Uni and stuff

Eeek, this is all getting so exciting!
I had my induction webinar last night and although it was a bit surreal I really enjoyed it! It's made me even more excited to get started and a lot of the people on the course have joined a group on Facebook and we're all getting on really well! Everyone (students and lecturers) are really friendly and I can't wait to meet them all in December!

However, that's where the stress comes in! We have to choose a block week in December to attend (6th-10th or 13th-17th), because of work I can only get onto the first week but it's sort of a first come first served as to the preference although I have mentioned that I literally can't do the 2nd week because work is chocca already! There's a couple of other people in a similar situation so fingers crossed it shouldn't be a problem.

Today's pretty much consisted of lazing around the house waiting to get my login details so that I can access the iLearn, I like to do things as soon as I get them (especially something as important as this!) and Jasper's seemed pretty sleepy after his long hard day yesterday of walking, being at work and training so he's seemed pretty happy just to chill out. We all have our log in details now but none of us can access our course screen yet, such a pain so we'll all just have to keep trying!

Because of different commitments in both our lives, I haven't seen Glen all week (bad girlfriend!) so he's coming over tonight seeing as I'm at work suuuuuper early tomorrow and as Dominoes just opened in Chester I think it calls for a pizza!

I'm on a complete high and I feel like I'm bouncing all over the shop, I'm just soo excited to get started my course! I think I'll calm down when I know I have my place secured and stuff but until then I'm being a bit of a stress head :(

Also, on Wednesday we started our Gold Citz on Wednesday and Jasper did so good! I was so pleased! The Silver and Gold classes are mixed so there were a lot of new dogs and as I was sitting opposite one woman, I was sure I recognised her. When I apoke to her she used to go to another training class I did but left because it turned her and her friends dog nervous and reactive (the other lady has to complete her Good Citz in the kitchen because her dog is so reactive :( )

We did stay, recall and passing dog exercises. When it came to Tilly's (the reactive dog in the kitchen) turn, Jasper was used as an assistant/stooge, I was so proud. I know it's nothing and it's just because he's a calm dog that's not bothered by other dogs and won't bother passing dogs but still, I was proud nontheless :). The other lady that came with Tilly's owner also joined in this exercise because the dogs knew each other. After training the three of us stood in the carpark and Tilly and Toby were no problem with Jasper, they all had a bark at the trees together. We also saw a shooting star so fingers crossed for good luck!

I'll stop boring you all with all my mad happenings of the week and post a few snaps I've taken, still just on my phone as my camera is out of charge so we wasted a lovely photo day today :(

Looking hungry in the kitchen

This is what happens when Jaspwe gets into the toy bag

Enjoying his first Kong of ham, JW and chicken paste!

May look cute but this is an example of his 'guarding face'

On a walk

In the fiields

Found my pig slippers!

My ever-growing collection of books minus 1 that I'm reading now!

My treat earlier on, Peach Melba Tart, mmm

 

Toodles!

C&J x

Back again!

I haven't updated in a while because there's been nothing much to update on!
There also hasn't been that much happening this weekend either. I was at work on Saturday, same old, same old and the only dog that really sticks in my mind is a little Cockerpoo who was rescued from a poor home and they brought him in to us for his groom. Unfortunately his last owner hadn't brushed him AT ALL so the poor thing was matted to the skin :(

 

 

 Next, we passed our Silver Citizen's Award so I bought him a GC Tag and Rosette :D Starting our Gold next week, eep!

 

 Today we went to a Fun show at Cleadon Kennels, there were tonnes of dogs and we were entered into 4 classes. We only got a little rosette in the Golden Oldie class and because they were so slow we didn't even get to go in our last class because we had to leave.
In our first class I was talking to a lovely girl and her 15 week old Pug puppy, Jasper was unsure but didn't react to it but another dog bit the pup on the face, the poor thing! Then in our third class a Wirehaired Pointer latched onto a different Pug, the poor guy who had the Pointer looked livid and the Pug looked completely fine!
Then later in that class I started talking to a woman with a Toy Poodle, Jasper was having a sniff and saying hello and then that dog had a go at him! It put him off a bit and he didn't really want to say hello after that but he seems ok now :)
Then when we got back to the carpark, the gate was locked! Someone had left a number to ring so we had to wait for the groundskeeper to come and open the gate - he didn't look impressed...

Finally, a couple of purchases! As the dark nights are coming in, I thought a hi-viz coat would come in handy so we purchased this one off eBay for £7.50 :)

This is part of my present (one of three books!) off mama and dada bear for doing well at college - to go towards my course!

Finally a couple of photies of Jasbear. He doesn't sleep in comfy positions!

Waiting patient on the stairs!

Bye guyss, hope to update soon :)

C&J x

Groom Groom! And new puppies

As it's Jasper's Silver Good Citizen test tonight I thought a bath and cut to make him look handsome was in order (that and he was stinking and scraggly) so I took him up to work for about 8:30. I managed to get him bathed and dried before the clients dogs came in which meant I wasn't stopping Sue and Derek from working. I took some pictures of Jasper before, during and after his groom to post up as well :)

Pre-bath

 

 Wet Poodle, he has a tiny head!

 

 Very unhappy, stressed out boy

 

 Shampoo-dle

Fluffed out post-bath and pre-groom

 

 Post-groom, not much different but clean and trimmed!

 

 

 

Grooming Jasper's a bit time-consuming and a bit of a pain It goes a little like this

 

(this is just information on how I groom my own dog, you should never attempt to cut/clip your own dog in ANY way unless you have been trained to do so by a professional. I have worked and trained in a Grooming Salon for nearly 18 months under the guidance of qualified professionals so am competent in grooming my own dog safely. I will also state that human clippers and blades are NEVER to be used on dogs. They can damage the skin and coat and although a human 10# blade would be very long, dog grooming blades go in the opposite direction, so a 10# is VERY short and a 2# is very long). Do not attempt any of this yourself :

• Bath and fluff dry (fluff drying takes aaages and hurts your arm)
• Use 15# blade with Comb Guard 6 attatchment to clipper torso from base of neck-base of tail, chest and belly.
• Use 15# by itself to cut back hair between eyes (the lighter part on the last picture above) and around his bum - not pleasant but we don't want cling ons!
• 10# to clip excess hair from his groin area and under his armpits
• Scissor trim the scraggly ends off his legs using straight scissors and blend in tops of legs to match the shorter body.
• Round off the hair on his feet using scissors.
• Cut the hair inbetween the the pads with a pair of blunt or 'bullnose' scissors
• As I like to leave Jasper fluffy I cut his tail in the 'carrot style'. It is very thin at the tip, tapers out towards the base and I then cut in a little but next to the base so it literally does look like a black fluffy carrot. Then blend to the body
• Trim the ends off ears to make straight using straight scissors
• Scissor his head and neck using straight scissors (the technique behind this is complicated and boring to explain, so I won't bother!)
• Tidy up and loose ends/stragglers and ensure long hair and short hair is blended in well.
• I finished off with cutting nails and plucking the hair from his ears as these are the jobs Jasper hates and I fear he would bite during - so I muzzled him. Nails and ear plucking should normally be taken out in the prep prior to bathing.
 

So after all of that I finished him about 11:30. So grooming took a good 2 and a half hours as I did stop to answer the phone, clean up dog mess from clients dogs and to take photos of puppies. Which is my next point...

 

 

Both Sue and Derek got new pups this week. Sue got her Frenchie pup from her friend and Derek had his Gordon Setter pup imported from the Netherlands so had to pick her up from Calais! Both pups were in work today as they're fully covered for vaccs and oh my God they're to die for. They're both going to be show dogs and they're both so beautiful!

 

First, Daphney the Gordon Setter

 

 

 Second, Carter the French Bulldog

 With Auntie Picklemouse (who's looking a bit evil!) - They're actually auntie and nephew as well!

Hope I've given everyone their fill of adorable puppies and bored everyone to some extent with Grooming, but enjoy the rest of your day and wish me luck for Good Citz tonight!

C&J x

Bank holiday Monday (and today...)

Was so busy yesterday I didn't have time to update. Ooops.
Yesterday started how every other day starts. Early. I got up at 7 and was out the house by half past to take Jasper for a walk because the forcast for the rest of the day was ABYSMAL. Was quite nice walking so early and we only saw 1 other dog walker when usually we see loads (probably all either hungover or enjoying a lie in - whatever one of those is). We went round one of the many tracks in Lumley so Jasper could stretch his little legs.

Pathway leading to the fields

 Jasper offroading!

 Pretty fields

However, I was a bit pissed because it didn't start raining til after 12. So dragging myself out of bed early was in vain. I did go to see The Watch with glen in the afternoon though. I thoroughly reccommend it, it's brilliant. And I'm so in love with Richard Ayoade it's unreal, so him being in it was a bonus. We topped off the amazing film with a Nando's - with the majority here, but I looove Nando's, the Veggie Burgers are delicious! Finally yesterday, I also decided to show my face at Wetherspoons for the weekly pub quiz (we didn't win, we never win), it was quite nice to be sociable for once!

Today was a little nicer weatherwise but a hell of a lot more stressful! Finally managed to fill in my Uni Enrolment form which was a pain because some of the questions were worded a bit odd. THEN I noticed on the back of the Kennel Information sheet that you have to pre-book a kennel if you want one for your dog as there's only 20 and its first come first served. So I rang up expecting to be told that there were none left and as I don't have access to a car, adapting that and leaving him in a crate wouldn't have been an option but luckily he's all booked in for when we go on our placement week.

As it was a bit hot I walked him to Chester to meet mama bear after work (about 3 miles) and as we were gonna be mega early, I decided to walk him along to the riverside field for a bit, away from all the children. I kept him on lead as I didn't have his EasiDri or water with me and I didn't want him overexerting himself. We had a bit of a walk and Jasper sniffed out a lovely, rotting dead hedgehog (which he looked rather disgusted with) then we did a tiny little bit of obedience. He did a short down stay and did it really well :) Fingers crossed for Good Citz tomorrow night! He also did a few sits and downs away from me. However, when he lay down I asked him to come, thinking he would get up and walk to me. But no,it couldn't be that easy. He did this instead:

I've been trying to teach him to crawl for months and he doesn't like doing it, yet when I tell him to come from lying down, he crawls towards me. He's an odd bean.

Practising a down stay

 Down stay, warm dog!

 Mid-crawl

 

I can smell spaghetti bolognese, guess it's scran time. TTFN!

BoringBoringBoring

Another boring Sunday.
Jasper was poorly last night, he was sick a few times so we've done bot all. I had chinese last night and watched X-Factor snuggled up on the sofa which was quite nice. Today however, we only took a short walk and then came home and chilled out.

My brother came round with my 2 young nieces so it was a bit hectic and Jasper wasn't all that keen! Once they left I took Jasper out for another walk down through the woods and into the football field and for a bit of a run and sniff. I saw a German Shepherd and became a bit unsure as I thought it was the one we've had trouble with before but it wasn't, it was a lovely girl that we've met before. We had a bit of a chat to the owners then set off home.

He's now currently feeling a lot better trying to greed Oreo's off my dad - without any luck. He had Cesar for tea. Bad owner giving bad food, but the way I see it, it's like me having a chinese, so why not treat him every so often! We're gonna laze on the sofa and watch Beauty and the Beast then get back to some normality walk and training-wise tomorrow if his tummy's better.

Oh! I almost forgot, me neighbour's went to Flamingo Land and brought me back an early birthday present!

Jasper looks unimpressed with Mini-Jasper

 

Mini Jasper

Happy Sunday everyone!

Work and post!

So, for a Saturday getting finished at 2pm is good going! We only had 5 dogs and 1 cat in so it was actually quite relaxed. Some of the dogs were fidgety but over all it was quite a good day!
Me and Jasbear went on a walk down the field this morning as it looked like it was going to piss it down (it always does the day after I flea him :| ) so I put his little red coat on as I didn't want his flea treatment to wash off! It's a little bit short for him length and height wise, but it did the job haha

Little Red Riding Poodle

 

When I got home I was surprised with a nice little pile of poat (Really Royal Mail, have you just been saving it up for me?)

FINALLY GOT MY BISHOP BURTON INFO PACK! That means Uni is really happening guys, which means my life is gonna get REAL scary and busy from the 6th of September. I'm just so excited! However, I have til the 6th September to get my Student Finance Entitlement letter back and to Bishop Burton or else I have to pay £1000 upfront for my course until I present them my entitlement. My family don't really have £1k lying around to throw around like that, sorry SFE! But what's Uni without a little bit of stress, ey?

 

 

 



Also, Jasper's new dog tag came! We ordered it in May but the girl who runs the business AND makes the tags has had a hell of a time with all the orders she's had alongside having a life. I don't mind waiting as long as I have for it as it's soo worth the money!

Isn't it pretty? It's so pretty!

Finally, I received the eBay item that I won. The first item I bid on and I won it!

As today was pay day, I'm looking into more things I can spend my money on (including Jasper's harness and maybe a new quilted jacket! I've already ordered him a hi-viz coat off eBay. Oops) or I might ACTUALLY decide to save for once!
Ciao guys!

C&J x

Pleasant surprise at work!

I went into work this morning expecting it to be MANIC as Rebecca is at a festival and Kristy's broke her leg, which means there's only me Sue and Derek in this weekend. However, it looked like an easy day! There were only 9 in and they were nicely spread out over the day so it looked quite easy.
The first dog to come in was a little Lakeland who's owner had tried to cut it himself and made a COMPLETE mess of her. He'd balded parts of her back, gave her rashes and nicks in her skin, and took chunks out of her fur all over. She looked a sorry sight. To anyone reading, don't groom your own dog unless you've been taught HOW to do it properly and safely, there's more to making a mess of your dog's fur, you can damage the skin and coat (Grooming isn't as easy as people think!).

We managed to get her looking very presentable and then Sue found a lump around her groin which could have been cancerous. The owners mother came to pick the pooch up and when we told her about the lump and apparently her son had known and just not taken the dog to the vets but she said she would, poor soul.

Later on we got a lovely old Daxi in. He was 16 and a complete little Gent. After I bathed him I put him on the table to dry and he just lay down - he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying it :) (for some reaon it won't let me put it horizontally!)

Finally, we had a GORGEOUS 6 month old Dogue de Bordeaux puppy in for his free puppy groom. He was good as gold!

 

 

So after a busy(ish!) day at work I'm now spending the rest of my evening on my sofa, under my blanket with my dog chilling out and watching tele! (ARGH! Why won't they rotate!?)

 

Anyhows, until next time!

 

C&J x