Spoilt - As If

We do like to make sure that our guests feel comfortable at Dogs to Stay so we give them a choice of seats to sit upon.

We have the 2 seater sofa as modeled by Kiva and Wheeto

The 3 seater sofa as modeled by Mylo and Wheeto

Or the single seater reclining armchair as modelled by Wheeto

And Now There Are 3

After returning from Sunday's walk we were 1 Lappy less as we handed Roise back over to her hupeeps, Bob and Sue who had returned from their holiday earlier that day - in fact we handed 2 dogs over as Bob, and sometimes Sue, very kindly walked Wheeto for us - don't worry we did remember to bring Wheeto home.
Since we have been down to just one guest things have been much calmer at Dogs to Stay, especially Wheeto.  Now, rather than chase after Millie, Rosie and or Saffi he spends most of his time licking Kiva or playing with Mylo (who just about tolerates him doing so).  He continues to enjoy his walks - now in the company of Fat Sal the black lab and thanks to Louise as I am currently unable to put any weight on my right leg after a fall on Sunday.
Wheeto has developed into a very different dog to the Wheeto that first visited us - he is respectful of the rest of the pack, well trained, obedient and very, very loving.  We have even managed to cure him of the little whines he used to make - it wasn't hard, we just don't exclude him from anywhere - including our bed.
I'm not sure when Wheeto will be going home - it might be on Friday, it could be on Saturday, if it's the latter then he will have the chance to meet Magic, his great great auntie, and Norppa as they will be our next 2 guests.  Watch this space for updates and pictures.


Lappy days.

Five Alive

It's like Piccadilly Circus here - no sooner does one dog leave than another arrives.  Yesterday Saffi the Springer Spaniel arrived for the weekend - she is sister to Hector (who has stayed with us before) and lives in our village and she is with us whilst her hupeeps visit family in Scotland.  Wheeto loves her to bits - he has a new playmate who is, in many ways, very similar to Millie - it must be the Spaniel in them.
I had some concerns as to how the night would go as Saffi is obviously used to sleeping by herself however my concerns were unfounded and things were a lot quieter than I had feared - Saffi actually slept in the kitchen with Wheeto and Rosie - I'm not sure if they slept in their own beds or each others - but, hey ho, isn't that what sleepovers are all about?
As I write Saffi is fast asleep under my desk - Wheeto relaxing on the sofa, Rosie on the rug in front of the hearth and Mylo and Kiva at Lou's feet.

 

And Then There Were 4

Milie has been gone for 4 days now and during that time I have been laid low with a stinking cold - lesser men would call it man flu - to me it was a cold.  The pack, however, have been fine; just less manic without Millie to chase them around all day.  To be honest Rosie and Wheeto have been very chilled - Wheeto has been a nudnik a couple of times; he really doesn't like having to wait on the other side of the dog gate whilst he dries off, Rosie, on the other hand just lies down on one of the dog beds knowing that as soon as he is dry she'll be allowed back into the lounge.

Chilled at Dogs to Stay

Rosie Isn't Allowed On The Furniture

Wheeto Isn't Either

So He Lies At The Foot Of The Stairs

The pack have just been fed, they've had their mad 10 minutes and, at the time of writing, Roise is chewing on a bone she just found in the graveyeard, sorry garden and Wheeto is on the sofa .... for a change.  Kiva and Mylo are as chilled as ever, it never ceases to amaze me just how accommodating they are of our many visitors, we really are very very lucky to have 2 such lovely dogs - then again our visiting dogs make it easy for them as they are all so well balanced too.

Tomorrow sees the arrival of a new guest, Saffi - a springer spaniel and sister to Hector a former guest at Dogs to Stay.  She will be accompanying us on Sunday when we travel to Milton Keynes for a Lappy gathering and to hand Rosie over to her hufamily who will have just returned from their holiday in Australia.

Now that I am back in the land of the living I will make sure that this blog is updated more regularly - however both Wheeto and Rosie's hupeeps can relax, your dogs are absolutely fine.

Lappy days.

Sunday - Farewell to Millie

Arrangements had been made for me to deliver Millie back to her hufamily in the morning so I again left the pack in the capable hands of Wendy and Lou and, by all accounts, the Hapmi 3 and TabanyaRuu 2 had a blast being walked through the village and across the fields.  It was sad handing Millie back but to a true delight to see the pleasure on her family's faces when I handed her over - no ransom, though I was tempted - however I was, very kindly, given a bottle of champagne by Millie's hudad to say thank you for looking after her.
On my return home it was time for a rather lovely roast lunch before Wendy left with Arttu - it was lovely seeing the 3 siblings together and see how well they got on with each other - as we say at Dogs to Stay it really was a case of 'Lappy Days'.

Sofa so good for Rosie

Kiva and Mylo

Wheeto c/w bone

With the pack down to four a sort of normality could return with the dogs all returning to their favourite spots.

Happy New Year

For some obscure reason I can't remember much about new year's day - it has been suggested that it might be a sign of old age, then again it might be because I didn't get in 'till 5.00 after having worked in the local pub all evening.  I knew that the pack would be in good hands as Lou and Wendy were in charge of the dogs and there wasn't a sound from them when I came in.  Then again I knew that they were OK as I had been monitoring them (the dogs not Wendy and Lou) using our web-cam facility (ww.com/dogstostay.htm).
In the morning Lou and Wendy again walked and looked after the dogs whilst I returned to the pub to pack up my gear.  A huge thank you to you both.


 
New Year's day was a quiet one for the humans - the dogs had a blast continuing to play with each other in various combinations.

During the course of the day we received a call from Millie's owners and arrangements were made to take her back the next day - she would be missed, not just by us but also the rest of the pack.

Friday 31st - Farewells and Hellos

Once again, apologies that this is late - technical problems alas.

It was a case of saying goodbye to Mary and Ilo today.  They had been with us since the 27th but had to leave to attend a posh New Years Eve do at TabanyaRuu Towers (breeders of Kiva and Wheeto).

Of course before anything happened the dogs had to have the breakfasts.


Time for our next guests to arrive - Wendy and Arttu.

Wendy has been to us many times before but this would be the first visit for Arttu.  A few months ago Wendy had to say goodbye to her wonderful cream male Oskar (Honeybears Barleycorn & Mylo's half brother - same mum, different dad) - taking the painful decision to let him go to Rainbow Bridge after suffering with epilepsy for a long period.  Arttu is Rosie's brother - and therefore Mylo's 1/2 brother and came to Wendy unexpectedly after she was asked if she would like to be a forever home for him - she said yes of course.

Arttu didn't come with no strings attached however - he had been very much a man's dog and had a reputation of being a handful around other male dogs - it would be interesting to see how things went with Wheeto, Mylo and him.
As is always the case when a first time visitor arrives at Dogs to Stay the guest and house dogs go for a walk around the village to get them used to each other so off we set with 5 Lapphunds and a cockerpoo - in the final stretch home, after a walk round the village Arttu had been introduced to the rest of the pack and was walking alongside Mylo politely, hopefully peace would remain when they all got home.
To be honest the day passed smoothly with all of the dogs - 3 male Lapphunds, 2 females and a cockerpoo getting on fabulously. 

Mylo and half brother Arttu with, probably, Kiva's rear end

Arttu with new best mate Wheeto and Millie

Mylo, Kiva and Arttu hoping for some vegetables

The pack waiting for food

Rosie in her favourite spot

Arttu and sister Rosie with Wheeto

Arttu and Rosie

After 5.00 I have no idea as to how they all got on or what they got up to as I was out for the evening leaving the pack in the more than capable hands of Louise - hopefully she will update you as to what went on.

Thursday 30th - Wheeto Comes to Stay

Better Late Than Never ... We Have Been a Tad Busy Recently

We had some technical problems and couldn't update the blog.

A trip down the M1 for me as it was time to collect our next guest Wheeto who would be with us for a couple of weeks whilst his hufamily enjoyed a winter break in Miami.

Wheeto is Kiva's nephew and has visited us before - he also lived opposite one of our other guests, Millie, so I was confident that he would again enjoy his stay with us.  Upon his arrival he immediately knew where he was and made himself at home ferreting out his favourite bones and toys.  Wheeto also knew Rosie - they had enjoyed a number of walks closer to home, however Ilo was a new face to him - he wasn't bothered at all, she was just someone else with whom to play.

Auntie Mary grooms Wheeto

After grooming Wheeto decides to escape to the crate - well actually it's Millie's overnight crate but no matter.

Whilst Wheeto was making himself at home Rosie made sure that she got her fair share of attention and playtime - when not being chased by Millie she was enjoying the attentions of her half sister Ilo (I know - it's all complicated but Mylo, Rosie and Ilo have the same dad but different mums).  She also made sure that she was spending enough time relaxing.

Whilst all this was going on Millie continueed being Millie - totally adorable and full of love and energy.