Spent a lovely day with Gill and Simon who had come to visit us and see the dogs again. They are waiting for a Malinois puppy to compete in Agility, both have worked in the Police Force and do a lot of work with dogs. Simon loves cooking so I experimented with a new recipe of Ricotta and herbs stuffed chicken with sweetcorn and french beans sauted in garlic and spring onions. Pictured above is my latest loaf stuffed with Antipasti and roasted peppers. It all went down a treat.

They are hoping that their puppy will come from Celine to Zippy, but will wait if the right puppy is not in that litter. I am so looking forward to seeing what this mating will produce; Zippy (top picture) is by Lanaeken Standout at Sabrefield(2nd picture) x Sabrefield Right Answer for Bonvivant. This was the first mating I ever did in Malinois and produced some brilliant working dogs and Ciel (B. Arc en Ciel), who I sadly lost this year. Zippy has never sired a litter before and, at almost 13, I must admit I was just hoping that he would be viable. His colour is still an amazing deep red and his mask so defined. Scissor bite and full dentition,clear eyes and hips 7 (scored at 11.5 yrs). That litter did have strong character but I am hoping that this combination will gel. We will see in a couple of weeks-I can't believe the time has gone so quickly since the mating.(All I want is a red Ciel--not too much to ask surely?????)

Thanks for the recipe for Sloe Gin, Simon,--I shall have to get bottling fast as it takes 6 weeks to mature--and then a very interesting recipe with the steeped fruit afterwards!