Day 31
Meet the family. First time in show pose.
Fun outside with Kite, great granny Cassie not convinced.
4 Weeks
Molly and Rosko’s puppies are blooming. They are currently having their second worming which necessitated a weigh in. Their weights are within a few grams of one another, around the 2 1/2 -3.0 Kilo. They are real chunky monkeys, relishing their food and are now receiving 4 meals a day.
The weather this weekend has been a lot warmer, though still windy, so we opened up the patio. They were out there in seconds, so confident and have already begun to poo and wee out of doors. Another few days and we will let them out into the big expanse of our garden/drive.
I have received the registration documents from the Kennel Club, the theme for this litter is wild birds local to us here at Catherton. My little girl, whom ever she may be, will be Crumpsbrook Swift. There are a few locations locally where the swifts nest every Summer. Cleobury High Street, hopefully will have the usual colony around the church. We do have swallows nesting in our stables but the name didn’t appeal.
Our days in this lockdown situation are spent split between riding horses, gardening and of course the puppies. As they get older they will take up more of our day, but what a joy that is, they are so gorgeous. Mind you they are beginning to explore with their newly through needle teeth which are already sharp. They are a welcome distraction.
My thoughts go out to all our care workers, NHS staff, retail workers, and all the army of delivery folk and service industries, which keep us going. I have no idea how families cope without outdoor space, I am thankful everyday for where I live. Keep strong everyone especially with Easter around the corner and if we stick together we will beat this virus.
We are posting regular video footage and photographs on my website under puppy diaries and I know the families who cannot come and see their munchkins are loving seeing them develop. It really is second best but hey ho needs must.
Stay safe everyone.
Day 27
Escapee’s this morning playing in the lounge with me in my jim jams!
Probably a mistake because they will expect it every morning !
Oh and by the way their teeth are sharp !
Day 25
Puppies are now spending time in the day in the conservatory. New things to explore, see and hear. They come back in to the house in the evening.
Day 21
Puppies developing at a rapid rate of knots. Had their first meal provided by mummy Jo and Chris. They are interacting and making lots of noise!
Trying Times
Life at Catherton is going on pretty much as usual, with the addition of 9 gorgeous bundles. We are thankful everyday that we live with so much outdoor space and have our various 4 legged animals to focus on, sorry, I forgot the hens, they only have 2 legs! They are doing their bit by supplying Chris and I and Molly with fresh free range eggs. It is relatively easy to self isolate here but I do miss social interaction. We have a wonderful network of friends and neighbours. It is fine at the moment because it is new to all of us but I hope families can cope long term.
We love receiving puppy visitors normally, for us it is a fundamental part of having a litter and we are missing that almost as much as the families who are waiting for their new family member.
Our days are filled with dog walking, horse riding and of course gardening. Luckily the weather has been on-side, spring sunshine really helps and the mud is finally drying up though both horses have managed to find some to roll in. It must be an amazing feeling being out in the sunshine naked! I will not be participating you will be relieved to know, mind you no one would know!
There will be a plethora of tidy gardens, no excuse for weeds! My vegetable seeds have all arrived and we fetched several bags of compost before the shutdown so the greenhouse will soon be full.
Puppies have had their first worming and nail trim, teeth will soon be through and Molly will get all the support she needs, we are going to start feeding them at the weekend. She looks amazingly well and is enjoying some time outdoors with her mum and grand mum.
I will try to keep updates coming but in the interim our plan is to post more photos and video clips on puppy diaries in an attempt to keep the new owners involved. Sorry about the quality of the video, we are trying to work out how to use the technology.
I sincerely hope everyone stays safe, healthy and sane !
Day 17
7 Days Old
Molly and her family are thriving. They had their first weigh in today and all have gained significant weight. To be honest I didn’t need the scales to tell me that, I swear they grow while you watch them.
Chris and I have an easy job at the moment, Molly does all the hard work, toileting, cleaning, feeding. Our duties revolve around Molly’s needs. She eats as much as she wants, when she wants, and has started to feel comfortable leaving her babies for a few minutes to stretch her legs. This morning she left the whelping box to come for her toast with Kite and Cassie.
Hope you enjoy the photos, we separated the girls from the boys.
We have given them their nicknames. Some very tenuous links with thier markings. We have Puff, Ziggy, Quill and Puzzle for the girls and Bob, Tom, Chess, Asterix and Romeo for the boys.
Bob was named because he has a black band around his tail which led to Band Aid then Bob Geldoff. Asterix because he has an exclamation mark. Puff, for those of you who are old enough to remember was a magic dragon that lived by the sea.
We will leave you to match the name to the pup! Good Luck.
What a 24 Hours
I really wasn’t confident in getting to Crufts this year, Molly’s babies were due and none of my other bitches had gone to their due date in the past. Thursday evening she was fine, temperature normal and she ate her supper, copybook signs that no babies were arriving that evening. Friday morning dawned and the signs were consistent with no arrivals so Chris gave me his blessing and off Kite and I went to Birmingham.
Chris and I remained in constant communication, Molly was relaxed and lying in the sunshine.
The day started well with Crumpsbrook Woodrush ” Otto”, who belongs to Jan and Tony, won his Post Graduate class. I was so thrilled for them, Otto is their first show dog and there is nothing so special as that first Red card from Crufts.
To top that Katie then went in with Lionel, Crumpsbrook Bayleaf von Rulander and won their class. So I had 2 dogs in the dog lineup. Lionel who is the consummate professional in the ring was awarded the dog CC. Katie happens to be heavily pregnant and somehow strode out with Lionel to win.
I am so proud of my boys and their owners, it gives me huge pleasure watching my babies excel.
Kite strutted her stuff brilliantly in her Limit class to gain a reserve or 4th. This was the largest class of the day of real quality bitches so I was delighted with her.
I left Crufts after judging to return home to my Molly Moo who looked absolutely fine. Chris collected fish and chips and we all settled in front of the television to watch Katie and Lionel in the big ring. It matters not to me what my babies go and do with their lives so long as they are loved and happy, Matt and Katie share Lionel, Matt working him so successfully and Katie handles in the ring . The most special thing for me is seeing the relationship that my owners develop with their dogs and that shone through on the t.v. Lionel looked up at his mum with so much affection, it was a joy to see.
Thank you all, Jan, Tony, Katie and Matt for showcasing my dogs so well.
Molly lay on the settee between Chris and I while watching Crufts and she started to pant and look unsettled. I took her temperature and it had dropped, you couldn’t make it up, bless her.
Chris slept, or not, with her and at 7.00am Saturday morning her first contractions started.
The first little one arrived at 9.00am. Molly was a little taken aback, not sure what had happened. Within 5 minutes the second whelp arrived and that was all she needed, straight away she got on with the task of licking the pup. To my amazement by 10.00 we had 4 puppies. The whole delivery of 9 was complete by 11.30. I have never had such a quick whelping.
I am pleased to report mother and babies are doing well, all feeding happily and Molly is such a good mum.
I will post regularly as time permits .
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Chris is on duty as it is my pilgrimage to the Cheltenham Festival, I hope I don’t get too wet and a winner or two comes my way.
Last few days
Molly, bless her, has less than a week to go now. She continues to have a short mooch on the common and is enjoying eating what she wants, when she wants. Her tummy is taught and you can feel the pups squiggling around.
The maternity wing is prepared, whelping box newly varnished and sterilised.
We have been taking her temperature twice daily anticipating that drop which indicates whelping is imminent.
The safe arrival (fingers crossed) of Molly and Rosko babies will go someway to ease our sadness at the loss of Patrick our Donkey. He had been with us 32 years and had been a huge character.
We will miss his” ee awe ” and giving him his cups of tea which he drank out of a pottery cup. Admittedly he had not been up to much mischief of late, old age and arthritis had curtailed his antics but he still had free rein of our property grazing wherever took his fancy .
We live near a bridle path and Patrick’s naughtiest trick was waiting in hiding for the local riding school to be going on a hack. A fare few of the riders were novices and Patrick took a wicked delight in timing a bray just as they were going past. Horses not used to donkeys are startled by the noise and would spook, the result being, on numerous occasions, riders tumbling off. He loved it !
He will be hugely missed by lots of folk who knew him.
Crufts is upon us again , Kite is entered but whether I will be there is down to Molly. Time will tell.
The following week is Cheltenham festival, another of my favorite events. I hope to be going on Tuesday, Champion Hurdle day. Fingers are crossed that the Corona virus does not escalate.
Chris will post my normal puppy diaries on my website which I know prospective Crumpsbrook parents love.
I am hoping for a uneventful delivery and a healthy litter and mum.
Will keep you posted.
A Year of Two Halves
February 2019 bought some gorgeous weather here at Catherton. I knew I was having my second hip replacement in March so we made good use of the sunshine and built our stream. We have no mains water, our supply is from a Spring on the common, which has a run off to a pond which Chris has developed as a wild life pond. The weather also allowed me to get ahead with my vege garden, I knew I would be incapacitated for a few weeks after my op so this window of opportunity was fortuitous.
March came and off I went to Oswestry for my new hip and as most of you are aware I came out on the Monday and went to Crufts on the Thursday. Call me stupid if you like and I would agree it was a crazy thing to do.
The next few months were spent recuperating and gardening as best I could. Our open day was in July, luckily Chris had made the decision to semi retire so he was available much more to help.
As this blog is meant as a recap of 2019 I will keep it concise, not my forte!
The National Garden scheme open day was a huge success, we raised £1,450 for various cancer help charities. The sun shone, lots of tea and cake was consumed and a good day was had by all. Chris and I were so chuft.
Molly, Crumpsbrook Molinia, and her litter brother Otto, Crumpsbrook Woodrush, both attained their stud book numbers by getting a RCC. Molly at 18 months and Otto 2 years. So thrilled with both, I know Otto has more to come with maturity and Molly will be back after her motherly duties.
Then the second half of the year kicked in.
My gorgeous cob Issie went lame and has now retired from ridden duties and returned to her breeder.
We acquired Heathcliffe from the same stud and began to break him. It was during this time that my new hip decided to give me trouble. I had returned to work, was showing the dogs and did not expect any problems. Anyway I was struggling so went back to Oswestry to see my consultant. X rays and scans followed but there was no definitive explanation. The diagnosis was too much activity too soon, so I had a smacked wrist!
I then caught a lurgy along with the rest of the country, which turned into Pleurisy. Two courses of antibiotics later, loads of painkillers, a wonderful trip to Scotland in November and I now feel I am firing on all cylinders again, hurrah!
Scotland provided us with a much needed time to regroup. The girls came with us to a wonderful cottage on the Mull of Kintyre. We were blessed with the weather, the cottage location was idyllic next to a sea loch with an uninhabited island a stones throw away that we could access by walking across a a causeway.
Our friends Harry and Julie booked a cottage near by with their lurcher Socks. The 4 humans and 4 dogs explored forests and beaches to our hearts content, interrupted only for sustenance in the form of coffee and cake. Though I had a plethora of tablets to take for my various ailments I still sampled the local whisky while sitting in the cottage lounge overlooking the loch watching our nearest neighbour, a seal. The bird life was special to, oyster catchers, curlews regularly came to feed when the tide was out.
Molly my youngest Munster was expected to come into season around this time but bless her she avoided Scotland and Christmas. She and Rosko had a successful liaison the beginning of January. I am so excited, we are keeping a puppy to continue my breeding line, assuming of course she is pregnant and has a little girl.
I have owned Heathcliffe for 5 months now, he is backed but I haven’t ridden him yet. He and Pepper have been to their winter field and are coming home imminently. I am so looking forward to doing some things with him. Fingers crossed my hips behave!
I will wind up wishing everyone a wonderful New Year, may you all be successful in your dreams and desires.
Basingstoke and Other Adventures
Gosh so much to recount, but I will start with my less than positive experience of Basingstoke.
Molly came in season earlier than anticipated so I arranged a date with Jan, Rosko’s mum, for her and Rosko. We set off from home with a dodgy sat nav, which Chris had reassured me was behaving. To cut a long story short, with no functioning sat nav I experienced what Basingstoke has to offer in traffic islands, not the type of driving rural Shropshire has to offer. After 5 hours Cas, bless her, rescued me (I have never been so happy to see a familiar face ). Molly and I followed Cas and arrived at Jan’s house. I was so stressed my nerves were shattered and Molly, being the perceptive character that she is, knew mum was not her usual self.
Poor Rosko got short shrift,she did not want him near her. Being the gentle soul that he is, he became tentative in his advances!
Cas sent Jan and I into the kitchen for a cuppa, Molly relaxed and decided Rosko was gorgeous after all. All Rosko needed was a little more time but I did not have that luxury, especially as I was worried I had a 5 hour journey home.
Cas to the rescue again, she guided me to the motorway junction and I arrived home 2 hours 40 mins later, tired but safe.
The upshot of this tale is we have various plans afoot and will go again the end of the year.
The next adventure in my life was my garden open day for the National Garden Scheme. On July 7th we opened our gates to 190 people. The sun shone and the garden was as ready as we could make it. We had friends filling various supporting roles to help the day run smoothly. Car park attendants, Peter and Al, who were kept busy even before our official opening time (apparently aficionados of NGS arrive early to get first dibs at the plant stall, which was ably manned by Jan). A whole team were kept busy at the tea and cake stall. Thank you ladies. We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s generous support.
We raised £1,436.00 for the NGS cancer support charities!
The day was rounded off with helpers enjoying a few bevies and a couple of home made curries in the garden, which rounded the day off perfectly for Chris and I.
By now my new hip replacement was 3 months old so I was ready to get back riding.
My first 2 rides were wonderful, my beautiful girl Issie was ready and willing.
The third time I noticed she was lame while coming home. On return I picked out her foot and found the culprit, (a small stone) or so I thought!
Nerve blocks, xrays, injections, remedial shoeing and daily painkillers could not make her sound. I was devastated. She had sidebone, common in her type of animal which was unlikely to be the cause of the issue in both feet, but in her right foot there were 2 spurs of bony growth on the front of her short pastern.
The upshot is Issie has gone back to her breeder for an easy life, no work to see if the lameness is mild enough for her to be happy.
I adored Issie, her temperament and willingness to give anything a go was exemplary. It broke my heart.
The stud have been amazingly supportive and positively encouraged me to look at their beautiful horses and select another.
A new chapter has begun in my life with Heathcliffe. He is 7 years old, unbroken and gelded last year. He is the same type as Issie, a traditional gypsy cob, but this time dapple grey. So now we have all boys once more in the field.
Heath has settled in unbelievably well, he gets on with Pepper, and Patrick positively adores him, no shenanigans, Pepper is boss. His training is going well, he is so like all Lionheart Stud horses, a wonderful person , loves being handled, brushed, bathed etc. He has had his feet trimmed for the first time ever and behaved brilliantly. I think my farrier, whom I have known for 35 years, thought I was nuts bringing home a recently cut 7 year old. Heath had all feet trimmed like he had been doing it all his life, his teeth have been rasped, he is happy with a bit and is being longreined. I am loving this new relationship, hopefully we will be out showing and dressaging next year.
Chris is enjoying having a little more time at home this Summer having retired from one of his jobs. One of his ambitions has been to do a dressage to music freestyle test with Pepper. Well he has done it, mind you I am amazed at how much hard work it created.
He and Pepper went out for the first time and did his test to 2 pieces of music, War of the Worlds and Game of Thrones. They were amazing and won the class with a staggering 83% (9 competitors ) I am so proud from nothing to winning in literally 2 weeks.
I am hoping the Summer will return for us to continue Heathcliffe’s education. It is very windy here at Catherton today and wet. I was supposed to have agility which we cancelled hence a little bit of spare time to writ my blog .
Me and the girls will be at a few shows this Autumn starting with Welsh KC .
Oh and by the way, we have agreed to do the NGS next year!
“DEM BONES, DEM BONES”
Those of you old enough will recognise the title of this blog from a song I used to love when I was young. Apparently the leg bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone….now hear the word of the Lord. Well mine are well and truly connected now, with metal hip replacement number two. All staples out now and the wound is healing brilliantly. I am frustrated at being unable to drive, walk the girls, garden (bending and twisting are off limits ) or of course ride my lovely girl Issie. I keep telling myself this is short term and I will soon be firing on all cylinders, yeh !
Being the character that I am, I was determined to get to Crufts after being called in for my op a week early. I had been home 2 days but there was no stopping me.
How I wish I was sensible (well sometimes!). I shouldn’t have gone, I felt nauseous all day and by the time I got home I was exhausted.
The one thing I did enjoy without feeling guilty was the Crufts TV coverage followed by the excellent ITV coverage of the Cheltenham Festival.
I must mention a lady that had a puppy off me, I think 5 years ago now, called Jakki Slamin. She has been competing her Munster Lottie in Agility and had succeeded in qualifying for Crufts ABC finals. I am so impressed I had planned on going to watch but it was not to be.
Lottie and Jakki ought to be so proud of their relationship, agility is not easy as I well know. It is such a wonderful sport to participate in with your dog even at the level I promote with my clients, we have so much fun but Crufts finals, what an achievement. Well done Jakki and Crumpsbrook Sommer Eiche. So proud. Here’s to next year and I will get there to support !
I have been planning a litter from Molly my youngest Munsterlander for a while now. I had come round to the idea of using a European stud dog and had done hours of research and made a few tentative initial contacts. My research also looked at AI matings having had such a success with Kite and Dougie’s last litter.
I really weighed up the plans that I had for this year including my hip replacement and our National Garden Scheme open day (July 7th , please support if you can). I also consulted DEFRA concerning travelling Molly to Europe later this Summer and asked if Brexit could complicate the situation.
Katie was happy to accompany me for a reconnoitre of my shortlist and together with Jan (Otto’s mum ) who has A level German, I was planning an adventure.
There was one other plan which I had bubbling away, which was using a dog in this country who’s father was a top graded German stud dog.
I had approached the owner and was waiting for their decision.
I am delighted to say shortly after Crufts and several conversations later Molly, Crumpsbrook Molinia and Rosko, Quilesta So Treasured will have a liaison this Summer!
I am so excited, Chris (a little excited !) and I will be keeping one of this litter, fingers crossed.
Therefore I can shelve my road-trip for now and let Brexit take its course. Thank you Jan, Rosko’s owner.
Puppy plans will be updated in due course. Interest in this litter is already growing I have a list in place but please contact me for more information if you are interested in what should be a gorgeous litter.
Foundations and New Beginnings
The puppies are 8 weeks now and are off to their new lives. What a roller coaster of emotion it has been. There was a huge amount of anticipation placed on this litter, not least because it was Dougie’s frozen sperm and my first experience of AI.
Vet check went smoothly, such a healthy bunch. John volunteered to do his duty again ” mad man” and sit in the back with the pups. He must love it, this being his 4th time. The puppies also got to meet Lionel and Jas (see video)
I know there are 9 families with fingers crossed that they are able to pick up their puppies. The weather holds all the cards now!
This will be my last puppy diary, here are a few photos to tide you all over until pick up.
Proper Winter
I thought it couldn’t last for ever, the weather has been unseasonally kind especially with extra paws to clean !
It has been either raining or foggy here, we even had snow which 9 little munchkins went out to do their ablutions in without a thought .
They go out after every meal plus, as often as possible, in-between times. They are loving it. Chris or I have to be out with them. We have had a couple of great escapes, once under the gate onto the common and basically anywhere they shouldn’t be!
Kite has more or less given up feeding now and she looks brilliant , she has been to the woods and had free rein to run and hunt with Cassie and Molly, which she has loved.
Girls are all allocated now, Katie and Matt came Sunday to assess the boys and are perusing their thoughts, decision coming soon !
Microchip and vet check appointment is booked for next Monday. Kennel club registration is applied for, I am waiting on their acceptance of the litter names. This litter will be Crumpsbrook followed by a spice .
I do feel at this stage our other animals have to take a bit of a back seat. I really wanted to take Molly to Manchester Championship dog show, simply because we both needed the practise ready for Crufts at the beginning of March. Luckily everything was going smoothly here so off we went. For those of you not experienced with the showing game the first classes are age related i.e. puppy and junior, then at 18 months they go up to Post Graduate where they compete against adult dogs for the first time. Molly and her brother Otto were 18 months on the 16th January so had to compete in Post Grad for the first time. With this in mind I had not anticipated any success. When I arrived at Stafford County showground Katie was in the ring with Lionel, Crumpsbrook Bayleaf von Rulander, and a very disillusioned Jan and Tony explained they had arrived too late for their class. We were following 93 Vislas in the ring and the judge was far more efficient than we had anticipated. Katie had just got there and had to go straight in. Lionel won his open dog class. Went into the challenge and was awarded reserve champion dog.
Bitches got under way promptly and in Molly and I went, she was a super star and showed like a dream, tail wagging the whole time.
We were awarded first, yeh !!
A little while later we went in for the challenge, we strutted our stuff again and Molly Moo was awarded the reserve champion bitch. Amazing at 18 months 4 days, I literally jumped for joy.
A mention must go to Sarah who took Lincoln and Keiko, Crumpsbrook Angelica. She too missed Lincoln’s class but the day was made worth while by Keiko winning her limit class.
So all things considered a fantastic day for Crumpsbrook 3 first places and 2 reserve cc’s.
Jan and Tony your day will come and we will enjoy it all the more !
These 9 Dougie and Kite babies have have an illustrious family.
Roll on Crufts, if you haven’t been try to go, its a great day out and Team Crumpsbrook will be there Thursday 7th March.Tickets available on line.
Today the skys are a little brighter so a few more photos for your perusal.
Week 6
Just a few short video clips. Will try to get blog done tomorrow (Monday 21st)
4 WEEKS
Puppies have had several adventures. We moved them into the conservatory during the day and because the weather is so good they have had the doors open onto their own personal patio! They love it. We have had to put shading on the roof which helps prevent them getting too hot. They still go to bed in the maternity wing in the lounge at night. Jas made the decision not to stay with them over night a few nights ago, she goes in to check them early morning, she still feels the need to clean up their poos so we clean them up beforehand. She then washes them and feeds them for a few minutes and then hops out. We have not heard a squeak from them, they sleep through until 6.00 ish. On average I think Jas feeds them 2/3 times a day but only for a couple of minutes each time. Those needle teeth must be so sharp. All the pups are feeding very well, they have their Burns puppy porridge with either lamb, beef or chicken mince and once a day they have evaporated milk. They were weighed on Thursday and are all well over 2 kilos, such chunky monkeys. They have had their second worming course, not too popular as you can imagine, but they soon forget when their next meal arrives.
Today, Sunday it was such a wonderful day I thought they were ready to go into the garden for the first time. They were a little shell shocked for about a minute then they were off. They explored the lawn gambolling about, meeting the chickens, basically having a wonderful time. It was such a special moment to see them, such confident happy babies, I absolutely love this time in their socialisation period. It is so important to let them experience as many different situations as possible. Life then becomes one big adventure and holds no fears. Thanks to John, Julie, Gemma and Mike for help in keeping count and for some of the photos.
The first two photos are of Great Granny Willow saying hello, then the next is Granny Cassie, its hard to believe we have 4 generations of Munsters. What I would love to achieve is a family photo with Jas , Dougie and their babies, we are hoping to give this a go when the pups are 6 weeks. Both Kate and Matt and Chris and I are very keen, I can’t imagine how difficult it will be with 9 babies running around. One of the puppy parents has volunteered to take the photos, heaven help us!
Next weekend Cassie is going to Windsor champ show ,this will be my first time in the ring since I have had my hip done, I am really looking forward to showing again.
Manchester Dog Show 2014
First show of the season at Stafford show ground and what a great day . Cassie’s and Harry’s son Fynn won Best puppy in Breed ,he is 9 months old.I took him in the ring for his mum as she has rather poorly so what a boost for her to watch her boy. Then Henry went into Post Graduate with his mum Karen and won that class too. He is another son of Cassie and Harry but from an earlier litter the same one as Jas so they have just had their second birthday.The first picture is Jas, Cassie, Fynn and Henry, left to right .Then I was in again with Jas and she won 2nd behind the bitch that won Bof B, really pleasing. Cassie had to go in Open bitch as her class, Limit ,was not scheduled. A difficult class with quality bitches entered but I was happy with her placing of 3rd.
I am so proud of all my Crumpsbrook puppies whatever they achieve in life, but Sunday gave me a real sense of achievement.
GO CRUMPSBROOK !
My other piece of news is that I shall be running around the show ring like a spring lamb !! I am now officially waiting for my new hip. I can’t wait. It was quite nice being told by the consultant that I was young, he meant of course to have a hip replacement ,but he agreed with me that quality of life is paramount and has agreed to do it . WOOPEE.
