18th February

First thing this morning I managed to watch CD's sent me by Kerry of Reah who was one of our puppies (in 2009 we took in a litter of 6 week old pups) Kerry competes at agility with her other female Stafford and the CD's were of Reah's first runs and her first competition. She is awesome and so well trained for her age.

I also managed a letter to Petlog to transfer some microchips into our name. This is something I have a complete mental block with and keeps getting put off. I think I am clear now about what to do, shame it involves writing ans can't be done over the phone or online.

Then I went to Dorking to meet Dave, a very handsome blue dog who is coming on to our website.

On my return Steven had arrived to start what was meant to be the main job of the day, digging a trench for my dog poo project. We get a lot of dog mess and knowing how to dispose of it is a problem.

I have used the dog loo which is like a plastic bucket with no bottom, you dig a hole put in some large stones and then flush it down with water and a natural bio chemical. These work well but we just filled them straightaway. So this idea is based on them but on a far larger scale.

Steven has dug a grave like trench, if my husband disappears you know where to look! then I intend to put in large stones to a depth of 6 ins then in goes the poo and gets flushed with buckets of water and the bio chem.

I will let you know if it works!

The digging of the trench was not all straightforward as Steven needs keeping an eye on else he goes "Off piste" and undertakes his own ideas.

Part way through the digging we walked Khan, Spryte and Sandy spoilt by the fact I had a nosebleed for the entire walk.

Two phone messages one from a lady with two four month old brothers whom she had got from her sister-in -law  who had a litter of ten pups in a council flat! Now this lady could not cope as they were chewing, she could not give them what they needed so she was putting them first by re-homing them! She told me they were crosses as the dad was short-legged and the mother long.

The other message from a lady who had adopted a dog from E. Anglia Rescue but was in this area and wanted me to ring her back on her mobile to give advice about kennelling!

17th February

Ooh! It has been another lovely day. We keep getting these hopeful days amongst the bleak, cold, wet ones.

Due to the way the day went I did not walk Sandy and Spryte until after 4pm. It was still lovely and light! In fact I saw the sun sink from the Kale field and by the time we got  home the birdsong filled the dusk.

Early Spring and I love it.

 Not so pleasant for the next few days I believe.

There is lots going on with the dogs but we are not always able to share it with you for one reason or the other.

We had an email from a lad wondering if his dog, whom he had bought at 9 weeks as a Stafford, was a Stafford as his vet had said it was a Pitbull and refused to see it. He enclosed lots of photos which we forwarded to John Laker chairman of SBT Welfare. John replied that in his opinion it was a Stafford, although bigger than the breed standard which should be no more than 16 ins to the shoulder, this chap was a good 18ins at 8 months.

It is very hard to tell a Pitbull from a Stafford and it is a lot more complicated than just height.

I recently heard of a vet telling someone who had a rescue Stafford that it was not a Stafford but a Pitbull because it was too tall for a Stafford. I have not seen this dog but apparently it is calm and well behaved, good with other dogs and in a home with children, so for a vet to say that seems to me very un-helpful.

I know my horse vet seems to spend considerable time debating this topic with his pals at the pub, concluding that it is just a question of height, I ought to put him right on this but we are always pre-occupied with something else so unless I join them at the pub.............no, they deserve to relax and probably would not listen to my opinion anyway!

Last night Lexus did join me on the bed where we both then fell asleep and were found by a very angry Daddy on his return home! Tut, tut!

16th February

Last night we had a brilliant agility! Sam and I took Sandy and Spryte, there were not many people there so we all had plenty of runs and it was a really good, fast course.

Part way through we swapped dogs because I could not stand the way Spryte was behaving with the other dogs, also Sam had been the main handler on Sunday when we took Sandy to training.

We still keep hold of the leads which makes the jumps quite difficult, Sam was much faster than me and did a fantastic flight of three jumps in a row with sandy.Both dogs are incredibly fast and have no problems now with any of the obstacles it's just keeping up with them and keeping control!

I must charge up the camera and get some photos.

Sandy is coming on fantastically and was noticeably better at agility after her training session on Sunday.

My husband has a rule that no dogs are allowed in the bedroom."We must have one dog free room in the house." He says. He is out tonight so I have snuck Lexus upstairs to assist with the blog! He is lying on the floor(with his eyes open) emitting a laboured snore. Ah!That explains the eyes and the snore, the snore turned into a whine and he sprang to his feet, he really wants to be on the bed!

He continues to wind the rescue dogs up by bounding in from the garden and barking for breakfast every morning, until they think this is part of the routine and join in the barking.

He is a terrible influence resulting in the dogs learning bad behaviour they  didn't have when they came in.

We have spoken to him about this but so far he is un repentant!

14th February

Yesterday I had a very different day. It started with the need to get my daughter to work in Dorking for 8.30 am, normally not a problem but the level crossings in the village were closed which meant we had to go through Guildford and round, coupled with my lack of direction we ended up going via Leatherhead! This set the tone of the day when I did none of the usual Sunday things. Well, a change is as good as a rest!

The weather was apalling! Not good for Staffords, but despite this Sam and I took Sandy to The Doghouse basic/puppy training. The idea was for Sam to do the training with me as backup.

Sandy was very good.

We learnt recall by fussing our dogs and playing with toys then moving into the middle and ignoring the dog for a few seconds and then returning with more fussing and play. This was repeated several times then we returned to the middle and one of the instructors took the lead we returned to the fussing spot and called our dog.

We also learnt how to get a sit by using a toy and holding it above them. This worked really well with Sandy who does not know sit and we had struggled to establish it.

The majority of adult dogs we take in do not know sit. I would think most of you reading this find that astounding as it is one of the first things you teach a dog. As we were instructed yesterday, to get a sit the dog needs to be looking up, most of the dogs we take in put their heads down when given an instruction which shows you what sort of training they have had! This is not the odd one this is most who come to us which surely speaks volumes!

We also learnt how to hold a dog when greeting people so they did not jump up.

All in all a worthwhile time.

 Which goes to prove old owners can still learn new tricks!

12th February

I tried to put a comment on yesterdays blog but it doesn't seem to have worked, I cannot work my own technology!

In reply to the comment that is on there, we didn't find any sunshine, the photo is an old one but it does show Steven on one our typical walks, also Nettie who is mentioned in the poem and sadly no longer with us, the other two dogs are Khan and Spryte.

I find the picture both poignant and beautiful, it seems such a long time ago.

Just as I sat down to write this the phone rang. It was a gentleman from Surbiton who ran a hairdressers and also owns two Staffords. A young girl took a young male Stafford to him today, knowing he was a Stafford owner and asked him to take the dog else she was just going to let it go in the park!

When he tried to introduce him to his dogs he wasn't good so he had put him in a large crate he used occassionally. He was really ringing for advice and I was able to reassure him the dog would be fine in the crate overnight.

He was in his sixties and he and his wife had always had Staffords, he was heart broken at the way they had become so "disposable". From his description the difference between his two loved, well adjusted dogs and this unruly, ill bred youngster was apparent. He was still hoping to be able to keep him.

11th February

Apologies if on reading todays blog you feel as if you have fallen into a parallel universe! Life is often stranger than fiction!

After my rant the other day about how you cannot win in rescue I would like to share another strange phenomenon which occurs and that is some days the phone is red hot, call after call, the same with emails and other days, nothing! It is so quiet I think there is a fault on the phone. Today has been one of those days. Hardly any calls and no emails, whereas last Friday was mad and I spent all evening returning calls. I have no idea why this happens, if anyone can explain it let me know.

Today I walked the dogs with my friend Steven. This used to be a once weekly occurence but due to one thing and another we have not met up for months.

The first thing you need to know about Sreven is that he originates from Liverpool and that he lives in a world war two bunker on the edge of a wood!

He also hates litter and picks up plastic bottles and other rubbish from hedgerows and verges.

He told me today that some of the signs say,"There is not a dog poo fairy, pick it up!" or something similiar.

He came across a whole pile of poo bags just dumped, so he picked them up and headed for the nearest bin.

He passed a gentleman walking in the other direction who on seeing him remarked,"So, Your the dog poo fairy!"

He also writes poetry, here is one he wrote to cheer me up though not one of his best.......

Staffie dog rescue.

A Chav must have, of a noble breed, bred to fight, that's their plight, in a gentler age.

I have watched them come and go, and remember ones like puppy Peter, and Hippo.

And many more, come through the door, to find good homes,

Not too many like Nettie, put down.

We just wish there weren't so many around, and Ali and her friends, need many more pounds.

So please donate or rescue a Stafford terrier,

They may make your life merrier!

10th February

It fell to me today to walk all the dogs and unfortunately it coincided with the rain which spoilt things a bit, but we have not had any for a while so I feel we shouldn't complain too much and I find it preferable to the wind.

There are signs of Spring and it is almost Valentine's day. I remember the weather man John Kettley quoting this little rhyme, Todays the day the birds choose their mate,

                         And if I choose you I'll not be too late!

The birds have been getting very excited lately and I thought it was too early but Nature does not get it wrong, the seasons just seem to fly past, It must be my age.

What of the dogs?

Sandy and Spryte had their run in the Kale field. Sandy loves to run, going some distance away but she comes back and comes to me for a pat. She is also getting used to the point when I put her back on the lead and comes over readily, showing she will respond well to a routine.

I am very impressed with Sapphire lately. One of the farm Spaniels came down to the yard whilst Saff was playing ith her ball and she just went up to her and sniffed and then back to her ball! She has also ignored them when she has been playing in the field and also ignored another dog going past on the bridleway.

This shows she can be fine with familiar dogs, not in her pack. She is such a good girl in the house, no trouble at all, I do so wish she could find a home, a dog of her age should not spend so long in rescue.

If anyone reading this could help or knows anyone who could help............