Wordless Wednesday- sweet dreams

Jaws- the update

A couple of weeks ago we bought Jaws, our little catfish, to help with our issue of algae in the fish tank. I cannot believe the wonders Jaws has done! I have no idea how he manages to get into all the corners of the tank but it now looks spotless. We were a little concerned that he might munch on our little guppies but they don't swim near each other at all; Jaws stays at the sides and bottom, the guppies swim around the middle bubble tube.

One thing I have noticed is how big he has grown! The lady at Jumanji reassured us that we could bring him back if he grew gigantic but she said he shouldn't grow that big at all as he is the smaller pleco species. Either way Cassie loves watching them and so do I :)

Cavaliers- Pedigree Dogs Exposed: 3 years on

Last night Pedigree Dogs Exposed aired a review of any changes made in the three years since they first showed what really was happening at Crufts. I think the fact that the RSPCA and Dogs Trust pulled out of sponsoring Crufts really shows how bad things have really gotten for a number of breeds in England because of the guidelines of what a breed 'should' look like. By the end of the programme I was speechless.

One breed mentioned was the Cavalier King Charles, which some have now branded as 'doomed' due to the amount of Cavaliers possessing certain medical problems such as heart murmurs and Syringomyelia (SM). As an owner of a Cavalier I was both angered and deeply upset by a number of stories, such as one Cavalier (who had actually won a number of awards at Crufts) had sired HUNDREDS of litters with the owner having the knowledge that their dog suffered from SM.

Dalmatians are known to suffer from a severe problem where they cannot break down uric acid, which eventually would cause their bladder to rupture if it could not be unblocked. A solution has been found for dalmatians which have been breed with Pointers to eliminate this issue. There is some hope for Cavaliers though, the kennel club will be launching MRI screening for SM, where those looking for a Cavalier puppy can check to see if their parents have been screened and what the result of the screening showed.

It doesn't take a degree to realise reducing genetic diversity causes a whole array of problems. The thought that the Cavalier King Charles may not be here for generations to come to enjoy with their amazing temperament and beautiful nature is heartbreaking.

For the full episode see:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01cqp75/

Check out the official blog here:

http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/

Please give your support here to make the necessary changes:

Born to Suffer| Give animals a voice| RSPCA Campaign Network - RSPCA: Give animals a voice

Monday Mischief

Apparently mummy is really tired today because they had to go on a trip far away, so they decided to get a take away which they won't share with me!

But if I move real slow and just lift this bit up just to have a sniff she won't mind... shhh!!!

Morgana

xxx      

The park, jack russell and chair

As it was such a lovely day today we took the girls to the bigger park. Cassie absolutely loves this park because it has a little runway, she does look like she is about to take off with her ears when she is running which always has me laughing.

It was such a lovely day at the park but unfortunately for Morgana there were grey hounds around. This meant that Morgana couldn't really run with Cassie because grey hounds seem to think that Morgana is a rabbit! Once a grey hound did manage to chase Morgana but amazingly she out ran the other dog and jumped into my mums arms.

Today we met a very cute and hyper little jack russell who was only a little bigger than Morgana. The jack russell owner had put her lead under a chair probably to avoid the grey hounds but Morgana decided to go over and say hello. Morgana and the jack russell hit it off straight away.

That was until Morgana and the jack russell tried to play chase... along with the chair. Morgana naturally started screaming thinking the chair would squish her (even though she was behind my mum in lightning speed as soon as the chair started moving) and Cassie screamed because she thought Morgana was being hurt.

Rest assured everyone was fine if not even more hyper by the end of all the fuss! These girls really do make me tilt my head and laugh sometimes.

Product Review: Super healthy dog treat

There are lots of treats on the market which I would think twice about giving to the girls, mainly those which don't seem very good for dogs at all. Some treats do seem the dog equivalent to crisps and biscuits for humans which there is nothing wrong with having once in a while as long as there is a balanced healthy diet along with exercise.

One treat which I have no problem giving the girls is the Paragon Vegetable range. These treats are 100% vegetable, low in fat and really are a great healthy alternative to rawhide treats. This may not apply to other dogs but my girls tend to lose interest in rawhide treats quite quickly. Unlike other treats designed to clean teeth these last a while as they take longer to chew and can keep my girls quiet for up to an hour. Also I must admit they smell quite nice.

'Nom nom nom..'

Cassie and Morgana typically don't have the white and green versions of these, but we have noticed it is pretty easy to tell when they have had one of these treats as when its toilet time that's what colour their poop is (fibre isn't digested so tends to just pass straight through). This may not apply to the other colours but we just have a preference. They also come in a range of shapes and sizes which all help clean those hard to reach areas.

Available as;

Crocodile [£1.46]

Eurostar Stick [small: 40p]

Hedgehog [£1.80]

Mini toothbrush [100: £9.62]

Adorable chihuahua card and the vets

We found these seriously adorable chihuahua blank cards in the gift shop at the University College London Hospital today. I had only popped in to get a drink and nearly missed them if it wasn't for my lovely mother. I managed to persuade her to buy me two for having to travel in a train which could have easily passed as a sardine can.

On a positive note about the train I got to meet the most adorable little pekingese. It's always really touching how easy it is to talk to people purely because you both have dogs. The little pekingese had the softest hair ever and gave adorable kisses; there was just something about his face that made me go 'awww!'.

By the time I got home, even though the whole morning was crazy, it was time to visit the vets for the girls worming tablets. Naturally the girls came with us and we ran into... the dog walkers! Morgana didn't know where to look but as all the big dogs passed there at the very end was a chihuahua... but by then the dog walkers had passed.

When we got to the vets it was like someone had turned Cassie's hyper dial to full. She insisted on seeing the vet who Cassie was convinced could speak dog (Cassie doesn't bark but is full of 'woof woooooos' and 'roooooos'). I guess she won't be as entertained or hyper when we have to give her the worming tablet tomorrow morning.

For the card you can visit the site here where they are just £5.10 for 6:

Tracks Cards and search the Card ID H068