About time too(but it's SAD news)...

Hi there Apologies for not posting for an absolute age. I've been having login problems and I've finally sorted it out so here I am. I'm extremely sad to say that the lovely Poppy, who's pic you can see on the blog, left this life earlier this year. She'd got to the very ripe old age of 11 which for a neo is almost unheard of and had become pretty unsteady on her back legs. I think a little dementia was also creeping in as she would often stand staring into space, barking, as though she had no idea where she was. My lovely friend Andie came with me to take her to the vets as I'd finally made the decision that she'd had enough and thankfully she went quickly and peacefully without a murmur. RIP Poppy, you were the best friend ever and a total credit to canines the world over. I miss you every day.xxx

Happy 2008 (Here's hoping...!)

Well hello there (if there's actually anyone out there!) I haven't been on here for ages but a friend of mine recently set up a new blog and it got me thinking that it was about time I updated mine. Life's still the usual hectic round of looking after my own dogs and visiting other people to help with theirs. We've got more puppies again (the previous litter mentioned are almost 8 months old now) and it's all go as usual. Had a scare the other night as my very best boy (Tucker) a neo cross and absolutely gorgeous dog, was acting strange and kept pulling funny faces. He kept doing a kind of 'yawn' and was very much out of sorts, but when I checked him out I couldn't find anything wrong. I gave him some metacam, which is an anti-inflammatory I had in stock and the next morning he seemed fine, but it certainly worried me for a bit. My business has been very quiet over Christmas, as is the norm, but thankfully it's picking up again now. I'm currently reading a book by John Grogan called 'Marley and Me' and it's brilliant. He tells the true story of his life with a lab retriever and it's very sweet - make sure you've got some tissues on hand if you read it. Making me wonder about writing my own book as I've got loads of stories to tell (see Poppy's Own Dilemma below) and think I'm going to start putting some on here. Anyway, best wishes for 2008 and feel free to drop me a line if you've any comments etc.

We have puppies!!!

Hi there I'm delighted to announce that we have some gorgeous american bulldog puppies and they're now five weeks old and full of life! Into everything and pooping piles everywhere, but they're great fun and a credit to their parents. Anyone interested in purchasing a puppy from us (£500) can call me on 07980 505563 for more info. I'll try to upload a pic later, but I can happily email some if necessary. They're gorgeous and each one will come with it's very own puppy pack and lifelong advice. Sadly though, they will only go to what we consider to be good homes and any young men looking for a status symbol might just as well waste the phone call on ringing the speaking clock cos they won't be available. Sorry to generalise and I realise not everyone under 25 is irresponsible, but I'm very particular about who my babies go to and experience has shown young men who repeatedly say 'innit' at the end of every line are NOT what I'm looking for for my puppies. Thanks for reading! Take care, Jo xxx

Loss of a Dog

My lovely great auntie called me the other evening (rather late in fact) to tell me that her dog had collapsed and he couldn't move his legs. She suspected he could have had a stroke, but after checking out my A-Z of dog health, that didn't appear to be so. Turned out he had Crohns disease and the vet told her he would never have an improvement, leaving her with no real alternative than to let him be put to sleep. This is one of the hardest things dog owners ever have to do, but occasionally it's made so much easier when it's obvious that the dog is ready to die and doesn't want to fight the procedure. Thankfully this was the case with her dog and also with the last one of mine I had to let go. It's a sad time, but at least when this happens it's some kind of affirmation that the owner has done the right thing. For anyone out there who's in the throes of this kind of situation, I wish you well and assure you that you will feel better in time. Take care all. xx

Poppy's Own Doggy Dilemma

When Poppy my neo was a youngster (about 4 months) she saw me take the bag out of a really old cylinder vacuum cleaner and as I went to the dustbin to empty it, she couldn't resist a look inside the machine.

As she's got so much excess skin around her neck, her head went in fine, BUT WOULDN'T COME OUT AGAIN! So, in a fit of panic, she ran around the room wildly with this machine stuck on her head until she proceeded to bang into the wall, pressing the 'start' button and setting the vacuum in motion!

As Pop flung herself around the room (scaring the life out of me) our other dog Diesel came flying in, ready to attack this monster that was 'humming' it's way around the house with dust coming from one end and a decidedly thicker, brown stuff falling from the other!!!

Luckily I was able to evict Diesel before any damage was done to Pop, but then there was the task of removing the vacuum. After much un-screwing of screws and consideration of calls to the fire brigade, common sense prevailed and I realised that if her head went in, it HAD to come out. So, gentle prising and pulling of her dewlap (the skin under the chin) and her chubby cheeks, eventually resulted in the unveiling of one very scared puppy with bulging eyes, foaming mouth and a life-long distrust of vacuum machines. (She slept for about 12 hours after that particular ordeal!)

Welcome to my world...

Hi there

Thanks for checking out my blog. Not sure yet how it's gonna go and what I'll find to talk about, but it's worth a bash eh?

As you might have gathered I'm a big dog lover, but I'm also a canine psychologist and have a few stories to tell I suppose. My own dogs have brought me plenty of laughs over the years too, so I'm sure I'll find plenty to say.