One year ago

I took this one year ago, the first ever photo of my Kizzie.  The bowl is a cat dish.  Kizzie sitting by an empty bowl with a sorry look on her face, little has changed :)

Here, Kizzie is lying on her blankie, this came from the breeder and smelled of her mum.

Kizzie still loves her blankie, at night she sucks it until she falls asleep.  It is unbelievably disgusting and has never been properly washed, she loves it so much I don't have the heart to take away the aroma. 

What a difference a year has made, I can't remember a time when Kizzie didn't live with us.  She has brought tears, worry, love and unlimited laughter. She is helping us to get fitter and ensures we get plenty of fresh air. In return she has wrecked the garden, ruined my carpets and chunks are missing from my coffee table, small prices to pay for having such a beauty in our lives.

 

It's blooming cold

It has been so cold that Kizzie has had to wear her jumper to go into the garden.  There has been no digging activity because the ground is too hard even for big paws to dig up. 

Kizzie spent christmas at C's house, we went too but stayed in a hotel at night whilst Kizzie climbed into bed with C, H and Ben. 

Ben's innocent face hides lots of stories of naughtiness and I think he may have taught Kizzie everything she knows.  It is very hard to be cross with those big black eyes.

The dogs get on very well together at one time they slept with their tails entwined.  Heartwarming stuff.

We gave Ben a jumper just like Kizzie's but his is black and the skinny version.  It fits and he doesn't mind wearing it, which is good news as otherwise he may have eaten it.  Kizzie and Ben gave each other stuffed toys, Ben really enjoyed pulling the stuffing out of some of them, they had a lovely tug of war with another.  They had a good time.  And so did we.

Hee Haw

or similar, I am not sure what reindeer say.  Anyway she looks happy for once, miss grumpy doesn't take kindly to having her photo taken.

as I was saying...

I would like to punch the person who...

threw a barbequed spare rib on the ground.  Kizzie found it and when I grabbed it, she chomped and swallowed half of it - bone and all.  Not funny.  Kizzie goes all out to break the restricted diet she is eating, but I dread the effects of cooked bone on her poor tummy.  We have 5 more weeks of the prescription kibble before we can introduce any other foodstuff. 

On a more positive note - the steroid tablets are starting to work and Kizzie's inflamed eyes are much improved this week.  No more scratching either.  Another week on the tablets and then we start to wean her off them.  Then we hold our breath to see if the conjunctivitis comes back.  If it does then she will have to have the incredibly expensive blood tests

Am I going crazy or....

I put a biscuit on the kitchen table, settled down to drink my coffee and read my book.  Kizzie sauntered up to me, stole the slipper from my foot and walk off with it.  She only went 4 or 5 feet then dropped it.  I picked it up and walked back to the table. 

Now where did I leave my biscuit? 

One day Kizzie will grow up and not be naughty anymore

I thought I could hear something so snook a peek into the kitchen.

She wouldn't?

Exclusion diet?  What exclusion diet?
Me?
I wouldn't?








Good job I had eaten all my tea before I dumped the plate...

Thaw - Pwaaaw

It is a bit warmer today, some of the icy snow has begun to melt.  I don't know what Kizzie rolled in, it had feathers and had been dead a very long time!  I had to do two shampoos to get rid of the pong. 

Come to think of it, it was probebly that blooming pigeon again...

It's been snowing

Kizzie loves playing in the snow and doesn't care how wet she gets. We went for a run this afternoon and got caught in a snow storm.  She didn't think too much of wearing her jumper but it is meant to wick away moisture as well as warm her up. Kizzie wouldn't come near me for a while, but the radiator beckoned..

another win for KW

B went out to the studio, Kizzie wanted to go with him but she isn't allowed in the studio because she steals stuff.  So she stood in the kitchen by the door to the garden looking all sad.  Then she trumped.  And looked at me.  So I opened the door and let her out.  She mosied along the path, carefully sniffing and being very innocent.  She walked past the studio door, stopped, did a double take.  Fancy that, she found her daddy!  Quite by accident.

Kizzie stood and looked and waited, she looked and waited, all pathetic in the cold hard snow.  Eventually she gave in and came back inside, stomped into her crate and threw herself down, huffed and went to sleep.

new coat

The Humiliation of being tied to the banister whilst my mum put my new coat on.

Kizzie's allergies caused her fluffy undercoat to fall out, so she has to wear a coat.  Kizzie was not amused and wriggled like you wouldn't believe, however I can occasionally still outwit her.

We have been putting stuff on the stairs on the other side of the gate so that she can't steal them, shoes, hats and gloves etc.  Little monkey was running around with my hat yesterday, she has learned to reach through the bannisters to grab the things she wanted.  I am too old for this........

some white stuff

Next door neighbour caused a bit of a palava this morning as they couldn't get their car off the driveway, so Kizzie was up early.  If Kizzie is up, then I am up too.  I don't often see the sun rise but it was worth it this morning, we had SNOW!!

After a charge about in the garden we decided to go to our usual walking spot to see if any of Kizzie's friends were out for a play.

Here is Barney, the lovely labradoodle.  He is only 8 months old so loves to bounce and play.

and play chase

Two black labradors were playing too, the doodles were watching them roll around in the snow.  They were too fast to get a good photo.

We had a great time, lots of playful dogs and easy going owners with bright red noses today.

What Kizzie did

This was what I found the other morning when I came downstairs. 

I wondered where the foam had come from but as I got nearer....











The little monster had taken the cushions off, eaten her way through the cover and the fabric of the sofa underneath, then ripped the foam out.  However on the plus side, she hadn't eaten any of it.

Poor Kizzie has allergic conjunctivitus, her eyes are so sore.  She also has itchy skin and diarrhea.  Our vet believes this is all due to something she is eating and so poor Kiz is on a diet of prescription kibble and water.  No treats, no chews, no meat.  So not only sore and uncomfortable but being denied every pleasure in life....

Well, perhaps not every pleasure :)












I decided it would be best if Kizzie slept in my bedroom so that I could keep an eye on what she is up to.  Mostly sleeping on the floor, but this morning I woke up with Kizzies face squished up against mine, her front legs were wrapped around my neck, she was fast asleep laying on the pillow next to mine. 

Kizzie

Kizzie wearing her jumper.  Note the 'not impressed' expression on her face.  I think she would happily give it to Louis :)                            

Modelling is so tiring

Someone took my rug away

We had to reorganise the kitchen to get the extra crate in.  There wasn't enough floor space for the rug so I rolled it up and moved it to the study.

Kizzie likes to sleep on that rug!

Little Louis is only allowed out of his crate for a quick turn around the garden so I don't have good pics of him yet.  He is tiny compared to Kizzie although he is almost as tall.

Kizzie torments Louis like crazy, taking a toy up to him and waving it around, if he ignores her she barks like crazy, if she runs off he barks to get her to come back. 

Luckily they both have a sleep in the afternoons.

little temptress

Here's Kizzie in one of her favorite spots, watching Louis as B reads a book about lurchers.

Don't read your book, play with me..

Who you looking at?

Gedoff my puppy

Would you take the puppy away from such a cross face? 
Poor Kizzie had a phantom pregnancy and being spayed has sent her hormones into overdrive.  She has drops to dry up her milk, antibiotics to prevent infection in what is left of her uterus, is refusing to eat anything but freshly cooked chicken and rice.  She has been sick a couple of times too.  So when she stole this puppy from gg's room this morning I didn't have the heart to take it off her.

Especially as she was running around jumping on beds and up and down the stairs with it.  I am not sure how good a mum she would have been as this poor little thing has already lost one eye, it's nose is not looking so good and it must have headache from being duffed up.

I suspect I will have earache when gg finds out her puppy is missing.

Kizzie's hair continues to change colour, she now has blotches of dark chocolate with splashes of ginger and of course, her blonde highlights. 








Stitches come out on Friday.  Kizzie will have a friend to help look after this weekend, we are going to look after a little darling with a broken leg in the hope that they get on.  Wish me luck

hedgehog news

The little hedgehog is living behind the garage.  Guess who found him?  Miss Kizzie couldn't quite reach him because the dustbin was in the way so I shouldn't have to worry about fleas this time but doesn't barking sound loud at night...

The deed is done

Kizzie had her op yesterday.  No puppies for us ever. 

What a worry.  We picked her up at 4 in the afternoon and she slept, and slept.  I woke her at about 6 to give her a tablespoon of id meat, then again at 8.  She had a nice drink of water and went back to sleep.  Then she started to get cold.  We led her into her crate, wrapped her in a blanket and directed a fan heater towards her.  She warmed up but still slept on. 

I lay on a blanket on the floor by her crate.  She crept towards me, put her head next to mine, her paw on my hand and went back to sleep.  At around 3am, Kizzie came out of her crate, lay next to me on my blanket, then stretched her legs and pushed me onto the bare floor, there's gratitude for you!

I never realised just how comfy our kitchen sofa is.  I think my back would have sighed with pleasure if a back could do such a thing. 

Brian came down at 4, so I went to bed and got some sleep.  By the time I came down at 9, Kizzie had eaten some breakfast, taken her pain relief tablet without incident and been out for a wee.  She slept until about 2 this afternoon, and then decided she was bored.  It stopped raining so we had a little walk around the block. 

Crisis over, Kizzie is fine.  I am tired, I ache, I have just eaten 2 bars of chocolate to get my strength up, Kizzie is lying under my desk as I am writing this and sadly, she has wind....

Poor Pigeon

"Wend come quick".  Kizzie is outside with a pigeon in her mouth.  She looked so pleased with herself, she 'found' it amongst the bushes in the garden.  Then the pigeon made a little 'help' type noise.  Kizzie shook it. 
Luckily I always have chicken in the fridge these days.  I grabbed a few pieces, slung them into a bowl and put it on the grass.  Kizzie came close, gently dropped the pigeon and snorfed the chicken.  I picked up the young bird, it was still breathing and making tiny noises, so I carried to safety and put it somewhere safe to either recover or die peacefully.
It died.  I must admit I had thought a cat had caught it and Kizzie had stolen it, but I couldn't see a mark on it.  I don't suppose being shaken did it any favours. 

I was impressed with the way Kizzie brought the bird to show me, also impressed with the gentle mouth and no chewing.  I suppose she is a real retriever after all.  But I would have preferred it if the pigeon had flown away.

Squeak

I think Kizzie has eaten one of her toys, her bottom is making a funny squeaking sound. 

Rod Stewart hair day

Kizzie gets ever so fed up when I get my camera out, but you have to love her 'Rod Stewart' hair.  See the ginger tips on the blonde hair on the top her head?  My Kizzie has roots :):)

Don't be fooled by the "who me" expression on her face, Kizzie is a saucy little girl with a great sense of humour and a mean left hook.  Just ask the little hedgehog

that she found in the garden the other day, Kizzie thwacked it with her paw and sent it flying.  We haven't seen it since. 

I clicked on the wrong thing in Paint Shop Pro and found a long list of picture frames, I couldn't resist this one, it brings out the colour of her hair so nicely..

Holiday

We went to stay by the English/Welsh border for a few days. We like old ruins and so does Kizzie, unfortunately she has no concept of high up, and "don't fall off", so she had her lead attached.

When we weren't climbing up castles, we went walking in the valleys.  This is our Kiz enjoying a splash in Offa's Dyke.  And no we didn't walk the whole 177 miles.

We stayed in a lovely log cabin in beautiful surroundings, up a tiny country road, up which I refused to drive.  There were 16 horses and Kizzie thought they were oh so scarey, especially the huge white one which leaned over the fence and neighed at her.   

Diet - nooooooo!

Kizzie has to lose weight, her waistline has expanded.  And I thought she was loosing weight and was worried about her.  My poor girl....

postnote - we saw our usual vet this morning to get some travel sickness pills for a long journey we have coming up, Mathew says Kizzie is fine and just the right weight for her size.  Phew.  Whippee.

dipping our toes in the sea again

love and kisses

Hello Mummy

I'm coming to get you


I ended up flat on my back with a very clean face :)  See the bit of 'vet bed' on the floor, that is the piece that came from Kizzie's mum, it is never far from Kizz - her blankie.  It is good stuff as this piece has been loved and chewed and slept on and it is still in good shape.

three times round the field

Biggest puddle in the world

It was a nice sunny day today and we have been promised storms for the next few days so we decided to take Kizzie to the beach.  It is over an hours drive and she was ever so sick on the way, but it was worth it to see her running about on the sand.  This is the moment when she got her feet wet in sea water for the first time. 

It didn't take long for her to look like this.  Kizzie didn't swim but she splashed about and had a lovely time. 

We only stayed a couple of hours and Kizzie threw up again on the way home but I will take her again soon.  She will need a bath later to get the salt water out of her hair, but at the moment Kiz is fast asleep under my desk. 

hormones?

I think Kizzie must still have hormones running through her system, she is very quiet and cuddly and spends a lot of time just lying cuddling her puppy.  It has had a couple of little repairs, quite revolting as it is stiff and a bit slimy.

Three times round the path

Taking Kizzie out is such a pleasure, not only does she get to run and play with other dogs but their humans talk to me too.  Yesterday whilst Kizzie ran off and played with the gorgeous toy poodle and her companion, a doberman I chatted with their human.  Twice round the path, they went home but as I walked to the gate, up comes doodle Ollie.  So we went around again :)
We drove home and Kizzie walked into the house, had a drink and jumped onto the sofa for a sleep without even going near her dinner.

She did wake up much later for a snuggle with her puppy dog, had a bit of a chew of a hide stick and then went and put herself to bed.

I was very glad about that because my legs were aching in places I didn't even know existed.