Last friday i packed the car and went off to the lake district! I was a little nervous as it was going to be Tallys first time doing a very long walk, we are talking a good 4/5 hours ! Well safe to say she did brilliantly and loved every minute!

 

Staying up here was something i have never done before, as i always holiday down further south! I wanted to make sure we stayed at a lovely dog friendly place. After some searching i found  The inn at Grasmere which is a lovely hotel situated in the beautiful village of grasmere!

Easedale Tarn

The start of this hike is only minutes away from the hotel. Beautiful streams, sheep, cows peacefully eating the grass and people just enjoying the sense of peace that this place brings. I let tally have a proper sniff and run around off lead when we were in a secure area! Shes nearly there with her training but i did not want to take a chance around livestock!

 

The views we saw on our way to the top were incredible, i cant even capture there beauty with a photograph!

The path was a quite rocky and slippery at times, but tally was so good! She doesnt quite undertand how to use those long lanky legs of hers yet so i helped her occasionally. She also helped me, i suffer with bad asthma having to use a steriod inhaler twice a day, she stayed by my side at all times the whole way up and when i stopped she did without even a little tug! The bond we have is incredible. Shes my absolute best friend and im so lucky to have her!

 

The way back down tally seemed to enjoy so much more ( as did i ). It was a different route so a lot less people and livestock around, which meant off lead time yay!! Ive managed to train tally to not run off and go crazy as soon as the lead is off, she has a specific command, “go play” which basically means she can go off and be the nutty dog she really is!

We had to stop at a dog friendly cafe for a good cuppa at the end! We decided to go to Baldrys As well as me having a little snack and tea, tally did too! She abolutely love these Natures menu venison snacks! If your out for the whole day you also can just add water and you have then created a complete meal for your dog as well!

 

Grasmere Lake

Sunday was a very very rainy day so quite unsafe for the walknwe had originally planned to do. So we took a stroll around beautiful lakenin the villags! (i managed to get this photo at sunset the evening before)

We then went through penny rock wood and made our way back to the hotel! It was about an hour and a halfs walk so a lot shorter than the day before, but tally loves going outside on walks so anything is exciting to her!

 

 

We both thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the lake district and it has inspired me to plan more holidays like this with Tally!

 

Love Sophie & Tally

 

 

 

 

This week i wanted to write about the products im loving right now for Tally. I really love supporting small business’, because….well why not?! Everyone has to start somewhere! If you find products that you really like and feel the quality is good why not throw support there way?!.

First off, we have the lovely devil dood direct which is run by Emily, with the help of her two adorable dogs Rhapsody and Colin, (The Devil Dood). Emily has done so well with her company and its no surprise! Theres a huge market for healthy dog chews and what better than natural ones?!

The long and strong chew boxes are definitely a favourite of Tallys. As soon as her deli box is delivered she can smell it and wants one straight away! It so convenient having an array of chews delivered once a month! I couldnt recommend this company more! If you feel like you’d like to try a box, ive kindly been given a 10% off code, use TALLY10 at checkout!

Frankies is a very new company, started up by my lovely friend Jemma! Inspired by her handsome boy Frankie, the show cocker spaniel. Jemma hand makes all of her bandanas herself whilst working full time with me and the nursing team at the veterinary surgery. Her hardwork doesnt go a miss, when you recieve a bandana you can instantly see the quality is amazing. The fabrics used have such detail, and the stiching is hardly visisble! I love the use of a popper on the bandana instead of a tie as its more secure if your pups wearing them out and about! The internal fabric used is very soft and wont itch against your dog!

They come in a range of sizes as you can see from above. At the moment Jemma is taking payment via paypal and you can order via her instagram page frankies.fashion .

Next up is a company called Rubys Ropes. I came across Rubys ropes via instagram! Im always on the look out for strong slip leads! After reading reviews and seeing so many friends on insta with these gorgeous leads i decided to get one for Tally!. I went with a Green cotton rope, 10mm (medium) slip, 5ft long. Which to me was perfect! The lead is so strong! Tallys a fairly big dog, she doesnt pull really, but if she sees another dog she starts to…(We are working on this!) i felt the lead had a really good grip for me to hold on and pull her back in!

Rubysropesco 

You can purchase these lovely leads via etsy! If you click the link above. These are all hand made by Ashleigh and her gorgeous Hungarian Vizla Ruby based in the Lake district! The leads are cotton rope which means there soft for your hands!. Ashleigh hand dyes and splices them all from her home!

I love all these companys and there products so go check them out! i hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks blog post! Click subscribe if you would like to recieve updates as to when i publish a post!

Lots of Love

Sophie & Tally X

 

 

 

 

 

Becoming a Dog mum for the first time can be very daunting. You desperately want to do right by your new little pup, the first thing you can do, to do right by your new little friend is use an assured and responsible breeder. If your considering buying a purebred dog, i’d always recommend going for a Kennel club registered breeder. As stated on there website the aim of the Kennel Clubs Assured Breeder Scheme is to promote good dog breeding practices and to help puppy owners find responsible breeders.

This is exactly what i did for tally. I first had a conversation with the breeder, who had a few questions for me about my lifestyle and how my new little one would fit in! Turns out she would fit in perfectly and gave me a whole new purpose in life!

I would recommend purebreed or not, when viewing the little pup, seeing the mother and other pups at least, making sure they look healthy and in good condition. Sometimes the dad will just be a stud dog but some information about him would be fine! Ask lots of questions, about there health history, seeing how they are around people and other dogs, read up about the breed or even the breeds that the dog maybe crossed wth. Tally is the first ever ‘purebred’ dog i have ever owned, im used to terriers with everything mixed into them!

So the big day has come, your going to collect your new pup! Upon collection most breeders will give you a little welcome pack with some food that the pup has been eating, certificates of there 1st vaccination and microchip details which now is required by law at 8weeks old. I would always recommend asking for an item that smells like mum i.e blanket, bed or little toy. This will help your new pup really settle at a time of confusion, especially if the car journey is going to be a long one!

There home! So many new smells, things to explore, possible new animals to meet and lots of nice things to chew! One thing i really think is important about your first night with your new little one is crate training them. Sometimes the breeders will have them in a crate with there litter mates already. If not do not fear you have time yet! Lets get this over with….. they will cry, alot! They have just been taken away from the home they have been living in for the past 8 weeks. Honestly, ignoring the crys will help them so much in the long run, they will learn to settle themselves and figure out that the crate is there safe place where they can relax and snooze away. Placing a new toy and the item that smells of mum will help with this too!

If your having issues with your little pup getting into the crate at night, make it fun! Tally has her ‘bedtime biscuits’, when she goes into her crate at night, she jumps in because she knows shes going to get something very yummy!

Insurance, insurance, insurance, Please! From someone who has seen the nasty side of this where an owner simply gives up everything they have, when only if in the first place they had some sort of insurance it would be a different story. You pay for what you get with insurance in my opinion, tally is insured with  Petplan  and always will be! One thing i would strongly advise is whichever company you use, always get a ‘life time cover’ policy instead of a ‘12 month cover’ this will ensure your pet is covered for life!

Last but not least, enjoy your little ball of fluff whilst they last. Because they grow so quickly and before you know it, the little pup is now a teenage dog!

Lots of love.

Sophie & Tally X