Purdie and some pics

We are almost back to normal with the dogs, Tiffany and Spirit are at the tale end of their seasons, Audrey and Dime have finished and are back to normal routines. I have to brag about how good my boys have been over the last few weeks. Being in such close proximity to girls who are extremely sexy, giving off all the right vibes and who would love to be promiscuous, they have not whinged at all, they have not gone of their food, they have not barked or howled and they most certainly have not been marking in the house and there have been no issues between them whatsoever.

Today we took just the boys (and Purdie) to Dartmoor as a treat, the girls that are not is season will all chase sheep, so although we can take them for a walk on the moors it does mean that we have to be extremely vigilant at all times which makes for a stressy walk.

Purdie, who will be 11 years old in Dec, has started having problems getting into the van, she is not lame, just doesn't have much strength in her backend, so we took her for xrays a couple of weeks ago, which unfortunately shows she has severe spondylitis (fusing of the spine). She is remarkably fit and well considering what the xrays show, but we know that this condition will eventually force us into a decision about her future. For now she is still loving her walks, she does not just mope along beside me, she runs, she plays with the others, she swims and looks after her pack :-)

The kittens are a bloody nightmare, I thought getting Miggins a friend would keep her occupied and stop her creating havoc, how wrong can you be, what I have now got is the terrible twins, and then when they are tired I have 2 of them on my lap and sitting on the keyboard whilst I try to type, bless them!!

Honeymoon

Audrey and I have just completed a 5 hr drive in order to meet a very nice apricot boy.Audrey says staying in a hotel is not nearly as much fun as chasing deer, though the bit before we got to the hotel was more fun!

They had a good mating and we plan to repeat it tomorrow, ideally I would have liked the matings to be 48 hrs apart, but I have to get back home by tomorrow evening. The stud we have used is hip scored and eye tested, at 8 years old he is still very fit and well, he is a well made dog with a lovely calm and friendly disposition and fabulous pigment. He has also held his colour pretty well being just a shade paler than Audrey.

What a lovely day

I don't think we could have had better weather for todays reunion, it was great being able to catch up with so many Itzapromise dogs and their owners. Unfortunately we were a little down on numbers this year, due to some being unable to make it at the last minute and Dime, Audrey and Spirit all being far too sexy for their own good at the moment, but I would like to say a huge thank you to all those that attended, I know a lot of you had pretty long journeys to get to us.

I have attached a few pics from the day, it was 'interesting' assembling everyone for the group shot, but we got there in the end :-) There are, as always, many more pics on my Flickr.com account (link is on the right of this page)

Audrey

There has been a slight change of plan with regard to Audrey's proposed mate, I had hoped to be using an American boy but unfortunately his registration in this country is unlikely to be through in time, so I now hope to use him with Tiffany at a later date. Audrey is now going to visit an apricot boy 'up North" his pedigree goes back to some old English lines and is less common than many apricot pedigrees. All being well we will be off to visit him in about 10 days time.

The 2016 Itzapromise reunion is nearly upon us, and whilst I don't want to tempt fate, the forecast is currently for a dry day, so please, all keep your fingers crossed. Parke, Bovey Traey - Click here for venue details

As previously mentioned, this is a public space and I have not reserved a location, once parked, in the large carpark( which I have just been informed is now pay and display :-( ), you need to walk to the far side where there is a path that takes you across the car park access road and between fields. With a bit of luck the orchard on the right will be clear of sheep and we will occupy that field, if there are sheep in the field carry on up the path and you will find us in one of the fields further up. We aim to get there for about 11am and assuming the weather holds, we shall stay until about 4pm. Bring a picnic and your camera. Unfortunately, due to girls being in season, Dime and possibly Audrey won't be able to attend, but the rest of us, two and four legged, look forward to seeing everyone :-)

Fawlty

There is a new man in my life, meet Fawlty, our new Devon Rex boy.  He is formally known as Peppadora Magic Roundabout, and is a chocolate tabby colourpoint, whose sire is doing very well in the show world. Of course Manuel will not be going anywhere, but as he will be 9 years old tomorrow I felt I should be looking to the future.

Fawlty (a continuation of our Fawlty Towers theme) came down from Yorkshire last night, and despite spending nearly 7 hours travelling, thanks in part to the Bank Holiday traffic, he stepped out of his basket, bold as brass and purring. He is very people friendly, which is just as well because other than Mrs Miggins my girls are not being terribly welcoming to him!