Dog Rescues UK

I am going to have a bit of a rant so if you are in a good mood then don't read any further.
Something is happening in the dog world, dog rescues are cropping up everywhere and no one seems to be particularly interested in why the explosion, who is the governing body for a dog rescue centre/charity/hobby/society? Firstly I will give 2 examples of recent rescues:
A 6/7 year old collie when viewed was in a crate in a hallway with dogs in crates above him, no history with the dog at all and not sure of his charactor with other dogs as he had not mixed. The other room viewed in this house had wall to wall crates all stacked on top of each other and to stop any barking the lady went down the crates spraying the dogs faces with water, this included a crate with pups in. The Collie was rehomed by my friend, and when re-registered with petlog (he had a microchip)  she was able to find out his previous name and what area he had come from.
So this particular rescue, stacks dogs in crates.......is that right or wrong?
Next example, a young labrador found as a stray, 7 days wait at a rescue before he is rehomed, he has a collar with his name and phone number on, but no one is answering the phone!. On the 8th day the dog is rehomed, the rescue centre microchips him and sends him to his new home with medication for Kennel Cough as there is no point treating him at the kennels!!!!!! this dog had a skin problem and went to a different vet immediately and he actually had 2 microchip numbers and was easily traced to his original home. The outcome was that although traced to his first owner, he remained in his second home and was re-registered with the new details.
So this particular rescue did not run any checks on the dogs microchip, is that right or wrong?

Petlog charges to log your dog onto a database, they record your details and it is a business.
Can someone tell me why a rescue centre cannot make a phone call to Petlog when a dog which is microchipped is found. Surely a well run dog rescue would inform petlog that they are the guardians of the dog, and to safeguard that dog, their details should remain with petlog forever even as a second contact number.

In the UK a few years back, all the talk was about the terrible puppy farmers mainly located in Wales. So many campaigns to try and stop people buying these pups as if people didn't buy the puppies then puppy farms would not have been  such a viable business.Puppy Farmers made money......
So a dog rescue which is bringing in 40 dogs a month from Ireland, and placing the dogs in foster homes until  new homes are found, good idea? or when you hear that within a very short period of time one dog is rehomed into its forever home 3 times.....hmmm  it costs £200 to cover costs, non refundable per dog! so three homes means £600 for that dog. Guess what, this particular rescue is bringing in rather alot of puppies!!!!

So is there an answer? I think if you want to rescue a dog then be prepared to do some research and don't just be fooled into looking at websites where you can almost order your perfect dog or a website that features 'donate' buttons more than they talk about who they are. I am not against dog rescue, sadly we need them and there are some fantastic people out there who are doing a grand job for the love of dogs. At the end of the day, a dog doesn't choose where it is born, and all these dogs coming from Ireland are being found homes and having new and fantastic lives, my only fear is that no one seems to be monitoring the volume of dogs that are now flooding our Country.

When Julian and I last travelled through the tunnel on our way back from Belguim, we pulled up next to a large white van at the pet passport office. The van had Romanian plates and was crammed full of dogs bedded down in crates lying on straw, there was a dispute between the occupants of the van as a charge was being made of over 300 euros, was this a tax for commercially traded dogs? we moved away from the van as Martha was scared of all the barking and growling, so those poor dogs had been in that van for how long? and where were they going?

Still in Belguim there was a fantastic documentary on the television about the problems of pedigree puppies with forged paperwork coming from Slovakia ( I think although I could be wrong).These puppies were being sold with pet passports which showed they were a certain age and had been vaccinated against rabies. A few checks on these pups showed they had no immunity against rabies, and that the stickers in the passports were fake as were the batch numbers written. So who in the UK is checking whether all these puppies and dogs entering the UK are not doing so with forged paperwork, if it is happening to France and Belguim then it will be happening here.

There are some wonderful charities out there folks, who are making a difference by helping the dogs in their Country of Birth, http://www.animalsos-sl.com/index.html and they need help but you have to look for the donate button!!!!
I am not an expert, nor have I spent hours researching my view on this blog I have just stumbled across and been listening to accounts of some dog rescues and alarm bells are sounding......am I really inferring that money is being made? at £150-£200 a dog or from overseas can cost you £600 , it seems impossible or is it a case of the quantity of dogs and puppies that make it more viable.

I shall end how I started......Who is the governing body for 'Dog Rescue'

Bepop the Barbet and puppies

Three weeks to go, and although she is slowing down on her forest walks she is still leaping gates!!! and still jumping up when I come home......naughty Bepop. She is at the manic ''Feed me'' stage though and her life is revolving around meal times. Anyway not long to wait now.

Mummy Ebene

Ebene as expected is being a lovely mum to her 6 puppies, 4 girls and 2 boys and all are doing very well. Keep in touch with their progress by following : http://hairymob.blogspot.co.uk/

Happy Birthday to Ebene and Ooli 'H' litter

Happy Birthday to Ebene and Ooli beautiful children who are 1 year old today. Hard to think a year has passed since this photo was taken.
 More news to follow as Ebene and Eton have produced some stunning pups

Happy 7th Birthday to Bepop

2007....age hasn't changed her a bit

This was Bepop in 2007 with my son who is now 6ft 2, where does time go? We had only had her a couple of months when we attended the Beta Gundog weekend. Today Bepop is 7 years old, she has yet to grow up and be sensible but that is why I love her.

Novaforesta Demi

Always such a pleasure to see my little Demi

Hallie and Martha...Barbet girls on their best behaviour

Martha retrieving a dummy rather than waiting for others to get it for her.

A little discussion about who would get the dummy!

Hallie loving a bird retrieval

Hallie posing, she is quite a diva

Barbet walk in the New Forest

Is that what I think it is?

Just a little push and he would have been in

Martha and Hallie looking for a dummy I think

The forest was so wet today, a good time for waterdogs

Thank you Kate Kingan for the photos, they are lovely

Seminars at Crufts

This year I attended three days at Crufts, it was heaven although the distances driven were pretty awful, just under 1000 miles....the things we do for an education.
The seminars were:
Temperament testing by Nathalie Ingham (Battersea dogs home)
Rearing a Guide Dog litter by Wendy Adams and Caroline Peacock (Guide Dogs for the Blind)
First Aid in the field by Gill Simpson (retired vet)
Taking Canine Research to Business as Usual the Guide Dog way - not sure the names of the speakers.
and the best of all for me was:
The Canine mind- How Puppies learn by Professor Peter Neville Dhc BSc(hons).

I could have listened to Peter Neville for hours, I am a bit of an anorak over dog behaviour and he was talking puppies and behaviour so a winning combination.
Now one thing I will share:
The fear factor in young puppies, on average starts at 49 days but with different breeds a huge difference has been recorded.
Wolves 19 days
GSD 35-38 days
CKCS 55 days
yorkies 33 days
labradors (might have been Golden Retrievers!) 72 days.
So where does the Barbet fit in? hopefully based on one litter (so fairly non conclusive) I will be able to tell you in about 10 weeks, although my testing will be a bit Heath Robinson as I will not have heart rate measurements or saliva checking equipment but I will enjoy it and the pups will only benefit.
  

The KCAI get a thumbs up for organising the seminars

Bepop the Barbet is in whelp

I am very pleased to announced the Bepop is in whelp, which means me emptying my diary from about the 19th April as there will be another Novaforesta litter after what seems like a lifetime. Bepop has put on 1.5kg, and is not hungry which for Bepop is very odd, and I have been trying to get her to eat more as she looks thin to me. Her last litter produced 13 pups with one stillborn, and her daughter Bonnie produced 14 pups last year so I am a tad nervous that she will have a big litter.I am still taking in the news to be honest, and we now have 4 weeks to finish decorating our kitchen, and deal with the chaos of family life. If you remember back we did blood tests for Bepop to show the best day of mating, and the Lab rang to say that we should retest as an accurate day could not be forecasted on the results, this was on the Thursday, well we left on Friday and Bepop was very happy to be mated over that weekend so I am pleased that we didn't wait to retest but it was all very stressful but I can forget that now as we will be having puppies..  

RED NOSE DAY

It is good to make the effort, Betsy is joining in the fun for Comic Relief 2013

Barbet Puppies

Tomorrow is a big day for Bepop and I, she is being scanned for pregnancy. It is not perhaps normal to tell the world about a scan but I think it is nice to share my nerves and perhaps I will not be so alone pacing the vets room! Bepop will not be nervous, her last memory at the vets was when she mugged the vet as he had been treating two cats, she will drag me in tomorrow so I hope her nose will be filled with the perfume of cat aroma.Should there be a cat in the waiting room then she will start to believe in miracles.

Novaforesta Diamond Black-a real Duckdog

No one must tell dear Bella that Donald is not a real duck as she is very proud to have retrieved this from a putting stick

Barbets are not boring dogs

This photo is for those of you lucky enough to own a Barbet with the most expressive Bepop in their dogs pedigree. Life is never boring with a dog like Bepop

Dog Beds and Barbets

I have been very naughty and my window shopping at Crufts didn't go to plan as we have new dog beds!

This is a 'Megbed' and is waterproof but quite soft and suitable for two dogs to curl up, they like the fact that they can rest their chins so this has been a big hit. I can spend more as you can buy a fluffy cover. So when I feel the need, I can buy extras!!!!!
More later as two other beds to show you all......

Barbet Bepop is so quiet

This is not a normal position for Bepop, I threw some crumbs which Bobby and Martha hoovered up immediately and Bepop remained where she was......she is soooooo tired.
Bepop is the dog I know best, followed closely by Bobby, Martha I am still working on how her brain functions and Betsy seems to have her own rules which Julian understands better than I. Jazz will be 13 years old shortly, and since his eyesight and hearing have almost gone he has his own agenda and  does his own thing in his own time!!!!. So back to Bepop, she is needing cuddles and attention, she is definately feeling a little out of sorts. The cat watching is very half hearted, she just seems as though she cannot be bothered. She is not outrageously hungry, she eats everything still but no teeth chattering at meal times. Bepop weighed in 4 weeks ago at 30kg, but when you feel her she seems a bit boney so I am increasing her food as her undercarriage is already showing signs and we have over 5 weeks to go.      

Crufts, Crufts and more Crufts

This year I am up at Crufts for an amazing three days, hard to believe but I almost feel in the holiday spirit as being amongst so many dogs is just heaven.
I am attending seminars run by the KCAI, thus the reason why I am going for 3 days, and for once rather than feel a bit cheated that No Barbets are at Crufts I am enjoying the experience of learning.
The best seminar so far has been by Prof. Peter Neville on how puppies learn, which has made me rather excited that I may have pups to watch in my own house soon, hands on research is definately something I would like to get more involved with.
So my posts maybe short, but you know why now.
Not forgetting
So many dog beds to view, touch, compare and imagine what my dogs would like...........  

Bepop

Bepop with quite short hair in the garden today, the BIG question is.......Is she preggies?
She is rather quiet, and a little more soppy so I am feeling quite hopeful.
Another Novaforesta litter has been a long time coming, to say I am excited is an understatement and I have a wonderful waiting list of potential owners which adds to the excitement. Her scan will be in mid March, so not long to wait.

Dog beds

Now that Martha is getting bigger we are faced with the big squeeze on the fleece in the kitchen, Barbets like to be with you and these three were quite an effort to step over!. I can't wait for Crufts as I am not only attending quite a few seminars but I will also have the opportunity of dog bed shopping......

Martha meets her Uncle Eton

Martha was very happy to meet her fun loving Uncle today, I thought I would  get a photo before he was groomed as he has had a Spring trim now. Martha is starting to understand the routine as we have quite a few dogs visit and so she likes to play and then she sleeps in the grooming room whilst I work

Happy Birthday Barbet 'D' litter

Happy Birthday to the very first litter of Barbets born in the UK. The proud parents being Betsy and Borree (from Holland). This litter has now reached the grand age of 5 years. Betsy and Borree had 7 puppies, 5 boys and 2 girls. Sadly 2 of the boys, Novaforesta Drew and Novaforesta Dexter are no longer with us, Drew aka Remy was involved in a car accident and Dexter aka Baxter died of lungworm. The smooth puppy in the photo is the delightful Novaforesta Dempsey aka Mr Bentley who I am still seeing on a regular basis. .

Bepops' son

Can you tell I am looking at puppy photos? I am preparing for more I hope!!
This is the lovely Doug now called Dougie from Bepops first litter. We had Dougie with us until about 5 months, although he used to go for mini holidays with his now owners during that time.So we sort of shared those early days.

Bepops' brother

I was looking for another photo and found this, I think he must be about 9/10 weeks old and is the brother of Bepop so must now be nearly 7 years old.