Ooooowwwww!

Hello everyone

I am broadcasting to you from my sickbed......I have a Poorly Paw.

Whilst at Ganny's this week I managed to cut my toe while doing zoomies in the garden. Now, those of you who know Bunny from Tales and Tails will have heard that one of the irrefutable facts about Greyhounds is that we are made of spun sugar and therefore melt if made to go out in the rain. I can confirm that this is completely true.

One of the lesser known facts is that if you prick us we don't just bleed, we BLEED! Following the incident Mum discovered me in Ganny's garage by following the huge droplets of blood that led there. She was quite expecting me to be unconscious having severed a main artery, but no, I was closely examining a bag that contained pigs' ears, while blood pumped from a small cut on my toe. By the time she got me into the kitchen, made me lie down and had cleaned up the wound, she looked a bit like an extra from The Shining and the kitchen floor hadn't fared much better. 

Coooooeeee everyone! Look at my Poorly Paw!

Mum told everyone how good I was for not chewing off the sock that covered my bandage........until she found that I had spent all night licking it into a sodden mess that had removed the bandage underneath. The air went a little blue for a while.....until Other Mum remembered that the supermarket sold something very like Vet Wrap, and so, for once, they had me licked!

I am still walking on three legs....until I forget and then run around the lawn. Hopefully I will only need the bandage on for another 2 or 3 days. 

Aunty Lou is coming to stay with us for a few days tomorrow, so I shall be absent once more for a little while.  Hope you all have a good week....and watch out if you are planning on any zoomies...

Walkies!!

It was Mum's birthday earlier this week, so Other Mum took a few days off work. The weather was sunny and dry (it won't last!) so we decided to take the opportunity to get out and about. Good choice Mum.....I thought for one minute you might decide to go to the pub!!

The most exciting thing is that I had my first "off lead experience" in an open space! Because we don't have dog parks or access to anywhere enclosed (except the tennis courts) Mum wants me to be able to walk off lead in relatively safe places. She took me to the reservoir, took a deep breath and let me go! Just for a few minutes at a time, and I was really good; didn't go nuts or anything!

Far too busy reading wee mail!

There was a lot to catch up on!

Mums decided to take me to the canal, the idea that the tow path is narrow and straight and not many options if I did a runner! Unfortunately our usual place was closed for maintenance and there were too many walkers and cyclists about, so I had to stay on lead, but it was fun and good to be out with both of them.

I do hope no one wants to come through this lock Mum!

Hirst Lock from the bottom

Spring must be here...The geese were building a nest.

The next day, and the weather was still good (if not a tad windy) so we drove to Gargrave in the Yorkshire Dales and walked along the canal there. 

The narrowboat was just about to enter the lock. 

We passed a field where the farmer had been feeding his sheep and they were all hurrying back to their usual field, following each other......like sheep!

It was so windy, poor Mrs Sheep was doing a bit of a Marilyn Monroe with her wool!

Bottoms up! Time for an en-route snack.....

You can't really tell, but I was tied to this gate to stop me blowing away!

All in all it hasn't been a bad week, and tomorrow I am off to see Ganny. As regular readers will know, this is one of my favourite things. The only downside is nice weather + big garden = bath time! I'm half hoping it might be cool and showery!

Hope everyone has a good week and I'll see you when I get back, (quite possibly smelling of tee tree and mint...pffft!) 

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 17/4

KC, (the most gormless cat in the world..) had fallen off the bed again!

This is one of Mum's birthday cards.....priceless!!

Sun Puddle Sunday

Has spring finally sprung?!

April is National Adopt a Greyhound Month

Do you have room on your sofa.....?

Oooh look! New Food........

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Vets Food World and asked if I'd like to review any of the complete dog kibble that they sell. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will know that around 18 months ago I developed severe and prolonged EBI (Expolding Bum Issues) which lasted about 6 weeks but left me with occasional problems for the next 6 months. During that time my Mums did lots of experimenting with my food and eventually settled on a brand of kibble that seemed to suit me best. With hindsight, we don't thing the problems were linked to allergies, just the prolonged affects of the infection, but nevertheless they have remained wary about brands that they feed me.

My current brand is a salmon & potato variety as Mums have been keen to avoid too much wheat. Unfortunately it is quite hard to source. We buy it from Tesco, but have only ever found one branch that sells it. Hence Mum had started wondering if she should try me on another brand, should my own cease to exist!

So, while she would usually turn down requests for food reviews, she thought this would be a good chance to try me on something different.

Mum chose the Wafcol Adult Ocean Fish and Corn as it is hypoallergenic, containing no wheat, gluten, meat or dairy products.

I can smell the fish Mum!

The food is "Sensitive Design" and Wafcol claim that it may sooth allergic reactions including eczema, diarrhoea and colitis.  It also contains a prebiotic to help improve digestion. 

It has Omega 3&6 for a healthy coat and skin. Like I could get any more handsome!

Mum introduced the food gradually over a 2 week period, mixing it with my regular kibble. The Wafcol has larger pieces than my current brand, and Mum wondered if I might choke as I tend to bolt my food. We had this problem previously, but I seem to have learnt to chew and happily crunched up most of the larger pieces!

Here I am enjoying my Wafcol with chicken, carrots and broccoli

I rarely eat kibble on its own, though I will. I like cooked and raw vegetables, liver, heart,  chicken, sardines and raw pet mince (though not all at the same time!)  I'm not adverse to garlic sausage either, but that's just for a treat!

Wafcol gets the thumbs up from us, Mum likes that it is hypoallergenic and feels confident feeding it too me. I can report totally normal poos since I started eating it!

I just think it tastes nice!

And the crunchiness helps with my Mum's obsession with keeping my teeth clean!

Wafcol and other brands of animal food are available from Vets Food World

Declan's Dogs Blog has not been financially compensated for carrying out this honest product review. 

April is National Adopt a Greyhound Month

Please consider adopting a Greyhound. 

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 10/4

Grrrr! I am a cruel & vicious killer! Or I will be after I've had a little lie down...........

April is National Adopt a Greyhound Month.

If you are thinking about adopting a dog, please consider a Greyhound. 

The Adventure continues........

After getting close up and personal with the whale - thanks for that Beckett, we really needed somewhere cosy to spend the night. Fortunately Beccy had spotted a sign to a campground called Meat Cove.....which sounded like it might be our destiny....so we headed that way. Then we saw this sign.

I was really excited about seeing a real live Moose, but Beckett said they were pretty antisocial. So when we finally saw one and I got out of the car to play tuggy rope with it, he did kind of do his nut.

Fortunately unscathed, we headed for the camp ground in the hope of finding somewhere to stay.

I had to hand it too Beckett; he found a really cool trailer for us to spend the night in. We were kind of sorry to leave. Well, that was until Beckett "borrowed" some chicken from our neighbours and then we had to leave in a bit of a hurry....

We stopped along the way and had a lovely picnic that our friend Twiggy Greyhound had sent us. 

I thought after yesterday's escapade, we needed to relax a little, so I had organised a little surprise for Beckett at an exclusive spa hotel

We had a fantastic game with the football Beckett had remembered to bring and wore ourselves out.

We slept like logs....so much so Beckett didn't even unmake his bed, which isn't like him at all. When we were at the spa I managed to "acquire" gifts for Beckett's sisters, Veil & Maddy. Can you see the monogrammed robe and lots of girly smelly toiletries?!

In fact we slept so well we missed breakfast. We were kind of cross about that so we left quickly....avoiding reception in the process.....if you get my drift.....ahem

It was our final day on the trail, so we wanted to do something memorable.......famous last words.....

Beckett booked us in for a tour of the Glenora Distillery.......oh yeah....and a tasting session.... You can probably imagine can't you.....?

Yup.....the inevitable happened and this is where we spent the night. Whaddya mean, drunken bums?!

After some very strong coffee in the morning, Beckett drove us back to Nanny's house where we collected KC before heading for the airport.

It took forever to load KC's luggage into the car (she had one new case solely dedicated to Canadian bacon & maple syrup) and I think she was in two minds about leaving Nanny.....but finally we were on our way.

We had an emotional farewell at the airport, but it is not (entirely) true that both Beckett & I broke down sobbing......ahem. 

We had some fun at check in, as KC decided that the nice lady needed persuading that we should be upgraded....and we all know how KC "persuades" people.....

They said I could order anything I wanted in First Class, so I did; a lamb bone! I think KC was a little appalled..... By now we were looking forward to getting home, and maybe missing our Mum's just a little bit.....

If you would like to read about our whole adventure, then you can here:

http://www.declansdogsblog.co.uk/2013/03/all-aboard.html

http://homeiswherethehoundsare.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/deccy-and-kc-arrive-in-canada.html

And finally:

April is National Adopt a Greyhound Month

Like the young lady says... What are you waiting for?!