Dog training is something that for a long time was a sore subject in our household. We’d taken Josie to our local training dog programme when she was 9 months old and got through the bronze training top of the class but then when we moved onto the silver we left halfway through…

In the past couple of years, I’ve had all sorts of weird things to say to me about Josie and Edie, things I never thought I’d hear from another human if I’m honest. And I think these are things that every hound owner can relate to and these are some of the best…

We’d only had Josie a week when I realised that when it came to her collar and coat I was undoubtedly going to have purchase something online as the selection for hounds in our local pet shops is absolutely abysmal and still is. And whilst shopping online has its drawbacks something that having a long-necked and oddly shaped dog has given me is the chance to support small businesses and that is something I try and do whenever I can. Over the past couple of years, I’ve certainly developed my favourites so just in case you’re in need of doing some shopping for your odd but beautiful dog these are our favourite places to shop.

After a lengthy chat about recall over on our Instagram page it felt like it was the right time to start a new segment over on this blog…The Recall Diaries. I’ve written about recall before (read that post here) but after noticing a pattern of Josie forgetting everything she knew about recall on a certain field it was time to go back to basics as well as reach out to see if any other fellow sighthound owners who had any pearls of wisdom. And like always my Instagram messages was flooded with not only people who shared the same struggle but had great advice and this is everything that we not only do right now but the things we’re currently implanting to improve recall.

When Josie was the only hound in our lives I always looked at dog owners who had two or more and wondered if life was easier or twice as hard. We’d only had her a few months when I felt like another dog might be a good idea for our household, the decision came to fruition solely based on Josie’s personality. I saw how much she thrived amongst the company of other dogs. Not only did she seem to learn far more from them than she did from us but she needed someone to run around with. Rarely do we meet a dog who can seriously keep up with her and frankly, I think her speed ruffles a lot of dog owners feathers so she needed a companion. After looking after another hound and seeing how good Josie was with another dog in the house and how willing she was to share her things it cemented the idea in my mind. A few weeks later up popped an advert for a little blue whippet puppy needing a new home and the rest is history.

Some of you may be aware that the only type of chicken (or any poultry for that matter) Edie can have a little nibble on is that of a plush kind. At the end of the summer, we finally found out why Edie always had a bad tummy as well as a number of other issues she struggled with. And it’s been a tough change to handle but now we’re finally on top of it so I thought it was about time I sat and wrote this post just incase there is anyone else struggling with a poorly puppy as it was incredibly stressful and upsetting. As always though, this is just our experience and if you have a poorly pup please do make an appointment to see your vet.