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There is a different background to the pictures of the Y-litter which Mary has taken lately. The pups have emerged from the whelping room into the “puppy” room.

There are still barriers between the litter and the other dogs in the house because Zaffre still doesn’t want the others too close – still a sotto voce growl when anyone looks too intently into the puppy room.

Soon we will be taking individual pictures and everyone will have their own page.

The first two weeks of the puppies’ lives is dramatic. They are born with eyes and ears firmly shut and without spots – they look like little white rats. However, they are mobile. They searched immediately for the milk bar and found it without any help.

They fit in your hand, and this litter’s average weight was 12 oz. Now they cover two hands and on average weigh 48 oz.

At ten days their eyes started to open and the spotting became visible on their coats.

Now they are up on their legs, and even more mobile. Some have tried to climb over Zaffre, if they were on the wrong side, when they have wanted a drink of milk. The front of the whelping box has been raised just in case. (We can’t have them getting lost in the whelping room, can we?)

This is only a short tale of what has happened in the last two weeks. More stories will come as they continue to grow and are moved into public view.

They have finally arrived, and the five boys and one girl are no fools.

It took the whole night with the assistance of the vet at 4 this morning. Mary and I were busy helping swing puppies about in order to help them start their lives. It was also a very fraught time, as it took quite a while for a few of the pups to come around.

Zaffre still remains a little dopey as she begins her new role in the house. She keeps looking at these little white rats as they speed about the vet bed with some bewilderment. Now the “proud Mum” of a reasonable size litter, she is quickly adapting to the role. This family just appeared “while she was sleeping” but she is happily tending to them, although still as I type in a half-asleep state. However, she is getting back to her normal self.

The house is now filled with what DV thinks are very strange sounds which have been constant since everyone came home from the vet. DV will all of a sudden bark because of the squeeking of the pups in the whelping room. Soon everyone will take a nap – including the humans in the house and there will descend the usual calm quiet here – at least for a little while.

Those naps won’t last too long; Mary and I will have to catch up on two days of things. Yesterday and the day before were spent in awaiting the birth, so no chores except the necessary were accomplished. The back yard has been tidied up almost completely, just a few more things for me to do. Mary has kept up all the day-to-day tasks. Now the “hard work” of puppies will begin.

More later on throughout the next eight weeks with the Y-litter.

Zaffre was mated nine weeks ago. She is blooming – rather rotund – and she has slowed down quite a bit. Mary is not sure whether this is because of the heat we have lately or the fact that she is so porky.

We intend to keep up to date via these pages. So if you are interested please sign up for the RSS feed or just drop by regularly.

Today is the final of Crufts, the dalmatian did not make it through the group stages, so some of our enthusiasm for the show has abated. YouTube has video of the show, so go over there to see more. We were very interested to see the group winners on the television (on More4). There are lots of things to see and then to discuss later. That is what we will probably be doing for the next few weeks.

However, on Thursday 200 dalmatians descended on the ring from all parts of the world to be judged and seen by so many by the ringside, again people came from all over the world to watch the judging, even at the dalmatian ring.

Marcy and Molly, Liesel and Lou were at the show, so we had a good time watching the judging, talking with each other and also with friends made at other shows.

We were also delighted to see Helen Smith (owner of Bella) and Jonathan and Helen Williams (owners of Tia) at the ringside. They disappeared at one point to do some important shopping, bits and pieces for the dogs. (What better place for that shopping than Crufts!)

Most importantly, Marcy was awarded a fifth in the puppy class. Casia was awarded a fifth in the veteran class. DV was overawed by it all and Molly was not to the judge’s taste in dalmatians (but there are only five places and three times that number in the class, so the majority has to go home without a prize from the show.

However, we continue to attend shows to learn more about the breed, make friends and enjoy a day out with people from around the world who also have an interest in dalmatians as we do.

There will be more coming to the individual pages of the site, and I will link them here, when I have prepared them.

Mary and I visited Lacie and Willow yesterday. There will be more about that here with links later.

New year’s day found us up bright and early without any traces of overindulgence. (We began the year as we mean to go on!)

Mary had a peaceful and rest-full holiday period, as I walked the dogs from Christmass to Epiphany. She did get out but she did not have to have a dog in hand. Well, all except new year’s day, when the Tolutim girls all went out together. We walked in the glebe land fields behind the church.

Walked may be the wrong word to describe what was going on around us. Perpetua mobile would be a better description. The walk to the fields was pretty good, everyone was contained – no one was pulling excessively. When the gate closed behind us, everyone was ready to be off. Once we got the leads off and said, “Go for a run,” they did not stop running. Everyone ran – except for Mary and me, we progressed in a stately manner for the whole walk.

They really did enjoy running together. Well not so much together, for they did not form a hunting pack, but they did run with each other generally.

Sorrel at over eleven years kept up a fast trot for the whole walk, interested in all the smells round about. She did not run full-pelt with DV.

Casia ran. She ran here and there finding all the organic matter fit to find, tasting some, scoffing others. She quickly became the dirtiest of the dogs. She only stopped running when she stopped at the organic matter.

Zaffre ran as well, keeping up with Casia, though she did not stop every time Casia stopped. She also did not range as far as Casia, so she sped around us.

DV ran like a demon. She was one of the reasons Casia got so dirty, for she tried to play a great deal when Casia was near by. DV did not range as far as Casia nor Zaffre, but she did go beyond the range Sorrel kept. She did try to play with the others, but she was ignored.

Well, all except for one time. DV was running as pups do and we were keeping a weather eye out for the tornado streaking by (because we know the steering and brakes on this new model need to be run in). We avoided collisions, but Zaffre was not so lucky. I suppose it has to do with doing too much sniffing at the expense of watching. Zaffre had her head down; we avoided the Monster zipping by at full tilt, but Zaffre ten yards away was not lucky this time. DV collided fully with Zaffre. Both went tumbling. Both immediately were up and running about.

We thought Zaffre’s nose was a little out of joint for a bit, for she was not quite up to full speed for a moment. However DV was quickly away at a terrorising rate.

(A note of caution – although we were amused by this incident, our hearts did rise into our throats because we heard of a dog who had done the same thing, but in that case there was a broken neck. So we do take care when letting the dogs run free.)

It was a great walk. We look forward to more.

We wish you all happy holidays. It has been a quiet day in Slimbridge. Apart from church this morning, we have been enjoying a relaxing time after our dinner by watching the all-important Ratatouille and the The Gruffallo’s Child. Important intellectual endeavours as everyone will acknowledge. They will be followed by Dr Who and Downton Abbey and then bed.

The dogs have had a day off from the rigours of exercise for the day. After all we have been to full of Christmass turkey to be able to move.

Boxing Day promises a good walk for all. Not everyone together, but two walks of two.

What have you been up to for Christmass?

With all of our best wishes,

Stilman and Mary

a little something from Mary

I wonder how many of you have different names for your dogs, not just their normal pet name, but other ones for different occasions?

Tolutim Eau de Vie has been called many things in the course of her short life, and has different names for different times. She is called “DV”, but she has a number of other names.

She has been “monster” for quite some time now. You might understand she is called this whenever she is being particularly naughty, a streak which all dalmatians have.

Recently, however, two new names have been attathced to her – “bouncing bomb” or “tigger”. She has very springy back legs that nearly take her over the child gates, especially whenever anyone calls. In fact she still jumps up on us far too much – we hope one day she will get the message.

It was going to happen some time. The bouncing bomb leapt up onto the rockery, and kept on bouncing in her excitement into the pond.

There was a plus to this, while she was so busy drying herself off, she didn’t hear me starting up the lawn mower and for the first time she stayed outside while I mowed the grass.

Well Mary and Stilman asked us a question the other day about Dalmatians and cats. Well I suppose generalising, the question becomes one of dogs and cats really. You see we have always had dogs and cats, except for a 2 year gap where we lost our dear spaniel Peter at 16, who thankfully went in his sleep over night. Although very shocking to wake and find him, we believe that it is the best way for them to slip away, of their own accord. But unfortunately this is not always possible.

Anyway back to the dog and cat question.

Our dogs have always got on well with our cats. We had cats first and dogs came along afterwards. Peter and Penny our sibling spaniels came first at 17 weeks old (we rescued them) when the cats were around 2. They cats were very wary to start, but we allowed them all to mix at all times and if things got a little rough, we would just step in briefly and thats all that would be needed. Peter and Penny rarely paid any attention to them except to greet them when they appeared. In fact when my boys were young, we all used to go for walks down the lanes, cats and all. There were a few wry smiles from the few neighbours we had I can tell you. In fact we would quite often meet a tractor and it got to the stage where they would wait for us pass and if they hadn’t seen the cats, they would wait till they came round the corner!!!

Sometime later our cats passed away and soon others entered our house. Brothers again funnily enough. They came as kittens and the dogs took to them straight away. Now I am not saying that the dogs didn’t chase them, because they did, but it’s not a “I will catch you and when I do, I will eat you”, chase. The cats would run and leap onto a wall or fence and sit there tails twitching whilst hanging down just out of reach of the dogs! The cat would then proceed to walk up and down the said wall or fence teasing the dog.

Now cats will sometimes stand their ground and it’s usually those do that usually manage to get away without being chased. A non agressive dog is not going to push its luck with a cats claws!!

So our household now? Thomas, a shy very old cat who prefers to keep himself to himself, but will on occasion come face to face with Molly or Marcy round the corner of the house. He runs, they chase. He goes to his bolt hole. Chumpsey, a very cheeky stray we rescued, Moll’s best mate till Marcy came along. They would play under the dining table, Chumpsey’s head very often insde Molly’s mouth!! Outside he rolls over for her, she sniffs and then the chase is on!! He also brings his spoils back, hoping to get praise from us and the dogs, all he gets is daylight robbery, straight out of his mouth!!!

Now Marcy, well she is still learning and Chumpsey is still teaching her. She hasn’t yet been warned with his claws, so no scars to date. But if she keeps barking at him it won’t be long. She’ll quite often come across him in the garden; they stand, they stare, she runs, he bolts straight to the wall, then proceeds to prance up and down teasing again. Marcy tries to get at him, but to no avail (the cats not stupid!!), she gives up and that is it till next time. Now I know the cat’s tactic is working, because when I let the dogs out in the evening, Chumpsey is there waiting. The dogs? nothing! a sniff each “where you been, what did you catch” then on to do their business.

So why has it been so easy for us to have both dogs and their arch enemy the cat, in the same household? I believe it is because we allow them to mix and to set the heirarchy between the species themselves. If it gets a little rough, we step in. It doesn’t hurt the dog to be on the receiving end of a claw occasionally (as long as they dont get an eye!) It is the cat that generally sets the standard. And although it may seem that when the chase is on, the dogs in charge, they aren’t.

A great way to get a cat and a dog used to one another is to let them occupy the same room at the same time. Indoors, where you are able to oversee the interaction. That doesn’t mean shut them in the same room, just let them have access to the same rooms. They will eventually get used to seeing each other, passing each other (quite often with a warning strike from the cat as they pass!!) and eventually living with each other.

I will finish this piece by saying just one thing though. You will know from the start if the interaction between your dog and your cat is an aggressive one on the dogs part, or if it’s just play or testing boundaries. Obviously if it proves to be agressive then this a competely different scenario and you may just need to resign yourself to the fact that dog and cat won’t mix and the cat will probably need it’s own area in which to get some peace.

Well I hope our experiences help any of you that are having any cat /dog issues. As animal lovers we do have to contend with issues that sometimes we could well do without. But what boring lives we would lead without it being blessed by our nutcase animals!!!

Best wishes to everyone from Liesel.