Well, us too really. When my nephew was about 4 he was musing to my mum about why he didn’t have cousins from me and said ‘But I suppose Jess is like a cousin. It’s funny to have a cousin that’s a dog.”
Here’s another of Zaba dabba dooooo - on the right next to Mollie He’s the gentlest Lab in the Whole Wide World You are more than welcome to stay over @Emily_BabbelHund
Not OH said - nephew said! Should read "OH, and said...." I'm too late to edit. Could anyone possibly fix this?
@Emily_BabbelHund , are you anywhere near Fochabers, if so I can recommend the fish and chip shop. A May Zing.
Me too! Totally crazy puppy mummy and I couldn't care less! When my friends talk about their kids I'm always like "oh yeah.. Stanley does that". And they all look at me like I just assume they're jealous because my child is the best
Well I get poor dear couldn't have kids but Im just laughing inside thinking phew . kids seem like a bit of a faff really
I'll have a look at the route and then PM to see if it might work for you. I thought the same! Well, I'd love to investigate the wonders of A May Zing, but in fact I finally caught one of the breeders I've been chasing for a while at a weak moment and she's agreed to see me. Only catch - she ONLY has time tomorrow and she is in Northumberland. So my Scottish sojourn is about to be cut very short and I'm driving from where I am now near Inverness to Northumberland tomorrow. I'm starting to feel like a ping pong ball. Add to that, that today's visit was very good (she is recognised for breeding solid assistance dogs for autistic children) and she has a litter that is not completely reserved that is due in 10 days. So I have a lot of thinking to do in the next few days as (1) I still love Devon (big black dog in photos way back when) and his Luna relatives and am happy being on the puppy list for his breeder, (2) tomorrow is a very recommended breeder as well, plus (3) Zaba's breeder over the weekend and I've had a crush on Zaba for ages. If anything, I've gone from not enough breeders (i.e. ZERO) to too many good choices in the space of just two weeks. Right now I just kind of have a headache (and a numb posterior) from the whole thing! For the moment, I will just keep going forward and have faith that when I stop for long enough to have a rest and a think, the answer will magically present itself to my tiny brain.
Well you're certainly putting the miles in to find your puppy! You've done a full UK tour! Great that the research and preparatory work is starting to pay off in good breeder visits. And even better that there are some options on the table. I think I see a puppy heading your way soon....
So... you like three breeders. Don’t you think you’ve been a forum member without a dog for so long that you should do the obvious thing... and take three puppies?! (I’d hate to be in your shoes - I’m hopeless when faced with too many good choices.)
I don't know about being the 'longest forum member without a dog', I think this is going to be the 'most expensive puppy on the forum' xx
And with the litters on offer, I could join the @snowbunny Full Set Club and have a black, choccie and yellow all in one fell swoop. Aw, what's a couple thousand miles on my car (and my backside) when it comes to the lifetime of my puppy? I'm more worried that I'm starting to think of this as a secondary (unpaid) profession and that I can't stop now that I've started. I will just become a permanent Labratourer. It's like the Hotel California - you can check in but you can never leave. By the way, the hosts for my current Airbnb are lovely people who invited me in to their house for a chat and I got to hear about their own black Labrador, Louie, who passed away at 15 years old just a few months ago. If anyone ever wants to come up to the Moray area of Scotland, they would be delighted to host anyone with a Labrador (or honorary Labrador) in their converted schoolroom annex (full kitchen, bedroom/living room, bath, private entrance). It's a 3 minute walk to a dog-friendly beach, miles of coastal paths and a cute little town to boot. PM me and I'll be very happy to provide a link to their place. Today's puppers: mom-to-be Betty and grandfather-to-be Pickles. I loved Pickles. He groaned and danced around when you scratched his backside - just like Brogan used to. And the road in the middle of no where near the breeder's house...
Fabulous photos and ooh you got to meet Pickles, now I know where you were! The converted annexe sounds like a perfect retreat...umm...could I get away with three though???
Well, today was...interesting. I left Hopeman at 7:30 and followed my satnav (fondly known as "Sean") through the heather and over the hills. Sean behaves himself nicely in Spain, Germany and Ireland but in Italy and the UK he slightly loses his mind and is forever trying to send me down single track dirt roads populated by sheep. This morning was no exception. Eventually I got to a dual carriageway and then got blinded by sun in my eyes and sleet/rain/snow AT THE SAME TIME. Ugh. I've been reading lately how Scotland is overrun by tourists, but I tell you, you kind of have to be a brave kind of tourist to drive in that. But I didn't kill anyone. I may have caused some local Scotsmen (and women) to shake their fists at that "slow German driver"...but I didn't kill anyone. That's what counts, right? Six hours and one short stop at M&S Food (I so wish they'd expand into Spain) I was back on a single track dirt road in Northumberland, very much testing the theory that you really shouldn't take a rollerskate car on rural dirt roads. Scrape, scrape..ouch. I got to the end of the road and a farm, but the road split into a Y and Sean was telling me I wasn't at my destination yet. Down the right fork I go. To a dead end. Well, an end with a locked gate at least. Now i have to make a 100 point turn (or whatever you call that manoeuvre). Which I very daintily did. Until the car got stuck. And the wheels spun. And the engine just stopped. Oh. No. By this time, I'd figured out that the big house I had passed was the breeder's farm. My clue was the dozen or so Labradors in kennels barking their fool heads off at me. There were also lots of sheep, who just stood and stared at me as if to say, "You idiot city slicker with your dumb little roller-skate car". I hate when sheep are smarter than I am. Maybe I need an Assistance SHEEP? But the car is still stuck and I'm still panicking, so out comes my mobile. "Hello? Um, this is Emily. For the visit? Yes, I'm here. In fact, I'm stuck in the mud outside your sheep paddock. Yes, that would be the car that is stuck, not me." So the very nice breeder came out to try to save me. My face was flaming red and I immediately copped to being a stupid city girl. I mean, let's call a spade a spade. I highly doubt if I'd grown up anywhere but in the California suburbs (all nicely paved, thank you very much) I would have gotten into this mess. Luckily the breeder was much calmer than I was and patiently told me where to put my wheels and how much to accelerate and together we finally got the Tardis out of there. I'm sure my German rescue insurance would have quite relieved had they known. It would have been a long call out for the ADAC. Then we got around to the actual dog part of the visit. There were dogs, all colors, one choccie show boy (pretty sure some relation to Luna, he sure did look similar), one massive goofy yellow boy ("that's my husband's dog and he's too daft"), and then several very nice black combos (75% working, 25% show). And PUPPIES!!! Only a week old, so I didn't get to touch them (I didn't even ask - I know my etiquette there) but they were quiet little squidgy things. The breeder was very nice but didn't have anything she thought would suit and no more litters on the horizon for at least a year. She said in my place she really wouldn't have a clue how to find the right dog. Had a considered an older dog? (Answer: yes, I have). It's all just kind of a guess, isn't it? (Answer: yes, it's starting to look that way.) She was very kind, I liked her - and her dogs - very much. But I do feel that I'm starting to spin in circles. I think after my Zaba visit on Sunday, it's time to sit and stare at a wall (preferably the same wall for more than two days) and THINK. So tonight I'm tucked up in my super classy Holiday Inn in Newcastle (criteria for "classy": complimentary hot chocolate) and tomorrow I drive a mere two hours to Carlisle to visit breeder of breeder visit number one. Miss Cara now has four pups and I'm just going for a fun "have a chat and play puppies" time. Then I've got yet another cottage in the Lake District for two nights, then Zaba's breeder, then puppy class with Mags and Keir (yay!) and THEN I descend back to the south and start thinking about the long trek home to Germany next weekend. Did you make it to the end of that massive post? You did? Good! Click and treat! Puppies! One week old... My favorite dog du jour...a real sweetheart, he kept giving me cuddles (by trying to stand on my face, but still...) Here he is again... Possible Luna relation? And finally the daft one - I always like the daft ones ...
I love all 3 of those Scottish labs! When the breeder says she doesn't think she has anything that suits, is she referring to timing or her dog's personality/size? I think I would have at least 5 dogs in my car if I were on this tour
