MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Did you shit in the candle section Theomen?
Training is going well. His calm demeanour surprises and delights everyone who meets him 😐
Mrs Epic and I finding the early morning whimpers and the sprint to the back door for his wee are hardwork.....
I hear you. Sprocket is now, erm, 13 weeks and sleeping eight hours overnight in his crate without incident, but the one horrific crate explosion courtesy of a gippy tummy has left me slightly paranoid of missing alerts, so it's a 6.00 am start every day, which is starting to wear a bit thin, even though it's always a delight to see his whiskery chops before breakfast.
New camera so been testing it on the dogs
https://flic.kr/p/2r3GZsX
https://flic.kr/p/2r3PfWP
https://flic.kr/p/2r3Npra
Looks like poor Skippy has 'grit in pad' on one of his foot pads. Can't put weight on it, no obvious swelling, but it's obviously tender and a small mark/possibly hole, nothing to feel/get tweezers to.
Soaked in salt water and wrapped a melonin pad on for now to see if it helps over night. At the vets on Tuesday anyway for his vaccinations if that doesn't ease it or draw anything out.
Any other greyhound owners had this and got any home remedies? Never had it with our previous greyhounds.
Also had his first tick the other day, easily removed, but a bit annoying as he's had frontline plus. It'll be a regular thing here as there's loads of deer
Also had his first tick the other day, easily removed, but a bit annoying as he's had frontline plus. It'll be a regular thing here as there's loads of deer
Son lives on a Scottish estate, and the woods behind his house are now known as "Tick Woods". The first time I took Willow there I took half a dozen off her as I was putting her back into the truck. Last week we took her, Buck and Tod into the same part of the woods, and afterwards found three embedded in Tod's ear, several latched onto his groin and Buck had a few in his armpits. Willow had four or five live ones which were still crawling through her fur, again easily removed, and found another one dead in the fur around her neck the next day. All the ones on Buck and Tod were very much alive and embedded within less than an hour, but I genuinely think the frontline means Willow is more or less impervious.
Beach holiday for Oscar.
After a fun Quantocks ride I had a couple of ticks but Max was clear 👍🏽
Gotcha day here.
From a quite shy nervous of other dogs little bundle of lovely
To a confident little sass queen
She is still a thieving robbing bastard but i am glad she found a home with us.
Our next puppy will be arriving next week. Her name is Harley and she's a golden retriever x german shepherd. It'll be interesting to see what Herbert makes of her, he used to be great with puppies but he's a different dog now so we'll see how it goes
Sprocket in summer goofball mode...
Oscar now loves paddle boarding he was awaiting to go back out. 
Also had his first tick the other day, easily removed, but a bit annoying as he's had frontline plus. It'll be a regular thing here as there's loads of deer
Bravecto is your friend here. I wait until my dog gets her first tick of the season then head to vets for Bravecto orally. The one dose sees her through to the end of the season, 100% tick free. You are meant to do it every three months but my dog is 9 now and had one does every spring and that has always been enough.
Lola had a a little lump under her eye.
Took her to the vet whoe got very excited and squeezed it. And out popped a little cyst.
She just sits there and let the vet do the necessary without flinching. Its incredible.
Yes, i do have a photo of the cyst!
Our Lola (Lab) is back at the vets for an x-ray 🙁 Had a chest infection for three weeks, antibiotics nearly cleared it but not quite. She's a bit miserable as that's even less walking off the lead (we're rehab-ing a ACL issue that's not going to get fully better sadly) so hopefully they can find the issue and we'll get a two lunged/3 and a half legged dog back.
Not sure Roxie (the 1 year old retriever) jumping on her head 100 times a day is helping.
Got all our fingers crossed (and wallet opened!) for the vets call later.
Some excellent pics ^^^
My daughters 5 month old puppy enjoying my MG!...
Milo living his best life!
Not the news we were hoping for. She's ingested a seed or some other foreign body and now has fluid in her ribcage from the infection that's pressing on her lungs. Chest drain and 24 hour monitoring needed. Local vet can't do that so it's off to the animal hospital in Bristol (1.5 hours away) where we took our last lab, and sadly they couldn't save her.
This time tho we've been told 90%+ chance of full recovery. Really hope that's the case, not sure I can deal with losing two dogs way before their time 🙁 Anyone who has had dogs with similar that ended well, feel free to let me know.
Just waiting for the call to take her down. Trying to remain positive.
Flo and Fran, a final run on the beach, Solway Coast, this morning after our weeks holiday there. Overall we have now completed the Cumbria section of the England Coast Path, walking from Maryport to Carlisle, having previously done Maryport to Millom, over several holidays. Ticked off that end of Hadrian's Wall route, so Bowness to Steel Rigg all done.
If you're in Silloth, the girls recommend Fairydust Emporium cafe. Human food is excellent, with free sausages for dogs.
Some place near the Avon reservoir on Dartmoor. Between Max the dog, Pete my mate and my bruvver John, plus myself we could just about make a completely healthy organism. Hips, hearts, guts and lumps galore are all more interesting than we'd perhaps wish but hey ho, at the moment everything just about works!
Hamish and I have been making the most of the sun in garden again this morning.
Oscar enjoying a swim.
@Alex how’s Lola doing? Hope she’s on the mend, sounds awful.
Well it's been quite the week! She ended up having her chest opened up and lots of infectious material removed. So a pretty major operation, but it went very well. Chest drain for two days but no more fluid coming out so we went and fetched her today. So referral Weds, Dropped at Bristol Animal Hospital Thursday- CT scan to confirm diagnosis, Op on Friday morning, out of sedation Friday PM and in Dog ICU for 24 hours.
The Vets there were brilliant. Constant communication and clearly know exactly what they are doing (apparently they do this type of ops most days!) and we met the vet who did the op today and she was just lovely.
Lola is now back with us. Two weeks of total bed/crate rest so she can't open up the would then staples out, 2 more weeks of easy lead walks and then she should be 90%+ good with the final 10% taking a few more weeks. It's going to be fun* trying to explain the rest thing to a very active and now far happier dog, and the 14 month old Retriever pup whose favourite thing is to jump on Lola's head!
Still need to keep a keen eye on her to make sure the infection doesn't come back. 2 weeks of pain meds, 4 weeks of antibiotics. But vets seem to think she's going to make a full recovery. Few snatched shots as we lifted her into the car. Blimey she's chunky!
Sounds like Lola is a lucky pup. Bet she feels better though. Post opp dog crying stresses me out no end though.
Lola (my lola) has a hotspot. Honestly why can't she save all the little niggles for one vet visit rwther than making it weekly?!
Got some anti lick spray. Was hilarious watching her sniff, then lick ... Then try and run away from her own leg.
Great news for Lola, sounds like she’s been through it. The vet hospital sounds ace.
Hopefully a speedy recovery for her now. Looks like she’s got herself a cool T-Shirt to wear too 🐶
Not wild about being in the cage while the other dog is still out.
A lot happier in her favourite sleeping position 🙂
She's missing a lot of fur but it's already growing back... definitely a far happier doggo than when she left even having been sliced and diced!
Yeah the vets were great. Not cheap, but insurance covered half and there wasn't ever a point when we weren't going to pay the rest. Good that we're able to do that, but still had to close my eyes signing the form!
A Huey on Sizewell beach. There are seasonal/summer restrictions on a lot of the Suffolk beaches south of this, but dogs are fine from the carpark here northwards past the existing power stations, and the MASSIVE construction site of Sizewell-C
Roxie the Rug AKA the carpet of chaos AKA Thug-in-a-rug AKA Bitey Von Fluffle AKA Roxhall Diva AKA The Fur Grenade etc is now fourteen months old. Favourite activities include licking anything especially if it's human, flopping down heavily on anything again humans preferred, jumping on Senior Dogs head and pretending to be a large furry hat, shedding around a jumpers worth of fur every day and capsizing in the evening to display all her lady parts in the classiest way possible 😉
Non working parts include ears which appear to be for decoration only and back legs which - while perfectly functional for powering a 30kg dog onto a sofa in a flat trajectory* - are unavailable for use in entering the car. Sometimes it appears her only braincell takes a while to travel from front to back for her to realise that, yes, she is exactly half way on or off something 😉
She's ace tho. Everyone loves her, except the Vacuum 🙂
*impact cushioned by colliding with unsuspecting human.
Yesterday, Sizewell beach.
Today, flood defences around Aldeburgh Marshes. The walk produced three pairs of shelduck, a kestrel, several mute swans with cygnets, and an osprey. And this photo
The lad seems to quite like it around here
Oscar meeting a new cricket fan.
In a few moments I will disturb a sleeping herd of deer and disappear off into our woods chasing them. But for now, I look cute and obedient. 
Now she's a teenager, ludicrous mode is still engaged but less often and for shorter periods. This afternoon we went from full chat...
(Image won't upload. Great)
to playing dead...
...in less than a minute.
I need cheering up and haven't seen Roxie for a bit. There she is!
Good news that Lola is getting better, too.
Max decided to go and photobomb my pic of Sgwd Gwladus plus Bonus water bottle.
When we looked after Billie, a black lab, she disappeared into the corner of the field and wouldn't come back. I went over to her and her trail gold was a thrown away chicken chow mein. The look on her face was pure joy
Followed by a "what the **** is this bullshit, give it back you dick" look?
The "broken 2" console each other! At least Lola has had her op and will get stitches out Monday, I'm still in, er, limbo on what happens next with the 2 piece collarbone 🙁
We have a digging related injury here. The spanner is in reduced walks and wound flushing 4 times daily.
Ooooh, that really looks quite sore. Poor (silly) animal.
Ouch, that looks nasty!
Grooming time for Bodhi... before and after 😲
.
Bodhi looking a bit hacked off.
Here's a couple of pics of his namesake, another Bodhi, who is into absolutely everything at the moment.
Bodhi's cousin Roksy has just been spayed, so is feeling very sorry for herself, particularly as she is totally immobilised wearing a surgical t shirt 
Taking advantage of lovely evenings is great innit.
Quick trip up Cademuir, peered down a few of the trails but agreed shambling along the footpath is for us.
Bodhi's cousin Roksy has just been spayed, so is feeling very sorry for herself, particularly as she is totally immobilised wearing a surgical t shirt
Somebody at work has just had their dog castrated. We knew in advance he was being castrated, so when she shared a pic of him in the Cone of Shame we were a bit surprised to see a row of stitches across the top of his head. I suggested that seemed an excessively long route in for a castration she remembered to tell us that the vet had found a couple of lumps on his head so had removed them for testing while he was under anaesthetic.
Pleeeaaassse can we have some of the Chinese? At all? Even just an ickle bit?
atleast they are on the floor.
Lola jumps onto the sofa then gets her paws on the table and looks directly into you bowl. just stares at it. waiting. absolute focus.
the drool starts. then the stomping. then the jumping off the sofa and hopping, then back on the sofa. rinse repeat
5 weeks since this canine terrorist came to stay! Safe to say we’d forgotten just how hard it is raising a pup as our old boy was 14 when he left us and we are 14 years older!
Oscar came along to support us at our charity darts yesterday.
I've made a rod for my back with mine.. I give him a chicken chew treat thing in the mornings and now he expects it.
Once I'm up and about, if the treat isn't forthcoming he starts getting stroppy!
I am becoming a huge Oscar fan, he looks a great companion. Not a breed on my hypothetical dog list until you started sharing the pics on here.
Edit duplicate post
made a rod for my back with mine.. I give him a chicken chew treat thing
Having lots of success puppy training w this... Suspect also good on toast.... 
Lola has had her staples out today - all 24 of them! Two weeks after the op. Vet's very happy with how she is. Can now have short on lead walks but still no running of jumping for two weeks. She's very happy to have the bodysuit off...
Roxie has decided it's "bring myself to your work day" probably in expectation of some kind of treat.
I've made a rod for my back with mine.. I give him a chicken chew treat thing in the mornings and now he expects it.
Once I'm up and about, if the treat isn't forthcoming he starts getting stroppy!
Ah, ours is very much routine driven. If she's staying with friends or being dog-sat, we often get a call "Why is Willow staring at us?"
The answer is always, "what time is it?" It could be walk, garden required, afternoon walk, dental stick or evening pig's ear treat. The stare is the same, and rivals Derren Brown in its effectiveness.
Pretty sure the stare in Paddington was based on that pic
The lawn is unkempt cos no mow may, even if it is June
You still have a lawn? Sprocket specialises in landscape gardening - so far he has... caused us to remove four or five substantial plants that turned out to be toxic to dogs, helpfully demossed a substantial area of grass, which he has also generously trimmed, converted the space left by one of said toxic plants into an open cast mine, where he attempts to bury various toys, taken to chomping on brambles of all things, rendered the compost heap unusable by jumping onto it and fishing out 'delicacies' like decomposing corn cobs, mango stones and things that we don't know what they are. He is also using the compost bin as a handy teething chew, despite having more chew options than any puppy should have access to.
Amusingly for a wirehaired pointer, he is astonishingly nesh. This morning's toilet break in our wind tunnel-like back garden here on the edge of the Peak, was a battle of wills, which he inevitably lost. Admittedly most of his life to date has taken place in warm sunshine - he has a shock coming - and he still has his puppy coat rather than full, adult, double one, but I was expecting better from him 🙄
Back to his place bed and the radiator for a well-earned, polar explorer-styled sleep...
'astonishingly nesh' ... 🤣 🤣
I've made a rod for my back with mine.. I give him a chicken chew treat thing in the mornings and now he expects it.
I've taken to giving Sprock a couple of small cubes of apple while I'm making my porridge in the morning. He now not only expects it but when I gave him some apple as an afternoon, post-training treat, he ate two cubes, then looked away and settled down, completely ignoring the other three pieces I still had in my hand. Clearly apple only comes in multiples of two 🤣
Made the hardest call tonight. Cassie has been on a downer for a couple of months now and it’s got to that point.
Originally she was my uncle’s dog, practically bequeathed to me by his wife after he lost his battle with depression. >90% trained as a working sheepdog, she lived her first year sleeping on a pallet in a barn. When I took her home she refused to come into the house and didn’t know what a proper bed was.
She’s been the most amazing dog over the last 14 years. When my now wife moved in with me, Cass took the hump for a while and decided to move her out, distributing her underwear evenly across the garden. She was otherwise so kind natured, gentle with our kids and with a keen eye for a perfect line through the trees. She loved riding with me: particularly at night in Hamsterley where she clocked up hundreds of miles. She would hear the bike come off the rack in the house and she’d be straight there at the door waiting to go.
I’ll miss you little dog.
Sorry to hear that hot fiat. Seems she was a great dog who had a great life.
Sorry to hear that. It’s the most and worst difficult part of owning a dog, but we do it for the right reasons.
Sorry to hear that @hot_fiat - we've only had our little guy for nine weeks now and he's already brought so much joy and laughter into our lives. Sounds like she had a great life with you, not sure about the colour of that skirt though.
Omigodd, that dog over there is really, really big...
Today’s teaser…. 
That's not fair @Scapegoat but I'm going to guess fox red flab puppy ......
Any recommendations for dog friendly accommodation in the west country?
We're thinking of a week away in September and are keen to take Herbert with us for a change. From the Cotswolds over to the Wye Valley area and anywhere in between .....
Next instalment ….
Sprootlet -found this website while looking for dog friendly places for a summer break w dogs... No idea how good, but they look nice
Teef this morning. Paw is healing well although walks in the current weather direct more frequent cleansing. But she's her usual self.
@sprootlet In addition to the Kip Hideaways site mentioned above, there's also www.petspyjamas.com They seem to have many of the same properties as cottages.com, but provide details of plenty hotels, pubs, B&Bs etc
He's come out with some absolute belters since then that proved to total hipocrasy.
There was also the awkward bit when we looked at the actual facts and basically the whole claim was based on hilariously bad "science".
Meet Scout - our 12 week old lab cross.
After much debate about how our 4 year old Labradoodle would adjust to a new canine addition to the household, 12hrs in and they seem to be getting along famously.
