterday). This is something I always do, and consists of a small liquid dose administered three days in a row. It's only a precaution: we very rarely see any worms and this is partly because we always worm our adult dogs at the correct intervals, and also because I keep the whelping pen and Mum as clean as I possibly can. I'm glad it's over though, as the pups don't really like it and they do wriggle when you're trying to put it in their mouth! The final part of the pups' outward physical development is now happening - they are now starting to be able to hear things. We know this, as the range of sounds they make has changed form the simple cry - which is used to tell mum that they're hungry - to attempts to both "woof" and "growl" It really is so funny to listen to. I have now started to play a special CD in the whelping room. This consists of all sorts of household noises, along with fireworks and gunshots, and other odd sounds such as babies crying. The idea is to start the volume low, and gradually increase it over the coming weeks, so that come 8 weeks, any odd noise won't scare the pups as they have become "de-sensitised" to it. This is obviously important for a working gundog with gun shot, but will also help with bonefire night etc. I do have a stock of these disks available and its a good idea to continue this when the puppies leave: I still play it on odd occasions to all our dogs.

14/01/17 The pups eyes are now all but open! It will take a few days for them to start focusing properly but we always feel very relieved when we see this. They are also becoming more confident on their feet, especially when they're in a hurry to get milk from Amber. Once they have had their fill however, the pups then go back to the old method of crawling around especially if they are tired. Carol trimmed all the pups' claws last night; we do this as the claws are quite sharp and they do hurt Amber when the pups "poddle" Ambers' teats to stimulate the milk supply. Dear old Holly popped in to see the pups yesterday. As usual with Holly, she was very keen to see them, but certainly did not want to go into the whelping pen in case the pups tried to get milk from her! Rowan has shown absolutely no interest in his "children" and if and when he does decide to pop in, all he will do is to try and steal the pups' toys!

11/01/17 A milestone reached! Today the first pup to some faltering steps! It really is quite endearing to watch as a pup gradually pushes itself onto its feet, then wobbled, before trying to move a paw so it can go forward. They don't go very far and usually ehd up in a heap, but a really is a huge leap forward in their development. Their eyes are now discernably open and this is very necessary now as they need to be able to see where they are walking. We both especially love to see the pups during this period as they transform from being helpless into an almost independant animal, capable of making decisions about where to walk and what to play with. Carol has now introduced a few soft toys into the whelping pen, which helps them to start to focus their eyes. Hopefully some of the new photos in the gallery will show this. Bramble has been into see the pups today! Amber seemed quite happy for her to be in the room, which is quite pleasing.

09/01/17 Today Carol saw the first pup to stand on "all fours"! The pup was very wobbly and he didn't manage to actually walk any distance but it was wonderful to watch. Their eyes are now beginning to open as well. This first appears as two black slits, and these gradually widen over the next few days. I'll try and take a few decent photo's for the next update. And now it's time for me to weigh the pups again.

07/01/17 10am

Firstly, my apologies for not updating this last night. I did intend to, but ended up falling asleep on the sofa, catching up on my beauty sleep - which Carol says I need every minute of!! Anyway, Amber and pups are fine, the pups are growing fast, eating and sleeping but not much else - at the moment. This is a relatively quiet period in terms of their development,soon to be shattered when their eyes open and they start to walk. Amber is spending a little more time now out of the whelping pen as the pups don't need to suckle every 30 minutes any more. It gives her a well earned break and time for her to catch up on some sleep as well!

Other news is that Brambles recovery is progressing really well, she's still a little stiff on her leg after resting overnight, but otherwise it seems pretty good. I'm now allowing her out into the front garden on her own without a lead and she really enjoys sniffing around trying to locate our (rather annoying) resident mole. She has one more check up to go, and then hopefully I'll be able to resume proper walking with her again. - She needs it as her heel work has deteriorated somewhat!!!

I'll try and put lots of new photo's in Ambers Gallery, but its quite complicated to do......

04/01/17

Another eventful two days have passed, and the pups are a week old tomorrow - gosh hasn't that time gone quickly! Firstly we have weighed the pups tonight and they have almost doubled their birth weights. This is the normal rate of growth, but it always amazes me how quickly they grow. The pups are now really quite mobile when they want to be, and quite often fall asleep as they crawl around - very endearing to watch, Amber (and the pups) had another trip to the vets yesterday as Amber has been having pseudo-contractions: as if she wants to give birth to another pup, but there isnt one in there! Its a bit odd, but can be caused by "bits and pieces" left in the womb, or indeed the womb and birth canal starting to return to it's normal shape. The down side to this is that it makes amber think she needs a poo and /or wee, and as this was happinging quite regularly, we were making quite a few trips to the garden, day and night. So, she's had an anti-inflammatory injection and thankfully this has stopped the contractions and her need to go outside so often. The vet also checked over the pups to make sure all was ok, which it was. Our next mile stone for the pups will be for their eyes to open, and for them to start getting up on their legs. This happens almost simultaneously, and will be within the next week.

02/01/17 6pm

What an eventful 24 hours! Firstly all the pups are doing really well and are certainly much more mobile now. Amber however has been through a bit of a "time". It started early yesterday evening with her not wanting to eat, this continued all evening, so around midnight we took her temperature. She was a degree or so above where she should be, so off to the out of hours vets we went. After a good exam, and a calcium level test, we found that she was rather low and this was causing some "issues" for her. So Amber had a calcium injection there and also hassome tablets.We have obviously been monitoring her very closely andthankfully her temperature has come down a bit now, and she's finally got her appetite back. Wearenow feeding her boiled chicken and puppy kibble, soaked in the boiling juices. She certainly seems to prefer this to fish and boiled rice (which is what we tried first). We will be keeping avery close watch on Amber for the next few days.

31/12/16 11.00am

Last update of the year- where has 2016 gone? Firstly Ambers' pups. Well she had 5 boys and 1 girl - a litle bit unbalanced but all healthy which is the most important thing of course. I weighed them all last night and they've all put on 1 to 2 ozs which we're really happy about. Amber is being a fantastic mum and just doesnt want to leave them for an instant. She will whine when a pup strays more than a foot away from her, which is very endearing during the day, but not so good at 3.00am! The pups are much more mobile now, scrabbling around and jockeying around for position on mum's teats or "the milk bar" as we call it. At this time, all the pups do is eat and sleep, but it's amazing to see how quickly they grow and develop. Their eyes are shut, they can't walk and they can't hear at the moment, but they can smell - which is important for them to find their way to the teats. All this will change in the next three weeks of course.....

We have now contacted everyone who will be having a pup, so if we haven't contacted you then I'm very sorry but there won't be a puppy for you this time.

Onto Bramble; well our special girl has made remarkable progress since her operation and is now walking pretty well. There is a slight limp after she has rested for a while, but hopefully this will go as the healing process continues. She is still confined to the lead outside and isn't allowed to go on long walks but all this will change soon! We will be eternally grateful to both our vets, Patrick at Albert cottage, and the specialist Peter at Exeter St. Davids vets for idintifying the problem and for carrying out the rather complex operation to remove the bone.

29/12/16 10.00pm

GOOD NEWS! Amber has given birth to her puppies! After another restless night for Amber (and us!), her waters broke at 7.30,and after a little difficulty delivering her first pup (requiring a rather quick drive to our vets), Amber then proceded to give birth to the rest reasonably easily. It was all over by 4.30pm, although we're never quite sure that she finished until quite some time after this. Amber, for a first time mum, has coped extremely well so far, cleaning the pups and generally looking after them. I have weighed the pups and they are all within 3 ozs of each other, ranging from 14 to 17 ozs. This is a pretty good birth weight for working goldens and I'll be monitoring it over the next few weeksa to make sure all is well. We will be in contact with all of you who've been lucky to have a pup in the course of the next 24/ 48 hours. How many? and boys / girls? Well I'll reveal that later, although if you look at the photo below you maybe able to work out how many!

27/12/16 10.00pm

No signs of puppies yet! However I dont think it will be very long now. Amber has been ruffling the sheets and vet bed to try and make a "nest".This is an instictive thing: a left-over from their wild dog ancestry. It's also a very good sign that she's getting ready to give birth. We are also monitoring her temperature as this can indicate when "things" are about to happen. She's already had the first slightly lowering of temp, and the second one tends to indicate that whelping is about to begin. It is this second drop that we are now waiting for......

25/12/16

A Christmas Day update!  Well, I don't know how many of you will be reading this today - I guess most will either be snoozing and/or watching the rubbish that now seems to be broadcast on the TV, but it seemed a rather appropriate time for an update on Amber. Firstly she hasn't had the pups yet. We took her to our vets on Friday for a last check up / scan and everything seems ok; we could see the pups inside Ambers' womb and also their little hearts beating - it was wonderful to see. Amber is now in the whelping room pretty much full time, along with Carol. This leaves me to sort out the others, and poor Hazel is wondering whats going on. I don't know if dogs can work out what's happening with another; I guess both Holly and Bramble know as they've both had puppies, but I think Hazel is a little confused and rather concerned about her soul mate. We make up for this by going on longer walks (not Amber of course) and I'm spending a little more "quality" time with Hazel so that she doesn't feel left out. Finally and most importantly, a big THANK-YOU to everyone who's sent us pictures and messages of our grown up pups today. It's brilliant to see them all grown up and having so much fun at Christmas. Hopefully I'll have some time soon to sort out the photo galleries, especially for when the pups arrive.

20/12/16

Finally, finally, a chance to sit at my laptop and do an update! As you can imagine we've had lots to do in preparation for Amber's impending whelping. Over the weekend just gone I have set upthe room we use for whelping. This involves re-arranging most of the rooms downstairs, and means that our christmas dinner will be in our lounge this year! (good job its a big room). The whelping pen is set up now, along with Carol's bed and all of the other items we'll need:@ towels, weighing scales, heat lamp etc. Amber has started going in there so that she can become familiar and comfortable with the room, so that she's not worried about it when the time comes. Hazel is a little put out because she (and the other dogs) are not allowed in there. And so we wait.... We're taking Amber's temperature twice daily as it will drop when she's about to give birth, and can help us know when its going to happen. Bramble is recovering well from her operation: The stiches and bandages were removed last friday and the wound has healed really well. The poor girlis wearing a collar to stop her from licking it and she's coped with this very well. It's a long rehabilitation from the operation: she has to be on a lead at all times outside for the next six weeks, and she's only allowed minimal walksfor the same period. When she's a bit stronger, we'll get a massage therapist to helpher muscles recover. Finally, Thanks to everyone for the christmas cards and photo's of your dogs, it's wonderful to see the photo's and how they've grown up and especially those of you who've made the cards using pictures of them!

30/11/16

I have delayed typing an update for one simple reason: We really weren't sure whether Amber was pregnant or not. She hasn't had morning sickness, or gone off her food; her shape hasn't changed and her teats haven't showed any signs of changing: So, last night we took her to the vets for an ultrasound and I am very pleased to say that AMBER IS DEFINITELY PREGNANT! The ultrasound showed a number of puppies in her womb, but its very difficult to try and count as its only a two dimensional image of something that is 3 dimensional. The pups, if all goes well, are due between Christmas and the new year, so I'm not bothering to put the decorations up (One less job to do)

On to a more serious note, some of you know that Bramble had developed a slight limp after a couple of unfortunate training accidents during the summer. Unfortunately it has turned out to be rather more serious than a strained muscle or damaged tendon. Somehow, and very unusually she has damaged the bloody vessels connected to a bone in her leg, which has meant that the bone has started to die. A very serious condition (but not a bone tumour as we first thought after a series of x-rays) but thankfully something can be done. The bone affected is called the ulna, and in a dogs leg its not actually used for anything, so it can be removed and Bramble will, after a period of convalescence be back to normal. Such a relief, and we can't wait for thge op (next week) to be over and for her to start her proper walking and training once again.

4/11/16

Gosh it's fireworks night tomorrow! Thankfully none of our dogs mind all the bangs etc as we desensitised them when they were all pups using a very good "noises" CD. This can be used for dogs of any age, but its easier and quicker when they're young. Anyway the main news since the last update is that Amber finally came into season and after some testing at the vets to find out exactly when she was ovulating we mated her with Rowan at the end of last week. Rowan, who's now an "expert" (ho ho ho) was actually very well behaved and considering that this was Amber's first time, everything went rather smoothly. They mated twice, once on the wednesday and once on friday. This should mean that we have a good chance for the mating to be successful and means that the pups will be born in-between Christmas and new year (no  festive drinks for us!). It is far too early to say whether she is pregnant, and we'll have her scanned at 4 to 5 weeks to see what's what.

5/10/16

Unfortunately I've had to delete the photos from this page. To edit this page (ie add entries) it was becoming increasingly slow and cumbersome, so I've taken the painful decision to delete the galleries, and set up a new page for them - which is also slow and cumbersome, but at least I'll be able to do the diary without wanting to take a hammer to my laptop! Anyway onto our dogs; All are ok, and such a lot to get through. Firstly we had the real pleasure of taking Bramble to see one of her pups, Dolly, competing in some obedience classes at the weekend. It was brilliant to see Dolly performing and also wonderful to see her and Bramble together - I'm sure the mother / daughter bond was still there (Mums and pups are supposed to recognise each other for approx 18 months after birth). We now are looking forward to seeing another of Brambles pups, Digby, who will be popping in to see us on Monday as his owners are coming to Cornwall on holiday. Amber and Hazel's training is progressing, we've finally started their formal retrieving from water and what a lot of fun they've had with this! (And I've been quite wet at the end of it as well....) I've been looking for suitable training grounds closer to home but its difficult to find what we need: a filed is ok for the simple stuff, but we also need broken ground, cover (bushes etc) wooded areas and of course water. Our former favourite area, near a place called Lee Moor, has been totally destroyed by a tungsten mine - its now just a huge scar where once it was a beautiful, if rugged landscape - such is the price of "progress"..... Rowan is still as quick and keen as ever, even though he is nearly 7. He's got a little grey in his muzzle but otherwise as fit as he ever was. And dear old Holly? Well she's finally slowing up and I've had to slightly shorten her walks. It's such a shame as she loves her walks, but the old route is just a bit too long for her now. Rowan enjoys it though as he goes on both! Finally, a quick note on the seasons, and breeding our next litter. We have decided that the next litter will be for Amber, and we are now waiting for her to come into season. I was expecting it to be when Bramble and Hazel had theirs, but for some reason Amber has decided to "go it alone". It should be soon, but as usual, with all things female, only she will decide!

12/09/16

Well its been 3 weeks since our dear Willow passed away and its still very hard not to look for her when I come home for work, or when I call the dogs in the pack order at feeding time, and in lots of other ways. I'm just so glad that we kept two pups from her last litter to remind us of her. Life with the others goes on, as they all still need their daily walks and training. In the last couple of weeks we have concentrated on Amber and Hazel, doing some quite useful obedience themed sessions with them both together. This teaches them to work with each other, and around other dogs: Especially for both dogs to learn that not every retrieve is for them! Holly has been enjoying her walks, butI've shortened them a little as she's now a grand old lady at 10 years old. She had some blood tests this minth to ensure that there's no sign of cancer, and the test was clear for this, but showed that her cholesterol was a little high-she's now on low fat / low sugar treats! Rowan and Bramble are fine, just enjoying life and having fun when we train with them.

 

A Short note on the website appearance / layout.

Yes, it's changed. Oh what a painful / fraught process it's been, and it's not over yet. Briefly, the old program I used for years has been obsoleted and replaced with this one. It was supposed to transfer all the data / photo's etc, but it didn't like the old photo gallery and therefore jumbled all the photo's and lost all the titles and dates. I'm not happy. (an understatement). So please be patient as I try to sort out the mess it's left as I'm not really computer "savvy" and I've limited time to sit in front of this keyboard. Thanks, Rob

21 August 2106

It is with deep sadness and regret that I type this; On Thursday, 18th 0f August our beloved Willow passed away after a short illness. Willow, our first dog (along with Holly) has been our constant companion for nearly ten years. She was our introduction into the world of working golden retrievers, and she was a wonderful, even tempered, very affectionate girl. Up until this year, she has been remarkably fit and healthy and her passing has come as a shock to us all. Briefly, Willow developed a shortness of breath on tuesday evening, so we rushed to the vets and had an x-ray. It appeared to show that air had escaped from a lung into her chest cavity. Willow stayed at the vets overnight, and this was confirmed by another x-ray on wednesday morning. A drain was fitted so that the air could be removed, and this seemed to improve the situation, but unfortunately on thurday afternoon, the leak became uncontrollable, and so we took the immensely difficult and upsetting decision to stop her suffering anymore. I took Willow for a little walk and was there for her at the end. We both miss Willow terribly: Her enquiring look, her wonderful nature, her enthusiasm for walks and retrieving sessions and her ability to read our minds and to comfort us when we were upset will be sorely missed. RIP my darling xxx

11/07/16 Where did June go? When Carol said to me that I hadn't updated the diary for a while I couldn't believe how long ago it was! That's part of the problem with light evenings, so many distractions outside that mean I don't sit at the laptop in the evenings. Firstly, to mention two of our puppies: Kara, (Amber and Hazel's litter-mate) has just passed her Elementary Agility course and came 2nd out of 9. Well done Kara, and her owner Lily For keeping up around the course. Secondly, our congratulations go to Mini (from Holly / Lancer) who Lives on the Isle of Arran. She recently helped in the search and rescue of some lads who were washed up in their dingy and stranded on rocks on the coast. Mini is also capable of "spelling" her name using letters on a board - not sure how she's been trained to do that!!!Ok, on to our pack. Firstly dear Holly has been in the "wars" again. We found a lump on one of her teats, and this was removed three weeks ago and at the same time she had a little "tuck" on her eyelid to keep her eyelashes from touching her eye surface (the same eye operated on in may). Analysis of the lump showed that it was cancerous, but again it looks like we caught it early, so hopefully it wont spread. She was x-rayed at the same time and her lungs etc look clear so again its fingers crossed. Carol is really good at checking all the dogs for things that are "not quite right" and its thanks to her vigilance that both Holly and Willow were treated so promptly. Holly is wearing one of carol's T-shirts to keep dirt and wet out of her wound, and she really looks like a little thug with it on! Training for the others has continued, Rowan spends most saturday morning on the field with me, Bramble trains with The West Dartmoor Gundog club evenings, and Amber and Hazel spend most Wednesday evenings on Dartmoor. Amber and Hazel are doing quite well, but both have separate little "issues" to resolve: Amber's is that she likes to eat horse / cow/sheep droppings (ugh) and Hazel's is that she doesn't mark the fall of the dummy very well. Right, enough of this rambling, it's now 5am, it's getting light, so it's time to get outside!

24/05/16 Gosh a whole month has gone by since I last updated! My sincerest apologies, but we've had a rollercoaster of a month, seemingly consisting of mainly visits to the vets!, along with lots of dog training, gardening and of course football.... Firstly, both Holly and Willow have had small operations. Willow's actually turned out to be more serious: We took both Holly and Willow up for a general check up, and to examine a couple of small lumps. Willow had a fatty lump on her rear leg, and also a lump which appeared in her ear flap quite suddenly. Holly had a skin growth on her eyelid. The worrying lump was the one on Willow's ear, which resulted in having part of her ear being amputated and the lump being sent away for analysis. We held our breath and hope for the best, and in a way we were lucky. It was a cancerous lump, but fortunately we caught it early and the whole of the lump was removed. Willow has recovered really well and is back to her old self, if a little "lop-sided" looking!!!! Holly however has had problems. The operation was a success, but she was very down, as her eye didn't want to open properly. We've had antibiotics, artificial tears drops, anti-inflamatories and finally antibiotic eye drops and finally, finally its just about back to normal. Dear old Holly actually was quite depressed for quite a few days, and I did wonder if she'd ever recover. She is back to normal now and dancing around when there's a walk in the offing. In the middle of all this, Amber managed to get stung by a bee / wasp late one evening. We didnt see it at the time, but her face was really quite swollen the next morning, so an emergency trip to the vets at 6.30 am, a steriod injection and a hefty vets bill sorted her out. Dog training has continued apace, I just wish the weather would co-operate. Last weds we were out on Dartmoor, cold, wet and trying to train in a fog. And of course for those who know me, the football: Our son Dan and myself are huge Plymouth Argyle fans, and we're off to Wembley on Bank Holiday Monday for the league 2 play off final. I hope we win!

24/04/26 Another two weeks have gone by! The days seem to be going so quickly. With the (slightly) warmer weather and lighter evenings we are really busy both out in the garden and more importantly training the dogs. Bramble has been going to the Gundog training sessions, and we spent a VERY wet, cold and windy thursday evening on the side of an exposed Dartmoor hill practicing "walk-up". Walk-up is where a row of dogs walk slowly along in a line off lead, a gun is fired, the dogs all sit, a dummy is thrown and then one nominated dog retrieves it whilst all the others (are supposed to!) sit still. Bramble was very good, and didn't run when she shouldn't. Our other training has been with Bramble, Hazel and Amber and this has been tackling obstacles (e.g. a wall) on command, and "memory" retrieves. All a bit more complex than the normal throw a ball and run after it! Rowan of course doesn't need all this formal training, but I still take him retrieving every couple of weeks, just to remind him of what's what and to keep him fit. Holly and Willow are ok, Holly has slowed down a little on our walks, but they are both approaching 10 years old now, so I'm not surprised. Willow still has a good turn of speed, especially when she want to beat Holly to a dummy. Willow and Holly were never trained to be "proper" working retrievers, but they can still do most of the basic stuff, and really enjoy their time on the fields.

10/04/16 Whoops, missed a complete week somehow. Anyway, training is now stepping up with both individual training for Amber, Hazel and Bramble, and we also take Bramble to club training evenings with the West Dartmoor Working Gundog club. We find the club evenings very useful, as although Bramble can do all the retrieves, it helps in encouraging steadiness as she has to wait her turn and watch other dogs retrieving. It certainly helped with Rowan's and dear Maple's training. Unfortunately the change of clocks doesn't seem to have improved the weather much in Cornwall, and I'm still drying the dogs after most of our walks. Holly and Willow are soon to go to the Vets for their teeth to be cleaned - the first time, and I think they've done so well because of the dried food we feed, and a "dentistix" every other day. Mind you, the vet has advised us to start brushing their teeth - that should be interesting!

29/03/16 A little late, I'd like to blame it on the clocks going forward, but I can't! The changing of the clocks didn't change the weather unfortunately and it's been back to drying the dogs after pretty much every walk. Friday was the best day down here but unfortunately it was the day I chose to go and stock up on dog food. A bad choice both in terms of wasting the good weather, and getting stuck in a traffic jam getting back into Cornwall. Still, not as bad as some fellow Argyle fans who tried to get to Morecombe for the away game on Friday. They didn't get there until after the match had finished! Anyway, its been a quiet week with the dogs, a little obedience training and thats been about it. They all eat together in the evenings now, and no-one has tried to steal another's food so far.....

20/03/16 What a glorious weekend - no rain! I finally managed to walk all six together this weekend. I was up at 5am yesterday and decided that there wouldn't be any cars on the road that early so I tried it, and, it all went rather smoothly, with all the dogs walking at a steady pace and not wanting to swop positions that often. I took Rowan up to the field yesterday to give him some refresher lessons and to have a good run. Today it was the turn of Bramble, Hazel and Amber to have some training out on a windy Dartmoor. All of them performed quite well, and it's beginning to show that all of the "boring" obedience stuff, i.e sit means sit etc was worthwhile doing. This is what we mainly concentrate on during the week. Hopefully another photo of Teague at Crufts will appear below - if this website builder stops playing me up!

15/03/16 Not quite sunday evening, but some really good news to share: One of our dear Pip's pups, Teague, and her owner Angie Bailey were competing at Crufts this year in the inter-regional obedience competition, and the team Teague was in were runners-up! Congratulations to Teague and Angie, I've watched the video of Teague and its wonderful to see. Anyway, there's a photo added below. Our dogs are up to their normal things, lots of walks, lots of short training sessions for the youngsters and generally lots of sleeping... That was all upset however when I finally managed to find time to paint our lounge ceiling - yes it has taken nearly 5 years to get around to doing it, as I needed to empty the room for three days and have all the dogs in the hallway. To their credit there was no nonsense, and none of them even looked to go upstairs. Anyway a photo a of Teague:

Teague with her Rosettes

6/03/16 Back to a sunday evening again! A busy weekend over and done with: Yesterday morning we began training again in earnest, on a very windy part of Dartmoor, with Bramble, Amber and Hazel. It was good to blow the cobwebs away (quite literally!) and start doing the serious "stuff" again. Our time over the winter wasn't wasted though, as all three dogs were quite good. Today has been a "lazy" day for all of them, which means just laying in front of the log burner, and inadvertently tripping me up as I try to get past without stepping on one of them. Hopefully the weather will be good again this week so we can do some more training in the evenings.......

29/02/16 Delayed for a day just so I could type in the leap year date! A quiet week, but I did manage to get this photo taken below. Finally,finally a photo of all the dogs, all looking at me at the same time! What with that, the dry weather over the last couple of days and the lighter mornings, I'm beginning to think spring is here at last. And therefore its time to begin gundog training in earnest again.

From left: Holly, Rowan, Hazel, Willow, Amber and Bramble(laying down) 25/2/16

22/2/16 A day late, first time this year! I fell asleep on the sofa instead of doing this last night - whoops. Our battle against the mud and road dirt continues - all of the dogs went on long walks yesterday, and I varied who walks with who as well, so come the end they were all covered in that dirty grey - brown muck, which is quite difficult to get out of their coats. The final integration of Amber and Hazel continues, with them walking with Rowan in the mornings now. I look forward to the sun being up before I start walking, but its getting lighter every day. I also aim to be able to walk all six together sometime soon, but it will be early mornings at the weekends as its difficult to get them all out of the way if a car comes in the narrow lanes. I also intend to try and get some updated photos on the website soon, but we do have a facebook page called Goldendance retrievers which has some of the latest photos on it, along with some of the pups that we've had over the years. Thanks to all of you still sending photos via email - its much easier for me to save these as I'm not particularly computer literate!

14/2/16 Thats it, all our dogs' seasons are over, Rowan can now relax and finally all the dogs can spend some time with each other. This makes it a lot easier when feeding, exercising and taking them out for their toiletting. We "celebrated" today by taking Amber and Hazel on one of the long walks that we do so we could see the water level in the river Lyner. It's been quite high, but it doesn't look like it had burst the banks near us. It's also getting lighter in the mornings thank goodness so I'm not having to use the head torch so much. It does get a little bit boring seeing the same hedgerows and not a lot else during the winter months so I'm really happy to see daylight before I go to work! We start gundog training again in march so we need to brush up on Ambers' Hazels' and Brambles' obedience. It gets a bit "samey" but very necessary. My aim before we start is to get Hazels sit/stay extended to 15 minutes with a single command. She's a little "fidget-pants" so this might be a little difficult!

7/2/16 That'll teach me for wishing for a few dry days! Even worse this week, culminating in a round trip to Yeovil yesterday to watch "my" football team (Argyle) only for the game to be called off at 1pm! We (my son and I) had just about got there by then, so it was a 360 on a roundabout and a drive straight back home. - most annoying! Anyway, the dogs are all ok, and probably getting fed up with me drying them every time we go out. Hazel, Amber and Bramble's seasons are just about over now, and these three having been spending some time together in the kitchen and out walking. Rowan is still very interested so he's kept away. Storm Isobel is about to hit Cornwall tonight, so there's still no let up.......

31/1/16 All I want is a few dry days! Its getting a bit beyond a joke now, having to dry all the dogs after nearly every walk, and I'm also wiping their paws after they go into the garden as the grass seems to have given way to a muddy morass.... I don't mind it that much apart from the last one in the evening, as all they want to do is get back in the house, and I just want to get to bed! Anyway, enough moaning, Hazel, Amber and Bramble are nearly out of their seasons now, and Rowan has behaved quite well considering. He hasn't tried to jump the gates, or indeed made any serious attempts to get to them. I'd like to think it's because he's so well behaved, but I think it's more likely that I'm very aware of what he's up to and where he is in the house. Thankfully he doesn't howl like some dogs will, he just whines very quietly. Training has been very curtailed this week, just the basic heel work for Amber and Hazel, especially when I walk them together. Just a quick house keeping note: I'll be deleting last year's diary entries next week, so if anyone wants to copy my ramblings (though goodness knows why you'd want to!) then it's your last chance.

Cassie (left) and Bella, two of Pippin's pups back to visit us, 3/4/15

Holly, Rowan as a Pup, and Willow looking for treats, 1st January 2010