This week has been all about the itching and scratching for one reason or another. I've made the title photo of this blog our Daisy Basset as she was incredibly itchy and scratchy when she first came to stay with us permanently, thankfully not anymore.  It seems that with the very mild Winter we had and the warm temperatures since Spring has meant an abundance of the dreaded fleas.  As pet owners this is one of the things we fear.  As with everything, prevention is definitely better than cure.  It is extremely hard to get rid of the little blighters once they have set ...

This week has been all about receiving deliveries; another raw food order for the hounds, the ultrasonic toothbrush has arrived, plus the new telescopic dog ramp (as mentioned in a previous blog!).  Fortunately, the deliveries have been made while I've been at home grooming.  Normally they arrive in the lunchtime period when I am out walking.  I swear the drivers wait around the corner until they see me go out! The other subject I want to talk about this week is ticks.  I know, last week it was fleas, this week ticks.  Pesky little blighters and the reason I've been ha...

A shorter working week but why does it feel longer and harder than normal?  I suspect because we try to squeeze in 5 days of work into 4.  The last Bank Holiday until Christmas and what a scorcher it was?  Totally unheard of in this country, normally it decides to pour with rain.  We headed off to Firle Village Fete with some friends of ours and our Bassets.  5 Basset Hounds, all of them different and quite a sight for the Villagers who wanted to either fuss the dogs, have a photo or ask questions about them.  Firle Village is lovely and the Fete was well attended...

Another week races by at a rate of knots that quite frankly scares the life out of me.  I mean how is it September already? Celebrating the fact we had had Daisy a year on Sunday brought it home, that does not seem like a year and she's had lots of different adventures in that year bless her.  Being September means not only chillier and darker mornings and wardrobe decisions shifting from shorts or trousers to coat or no coat but also lots of 8 legged creatures creeping indoors.  Yes one or two mornings this week I've stumbled bleary eyed into the bathroom only to...

Having just returned from a lovely week away in the glorious Forest of Dean, it got me thinking about truly dog-friendly holidays. I feel more than qualified to talk about this having had two or three doggie holidays a year for the last seven years. I dread to think and can't bear to add up the number of hours research I do on trying to find holiday cottages, dog-friendly pubs, days out, or attractions, but needless to say it's a lot! I did wonder a while back if I should set up as a travel operator specifically for doggie breaks - maybe that isn't such a bad idea...