House sits

Is it just for the moment you live?

Is it all about a ball, when we throw it, Alfie?

or is it all about a long walk to get a moment to live?

or a car drive with the wind blowing through your fur?

As sure as there’s a heaven above Alfie,

I know that dogs sure have a heaven on earth Alfie,

Full of runs in the forests and walks by the stream,

Chasing the balls of life and living life’s sweet dream,

Curling up after a yummy bowl of food,

Having your tummy tickled to keep you in the mood,

Barking at the birds because they’re absurd,

Sniffing all the flowers, bushes and the earth,

And you’ve found love Alfie,

And as sure as a dogs heaven is here on earth,

I hope Alfie that you’ll always have balls to chase,

As you’ve found love every day Alfie,

A little poem dedicated to Alfie the cockerpoo who certainly knows how to live every day to the full. Running around the forests, chasing balls in the garden and generally having as much fun as possible every single day. I think dogs like Alfie are here to remind us to stop, breathe, rest a moment, survey the flowers and the fields and make the most of every moment we have here on earth.

Cockerpoo Alfie is a timid happy little fellow who loves to chase balls, run, run and run. A young dog of just two years old he has immense energy and never tires of walking, playing or jumping. He loves to play chase with other dogs but can be a little timid at the first meeting and is the same with humans and children too. Despite his sunny-looking disposition, he can be very wary of strangers and it’s as well to warn them when they approach, often people seem to feel that if a dog looks cuddly he is and can be stroked at their will. This is not the case with a lot of dogs, they should always be shown your hand to sniff and if they come over to you, great stroke them under the chin, not on top of the head!

Suffolk is a wonderful part of England that we had not discovered much of previously at all, we were able to find many nature reserves that allowed dogs, as well as parks, beaches and nearby stately homes. Walking Alfie for a minimum of two or three hours a day is a must as he’s energetic and we often stayed out all day taking him in the car and ensuring that we had plenty of drinking water and snacks. Although Alfie is not very food focused and is keener on playing with the ball.

An affectionate boy once he gets to know you, Alfie loves a cuddle and tickle on the stomach too, as well as to curl up on your lap for a well-earned rest. We are hoping little Alfie will become one of our regular visits.

Duke the labradoodle is a wonderful lively dog who we always enjoy looking after. We have looked after him twice previously in summer and Christmas of 2021. It’s always fun and he keeps us very fit and on our toes. A large dog for this breed type, he can easily rest his head on the kitchen countertops to see what you’re preparing for lunch or dinner and what he might be able to have! He has been known to pinch food given half the chance so has to be watched carefully for his own health. Dogs are allergic to a lot of human foods especially raisins, grapes and chocolate, as well as onions and quite a number of other foods we adore.

Affectionate and active Duke needs two or three good long walks a day and some time to play with other dogs if possible. Luckily south Wales is a stunning part of the United Kingdom and we enjoy our visits there immensely looking after Duke and seeing the various beaches and clifftop walks that abound.

On this trip we were extremely lucky as most days the sun shone brightly and we were able to explore the area to Duke and our hearts desire. He loves forests and the scents and swimming in the rivers and sea if he can, unfortunately, as he likes to steal clothes and picnics beaches can be challenging unless he’s kept on a tight lead, as a strong willful dog this can be a little difficult at times.

In the fields where he lives, he has a big garden he can play in and horses to run around with. An affectionate boy he likes nothing more than to curl up with his head on your lap in the evenings and watch TV, some of which he watches avidly with you.

We’re fortunate to call Duke one of our regulars and greatly look forward to seeing him every year as much as we can, as well as his wonderful owner of course before she departs on her holidays.

We’ve looked after Gertie the schnauzer previously, alone and with her brother Philip. Unfortunately, he left this world to join the angels on 1st June 2021, he was a lovely dog who will be sadly missed by all. So we were asked to go back and look after Gertie with a new addition puppy Pippa the Whoodle (Poodle crossed with Wheaton Terrier).

We love puppies so were eagerly awaiting the day we started dog sitting Pippa and older dog Gertie. Luckily Gertie has taken well to the new addition and likes to play with her and try to teach her some manners! Pippa is very boisterous, playful. energetic and frenetic. Rushing all over the house, in and out of doors and jumping up at the door and looking at you to get back in. She loves to play with her soft toys, have a tickle and likes nice long walks around the vines or anywhere there are lots of things to scent. As with most poodle mixes, she is very intelligent and will outsmart you whenever she can.

An affectionate little pup she loves a cuddle at night in the TV room as well as to cuddle up to Gertie on her bed or in her cage, which Gertie has taken over as a place of refuge from the puppy! Life is certainly better with a puppy and Pippa is no exception to the rule, with lovely calm schnauzer Gertie by her side she should grow into a beautiful dog.
We will look forward to further dog sits with this super little pair.

Looking after fellow Rhodesians is always a pleasure and on these occasions Nika and Raka the Rhodesian Ridgebacks proved no exception to the rule. We were asked to look after these two beauties in January and February 2022, in a nearby village in France.

Nika is a laid back bog boy who likes nothing better than a scratch, snack, little walk and relaxation in front of the TV at night, sometimes with his head resting on an available knee. Raka, the younger of the two ridgebacks is a skittish young girl and wants nothing more than to be chased and chased around the garden, go for long walks, and to sit in the sun on a sun lounger. She takes a little while to get to know you but once she does you are her best friend.

We thoroughly enjoyed our walks in the forest with these two, playing in the garden with Raka and sitting in the sun with them resting by our sides. We’ve already been asked back several times during 2022 so we will look forward to enjoying the company of these follow Rhodesians once again.

This was the second time we’ve looked after Duke who is quite a character. He was as always, very pleased to see us when we arrived in late December, after looking after Dougie in Tunbridge Wells.

We were greatly looking forward to this housesit as well as seeing our relatives in Wales who live nearby. It had seemed such a long time over lock-down the previous two festive seasons with Covid 19, and we were unable to see them at all, especially over Christmas which is such a family time.

However, this Christmas proved to be slightly different, it turned out that Duke’s owner was unable to travel for her planned holiday due to Covid complications. So being the kind and generous person that she is, she invited us to stay with her and Duke over Christmas. This proved to work out quite well as we all got on famously and she enjoyed having company after so long being alone with Duke. We enjoyed taking Duke out for long walks on the beaches and nearby farm fields.

We experienced a delightful if unexpected Christmas in Wales. And luckily enough we’ve been invited back again in summer 2022. We will look forward to seeing Duke and his owner once more.

We have looked after little Dougie a couple of times before. We thoroughly enjoy looking after him as he’s a gentle, affectionate and well behaved Cockerpoo.

We had travelled over from France to Tunbridge Wells to look after Dougie again but this time in a different location. We were lucky enough to be ‘down on the farm with Dougie’ for this visit. We were also blessed with some fairly dry weather whilst in Sussex and managed to get out to walk daily as there was a multitude of walks around the farm.

We fed the donkeys and goat some carrots every few days and Dougie liked to have a little chat with them on the way! He always seemed to be interested in what the other animals were doing! He loved looking at the sheep and seeing the younger ones frolicking in the fields.

Although he will go out in the rain he’s not that keen and likes to have his waterproof coat on and to have his coat and feet wiped when we return. He’s so well behaved in this regard as he’s happy to stand on the rug by the door until you have dried him off! This is just as well as his favourite habit is to sit on your knee after breakfast or dinner in
the evenings.

We love Dougie and enjoy looking after him whenever we have the opportunity. We certainly hope that the opportunity will arise once again.

September in West Wales is fantastic, such a beautiful place with many many scenic walks. We looked after large boisterous Labradoodle Duke for four weeks during September 2021. Duke had just turned one year old and was still very puppy-like, mouthing, jumping and careering around the garden like a mad dog! He’s quite large almost Shetland horse size but thinks he’s a lapdog and loves a good cuddle.

Unfortunately, the Covid lockdown happened just as his owner had received him, at twelve weeks old. Duke had not been to many puppy training classes, but we did our best to train him while we were there and he’s a very happy dog eager to please. We went out for loads of beach walks nearby and Duke learnt to swim which he adored once he got the hang of it. He had not seen the beach before and loved to roll in the sand and play with other dogs. He adored all the scents on the beach and investigated the flotsam on the beach as well as the jellyfish but seemed to understand it was best not to chew them!

This is a beautiful part of the county and we are blessed to have family nearby too so we were able to see them at the same time which was a bonus. When we left as pre-arranged we dropped Duke at a dog training facility and received some video’s of how well he was doing afterwards which was really great to see, he’s an intelligent dog who really wants to please you.

We thoroughly enjoyed looking after Duke in his farmhouse home which has Shetland ponies and sheep in the nearby fields, we are looking forward to visiting him and his owner again in the near future.