Here we go again with more snow--of course the dogs love it. Caper thinks it is strange when there is no snow. Yaz and Chic had a great time in it.

Malinois puppies are really getting there little characters now and are responding when I talk to them. Soon be tearing around.

Most of the snow has melted tonight and we have a really hard frost yet again--is Spring ever going to appear?

Good weekend for the Bonvivants with Bonvivant Nonpareil avec Stonedragon BOB at Maidenhead Open whilst Bonvivant Symbolique at Tokyn BOB at NW&PB Open show. Bonvivant Visage(Laekenois) 1st AVNSC open and Res AVNSC
The Laekenois pups go for their first innoculations on Tuesday--I can't believe they are already 8 weeks old--just hope they get some homes soon--4 bitches and 1 dog available.

The Laekenois puppies are now 7 weeks old and into everything. Very bold and greet everyone that comes to play with them.

The Malinois puppies are 2 weeks old and have their eyes open. Chiraze is a good mother and keeps them scrupulously clean.

News from Guernsey that Venus (from the previous Laekenois litter) is off to Jersey for the Dog of the Year competition! Good Luck Sue and Venus.

Brissie has won a Nursery stakes in agility.

Caper attended his first proper obedience class today and was a very good boy. Lots of work to do but he took everything in his stride. He was a very tired puppy when he got home.

Cello and Cruz have an obedience competition at the end of the month so more training needed !

More mud here so the dogs still can't stay out in their paddocks for long without getting plastered--roll on summer!

We have puppies at last !!!!! Chiraze has 2 bitches and 2 dogs. It has been an exceedingly long day from 5am this morning when she started to shred her paper. After a couple of hours she was very quiet and we decided to have her checked over at the vets as a precaution, after which we took a bumpy ride home and she had her first puppy, a male. The second puppy was stuck so she needed a bit of assistance, a bitch, and then another bitch followed by a dog. All are very strong puppies and are feeding well. Chiraze is a very good mother.(apologies for the top picture but you have to start them young :))

There always seems to be something good and then something bad-- Bonvivant Accapella,Pye, almost 13 years old, passed away this afternoon. Pye came back to me 12 years ago and, after sorting out a few issues, he became a lovely dog who was still patrolling as a security dog this time last year. He is the mad fool starring in "The attack of the fensnake" and was a good friend to Chiraze. Pye was, like all my dogs, very special, and loved shredded paper and cuddles. Only two nights ago he was trying to help pull the paper out of the sack and then doing headstands in his bed of paper. He had been having some problems losing the strength in his back legs but was on medication for the last 6months. Always bouncing at feedtime and then waiting for his rug to be put on and his goodnight biscuit. Run free and strong with Cachet and Ciel --Pye pye.

Chiraze is keeping us waiting to have her puppies but is getting nearer.

Meanwhile, Ann came for a visit and played with the Laekenois puppies and then we went for a very frosty walk with Cruz and Psyche.

The temperature has plummeted again and the water to the house was frozen for two mornings yet again. But the sun is shining and it is much dryer outside so very pleasant. The sprout pickers have had a couple of days off thank goodness so we have had a better chance of sleep and the tractor has been ploughing, but at a much more reasonable time :)

Apologies for not updating but it has been really busy here with Chiraze arriving home. Gaston travelled over from Belgium on Sunday morning and will stay until the puppies are born. Chiraze has her whelping box ready in the study and is due any day now. The radiograph taken last week showed only 4 puppies which are all spoken for already. I am praying that there is at least one bitch for Linda in Norway.

The Laekenois puppies are 4 weeks old and are well into their puppy food. Their characters are beginning to emerge and are all very cheeky. Most have big coats and look very different from Malinois puppies. Their masks are still quite well defined, as was Brizos' when she was a puppy.
There are still puppies available from this litter.

Caper is growing really fast now and I tried Yazoos' collar on him and could hardly do it up!!!

Cruz went back to training this week and he has really come on mentally and physically over the winter. Hard to think that he is almost 2 years old now.

I hope that the "Y" litter ( Yukon, Lili and Darcy ) had a good 1st birthday. Chic and Yaz had some treats.

The sprout pickers arrive before 5 o'clock every morning, talking and shouting, then the machines start--poor Gaston has not had much sleep either. The road is now a ploughed up track so we have not had many visitors :(.

More news and photos very soon.

A bit of catching up to do! The weather was too bad for me to get to Boston Ch Show and my van isn't very good on ice so it just wasn't worth the risk-a drawback of living out in the sticks. Very disappointing, but Bridgit travelled down from Scotland and called in for a visit on her way home which was lovely. She brought Tiva and Rio (and her brother Shaun) to see us and we had a very cold walk up the lane to get a bit of steam off the dogs before their long drive home.
Caper is 14 weeks old now and growing really fast. The Laekenois pups are thriving and peep out of their slitty eyes but are really more interested in sleeping off their milk. Termite is a good mother but gets bored babysitting so has decided to designerdog my whelping kennel. :(( inside and out!

News from Belgium that Chiraze is definitely in whelp and will be travelling home very soon :))

It is snowing again!! We had a couple of days where it began to thaw, which brought the new problem of ice skating-even the sure footed Belgians had trouble staying upright. So back to the crunchy white stuff--will it ever end? So far so good though, at least the water hasn't frozen again this week but it is an endless round of lugging water round dogs and chickens.

Freezing fog and sleet tonight--let's see what happens tomorrow.

There is something about snow which makes even the laziest of dogs-like Celine--have a funny five minutes. Caper was so relieved that the snow was back so he didn't have to rush in to use his paper-very strange puppy. He is growing so fast and has legs like tree trunks but is so agile. His new trick is to jump up onto the dining table, steal something, then run off again (via the chair) before anyone spots him. Shades of Celine who, as a puppy, was often found standing on the table!

The chickens appreciated cold but dry and sunny today and at the first snow flurry head under the caravan. This is one of the beautiful Faverolle hens in her winter muff and leg warmers.

Well below freezing again tonight and I have to keep the washing machine going all night to stop the pipes freezing again. More rounds of water buckets as the hose pipe will not thaw out. Yorn is very grateful he got a new puffa rug for Christmas in Emperor purple! as befits his Royal Highness!