Mutterings
Welcome to Mutterings; Proprietor (& former journalist) Sarah Mountford's collection of photos, articles, links, comment, videos, recommendations and understandings from the world of Mutts.
SOME SERIOUS(LY FUN) QUALITY TIME
CAUGHT ON CAMERA ….
HOW MANY STEPS?
Exercise, like baking, used to be one of those activities that lots of us liked to think about but not all that many actually did.
SEAGULLS, SPEED AND SANDY PAWS
KODI, A PUPPY IN LEARNING …
Last seen on this page in October when just 3 months old, Kodi is now 5 months, growing fast and ready for the next stage of training. She's a beautiful dog and, like most of her breed, very biddable, wanting to learn and to please. But that attitude comes with big paws, much bounce and a hearty appetite, so her lessons this time were about self control, learning to take responsibility for her own actions and giving herself time to think before she acts.
NATURE OR NURTURE?
BARBICAN BALL AUCTION
House of Mutt contributed a Duchess Silver Whistle to the Barbican Ball's charity auction in November.
CHRISTMAS CHEER?!
Papers are full of horror stories about the Christmas health hazards for dogs at this time of year (ie Daily Mirror 'More than 6,000 dogs are expected to have suffered chocolate posoning in 2016, a quarter of cases in December alone....').
HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU …
I spent a day in London last week studying Proprioception for dogs.
HOM’S MEAD HOUSE TRAINING WING, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
A picture tells a thousand words, and here's one of Mead House for those wondering where all the super dooper HoM training has been happening just recently.
FOR FAIRLY FREQUENT FLYERS…
A lot of our dogs are travelling fairly regularly now - whether that's going home to the States each summer, or just moving alongside frequently-moving owners.
ENTERTAINMENT: LET’S DO THIS!
Considering dogs were, once upon a time, wolf-type creatures, having them now live in towns and/or restricted to indoors is always going to provide its challenges. Some breeds are perfectly suited to this modern way of life we provide for them (you Shitzus out there, I'm talking to you) but others (hello, Cocker Spaniels) tend to need a little more ... action. Action, and brain drain.
SOOO LOVELY!
We have a mad rule here that any exuberant praise or appreciation for one of our team, results in me having to buy The Praised One a celebratory bottle of wine.
HAPPY HOME-COMING!
Hundreds of health checks later, this HoM-found lovely pup has arrived in his new home. We bored his proud new teenage owner with a hideous list of advice and instructions.
KODI, A PUPPY IN LEARNING …
Born in late July so still a baby of just 3 months, but already learning some basics. Mostly at this stage it's about calmness and instilling a few boundaries - two things that don't necessarily come naturally to puppies or to very excited owners!
WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH?
Might it be, do you reckon, when dog food tins are the prettiest things in your kitchen - let alone your house!
IT’S BEEN LUVVIE’LY …
We've had a luvvie'ly time this month with a TV crew here one day and a brace of radio reporters the next.
‘HOUNDS IN THE LAP OF LUXURY’
The lovely Goji came to stay - and obviously liked what he saw!
PUPPIES – HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW?
Short noses, googly eyes and wrinkles have hit the news recently. A selection of traits which, vets from the British Veterinary Association have said, are harmful to the dogs that carry them and the purses and emotional reserves of their owners. Radio 5 Live and Radio 4's You and Yours programme both covered the story and came to the House of Mutt to ask about our experiences of these brachycephalic breeds.
HECTOR
Misery Monday, apparently and officially The Most Miserable Day of the Calendar Year, I'm afraid proved so for us. The beloved Hector was put to sleep after 14 long and very happy years of being The Mountford Family Dog.