28th February

Still 'bloomin' cold! And today was meant to be the warmest of the next three, brrr!
I suppose March is coming in like a lamb though, just a rather chilly one!

Got some pics at last ...

Lexus and Kyra.

Lexus kept barking at the camera, I have no idea what he thought was happening!

Action shot!

27th February

Cold wind back again!  I know there was much yearned for sun this afternoon but it was still cold! It seems it is asking too much to have it warm and dry!

Still no pic of Lexus and Kyra on walk, I keep forgetting to take the camera, but one of them post walk!

27th February

I spoke too soon about it drying up! Quite wet again here this morning, not any significant rain but enough to make muddy paws. Though it is a little warmer, there was something hopeful in the air when I did my ponies this evening, even though it seemed to have disappeared by tonight when I took the dogs out.

Lexus seemed to have a spring in his step on the walk today. For all his, well documented faults, he is a very happy dog. He bounced around the football field, grinning, smiling and laughing.  He really did!

He was also admired as we walked through the village. A staffie owning chap, wound his car window down and said 'what lovely dogs, especially that one.'  Even my daughter was impressed.
I am proud to be seen with Lexus, I am so glad he came into our life.

He is snoring now on the sofa with his master and best buddy, Khan.

25th February

Kyra is now on the website and on our Facebook page!  Also a new write up for Jesse on the website. The successes will follow shortly.
Things are settling down here as the new dogs get into a routine but it seems never ending trying to make sure everyone gets enough exercise/attention.

Lexus still barks continually from when I begin to get his food until it is placed before him! We have tried everything to stop him but nothing works, he is a very bad influence on all the new dogs especially the puppies. He is still on his anti-inflammatorys which involves me finding a tiny half tablet in the foil packaging from the night before, to go into his breakfast, it is very fiddly at the best of times, almost impossible with him 'creating' behind me.

Lexus! What are you doing?

I am still amazed at how quickly the new dogs learn the routine. There is not a murmur from 'my' dogs (the rescues) when Dave gets up and takes Khan out at 5.30am. The same again at night when Dave takes our three out and gives them biscuits, nothing from mine, who will have been out an hour or so before. Despite all the different dogs we have had this has always been true, it just shows you that they can learn.

It is still cold and I hate it but at least it is drying up, I could walk down the garden in a normal pair of shoes today, but it does seem to have been a long, cold, dark winter.

22nd February

I must apologise for the lack of blogs this week. Going up from two rescue dogs to four has taken its toll, also adjusting and everyone finding a new routine always takes a little while, plus it is half term so I have had some week day lessons.
 Last weekend we had a lot happening which also played a part, thankfully then the weather was better with warm sunshine and the hope of spring.

Tonight I have at last caught up with creating success pages for some of the dogs recently homed.
Chance, Boycie, Saffy and Chloe.
 Whilst doing that, it struck me what a hard winter it has been. Boycie and Saffy both went to their homes in November and it was dark and wet then and has continued to be wet, snowing or bitterly cold ever since. It was so cold again today and trying to snow just now when I took the dogs out for their last visit to the garden.

Maybe it is the winter that has taken it out of me but I just keep falling asleep in the evenings. I regularly ring Val then fall asleep during the conversation, but this week I took it to a new level by actually falling asleep whilst I was talking! All this without my customary glass of red, as I have given it up for lent!

My son just popped his head in to say 'Goodnight,' and told me Lexus had roused himself off the sofa that Sam had vacated and jumped onto my sleeping husband's lap, without waking him! Someone knows how to keep warm!

20th February

At last! Here she is!

Meet Kyra or Pie as my family call her, I keep calling her Dolly as she reminds me of Dolly (Nathalie Griffith, please note.)
She came in on Friday due to health issues of one of the parents of the home she was in.

She is 5 months old (DOB Sept 12) is pied and a stocky build but not tall, just slightly taller than Lexus.
She is fairly calm, not hyper, and has been beautifully trained to sit, down and gives a paw.

We have walked her on the lead with most of the dogs and off lead with Jesse and Lexus.
She has joined Lexus on his daily constitutional up the village and round the football field for the past three days.

Apart from playing with anything and everything apart from her toys she has settled in well.

18th February

Some pictures of Chloe and her new friend Barney.

And afterwards ... tired out!

18th February

Another very busy day but lots of sunshine.
A few pics of Rosie and Jesse playing in the sunshine; they get on very well together.

17th February

Apologies for lack of blogs, also still no pictures of our new dog ... I shall keep you in suspense!

A picture of Rhea with Ernie, she is slowly getting used to him.

15th February

A brief blog tonight; after being quiet for several weeks the last two days things have been crazy, most of which I cannot share but it has been a roller coaster ride!
The requests to take dogs in have been constant but that seems to have increased this week too, normally we refuse but today we have taken a new one in, more details soon.
At least the weather seems to have picked up a bit.

The above is for Val and Stuart.  Val was lying on the floor when I spoke to her tonight, because there was no room on the sofas due to the dogs!

14th February

Rhea has qualified for the finals of a Rescue Dog Agility Competition.
We look forward to following her progress.

Congratulations Kerry and Rhea!

Happy Valentines Day!

Ernie making himself at home!

14th February

Jenny and Simon who own Boris have contacted us to tell us that they are moving to a cottage on a 400 acre estate where Simon will work as gardener. Boris has already been there a few times and loves it, I think he will have plenty of space to run around in!

Jenny writes :- ' He is still a very lively Staffy and we all love him loads. 

 He gets better treatment than the baby and is tucked up in bed each night.

 He is getting on really well with Baby Rosa (who is not so young now at 15 months).  
 Boris hurt his foot on a walk a while back and trod on some broken glass so he had to wear a big collar and a bandage which he hated! 

 It is his 7th birthday next week on Valentines day he will be sharing a steak with us!' 

Happy Birthday Boris!

12th February

Thank goodness today was better! Cold, but at least dry and not windy. The weather over the weekend and particularly yesterday left me speechless. Trying to do things at the ponies my hands have got so cold it has made me cry and though those bitter winds last week at least dried things up we are now completely water-logged again. The top of my garden is muddy and wet so the dogs cannot even go out for a 'wee' without getting filthy and then their paws becoming sore.
I have had enough now! Come on spring!

Jane looked at Rosie yesterday but did not think her lameness was anything to worry about, it does seem to be better lately despite her charging around chasing Rabbits and Pheasants!

We had enough in the Reuben Fund to pay for Angel's op, which is great news and the vet has now been paid.
Thank you to all who have donated.

Angel on the bed (not really allowed.)

Everyone seems pleased to hear about Tara. The lady herself, however, is oblivious and went back to bed!
I have added a new picture to yesterdays blog.

11th February

Breaking News ............ Tara has a home!

And Val and Stuart have a new dog!    

Yes, it's not just a happy coincidence, Val and Stuart have committed to give Tara a home for the rest of her days.
Tara has a lot going for her but she is not good with children and is far worse than we at first realised.
 The worry was in finding someone who would be completely responsible with this.
 Val has visiting grandchildren but she knows what Tara is like and takes necessary precautions.
Tara's other problem is her separation anxiety and this concerned me as it was really impacting on Val and Stuarts life, but Val has taken some advice from a Behavourist and is happy to work around it.

As I am sure you are aware this is wonderful news for Tara as she has the 'life of Riley' with Val and Stuart, sleeping on the bed and enjoying the 'ahem', occasional pudding.

This will take them up to five dogs with ages ranging from 6 to 15

A houseful of oldies!

Thank you Val and Stuart for your love and dedication to our wonderful breed.

We wish Tara many happy years of hogging the bed covers!

10th February

An update on all the dogs :-

Angel's serum lump has now completely disappeared and the hair growing back over the wound. She is well in herself but has done quite a bit of tail chasing recently and her tail is very pink.
As you know I only have Angel and Rosie with me at the moment (as rescues) so it is the quietest it has been since she has been here so it is frustrating  that her tail chasing has increased. As fast as we remove one trigger for her behaviour she just finds another, obviously her operation and the following ten days on lead walks have not helped but even so it is disappointing as she is getting plenty of exercise and attention.
Her operation cost £278.75 I need to check if we have enough in the Reuben fund to pay it.

Angel tonight, the scar barely visible.

Rosie had a lovely run with Chloe who came back for a visit yesterday, they tore around together, it was hard to say who was the maddest but afterwards Rosie was panting heavily and lay 'frogs legs,' whereas Chloe was not out of breath!
Chloe is looking fantastic and definitely more white than pink, with hair growing on her tummy and on her legs.
Rosie is going to the vets tomorrow to have a hind leg checked as she sometimes carries it. She hates the wet and I am not sure if it is just that or if she has something more serious going on. She was not too bad this morning despite yesterdays exertions with Chloe.

Jesse is coming back to us at the end of next week as Kate is getting very busy with boarders and also having some well earned well earned time away.  He is now very well socialized with other dogs, I will try to do some one to one work with him which Kate does not have time for.

Lexus considering his sore paw this morning.

I am sorry to say Lexus' troublesome nail is not looking good and may well require Jane vets attention again. It is growing in a curl and is split, he licks it continually, ho hum, more worry and expense.

9th February

Kerry Crick who adopted Rhea from us as a pup and successfully competes her in Agility, as well as taking part in the Staffie Agility display teams at Crufts and Discover Dogs has just adopted Ernie from Battersea.

This will take them to a six dog household!   Congratulations Kerry and good luck!

8th February

On the Saturday of the snow I took Rosie to meet a family who were wanting to adopt a Staffie. We knew she would probably not be right for them but felt they should meet her.
It went a lot better than I expected and she showed them how 'people friendly,' Staffies are, as they had owned Rottweillers previously and were not familiar with the true Staffie character.
However, she was very excitable and with a busy household themselves they decided she was not the right dog for them.

They let us know of their decision and kept in touch and this week told us about the dog they have adopted from the RSPCA at Millbrook.
She is two years old and was a cruelty case. She was found at 6 months old totally emaciated and tied to a gas cylinder. She has never been in a house before but looks as if she has settled in now.

7th February

Apologies for yesterdays blog which was a technical mess!
It was meant to be a link to the BBC News report on microchipping and Battersea's response which was a media release but came to me as an email. I overstretched myself technically and it did not work. Our webmaster, Mark has offered to tidy it up.

Back on safe ground today; Lexus!

I have been driving Lexus up to the Football field for a walk to avoid the mud (our garden still has puddles.)
Lex has two things going on, his arthritic hip and a deformed nail. He has already had one operation to cauterize the nail but in very wet weather, and not helped by him licking it, he is prone to nail bed infections and has just finished a course of antibiotics to get over one.
He enjoys the football field, cantering around, having a sniff in the woods that border it and cocking his leg on the goal post, though he has coerced me into a game of football which he really should not be doing.

Last night I did some TTouch on him and noticed he is really beginning to lose muscle tone in his hind legs, so today I decided he should walk there rather than being driven.
He was a bit erratic on the way up but settled to his jaunty trot, carrying his ball in his mouth on the way back.
The children were coming out of school. We passed a Dad carrying one little boy on his shoulders while the older one walked beside him. He moved behind his father to pass us, giving us a wide berth, while the younger lad asked his father why the dog was carrying a ball in his mouth.
We crossed the road and there was a little tot, Nathaniel, and his sister coming towards us, though Nathaniel, who has just mastered the art of walking, kept making detours down driveways, shepherded back by his big sister. Mum was a little way behind with their new brother in his pram.
 They own a Spaniel so were undaunted by Lexus, walking right up to him, Nathaniel was snacking on a piece of carrot, I thought Lexus might think it was for him but he just deposited his ball at their feet expectantly!

On the way up the drive to the ponies I saw an older lady with a brindle Staffie, I have never seen them before.
 There is not room for a car to pass and they had to move over to the side. The lady spoke to her dog, then gestured with her hand before moving onto the grass. The Staff ambled over to her and sat down while I drove past.
 I pass a lot of dogs and their owners along there, I have never seen such a well behaved dog or owner and dog so in harmony with each other. It was a delight, a Stafford at its best!

6th February

The news of compulsory microchipping of dogs by April 2016 is good news.

It is a start as it does need back up. Most of the dogs we now deal with are chipped and chipped dogs still end up in pounds with their chip details out of date or an owner who will not turn up to claim them but eventually it will impact on back street breeders.

Here is a link to the BBC News article.

Below is the response from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (which can also be viewed here).

5th February

Sorry it's me today folks!
Alison is have a rest after a very exhausting day. I am sure she will have recharged her batteries for the next blog.

            Alison mention in her previous blog Staffie with Responsible Owner a Facebook Group.

 Ali Taylor, of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and The Paul O'Grady show For the Love Of  Dogs fame, started this group 2 years ago. It now has 1,790 members, it is an open group of which I am happy to say I am part of the administration team along with 6 others.

Sit nicely for the camera!

The group is about responsible Staffordshire Bull Terrier owners, Promoting education and the positive side of the breed.
It is also about having fun with our dogs and each week there are different fun competitions that are free to enter on the page.Supporting one another and promoting this breed positively. We pride ourselves on keeping this page a friendly one.

Support is given in many ways, behavioural issues, which Ali Taylor often deals with. Dogs urgently needing re homing.
One such case was a 6 year old Staffie who needed re homing as his owner had died. A lady was  interested, she had been home checked and already had an elderly Staffie, but the lady had no transport to get to see the dog. Someone kindly volunteered to pick the lady up and take her there and drop her home again. Success, the Staffie is now in a new home!  
Help comes in many forms and members are all over the U.K stretching as far as Australia, S.Africa and America.
 Why not take a look? I think you would be pleasantly surprised and who knows you may decide to become a member. 

Sadly on another note......We all have at sometime known or heard of the public's perception of our beloved breed, through newspaper article's. Experiencing pedestrians crossing the road as we walk our dogs, to comments such as they are demon dogs, those dogs bite etc. ..
Well,  I visited a well known rescue last week. Here they strip all dogs of their collars and leads, for health and safety reasons and issue them with new ones. They are the same for every dog with no distinction on breed or sex, except for their registration number tag. I was shown a collar and lead that was taken off of a dog that was bought in. As you can see from the picture the size of the collar. The lead has been re modelled with a chain and fasteners to attach to the original handle and clasp. The chain is such a large gauge that it could pull an articulated lorry and would not break! The collar would break away long before the chain. The rescue informed me that they have even had dogs with these type of collars on and the collar had been padlocked!
What type of society do we have today that feels justified in placing such a barbaric thing around a dogs neck???? 

On a happier note...

Honey and Tara

 Tara is doing well and has settled in with all of our 4, she will now cuddle up next to them instead of sleeping separate or jumping off the sofa when they get on.
 She loved the snow and ran around with Oscar, it was beautiful to watch, amazingly she can out run him!
I now have three alarm clocks to tell me it's their dinner time Daisy, Nugget and Tara. It is not until the food bowls come out Honey and Oscar show their heads. Tara is fed last and she does not attempt to go to any of the others bowl but waits patiently for hers.


Lastly Honey and Nugget, will be going to Crufts on Thursday the 7th March, Terrier Day to be in the Temptation Alley team. Honey I am hopeful will succeed, she has never let me down before but there is always the first time. While Nugget will probably pick up all the treats, the little tubs,  see someone or another dog and decides she wants to say hello! Which no doubt will bring roars of laughter from the crowd.
If this gets someone to reconsider a staffie then I am all for it!







 Author Valerie