11 July 2009

Ruby is now 7.5 weeks pregnant and getting bigger. We haven't been to any shows recently as she is obviously not doing agility at the moment, although she still jumps the fence in the garden when ever she wants. If I get the weaves out for Saffy she will do those too but more slowly than normal and will jump too so I make sure she is inside before I do any training.

I am still doing some training with her but we are doing tricks that she can do from a stationary position and don't ask for anything active. She still chases rabbits and squirrels while we are on walks though.
Ruby is really hungry now and is eating much more than normal. When she feels a bit peckish she comes up to me and woofs and then leads me to the cupboard where I keep the food. She used to do this when she wanted to play but these days she mostly asks for food.
She still has her stick obsession though and found a lovely one on the golf course this morning. I let her play with it for a while but was very mean and wouldn't help her get it home. I eventually had to put her on the lead to get her to leave it there as she was determined to try to bring it with her.

What do the other dogs do while Ruby is playing with her stick? Well Casey rolls around in the dew, and Darcy stands about under the trees staring up into them to see if she can see any squirrels. She usually keeps up with us but sometimes she gets stuck under a tree watching for squirrels and we have to go back and find her. She goes completely deaf when she finds one. Ruby is starting to understand the question "where's Darcy?" and now helps me find her.

02 July 2009

It is it is hotter than ever today. The Belgians were all in the conservatory first thing as it was a bit cooler until the sun moved round, but they are getting a bit fed up of the heat I think.














Darcy has found a new bed to snooze on in the sun. I took her for her scan this afternoon and she is pregnant too so we are in for a busy few weeks. She is having 4 puppies all being well.

1 July 2009

The weather is really hot at the moment. even with all the doors and windows open it is really too warm in the house. The Belgians spend the days lying flat out on the floor inside, but the Bostons prefer the heat and spend a lot of their time sunbathing in the conservatory. It gets very hot in there but the Bostons seem to like it.















Ruby is now getting a bit fatter. She is obviously nesting and seems to have decided where she is going to have her babies. I emptied one of the compost bins the other day and Ruby has moved in. It took me ages to find her. We might have a couple of arguments if she thinks she really will have the puppies out there. I was thinking more along the lines of a whelping box in my bedroom.

20 June 2009

Ruby went for a scan this morning to see if she is pregnant. I was convinced she isn't as I haven't noticed any changes at all. She is as slim as ever, eating the same, no morning sickness. Still running round like a greyhound and chasing rabbits. I was quite sure I would have to to tell everyone that there were no puppies, but the scan said about 8 puppies!!!!.
Goodness knows where she is keeping them. I know she isn't due for 5 weeks but I had thought there would be something to see by now.
The pictures were taken this afternoon. She loves posing on the wall for me and then from up there she could see where I had put one of her dead footballs and a stick when I cut the grass.

19 June 2009

A typical morning walking the dogs. As soon as we get to the field I let Daisy off the lead and she attaches herself to it by the teeth. I drag her round the field whist playing football with Saffy. Daisy is only small but she hangs onto the lead as hard as she can and won't let go. She is surprisingly hard to pull around. You can hear Saffy panting in the background She bounces up and down trying to get me to kick the football.


Saffy loves the football so she chases after that. We practise our heelwork on the field and then kick the football as a reward.

After a while Daisy does get fed up of her lead and then takes the football off Saffy.

14 June 2009

Today we were entered at Danesford Obedience show. They always seem to have good weather there so I put on loads of sunscreen and headed off for a day in the sun. The venue is very nice with a river running through it so the dogs can have a paddle if it gets too hot, and woodland walks too.
Saffy did seem quite happy in the woods and probably would have preferred to stay there but we did go and work our beginner round. She started out really well. Hr heel on lead was very good only losing one mark, Her heel on lead however was not quite so good as a group of people we knew happened to turn up at the ring just as we started off and Saffy decided to watch them rather than me so she went wide and completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Her retrieve was very good, only losing a couple of marks.
Stays were next and unfortunately she slid into a down from the sit. She obviously thought it was far too hot to be sitting around and wanted to sunbathe. She did her down stay perfectly though.
Overall I was actually very pleased with her. She is getting better at working for a longer duration without food or toy rewards and although she lay down in her sit stay she remained in position for both stays. this is the first time she has done them in competition.

08 June 2008

I took Saffy and Daisy to ringcraft tonight. Daisy has the Boston Terrier Breed Championship show on Saturday And Saffy has the Belgian shows in a month so I thought we had better practice. We haven't been to ring craft for about a year and Saffy hasn't been shown since last August so I wasn't sure what to expect from them but much to my surprise they both behaved impeccably.
They both stood and moved really well. Saffy stood like a rock for the judge, a man she hadn't met before and Daisy stood on the table like a statue . Unfortunately she went all wriggly when the judge tried to go over her but she moved like a dream. If she goes this well on Saturday she might do well.