Feeling Hot Hot Hot

We've been having a real heatwave here in the UK for the past few weeks, but the temperature has really ramped up over the past few days. We've been having temperatures of between 25-30 and keeping Del cool has been quite tough.

He absolutely HATES water. He won't go near it, so having a paddling pool or a hose down is a waste of time, it only stresses him out.

We've made sure he has plenty of fresh, cool drinking water and have been keeping him indoors during the day. However, we've found what works best is to wet a towel with cold water and drain it out a bit, and use it like a cape for him. We cool it the 'Cool Cape'. He loves it:

After putting this on it takes a few minutes to start working and then his panting subsides. It's lovely knowing that you're making him more comfortable.

Have you got any tips on keeping your dogs cool?

The Hot Dog Campaign

A few weeks ago I received an email from The Dog Express about their Hot Dog campaign. I wanted to write something on the blog about dogs being left in cars over the summer, and this really sad story reminded me to do it yesterday.

This poor little pug sadly died yesterday when being locked in a car while on a ferry. The rules forbid any dog to be able to go on the deck, meaning the owner's had no choice but to leave the poor little guy in the car. Obviously, the worst happened. Poor little Merlin.

Everyone knows WHY you shouldn't leave a dog in a car on a hot day. Even leaving them in there for a few minutes could have devastating effects. But unfortunately this still happens a lot.

Most people who read this blog will know this, but I wanted to let you know about the Hot Dog campaign and raise awareness. The Dog Express have created bumper stickers which remind people NOT to leave their dogs in a hot car. Their aim is to sell so many you won't be able to park near other cars without seeing one (which looks like this):

Not only does this raise awareness, but half of the profits will go directly to the RSPCA.

So, for just £2.75 you will be able to get people thinking about dogs in cars and help the RSPCA out. I've ordered mine!

You can find all of the information about it here at the Hot Dog campaign page.

When Kate Came to Stay

This Friday, Kate's parent's were heading to London for the weekend, so we snapped up the chance to look after the little beauty for the weekend. She arrived on Friday afternoon with her bed, lead and a few days worth of food, ready for the fun and games that a house with four dogs brings!

Kate was no problem at all. She really stood her ground with the bigger dogs. And Del was so pleased to see her. Since we moved they haven't had much play time, so this was a great chance to really spend some quality time together.

Here is Kate looking gorgeous as ever:

I didn't expect Kate to settle in so easy, afterall, our house is very busy and thought she might feel intimidated by the other dogs, but not at all. This sassy little lady knows how to handle herself! She even stole Del's bed for the weekend!

How was your weekend? Did you have any doggy visitors?

Our Break in Sunny Wales

We’ve been busy bees over the past few weeks, but we’ve had so much fun in the process, I thought I’d show you some snaps.

Del hogging the ball

Trying to win the ball back

Waiting for his mini ice cream!

Waiting for his meat from the barbeque

Enjoying a Frozzy! (Frozen yogurt for dogs)

Last week we headed to sunny Wales to spend a few days with our friends by the beach. We stayed in Rhos on Sea, right next to the coast- perfect for dog walking, sunbathing and ice cream-eating! We packed up the car and spent the whole of Sunday day on the beach, playing football. Well, we tried to play football, but Del wouldn’t give the football back- he is NOT a team player!

We spent the next day at the wonderful seaside town, Llandudno. It has an amazing pier where you can play in old style arcades and eat candy floss. It’s a wonderful, traditionally British resort where you can take in the sea air and enjoy some fish and chips. Del loved it.

In other news, this week we’ll be dog sitting two more dogs. So, if you’re a regular you’ll realise that we already live with two Weimerarners, as well as Del. So this means we will be a house with 2 Weimerarners, one Rottweiler, one Pomeranian and one Chihuahua! I’m expecting a lot of cuddles, but it will be a VERY full house.

This Coco and Rocky (sorry for the rubbish pic, but you get the idea):

Also, it’s that time of year again. Del’s pet insurance is due for renewal, so I’ve been doing a bit of research about which is the best type of policy to go for. We’ve decided on a life-time policy. It’s much more expensive (especially because of his breed), but we feel it’s best to have more cover in place, especially as he gets older (I know he’s not even three, but I panic about these things!).

What have you been up to?

Borrow My Doggy

I may be late to the party here, but my friend told me about a website called Borrow My Doggy yesterday, a totally new concept which I've never heard of before.

The basic idea is that dog owners and people who love dogs sign up and can 'borrow' your dog for short spaces of time, for walks or spending time at your house. So, dog owners will upload pictures and details of their dogs and "borrowers" can get in touch to perhaps take your dog out for the day, perhaps if they haven't got their own but would like to walk a dog.

What Borrow My Doggy aims to do

My friend has signed up and is hoping to pair up with a dog which she can walk every now and then. The site matches you with dog owners and borrowers in your area, and you can get chatting that way. Each owner and borrower adds information about themselves and what kind of times and time frames suits for both, which gives a good indication of the frequency of the meetings.

My first impression was that this is a fantastic idea. Borrowers get some well needed canine time and dog owners get a break from perhaps walking their dog everyday, or can organise pet sitting for when they're out either on a short break or a long day in the office. Then I started to think about how comfortable I would be with letting a stranger take Del. I'd only want someone to take him if I was sure I could trust them- there are a lot of variables to consider.

What do you think? Would you let a stranger take out your dog for the day? Would you enjoy taking someone else's dog? Have you had an experience with Borrow My Doggy or a similar site?

I would love to hear about what you think- comments below!

Life Lately

So over the past few weeks we've been super busy, which is my excuse for not posting much on here. We've had birthday parties, weddings and other social commitments, so blogging has had to take a back seat.

I thought I'd give you a little insight into what Del has been up to throughout all the busy..

Del has been having a wonderful time going on walkies with him house mates. They all LOVE to run round together and chase each other...

He's also been embarking on a personal challenge- find the biggest stick to carry throughout the whole walk. Here is some photographic evidence:

He's also been using me as a pillow looking after me when I've been poorly in bed this week (just a cold, nothing serious).

What have you guys been up to?

Hope you've been enjoying the start of summer as much as Del has!

Being in the Dog House

This weekend was my partner's brother's Birthday, so we decided to throw a barbecue to celebrate. His mum is a cake maker, so decided to make her son some wonderful peanut butter and chocolate cakes, pictured below. They looked (and smelled) delicious. Everyone was really looking forward to eating them, and luckily, she made 15- enough for one each after the meal. 

For the eager eyed amongst you, you'll notice that there aren't 15 in the picture above. That's because three little devils found the cakes and at HALF of them. See picture below for the culprits...

We can't be sure who the ring leader is, but we're pretty sure it was Archie (pictured right). He was caught red-handed, while Del and Ellie were stood outside, but I'm pretty sure they all ate some. 

The picture above is them all suffering their punishment. They were banished outside for a while. I can't say Del looks very guilty, but the other two definitely are! Naughty, naughty dogs. 

In other news, the UK had some wonderful weather this weekend. We made the most of it and spent a lot of it in the garden. Here are a few pics of us enjoying the warmer weather, and Del giving his dad a big smack on the lips! 

Did your pooches get up to anything mischievous this weekend?

N.B. The cakes they stole had a considerable amount of chocolate in them. We monitored each of them throughout the day and thankfully they were fine. If your dog does something like this and eats a large amount of chocolate to themselves it's worth getting in touch with your vet.