The period of time  between my blogs seem to get longer and longer , not for any reason other than time . 

We have had some much needed rain after a dry April and the garden is blooming .Chris and I have everything planted now and after last years disaster with the brassicas and the dreaded cabbage whites , I bought Chris a brassica cage for his birthday.  I hope it works. 

The horses are well, Pepper and Chris have been out twice now and stepped up to  Novice level dressage .The last competition I managed to start calling the wrong test. Fortunately Chris knew it well enough to not go wrong ,but it did distract his concentration. He carried on a little flustered then managed to strike off on the wrong canter lead, but the judge loved Pepper and awarded a huge range of scores from 3 to 8.5 .The total was 67.88 % and second place so it all bodes well for the future .

Issie my cob is a delight , I absolutely adore her . She has qualified twice now for TOYS which is the Traditional Cob Championships in August.

Her schooling is improving ,she is not the most flexible in the world after all she has short  body ,perfect for pulling carts,which means she struggles to bend into her corners ,but she is learning ,this is  aided by the fact she is so willing.

 My friend Jackie has bought a young horse Theo ,he will be 4 in July .He came from the same stud as Issie , his mother is a lighter weight mare and his father a traditional cob . She has done all of the training herself with a bit of support from Chris and I and he is progressing well , Jackie had her first hack on him at the weekend.Yeh !

 Now Doggies!

Kite has been for a romantic liason with Dougie ,she was incredibly keen and Dougie must have thought all his Christmas’s had come at once ! 

 These pups should be ,all fingers crossed ,an absolute delight, I can’t wait its been 2 years since our last Munster litter.Scan in 3 weeks .

 Cassie went to WELKS and won another RCC  this was a wonderful bonus. She still needs one more ticket to get her title . She will go to a few shows when time allows .It could  be a busy Summer with Kites pups, Issie to ride and show, Pepper and Chris to support at dressage and the garden, but I am a very lucky girl and I LOVE IT !

It has been a long time since my last blog. It has been a Summer of highs and lows

 Some of you will be aware that I had my cob Johnson put down, what a shock that was. I did mention in my last blog he had shown slight lameness, what I thought was the beginnings of arthritis. After x-rays it was discovered that he had severe degeneration of the pedal bone and navicular bone in the worst foot and slight changes in the other. Bless him he was so stoical I had no idea of the severity, how he coped I’ll never know. We had a difficult conversation with our vet and farrier and made the decision to relieve him of his pain. He was an amazing creature, so trustworthy, willing and happy wherever he went or whatever he did he gave 100%. I had hoped he would go on for many more years and we could retire together.

The empty stable door on the yard was heartbreaking, Chris and I really struggled, Pepper really missed him too and became quite withdrawn. After much soul searching I decided I did not want to be without an equine companion.  I felt I needed something positive to focus on. The final straw came when watching Chris come back after a ride on Pepper and that was it, operation” find a horse” became my obsession. 

Chris and I had long discussions about what I should buy,finances were limited and a Johnson replacement was going to be impossible. A school master, safe conveyance was financially not an option. We have broken lots of youngsters over the years but neither of us are in the first flush of youth.

I have had a passion for traditional gypsy cobs since I was a little girl, when I used to sneak out of the house and go to see the tethered horses on the old opencast mining  land near to where we lived. This drove my mum insane she threatened that the gypsies would take me away !! This obviously never happened.

Traditional cobs have a reputation for being wonderful sensible characters, so many breeders are crossing them with Welsh cobs to give a little more presence, which can come with a more sparky attitude, not what I wanted. So I decided to look for a pure bred traditional and thought a filly would be something different . Then Chris and I would break her in . 

We went to  Lionheart stud in Warwickshire. We had a most wonderful experience looking around  all their horses ,the temperaments were exceptional even the stallions were so friendly. Issie was one of a couple I liked even though she was older at  6 ,but at least I knew what I was getting size wise, she is 15 hand. Anyway cutting a long story short  the decision was made and Lionheart Isadora was purchased.

We fetched her in the lorry and bought her home, bless her she was so shell shocked, she had lived in a herd environment all her life. Issie  had been  bred at the stud, had a couple of foals and this was her first experience of the outside world. Patrick our donkey was excited to see her , but she was terrified of him. She would not go in her stable, that was definitely too scary. We took a chance and turned her out with Pepper and Patrick and she settled happily munching the grass with them.

Over the weeks she has learnt how to pick her feet up, had her  teeth done, under sedation, she had Dectomax injections for heel mites as her legs were terrible itchy. We long reined her around our lanes and taught her to lunge. Issie has been  shod and entered into a couple of shows in  in hand classes and has  loved the attention. She has thrived and is now broken in and hacking out with Pepper. I am thrilled with her progress, all of this in 4 months. Pepper and Issie are over at their winter grazing now until after Christmas . I hope to show her next year in hand and  under saddle and do some riding club dressage . British Dressage now have a dressage series for traditional cobs so I may aim for that , time will tell .

Chris and Pepper had a wonderful few weeks, he has been out and about competing with lots of success . The best of which was them winning our riding club Prelim Dressage Championship. It seems Pepper has a spring in his step, has got his mojo back and is now  in love!

 We have also been training  Cassie and Kite in agility and have been to our first UK Agility competition, now that is value for money. Registering and entering are so cheap, £4 lifetime registration per dog and entries £4 per class, this included official measuring. The day was such fun, 10 of us went from Mannerly Mutts Agility. Chris and Cassie thrilled us all  by winning their class, she loves it and has taken to it so well even at 8 years of age. Kite couldn’t go because she came into season but we are planning to go again in December. Other M.M. handlers had success too, claiming a 3rd and 4th places in their respective classes .

I am currently exploring all of my options for a mate for Kite. She is an exceptional girl so biddable ,affectionate and trainable. I really would love her to have a litter if I can find the right dog . She was in season the end of October / November and I plan to mate her next time so we are looking at May 2017. She has been slow to mature , she is so much taller than my other girls, exactly what I wanted and has now filled out. She will be going to the Spring shows with Cassie making an occasional appearance 

The vege plot has been so productive we still have parsnips in the ground ,unfortunately we were so busy with life that the Cabbage White butterflies   had a field day and destroyed my sprouts.  We also  have carrots ,beetroot and pumpkins in storage . I will soon be ordering my seeds to start the whole cycle again 

Enjoy the photos and I will see folks in the New Year probably at Manchester.

After terribly cold weather in April, probably the coldest all winter, May has been perfect growing weather, milder, enough rain to save me watering and the vege plants are at last growing.Everything is out of the green house now apart from tomatoes ,peppers and chillies and we are eating radish ,lettuce and rhubarb. Broad beans will be the first to crop I think and the peas and mange tout will be soon after.I love it ! 

Chris has been really busy building a toilet in the garden . We only have an upstairs loo so as the agility and behavioural training has meant more folk up here at Catherton so we were getting a little fed up with people wondering through the house to the loo. So the dog runs have gone and combined with an old stone shed a new toilet is now in situ. Well almost , just the window to finish and decorating. The room is also going to have a doggy shower in it and useful storage cupboards.The one slightly sad consequence was an old Ash tree had grown rather huge close to our house and when the footings were dug for the loo it was obvious how the roots were going under the house, therefore it had to come down. The upside is we have a huge amount or logs to burn.The photo is of half the quantity of timber . We are also using some as a table , Chris is using it to rub down the window . 

 The horses are looking really well and Chris has managed a dressage competition on Pepper, Johnson and I have had some lovely hacks ,but I think he may have a touch of rheumatism, he has shown slight lameness intermittently ,the vet is coming to see him and we can decide the best management plan for him . He loves his rides and I adore him so if we can keep him going without pain for a few years that would be brilliant . If anyone has any experience of keeping our older equines, especially supplements and anti inflammatory medication, do get in touch.

 Kite has been for her hip and elbow x-rays we went to Malpas with Karen and Hugo , so we are both awaiting results, can’t  wait to find out the scores ,Kite will hopefully be mated next year and I am hoping to be able, for the first time, to use a dog that I have bred. Very excited !!! 

It has been a long time coming but after a long gap we have a litter of GSD  puppies. Ruby adored both Cassie and Jas’ litter so I was confident she would be a good mum. Friday night she gave birth to 3 pups 2 girls and a boy . We had her scanned at 28 days and could only see 1 puppy ,we followed that up with another 1 week later and saw at least 2. I was concerned because numerically small litters tend to be big pups ,this can obviously make things difficult for mum and I was worried she may have to have a ceserean . I need not have worried the pups were bonnie all of them 700gms or there abouts, the biggest pups born I have experienced , but Ruby had no difficulties. 

I can’t wait until they are a few weeks old they will be real fluff balls as both Ruby and the father Edmond are long coats. He has the same colouring as Ruby so I am hopeful for the same rich red colour.

My next show will be Blackpool so look forward to seeing folk then .

I just love Crufts , meeting up with all my Crumpsbrook family its a joy. I always try to encourage and support new people to the showing game . I remember my first experiences at showing at Crufts ,the butterflies in the tummy, the shaking hands, getting emotional when it goes well. The wonderful feeling when you are on your way home and I love it when others get to experience the same, it wasn’t that long ago, and Crufts has been good to Crumpsbrook. Cassie, Crumpsbrook Acacia, has consistently performed well and her offspring are coming up behind her. We treat the whole day as party. Pete ,Marce and Jackie come in the car with us and we were fed en-route by Marce, wonderful sausage sandwiches washed down with a couple of bottles of bubbles.

I do appreciate that not everyone or every dog is cut out to go in the show ring, and it gives me just as much pleasure when my Munsters branch out in other fields especially when one of Jas and Dougie’s litter, Dill owned by Becky and Paul, make an appearance in the main ring at Crufts doing a Cani-cross demo. We arrived at the show in time to rush to a big screen and cheer them on. Well done you 3!

Anyway back to the showing. Firstly I would like to congratulate Karen on showing Hugo, she has struggled with her nerves for a while now and I have taken him in. He adores his mum and I have hoped that one day Karen would feel able to take him in the ring again. She surprised me by giving it a go on the biggest stage, her thinking was that it was such a huge class that people would not notice her ! So in she went.

Mariet has torn the ligaments in her foot so was unable to run Fynn so Pete ,who so looks the part (new hobby here Pete!) who had  run Fynn with success last year finishing 3rd, was called upon again.

Kate went in with Lionel, Hugo’s brother, both of which are Jas and Dougie puppies. He has been really in form doing well at lots of shows this season.

There were 11 dogs entered in this class, Post Graduate, 5 of which were my puppies, Annette with Simon and Annalise, who only just made it being stuck on the motorway in an accident, with Pippin.

 As I sat by the ringside watching I was so proud of everyone , I know it sounds like a cliché but its true, my heart was beating out of my chest. I couldn’t wish for a lovelier bunch of owners.

Because the class was large the judge, Mrs Hartley made a second cut. Kate and Lionel, Karen and Hugo and Mariet ,Pete and Fynn were all called forward, along with Mandy with her father Malcom’s Moss, Crumpsbrook Rather Gallant, (a son of Cassie’s brother) and the Masons Ichbin Jedi Obi Wan.

By this time I was so excited and when Mrs Mason walked up to Mariet with Fynn to award him the class I leapt out of my chair cheering , then she went to Karen and Hugo for second, more cheering. The Masons were 3rd, Mandy 4th and Katie and Lionel 5th..I was like a kiddy in a sweety shop. What a result!

Things calmed down a bit, just a bit! Cassie was in her first veteran class, she is a super star, so professional. Again a huge class 11 entered so I wasn’t confident. As I knelt to stack her something happened to my leg, I had a sharp pain down the inside of my thigh. I hate my ageing bones. Anyway the pain lessoned as I ran her but there was no way I could kneel to stack. Luckily Kite has struggled to focus when I kneel with her she just wants to play, so I stand to stack her, this meant at least I am practised in another way! Cassie looked a picture and ran well and was pulled in 2nd, I am delighted another highly valued Crufts award. I rushed out to swop to Kite for her first time in the ring at Crufts. At this point I must thank my “stylist to the stars” Marce, for fruffing (don’t ask) the girls. In we went, again a big puppy class, 5 entries. At first Kite just wanted to play I could have done with a little more time with her before going in but I needn’t have worried, something clicked in her head and she stacked and ran so well, with all the professionalism of an old hand. I couldn’t have been happier with her performance. Like her mum she was awarded second, brilliant!

I must mention Keiko and Sarah, Lionel and Hugo’s sister, the poor thing had such a long wait for her class she was totally bored, not surprisingly, so today was not her day, lovely girl though, give her time she is so like her mum Sarah.

We were so late finishing we had to rush off to the horses and dogs at home, another bottle of bubbles was consumed on the way home. 

Well done to everyone at Crufts ,all of the prize card winners, it is a special day. I am off there again tomorrow, Sunday to have a day there shopping and watching main ring events.

Marce bought me a shopping bag with Mad Dog Lady printed on it , maybe it has some truth! 

See you at WELKS 

Our house is living up to its name of Upper Marshes.I am fed up, as I am sure everyone is, with the persistent mild, wet and windy weather. So far though we have escaped the floods we experienced a couple of years ago, mind you that was during the Summer!  Having experienced being under water I can appreciate the traumas families further North are living through, my heart goes out to them.

All our fur and feather are well, if a little soggy. I bought Patrick our Donkey his first rug this year. He is into his thirties now and struggled a little last Winter, maintaining his weight. I am so glad I did. Donkeys coats are thick, but do not have the same texture as a pony, the hair absorbs rain water, this means they get soaked through and stay wet much longer. Patrick is very happy, snugly and thriving. 

The horses are over at their usual residence for this time of year, thankfully. They have their rugs on too and their belly’s are beginning to bulge out underneath! Their tummy’s will soon disappear when they return home and start being ridden again.

I am a lover of Christmas festivities and  this year Mannerly Mutts Agility had its first Christmas Social. A course was set up to play on, I supplied nibbles, mulled wine, tea and coffee (thanks to some of you for bringing yummy food). There was an assortment of Christmas attire for doggies and humans and most importantly it was mild and dry. It was a fab morning, Chris had Christmas music playing and everyone relaxed and chatted. I can see this becoming an annual event. 

Our new venture into agility has been a real success. Due to the surface being non slip and mud free I have held classes right up until Christmas and aim to start again early in the new year, assuming this weather continues. I get the feeling folk are happy to have something to do with their dogs when the weather is awful and daylight in short supply. Agility is such fun, we have a hoot !

I am passionate about my ongoing professional development and want to be the best I can. I am working to become a Member of the Canine and Feline Behaviour Association. They have high requirements for membership and the Fellows only support applications from candidates with an appropriate level of experience in specialist dog behaviour. My tutor is a Fellow and he is sponsoring me, so I have lots of work to do before presenting my portfolio. I am also applying to be a Kennel Club Accredited Trainer now I have enough years practical experience under my belt so 2016 is going to be busy.

Christmas day was as joyous as ever, Champagne Cocktails at Margaret’s, our neighbours, but we broke with tradition this year and returned for Christmas lunch. I supplied the Christmas pud and as there were 12 of us, I made a Tiramasu as well. It was fantastic and very much enjoyed.

The girls loved their new toys, tuggy tree and gingerbread man. Ruby enters into the spirit and plays with Pheasant. The old guard Ebby and Willow watch on. They are 9 and 11  respectively this January but though they relax at home more now both have energy to burn out on a walk. In fact Willow put up 2 deer in Wyre Forest on Sunday and disappeared for 1/2 an hour.  Her hunting instinct is unbelievable and she powers through whatever gets in her way, the thickest of cover without a care. We were relieved to see her back. All of the others came back when whistled, but not naughty Granny Willow, good job she is so sensible and worldly wise. She had made her own way back to towards the car. She has always been her Daddy Chris’s, girl and for Christmas I commissioned a portrait sculpture of Willow by Madeleine Vale. Chris loved it as do I, it really captures her personality. We are well aware without her Crumpsbrook would not exist, now she is immortalised. The statue is in the photograph of the girls and their toys, behind them on the window ledge.

I love national hunt racing , so placed a bet on the King George run on Boxing day at Kempton. I have followed a horse called Cue Card for many seasons now (which is why I love NH racing,  the horses feel like old friends returning season after season) and he won by a short head. As you can imagine I was leaping up and down shouting at the tele , it was brilliant and I am now £50 or so better off . Chris has a soft spot for grey horses so I placed an each way bet for him on Al Ferof who was third, so the Bargmans had a good race.

Sunday we  went to Stourbridge dog show with the girls, it was a lovely atmosphere. I made a Paul Hollywood” bun ring thing” I think it is Scandinavian with marzipan and mincemeat like a Christmassy Chelsea Bun and took that and some alcohol for everyone to enjoy. I think it went down well ! Sorry about the sticky fingers! 

We are off to Cheltenham on News Years day racing with our friends, can’t wait. Plenty of bubbles and a Marce and Jo picnic before racing, perfect! I hope 2016 is a good year for everyone, the weather dries up a little and you and your animals stay healthy and happy. What ever your interests enjoy them!

I am sitting at my computer typing this blog because the weather has broken and it is raining. I struggle to be indoors when there are jobs to do outdoors and the sunshine has been wonderful. We are harvesting all our produce out of the vege garden, potatoes have been a bumper crop we have 4 sacks, 2 of a variety called Anya and 2 of Kestral. I couldn’t say the same about the carrots but what we have are stored now , parsnips stay in the ground we dig them as we need them. Sweetcorn were mixed, pollination was hit and miss but they are so sweet, yummy. I freeze the bulk of them on the cob which works well. Tomatoes ,wow, we are beginning to look like tomatoes, ratatouille, tomato soup, etc etc, fantastic. We still have the last few Autumn raspberries too. So all in all a good year. 

Lionel, Crumpsbrook Bayleaf  (Jas and Dougies son) , won the last working test of the year at the GSP Test, in Laverstoke, Hampshire.
Full marks for hunting, which is unheard of, full marks for one retrieve and full marks for water. He won by 8 marks. Such a wonderful achievement. Chris and I went to watch a working test that Matt had entered with Lionel  and I must admit it rekindled my interest, so I have been doing some training with Kite. I am determined to keep the working side of my Munsters to the fore of their breeding ,even though I don’t shoot myself . Heaven forbid they should develop into 2″ types” like a few other gundog breeds.  My problem is time ,but you know what they say “if you want something done ask a busy person !”So maybe I will do a few working tests next Spring. 

Dill  (Jas and Dougie son) continues to do all sorts of canine activities, certainly showing how adaptable Munsters can be. He won his first canicross, I am so impressed by Dill and his dad Paul, he and Becky put  so much time into Dill and Lilly. 

Kite has now been to her first show, Driffield aged 6 months and 5 days .We went up in Betty, my car, with John ,Julie and  Jas, Kite and  Cassie their mother. Kite was awarded second place and her behaviour was brilliant she took it all in her stride ,stood for the judge and trotted around the ring tail wagging. Cassie had a first in Limit seemingly enjoying being back in the ring after her” pregnant pause” Jas had a highly commended. Shame the sun did not push its way through the fog that would have been the icing on the cake.Yummy scones  John and Julie ! Couple more outings for Kite coming up, Malvern next week then Midland Counties. I am pleased to have her Crufts qualification under my belt at the first attempt.

Last Sunday because the weather was stunning, clear blue sky, Chris suggested we take the horses in the lorry and ride over the top of Clee Hill. I am so glad we did , it was wonderful up there, views were fantastic and the horses loved the change of scenery.

 Its stopped raining now so need to get the outdoor jobs done, before dark 🙁 

I have been meaning to write this blog for days but somehow things get in the way .

Firstly something which I missed off my last blog, Keiko and Lionel, Crumpsbrook Angelica and Crumpsbrook Bayleaf, were the first of the Jas/Dougie litter to have their hips and elbows scored. Keiko followed her Grandmother and was scored 0 0 hips 0 elbows and Lionel 4,4 hips 0 elbows. Brilliant news, Hugo from the same litter will be scored shortly. I am thrilled with the consistent, low scores Crumpsbrook Munsters achieve.

National Gundog at Malvern was a great day. I showed Crumpsbrook Basil in Junior and achieved a first place, then I went in again with Crumpsbrook Larche (Fynn) for his mum who wasn’t feeling too well and he won too. We soon realised I couldn’t take both into the challenge so Mariet said she would cope with Fynn.  Ghyllbeck Rapax won the ticket and the Reserve went too …. Fynn, his first RCC. Mariet suddenly felt much better, WOW ,we were over the moon. The achievements of the puppies I breed makes me so happy, I love to encourage new people into showing and enjoy their celebrations when their dogs do well

There are yet more achievements to report, Crumpsbrook Hebe, Sky who is Cassies daughter from her first litter has passed her assessment to be a qualified PAT dog. Many congratulations to Wendy and Bill, Sky’s owners.

I am so proud of you all, whatever your achievements. Keep the news coming I love it .

July has been a bit of a damp squib, fortunately though the sun has shone when needed. I took my horse Johnson to a show for the first time in an age. I was in too much pain before my hip op and since then life has been hectic and he has taken a back seat. So I dusted off his show bridle, polished his saddle, trimmed his legs and mane. He looked a million dollars. The down side was I couldn’t fit into my show jacket and jods, so I purchased a new pair of jods and baulked at buying a new jacket. Amazingly my friend Marce ,who loves charity shops had bought a riding jacket for Pete her hubby, she said for me to try it on and when I did I realised ,because it fitted so well, it was a ladies. RESULT! , I now have a new, well fitting riding jacket. 

Marce has had a new horse called Domino, a 15.2 piebald cob who is gorgeous. He came to the show with Johnson, his and Marce’s first outing. 

They both behaved impeccably, Domino participated in in-hand coloured where he finished second. I entered Johnson in his  first veteran class and I blew it ! I was so ring rusty, cantered on the wrong lead, corrected it but not soon enough and then because I had failed to read the rules for veteran classes, when I did my individual show I extended his canter, something which I have done many times in ridden cob. Then when everyone had done their “bit” we all walked  around the ring. All the other competitors were called in and we were called in last. I was so disappointed, but when the judge handed out the rosettes she came to me and said “you were my winner, the reason I could not award you the class was because in Veteran you do not extend in the canter and that combined with the late canter lead correction was too much to ignore”. So moral of this tail is read the rules! Still I was so proud of Johnson and he loved his day out.

Domino goes to Burwarton, our local agricultural show ,where I think he will do well, watch this space.

Mannerly Mutts had its first stand at a show , The Ludlow Dog Day. We had never done anything like this before but the catchment area was perfect. On the morning we set up in pouring rain but by the time the show opened at 10.00am the sun was out and stayed out for the rest of the day. It was glorious, such a fab setting, Stokesay Court, where the film Atonement was shot ,was stunning. There were 3000 people there and £20,000 raised for charity. We were so busy, talking to clients new and old, it was amazing, such a brilliant day. Something we will do again.

Jas is back with us again for a few days while her mum and dad, John and Julie, are in France. She has slotted straight back in to life here at Catherton. Earlier the same day, before Jas arrived, we took the girls for a run to a woodland not far from here, it was pouring with rain. Willow our oldest Munster did her usual trick of leaving the youngsters to their own excitement and disappeared off hunting , nothing unusual there, but when we whistled for her to return she came back pushing through the undergrowth, her favourite pastime, covered in “Bobby Buttons” the seeds from Cleevers. Never have we seen such a state , sorry no photographic evidence, but I think every bit of her fringing was covered in the b…. things. John and Julie bought Jas over and sat with us helping to tease them out. The others had a few each but nothing in comparison, such a tedious job. 

Cassie went to East of England even though her coat was significantly lacking (odd comment in an otherwise lovely critique from the judge who thought her coat was good). I was very happy with her result of second in Limit. She has now been spayed, which has gone very well and will come out with Kite in the Autumn. 

Kite is at that leggy gangly stage she continues to thrive and so far so good with her development. She is such a wonderful character.

I have had a lot of fun showing Hugo, Crumpsbrook Bayleaf ,during my girls absence. I really rate him, so balanced, square and with substance. His mum Karen struggles with her nerves, bless her, so I will continue to show him for the immediate future. He went to Leeds and won his junior class.

The rest of the  Herb litter, from Jas and Dougie are certainly busy. Lionel has had great success in working tests with Matt and Dill seems happy to try any doggy sport available , I don’t know where his mum and dad,  Becky and Paul, get their energy  from, “oh the joys of youth!” Keiko and Sarah are having  a successful time in the show-ring  too. I am sure Lionel will be back in the ring when Kate and Matt’s new arrival condescends to join us in our world.

Enjoy the summer folks, lets hope August is sunnier.

I have caught up with my garden and vege plot at last, the cool nights have slowed some things down, like my beans,  but they will be fine. The bonus of the cooler nights is the flowering plants like my Iris have bloomed for a lot longer, hot sun certainly causes them to go over quicker. It seems though whatever the weather the lawn still grows!! 

Another thing that is growing at a terrific rate is Kite, I am really pleased with her development so far. She has terrific bone and weighed in at 10 kilos when she went for her second jab 2 weeks ago so heaven knows what she is now. She is really confident and bold but without being cocky and she is really biddable, all in all a joy. She and Ruby are best mates and play all the time, Cassie joins in when it suits her and Ebby and Granny Willow continue to be the grounding influences.

All her siblings have settled well. There have been a few sleepless nights and a few more chewed ankles and hands, all normal Munster development! It is a tricky time in any puppies development, there is so much conflicting advise out there. 3 month old pups of any breed do get frustrated at this age with energy to burn. I personally have never restricted my puppies exercise, I worry more about the impact of concussion on joints, for instance enforced lead walking on pavements, stairs, jumping etc. I also believe in early socialisation. The benefits far out-way the risks of isolation until after vaccinations, all that is required is common sense. Vets do not see the consequences of poorly socialised puppies that have had little or no physical or mental socialisation until the window of opportunity in their social development has passed. A lot of my work is with scared, dog or human aggressive dogs, so often a result of poor advise. 

.

We went to the forest recently with all of our dogs plus my friend Jackie and her Border Terrier, Hetty. We were out for 2 hours but when Kite was tired we put her in a rucksack and carried her, well Chris did ! This will not be an option for long though, she will not fit in there for much longer and Chris will not want to hump her around. While we were walking we met a man with 10 dogs – 1 Basset Hound ,1 French Mastiff and 8 assorted Springers and Cockers. This was a grand total of 17 dogs we stood chatting for quite a while, talking dogs ,they were all his own dogs, most of them “re-homes” as he called them, due to people not understanding the requirements of owning dogs. All of the dogs had a brill time, no growling, snapping, just 2 balanced packs interacting as dogs should, it was so refreshing.

As most of you are aware now Mandy has started her own affix, Quillesta . I understand completely this decision, I would have done the same, she is truly hooked on Munsters. Something I can take some responsibility for! 

Chris and I are thrilled with the way John and Julie have welcomed Jas into their lives, she is such a happy girl and so adores her new mum and dad. We will be being surrogate parents again soon when they go on holiday, it will be like old times. We have had Zennor staying with us for a few weeks recently, unfortunately her owners Liz and Mark have both been poorly. I am happy to report they are making good recoveries and Zennor will be returning home shortly. She is a credit to them, her behaviour is impeccable and she has dealt with coming into our pack amazingly well but I know she will be overjoyed to see her mum and dad again.

I know there is a lot more to report but time is of the essence so I will leave it at that for now .

Well what a weekend, I had to choose my puppy. I had narrowed the bitches down to 3 possibles, tricky in itself. I knew what I wanted to achieve, the puppies were gorgeous but I needed to “split hairs”. I narrowed the field to two and continually went from one to the other, I could not decide.

Today, Monday, they were booked in for their microchips so a decision had to be made. By the time I went to bed Sunday evening I thought I was sure, I got up to go to work and when I came home for breakfast I asked Chris to photograph the two “chosen ones” once more.

Topline …good

Reach of neck …good

Angulation fore and aft…good

Forechest …good

Tail set …good 

Straight  forelegs…good

Ribbing… good 

Depth of chest…good

Expression …good 

OMG. this was tough, but one just stood there, perfectly balanced, smiled at me, wagged her tail, made eye contact and declared she was the show girl. Decision made.

Crumpsbrook Kerria is ……..Kite ,Ta Da. 

The first ones go Thursday, I know the people who wanted girls have had to be patient, but they will all be wonderful Munsters, so confident and have all had a clean bill of health at the vets today.

The theme of this litter is Spring Flowering plants, Kerria is a tall plant with yellow pom pom flowers that has been very cheery this Spring. I am so looking forward to her developing and hope she blooms in the ring like her mum Cassie.