Welcome To The Year Of The Pig
So, 2019 has begun in gusto. Having started the year poorly it has got better and better. Apparently, it is the Year of The Pig and in Chinese custom, a pig represents luck, overall good fortune, wealth, honesty, general prosperity. I have to say that so far this has rung true for me.
I was shocked at receiving news last week that I had won the Dog Friendly Magazine Reviews Competition that I had entered last September with my blog about the Lake District! Even more shocked to realize that I had won not only a digital SLR camera but also a laptop! The timing could not have been more perfect as my current laptop is dying. I was absolutely thrilled, especially with the amount of entries there were. These were the words from the judges "We really enjoyed reading your review on the Lake District. From the intriguing title to the comprehensive detail on your stay with Buddy-love, Peach and Daisy it was a great well-written review and very aspirational for people considering a dog friendly holiday in that region. And great pictures. Just what we were looking for."
It's been a busy start to the year which is unusual as January is normally a little quieter. However, the Ultrasonic teeth cleaning is proving popular having had some good results on doggies' pearly whites over the last few weeks. If you're interested in booking your dog in for a session or two, please get in touch. I have some leaflets that detail the service but I've decided to slightly change the pricing structure and am now offering sessions at £25 for a 25-30 minute appointment but if booked with a normal grooming session, this will reduce to £20. I felt it was easier to manage it this way for both me and the clients and some dogs may need more than 6 sessions, some less.
My online store is in the foundation stages and I hope this will be going live in the next couple of weeks. I'll have on there the Dorwest Herb products that I'm stocking plus some of the fragrance sprays I use after grooming, some useful grooming tools and a small selection of shampoos. Obviously, I won't have a huge stock as I need somewhere to keep things but it's a start and you know what they say…………. from small acorns grow large oaks.
We've had a few new visitors to the Grooming Room this month so far and our regular visitors continue to come back which I'm very thankful for.
A couple of newbies on our walks this year with both being added into the Tuesday gangs. We had Finn the Greek Rescue Dog and Bronte the Yorkie who is our long-term pack member Lola's little sister. Stanley Basset has now joined the Thursday gang as well as Tuesday and we also saw Harry Basset on last week's Thursday walk. He may join us on an ad-hoc basis when his Mum is away.
I am careful to say this because I don't want to jinx it but…………. we've had a fairly dry start to January. Only a little rain so far but, at least it is rain and not the white stuff that has been threatened! We have had a couple of cold mornings and the Hounds had to adorn their Equafleece jumpers (which they were thrilled about!). I must say though I'd prefer to be scraping the van windscreen every morning than getting soaking wet and muddy after every walk! So, cold and dry is just the ticket!
However, talking of the cold weather, it is important to look after those paws after walks at this time of year. A product that comes into its own during cold weather is paw balm and this should be a must in your doggie toolkit. After cold walks, check between the toes for lumps of ice or snow and wash paws or wipe after every walk especially if you've walked on pavements and roads that have been gritted. The salt that they use to defrost the ice can really burn doggie pads so rinse off the paws and then apply a thin layer of paw balm. It will not only prevent your dog's pads from cracking but can also help to give them some grip on slippery surfaces. So, it is useful not only in Winter but all year round if you've got wooden or tiled floors at home. It is also sadly the time of year that Alabama Rot becomes more prevalent. They seem no clearer to finding a cause or indeed a treatment for it. So, if you're in the habit of washing your dog's paws after walks, then this will at least help especially if you've got a particularly muddy four-legged friend. I hope to have some paw balm in stock soon.
Again, I don't want to jinx anything but everyone keeps asking me how my Buddy is and, he is doing really well. We're coming up to almost a year ago since we discovered he had cancer. I never expected him to still be here now if I'm honest so I'm thankful for every morning I wake up and he's still greeting me at the kitchen door. I know he's living with this and every day is a blessing as I know that there will be one morning where he won't be there but for now, I'm just thankful that true to Buddy style, he is kicking cancer right in the butt.
So, tuck up warm, hug your doggies and look after yourselves.
Much love as always
Sally xx
