March in Review!

Wow, what a month March is turning out to be!
Rather than bombard you all with numerous shorter posts I thought i'd write one big one to summarise everything that we've been up to!

On the 8th March we headed up to Coventry via train with Sev ready for Hound day at Crufts on the 9th, as mentioned in my previous post it was our first Crufts together so I was super nervous (and excited actually!) Sev as always was an absolute star and placed 2nd out of 9 in a really strong Yearling Dog class under a very well know judge - I was (and still am) ecstatic and so, so proud of my little boy! This has qualified us ready for Crufts 2018! (apologies for the photo quality of some of the photos - a friend took them on her phone for me!)

After we were done in the show ring I took Sev for a wander around and met lots of our favourite brands; Naturo, Mabel & Mu, Dapper Pets, Dependable Pets along with lots of our blogger friends; Alfie Bear (Emma and the dapper Alfie), Spaniel Life (Steph and the gorgeous Sevvy and Lily) and Amelia's World (Eva and her gorgeous cavi, Amelia), as i'd travelled up by train I had a suitcase with me so didn't do much shopping but I was lucky enough to be back at Crufts for Saturday and Sunday!

(the first photo was taken by Emma of Alfie Bear)
I spent Saturday with Emma and Alfie (Alfie Bear) and Emily (Adventures of Doodles) and Laura (SillyTillyPoodle) and the adorable Rhapsody and Colin (who are far cuter in person - if thats even possible!) I did far too much shopping on Saturday but there will be separate blog posts for that! Isla competed on Saturday winning 3rd out of 6 in the Post Graduate.
I spent Sunday chilling out around the St Bernard breed ring watching Ava and her siblings compete which was lovely - sadly no placing for her but it was a very big class.

To top off what was an already brilliant weekend Monster Pet Supplies contacted me earlier in February and asked if i'd be interested in being their featured blogger for March - I said yes straight away! It was so hard to keep it quiet until it went live last week! If you'd like to read the interview I wrote for them please click here :-) Monster is one of my favourite online pet shops they sell everything that you could possibly need!

The various Crufts shopping posts will follow, as needless to say I bought far too much!
Thank you for reading!
Jaime, Lily & Sev xo

Our Crufts Adventure!

I've been to Crufts many times both with and without show dogs, what makes 2017 special is that it's mine and Sev's first time on that infamous green carpet!
Severus qualified for Crufts last May at Bath aged 12 months, and every time we've entered a Championship Show since he's managed to do the same! 2016 was a very successful year for Sev in the showring he's consistently done well and i'm so ridiculously excited for Crufts! (and very nervous!!)

The photos above were taken at Bath :-)
The photo below was taken of Sev in August at a show, slightly different to his usual photos!

I asked on twitter if anyone would be interested in a behind the scenes type post about Cruft and lots of people said that they did so here we go!

For us the Crufts prep starts weeks in advance, I'm a big fan of supplements to make sure he's looking the best that he possibly can, our ultimate staple is the Dorwest's  Omega Star, Sev has been on this since May and it really is brilliant, he coat looks shiny and feels so soft! I'm sure it makes his coat easier to maintain whilst he's been having this too!

For a normal show I do most of Sev's grooming myself as he's pretty easy to sort out (the main two areas are making sure his nails are short and that his feet are trimmed neatly) but this year i'm cheating! Sev is booked into our favourite dog groomers to have his feet trimmed, nails cut and teeth descaled - he will be competing against the best so needs to look his best!

As we will be going up the day before so he's booked into the groomers at 11, he will go home and be straight into the bath!
I have a failsafe bathing routine using three of my favourite products; firstly I wash him with a Biogance Long Coat shampoo, this isn't my favourite scent wise but it really does work! I always shampoo Sev twice, the second shampoo I use more for the nice scent which is the John Paul Pet "Awapoochi" Shampoo, this smells incredible and makes Sev smell divine!
And finally I use a conditioner just because it makes drying his coat easier and helps with getting it to sit correctly - no sticky up skirts at Crufts thank you! I use the John Paul Pets Awapoochi conditioner, another favourite!

Sev went to a championship show on Saturday and due to me putting him in the wrong class didn't place but preformed beautifully so fingers crossed he will do well at Crufts as he's in the right class this time!
Myself and Sev will be at Crufts on Thursday (9th) and I will also be there on Saturday with Isla (11th). Super excited to see everyone and hopefully finally get round to meeting some of our blogger friends! If you see us, please feel free to say hello! :-)

Thank you for reading, hopefully see you there!
Jaime & Sev (and Lily who'll be staying at home!) xo

The Crufts 2017 Wishlist!

It's no secret that I have a slight addiction to shopping, and Crufts is the one event that I let myself go a little bit OTT - here are a few of the things on my list!

Ditsy Pet:
I bought the dogs a Ditsy Pet Christmas print lead each and I've really enjoyed using them, they're really soft and lightweight and the perfect length so i've put two on my shopping list
- Hello Sailor dog lead £13.95

- Rose dog lead £13.95

And for no reason other than because I can, some other bits and pieces that I really like!
- Hello Sailor collar £11.95

- Hello Sailor bow £5.00

- Rose bow £5.00

Dog Robes:
Lily, Sev, Daisy & Isla all have towel coats from another brands so I think it's time I bought Ava one! Torn between the grey and the pink!

Dapper Pets:
A few days ago Dapper posted a sneak peak of their Crufts stock including a variety of daisy items, including a new pink daisy print collar and matching daisy ID tag, now clearly our resident Daisy dog needs these!

Benyfit Raw:
L&S have been raw fed for years and have very good stomachs so i'm able to change suppliers/varieties whenever I find something better for them to eat. Our friend Baloo has recently moved onto Benyfit and his mum, Jaycee was really impressed so i'm hoping to find out more! :-)

Mabel & Mu:
Mabel & Mu are a firm favourite of mine and I always pick up a few bows when I see them at shows!
On our list for Crufts are pieces from their new ranges Wildflower Walks and Waterfall Walks (these launch at Crufts so no direct link yet!)

RedHound:
A friend on Twitter shared a photo of their whippets wearing coats from the store which looked gorgeous - I was super excited that they have a range of Wax Coats for Dachshunds! The Navy Blue is on our list!

Groomers:
I've been trying to use up what i've got in my grooming stash but there are a few essentials that i've ran out of! I also need a new pair of thinning scissors, no direct link as i've not chosen a pair yet!
Tropical Cream Conditioner - £6.95
Conditioner is a staple in Sev's grooming routine and really adds shine to his coat, this is a new one for me but i've heard good things about this as our friends use it on their Welsh Springers!

We all know there is no way that i'll stick to this list!! But I've been sensible and have set myself a budget (yeah whatever, Jaime!!)
Would you be interested in seeing a haul post after Crufts? Please let us know!
Thank you for reading,
Jaime, Lily & Sev xo

BigPaws Review

I was contacted by Tracy from BigPaws earlier in February asking if the gang would be interested in reviewing her Wall Mounted Dog bowls, L&S are fed on the floor but we feed our two big girls on stands, which I must admit are hideous looking things and take up a lot of room when not in use! So it was a definite yes from me!

The BigPaws bowls and stands came in a variety of sizes (Small 150mm, Medium 200mm and Large 235mm) and colours. I chose large in red for Ava and medium in graphite for Isla.
These are a super good idea, the main bracket part of the stand is wall mounted and the frame that the bowl sits in can be easily removed so when in use they don't stick up or get in the way - bonus! This is also really good because Ava makes a right mess when she eats, and these are far easier to clean than our pre-existing stands!
The bowls themselves can be used separately from the stand if needed and fit inside the ring without wobbling whilst still being easy to remove for cleaning etc. I was super impressed with the quality of the bowls, the colours are gorgeous and they have a non-slip rubber base!
The bowls also come with all the screws and clear instructions making them easy to install, I love that the wall fixture is bone shaped, a nice touch!

We're due to have our kitchen renovated so no photos of the stands in use yet as we're not sure where to put them, but we have been using the bowls in their existing stands! The beauty of the stands being wall mounted is that you can fit them to the exact height needed for your dog. We use stands because Isla suffered from a small episode of bloat as a puppy (which was terrifying) wouldn't feed any of the big girls without them now!

The bowls retail at £20 for a small, £25 for a medium and £28 for a large making them super affordable as they're definitely made to last! Tracy was also kind enough to include a packet of "The Dog Treat Company" treats for Isla and Ava.

Definitely check them out, the BigPaws shop has a variety of other doggy essentials too, as well as an option to buy the metal stands without the bowl, gift sets and doggy water bottles which look really cool!


Thank you for reading!
Jaime, Lily & Sev xo

Sharing the love!

First off, huge apologies for my blog absence, Jan/Feb has been a bit manic for me and today is the first day in weeks i've had the time to just sit down and write!
Hopefully I can make it up to you with various exciting posts that i've got planned for the next month!

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day, so I wanted to dedicate today's post to some of my favourite shops (and the fabulous people and dogs behind them!)

Our first favourite is Boots & Bones, Ellie is one of the nicest people i've and the pleasure of working with, Boots & Bones sell and make a variety of gorgeous collars and leads and they've just launched bow ties, which I'll definitely be buying after Crufts! I've written about Boots & Bones before here and here. Lily is wearing the Be My Valentine collar Sev wears the Vibrant Dogtooth Tweed collar which launches soon!

Another favourite is this gorgeous Valentines themed bandana by Chloe of ChloeSuzanneDesigns on Etsy. I've got far too many of Chloe's bandanas now but i just couldn't resist this one! I'm definitely a convert of the tie on style, it sits perfectly and as always is beautifully made! I've featured Chloe's bandanas in various post, they can be found here.

This next favourite is a more recent discovery, Dependable Pets. They sell everything you could possibly need and are the home of our personal favourite training treats; these are so good I won't go into the ring without a pocketful! Our Dependable Pets haul post can be read here.

Another collar favourite; this time from DevilDoodDesigns on Etsy. Emily runs Adventures of Doodles and makes some seriously cool callers and leads! Our favourite so far is this rope collar, perfect for beach adventures as it can be chucked in the washing machine! Theres no current link to these, but please contact Emily for a custom order :) the post featuring some more of Emily's collars can be found here.

And finally is Slumbering Hound. It wouldn't be a favourites post without mentioning the fabulous Dee and her gorgeous dog beds! Before Christmas Lily was lucky enough to be sent a deluxe slumber bed; the craftsmanship on these is just incredible! It looks beautiful and Lily absolutely adores it - it's a fight to get her out of it in the mornings! I've written an in-depth review here.

Thank you for reading! Have you joined in today? :-)
Jaime, Lily & Sev xo