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You may remember my posts about my daughter, her partner and their dog Alto, who is a three-year old rescue pitbull/boxer/who-knows-what mix. They live in Brooklyn... with Alto nicknamed the NYPD (New York Puppy Dog). Until now, that is!!! They are all three moving... To Helsinki, in Finnland...

Dear old Bones often used to join me while I was doing my yoga exercises. Merlin just ... well, gets in the way really while I am trying to do yoga stretches: "What??? I am helping my mummy!!!"

OH and I were just wondering idly how many hairs there are on a Labrador... According to Uncle Google it is THREE MILLION!!!!!! Can this be true?? At any rate, I feel better about the state of my floor now. No wonder I can’t keep on top of it!!! :shock:

Poppy has just gone through a massive moult, it seems to be getting worse as she gets older! Her fur now looks dry and dull and generally a mess. Has anyone any suggestions as to anything I can give her to help her skin and fur back into better condition?

I really think Merlin may have a cold... It's been really warm here, so he's been doing lots of swimming. I am very careful about drying him off, but OH less so. For the last several days he has been doing an odd sort of throat clearing (especially after resting), a bit of sneezing, and some...

I just came across a photo of our dear old Billy with my children, he was a gorgeous dog, a Labrador / Brittany Spaniel cross, intelligent, loyal and a real gem. He lived until he was 16 - I’ve since heard that Brittany’s are very long-lived, maybe that’s where that came from? Anyway, this photo...

So proud of Merlin yesterday - we took part in his first real working test and after the initial brain-frying excitement of seeing forty or fifty dogs (SO MANY BUTTS TO SNIFF!!!!!) he calmed down and worked really nicely. It was horrible weather, really wet and cold (we had snow!!!), and the...

Oh my, poor lamb Merlin. He didn't even swim today, just crashed around in the streams. He's very uncomfortable this evening, with his tail hanging down and unable to settle properly. I've given him metacam, but the problem is we are driving to the UK tomorrow morning. Poor boy, I hope he is...

We went to an all-day training seminar yesterday. OH was working Poppy, and I was just hanging out with Merls, doing a little bit of retrieving with him as well as helping the trainer by throwing dummies etc. Poppy was not her normal self. She ran out on marked retrieves, but was unwilling to...

Poppy is now seven years old, and while definitely not a senior, nonetheless she is more sedate than she used to be, and consequently uses fewer calories, although she is still active and gets around 2 hours walking a day, together with training every weekend. Since her spay two years ago she...

Just an idea I'd like to run past you guys... As you know I give a dummy training class once a week, for intermediate stage dogs (beyond beginners, but not open class). I thought I might offer a class for senior dogs who still love to do a bit of retrieving work, but who cannot manage the...

Sigh... There are two bitches in heat in our neighbourhood - and boy, does Merlin know it!!! He ranges far in front of me on walks if I don't interact with him, sniffing all the time, and is FULL of energy and testosterone... It's a bit of a trial these dark evenings, to be honest, as he wants...

Poppy and I took part in a working test this weekend. On Saturday we entered the Advanced Class singles, and had a good day, coming in fifth out of 40dogs, and just one point under the third and fourth placed participants. Poppy worked really well all day, and achieved perfect scores on several...

It’s not all that often that I rave about Merlin’s behaviour; probably because I obsess over his health issues rather than realizing what a really good dog he is... Bad me. Anyway, on Sunday I was sooooo proud of him. With the days getting shorter I have moved the gundog class I give to Sundays...

Because of Merlin's hips, I'm always keen to do low-impact dummy training with him, where he doesn't have to do too many marked retrieves, but where we can rather concentrate on blinds, memories or searches. This is a task that we did at training today, sending the dogs on a blind to a small...

Poor Pops had a choking/coughing fit this morning, that had me worried enough to be on the doorstep at the vet's when they opened at 08:00... Vet's first thought was that she might have been stung in the throat by a wasp, but there was no sight of a sting... It seems like she may have...

Poor Merly, he can't put any weight on his hind left leg this morning. :( We've been to the vet's, strong painkillers and a week's strict rest prescribed. Vet isn't sure if it's coming from his hips, he also said there was a slight instability in that knee. So no more beach walks for Merlin this...

Merlin is really calming down; I am beginning to be able to work with both of them at once. These two marks are only very short, but it was particularly hard for Merlin to wait until it was his turn. We are getting there!!!

Some of you will know that a couple of months ago we discovered that Merlin has severe bilateral hip dysplasia. This was a pretty devastating diagnosis for us, partly because I had intended to work and compete with him, and also because I had wanted to use him as a stud dog; but mainly because...

Hi, I'm Karen and I live in Germany with my two lovely dogs Poppy (six years) and Merlin (15 months old), both working line yellow Labradors. In addition to working with my two dogs I also have my own dummy training group of six dogs and handlers that I run on a weekly basis, and I compete in...