Cold Showers All Round

It's been a while since I last blogged. I've said it before but honestly days roll into weeks, roll into months and before you know it, half the year has gone.

I've had a couple of really busy stressful months. Not helped by the fact that I've had all sorts of plumbing issues at home which has resulted in needing to replace the boiler. So I've been boiling kettles to store hot water and having cold showers in the mornings. Some might say it's invigorating, I say plainly annoying.

I have however managed to get away for a few days in between. I spent the last Bank Holiday weekend in Berlin which was lovely. Of course, I had to bring something back for the Hounds (can never walk in the door empty handed!). So, they were hugely impressed with their very expensive Hard Rock Café bandanas as you can see! I saw lots of very stylish dogs walking around the city, attached a photo of a very dapper looking hound in his jumper!

As I said above, it's been really busy. My books are closed currently to all new grooming enquiries as I'm struggling to service an already busy list of clients. I have very little flexibility on appointment changes so please bear with me.

Walking is constant and both myself and Lucy are still available for cat-feeding and small animal care jobs with the holiday season approaching. Lucy still has some spaces for any one-to-one dog walking requests for doggies who may not be suitable in groups or need to be kept on the lead.

Teeth cleaning is still proving popular and soon there'll be lots of smiling doggies around Worthing with envious pearly whites. Seriously though, if you can keep on top of keeping your dogs' teeth cleaning and prevent gum disease and peridontitis then that's only a good thing in my view. A lot of underlying health issues start with the mouth. Bacteria from the gums enters the dog's blood stream and from there, who knows what can happen. If you're interested in getting your dog booked in, please let me know and there's some information available on my website.

I've recently taken up running as a hobby and am partaking in the early Saturday Morning Parkrun along Worthing seafront. I'm not quick by any means as I'm not a natural runner but am determined not to be unfit at 50 (still got a couple of years to go yet!). It always makes me smile when I see amongst the runners' dogs attached to a harness and happily jogging alongside their owners. I fear with Basset Hounds this is something that I will not be able to do! Can you imagine it? I think the Marshalls would have packed up long before I reached the finish line! There'd be chaos! Off in all directions, stop have a sniff, oh gotta wee up this lamppost and then go across the prom to say hello to another dog. Oh look someone on the beach is having a picnic, let's go and inspect! I'd say that Peach would probably be my safest bet, she would happily jog alongside me as her anxiety means she isn't overly keen on interacting with strangers and so I guess that the only problem would be the crowd at the start. I'd better save that for a week when I'm not bothered about getting a PB though!

We've had a few birthdays recently, Mabel was 7, Doug was 9, Peach is going to be 8 at the end of this month and Charlie 10 next month. This is when I think that I started walking these dogs as puppies and now realise just how quickly time goes and how short their little lives are. It makes me sad and again, I've lost a few furry friends over the last few months. I'd like to say you get used to it and it gets easier but it really doesn't. Each time one of my doggie clients goes over the bridge, it hurts.

I'm shocked and saddened to see stories and videos online of dogs attacking sheep and other wildlife while out walking. We must as a nation of animal lovers be more responsible dog walkers. I know that my hounds would never think about chasing a sheep or lamb but I still put them on a lead when we're walking near livestock as you just never know. Buddy certainly shocked us a few years back while we were walking in Petworth Park. We've walked there loads of times before and he's never shown the slightest interest in any of the deer in the park but this one particular Sunday was different. It was rutting season and we were walking with our friends and their kids happily admiring the rutting deer off in the distance. All of a sudden, Buddy was off like a rocket. Yes, I know you'll find that hard to believe from a dog with such short legs but trust me, when Bassets want to run they can run! I'm sure you'll remember the video that was around a few years ago of Fenton in Richmond Park?...."Fenton, Fenton!!!!"?? Well this was like a low-budget remake with a Basset Hound. Mr Furry had to literally sprint across the ruts and turrets of turf chasing after this rabid Basset Hound who was heading straight for the biggest stag in the pack. I'm really not sure to this day what on earth he thought he was going to do when he got there. In typical Buddy style, I don't think he'd thought that far ahead! Anyway, luckily a swift rugby tackle to the front legs and he was taken down in his prime with a dented ego (work out whether that's Buddy with a dented ego or Mr Furry!). He spent the rest of that walk on his lead and our friends still recount the story today of the superfast Basset Hound on a mission! All joking aside, we don't take anything for granted on walks anymore where there are wildlife grazing. Please respect farmers land and livestock areas so everybody can enjoy our beautiful countryside.

  My product of the month this month is the pictured below little beauty in a bottle……Banish! It's fantastic for getting out those niggly tangles and knots that hide underneath, especially when the dog has got wet. I'm using it on almost every dog at the moment. Just a light spray on either a damp or dry coat, leave for a couple of minutes or you can work it into a knot and then comb through. I'm actually using it on my own hair after I've washed it but don't tell my hairdresser! It smells divine too which is important! Anyway, I have a few of these small bottles for sale for £6.

Talking of this, I still haven't made any progress on my online shop. You know I mentioned earlier about time disappearing? I always underestimate how much time things take. I'm trying to update things on my website, still doing Behaviour Assignments for my Diploma and I've taken on another online course that I'm also trying to work on......I need 36 hour days!

Anyway, that's my excuse for not blogging too often but I hope you've enjoyed catching up with us. Enjoy the lovely weather and stay safe.

Much love

Sally xx

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Blowing Hot & Cold

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