The Count Down is Progressing....

 

With just under a week to go, Peggy's pregnancy is progressing nicely. She has a very neat bump and has maintained her fitness and love for chasing balls throughout her pregnancy so I am hoping for a text book birth and some lovely healthy puppies.

Her tummy is a mass of wiggling and kicking now and it is just magical to be able to hold the pups little feet in my hands as they kick at her tummy. I can feel at least 4 individual babies - the one on the left hand side high in her ribs is going to be trouble! I can already tell 😂

The whelping box is set up in the kitchen and I have bought enough new vet bed to last us a lifetime as well as all of the usual supplies. 

There may very well be space on my wait list for the right families, so please make contact if you believe that you may be a suitable slave to one of our silver Marcasite puppies.

 

I have incredible friends

 

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed recently.

With a house to renovate, 3 dogs, a stressful full time job and puppies on the way life is certainly busy! I realise that I am very blessed but as a single person with lots of responsibilities I sometimes feel a bit like life is a juggling act and I am super uncoordinated LOL

To cheer me up my wonderful friend Nicky (Nicky Wood Photography) invited me to help her test out her new studio and gifted me this image that she took of Edna whilst we were there.

I am so greatful as the image is beautiful and it really has cheered me up no end.

I believe that there may be a couple more to come too.

Thank you Nicky for being the friend I needed and just listening and being there. Good friends are invaluable and I'll buy the coffee and cake next time!

Just a few pictures of Edna

 

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.

3 weeks to go!

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.

More Trick Dog Titles

 

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! 

Puppies!

 

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!

Trick Dogs UK

 

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)

Here she is demonstrating 'hold' with her tuggie.

Peggy and are now working towards our advanced title and we are currently only 3 tricks away from gaining it.

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.

Marcasite Poodles Annual Meet Up 2021

 

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!