Just thought I'd share a few pictures of Edna from our walk today.
It's been a while since I had a play with my camera. I fall in and out of love with photography (usually when friends or family ask me to capture their events - I am horrible at capturing people on camera!)
Anyhoo, here are my pictures. I'm quite pleased with some of them.
Peggy has just under 3 weeks left of her pregnancy and her tummy is growing by the day.
Our lovely friend Adam from Pawsome Walks Plymouth has been popping in to do regular scans; this is done for Adam's own personal learning and not because of any issue during pregnancy.
Ultrasound scans are not at all harmful to dogs and Peggy is more than willing to let Adam come and feed her snacks whilst she lies on her back with her legs in the air!
Adam predicts that there are 7 puppies on board, although because of the shape of a dog's anatomy this may not be completely accurate (pups can hide behind each other during scans) either way, we shall soon see.
I am able to feel the puppies moving now, although the movement cannot be seen yet on video. Once this movement can be seen I will upload some more videos.
For now here are a couple of a short clips of some of the babies inside the womb having a little dance.
Well, the girls and I have been working our little socks off with Trick Dogs UK.
Peggy has achieved her Summer Scavenger Hunt title, meaning she now has 4 titles. Not bad considering all of these were done during pregnancy!
Edna has achieved her Novice and Summer Scavenger Hunt titles and we are awaiting her Register of Merit title, which is a title awarded to dogs who have produced puppies that have accrued 10 titles or more between them and shown excellence in the field of trick dog training.
Young Floyd has achieved his Novice and Novice Masters and is now working towards his intermediate. Well done young man!
With tears in my eyes, I am absolutely thrilled to announce that my darling girl Peggy aka Marcasite Love is Begun (NTD-MAST ITD) is expecting her first litter of silver standard poodle puppies in a few weeks time.
Peggy is extensively health tested, with the following results:
Hips 4/4
BVA eye test CLEAR
CDDY with IVDD CLEAR
CDPA CLEAR
DM CLEAR
EDS i&ii CLEAR
GM2 CLEAR
Hereditary Cataracts CLEAR
Multidrug Resistance CLEAR
NEWS CLEAR
OCD CLEAR
PRA-PRCD CLEAR
RCD 4 CLEAR
VWD CLEAR
Peggy has been shown at Championship level and qualified for Crufts for the last 4 years running. The highlight of her show career being a placement of RESERVE at her first ever Crufts when she was just 10 months old.
Additionally Peggy has had a glamorous modelling and filmwork career and has had work from several major companies such as Sainsbury's and The Dog's Trust, with more booked for the future.
The father to our upcoming litter is Kareem aka CAN CH RBIS BBE Int'l Ch Violet Skies NA Noble Knight RATN CGN RI RA/AM RN RATN CGC TKA RATI.
Kareem is also extensively health tested with the following results:
Hips GOOD
Elbows NORMAL
VWD CLEAR
Hereditary Cataracts CLEAR
Thyroid NORMAL
NE CLEAR
DM CLEAR
Kareem is an international show champion, excels at Barn Hunting and has also has a short filmwork career.
These pups will have an incredibly low 5 generation COI of 0% and a 10 generation COI of 5.7%
I will be keeping a puppy myself from this litter. This litter really is a dream come true and I am so excited!
Recently Peggy and I have been training with Trick Dogs UK and we have managed to achieve three titles very easily - Novice Trick Dog, Novice Master Trick Dog and Intermediate Trick Dog.
For these titles we had to demonstrate competence in performing a number of tricks (of varying difficulty depending on the level)
So Peggy is now officially (unofficially because the Kennel Club don't recognise it 😂)
MARCASITE LOVE IS BEGUN (NTD-MAST ITD)
I have really enjoyed learning with Trick Dogs UK, as has Peggy Pants and I am very proud of what we have achieved together.
What is also really lovely is that Leigh-Anne and Floyd and Jade and Inca have also been inspired to train with them. They are both currently waiting to hear if they have gained their Novice titles.
I will share photos of Peggy's rosettes and certificates once they arrive.
On Saturday, I rented a field for the day and held a meet up for all of my puppy owners and their pooches.
It was a lovely sunny day both dogs and humans alike had a lot of fun.
I gave each pup and their extended dog family a party bag filled with natural goodies and treats. A bit silly but it made me smile!
I didn't take many photographs because I was too busy snuggling all of the pups, but Tim (Bea's owner) did and here are some of them.
It was a joy to see everyone having such a great time and especially nice to see Ellie, the little apricot toy that I helped to rehome last year.
I am really looking forward to next year's meet up. Thank you to everyone who came and made the day so special!
A year ago today each of you were born into my hands as I helped your mama through a long labour.
There were so so many of you!
I bottle fed you all every 2 hours for the next 3 weeks and even though it was exhausting, every precious moment was worth it.
You turned me into an emotional wreck and I would cry with happiness as I watched you grow and thrive.
The little noises that you made when feeding filled me with hope of who you would become but I also couldn't imagine you as grown up big dogs. It seemed a lifetime away!
I know beyond a doubt, that were it not for the supplementary bottle feeding some of you wouldn't survive. Edna only had 6 nipples and there were 14 of you! 14! A number I still can't comprehend.
Two months later you were all settled in your new homes and I was left wondering if it was all a dream. An exhausting but perfect dream. It passed in the blink of an eye.
There was always so much to do! So much cleaning 😂
Now I see you all, a year on, adult dogs in your perfect homes living your best lives. Walking on the beach, going to training classes, doing well in the show ring and having cuddles with your families on the sofa.
I am so very proud of each and every one of you and I love you very much.
You each own a piece of my heart.
Have the happiest of birthdays babies.
Grandma loves you and I can't wait to see some of you at our annual Marcasite Poodles meet up this weekend
Here she is in the garden of her new home with her favourite toy.
I will be keeping in regular contact with Bella and her family - they are relatively local so I will be able to pop in for coffee and cuddles from time to time.
I am so excited to see what the future holds for this special girl.
