Put the ugly face away

Photography by Lesley Beeton

Smile it's The Weekend

Linking up with Me, Myself and I and wishing everyone a fabulous 2014.

'I chewed my frisbee and I love my big brother'

Not now Cato

To read the full story, please see my blog at Surrey Life. Otherwise, enjoy the clip below, 'Clouseau v. Cato', which amuses Mr B no-end, and reminds him very much of how the Boxer puppy 'attacks' the big old boy dog.

Inside the madhouse

This house is ruled by Boxers dogs. A gorgeous 'teddy bear' old boy and a puppy with boundless bonkers Boxer energy. It's fun, but exhausting. And as I work from home, some days it takes so long to settle down in the office. I all but abandoned the office in the summer during the kitchen renovations. The dogs wanted to be totally involved in all the work, and as that wasn't welcomed, I decided we would work in the garden instead.

It was a fantastic summer for the garden, and the veggie patch really did grow well. I expanded into a kitchen garden and a tomato greenhouse, all of which provided us with wonderful fresh produce well into October. The new potting shed came in very handy too, with Mr B having space for all his tools and garden machinery. This means that the studio in the summerhouse has been returned to me. It still feels a bit sparse, but over the winter I will whip it back into shape and move my art, photography and writing back in there, where it belongs. Out of the office, into a more creative space. 

Back to the garden, and the dogs. Eventually, the kitchen was completed and handed back. I can't say it was an easy process. The design was fun and the designer really did understand our needs. She works with a team of tradespeople, some of whom didn't quite meet our expectations. As we had paid a fixed price, however, it was left to the designer to co-ordinate any 'cock-ups', which she did in good grace, if not with any sort of urgency. I suspect that she has never been without a kitchen for 7 weeks. All in all, the project took 3 months, starting with a new boiler and flue, removing the old coal fire bunker and chimney breast, taking out two walls, completely gutting the kitchen, and then re-building and re-fitting. I'm glad we've done it, but never again.

The presence of a constant stream of strangers in the house was very unsettling for the puppy. She was very stressed at times, and still suffers somewhat from separation anxiety. Thankfully, she has stopped ripping the zips out of the lounge cushions. This is a good thing as I have had my great grandmother's ancient armchairs re-upholstered, and the new loose covers for the sofas are due next week. Woe betide any Boxer puppy who thinks she can chew the new upholstery. A wise person told me to crate the puppy until she knew how to behave. And taking that advice on board, we do now set up a large gated area for both dogs while we are out. They have food, water, comfy beds, boredom busters, and enough space to be on their own if they want to. Sometimes the old boy needs a bit of 'me' time. I think this helped the puppy adapt to being in kennels for a few days while we were away in Valencia. She certainly seems more calm since, but then she has just turned 1 year old.

Now, thoughts turn to the festivities. But don't forget to support your small, local charities, who do so much good in your community, at Christmas and all year round.

A photo blogpost follows.

Water lot of fun

Linking up with Dawn and Badger Boo for 

Photography by Lesley Beeton

Boxer heart health : round 3

By email
Monday 10th June

'Dear Mr ,

Apologies for the very long email trail attached, by way of the history of my concerns.

I am trying to find the right person or group of people to initiate a serious discussion about the prevalence of aortic stenosis in Boxers.

I am not satisfied with the response of the Boxer Breed Council vet advisor, who admits that he is neither a cardiologist nor a geneticist. I have not had a response from the KC health breed survey. Indeed, the links on the KC website to the breed health survey do not open. I have not had a response from the breeder of my puppy.

In short, everyone seems to be saying 'bad luck'.

This is not acceptable. This is not bad luck. This is bad breeding. 

Clearly, the gene for AS is prevalent in the Boxer gene pool. It may even be more prevalent in the south of England, but there is no data to establish this. The gene for AS does not follow Mendelian inheritance, thus, more information needs to be collected on animals affected with, or who have died from AS, as the existing database is woefully incomplete.

I am not a breeder, nor do I show my Boxers. I am lover of the Boxer breed. Only when breeders are compelled to provide information on the incidence of AS in litters, and when the KC collects comprehensive data from owners of AS-affected Boxers and vets who see affected dogs in practice, will the AS gene be bred out of the breed.

To watch a young dog die of AS is heart-breaking. A Boxer unable to run and jump and box and play is pitiful.

I have not included the cardiology report and pedigree here, due to the number of recipients. Please let me know if this would be of any use to you.

I look forward to your response.'

Boxer heart health 1

Boxer heart health 2

Themba's story

Who gives a damn anyway? Update on Boxer heart health

Right. Well. I did get a response from the Boxer Breed Council. But it's pretty much as I expected. The Kennel Club can't force breeders to get Boxers checked for heart defects like aortic stenosis. Some breeders do. And some breeders lie. Some hope it won't happen to them.

And none of that helps us make a decision about which adorable puppy to buy. So you take your chances and hope for the best.

I've taken the decision to go public with the information I have on the pedigrees of my two Boxers (one deceased from aortic stenosis), in the hope that other people will be able to avoid these breeders and pedigrees when choosing a Boxer puppy in the south of England (Surrey/Sussex/Hampshire). 

My approach is not endorsed by the Kennel Club or the the Boxer Breed Council. I have not had a response from the breeder of my 6mo puppy, Zozi. I did get a response from the breeder of the dog (Themba) now deceased, who offered to take the dog back and destroy him. Themba lived a short but happy life with us.

I would welcome feedback from other Boxer dog owners about their experiences with aortic stenosis, particularly in Boxers with the same pedigree as either of my two. Please help to collect data on the incidence of aortic stenosis in Boxer dogs, because only by collecting this information, can we be sure that aortic stenosis is bred out of the Boxer gene pool.

Tyegarth Tololo (Themba b. s29/06/2007 d. 01/09/2012)

WidleyLodge The Hobbitt (Zozi the puppy b. 21/11/2012

You can read Themba's story here.

Love is ....

Photography by Lesley Beeton

Here we go again

We have a new puppy. Zozi is her name and she is a fine Boxer puppy to keep Brin company. We refer to them as ‘BriniZozi’ as in ‘Brangelina’.

Zozi is much smaller than either of the ‘boys’ were; she is also very quiet, doesn’t like the cold, the wet or the mud. I hope she will grow out of it, but she could be a Little Missy.

Brin is being the perfect gentleman and doesn’t seem to mind if she nibbles him here and there (yes, even there)!

It’s lovely having a puppy but puppies are such hard work. They eat, poo, wee, play, sleep all day and all night. They jump on the sofa, hide under the bed, steal your scarf, and bark at the postman.

Zozi is working very hard at being a Good Dog Citizen. She sits on command, understands ‘no’ and ‘leave’ and ‘down’, although I have had to be a shouty Mummy from time to time. We have started taking her on short walks, just 10 minutes, to get her used to the collar and walking to heel. She loves going out.

And tomorrow night, we start puppy classes. We’ll see how that goes. The ‘boys’ were asked not to return to puppy class as they were too disruptive. Taking two Boxer puppies to training class at the same time was perhaps a bit ambitious. Zozi should be a doddle!