Thought tonight that I have not blogged for a day or two but feeling tired so would leave it tonight & do one tomorrow but checked my emails & there they were photos of Oliver from Madeleine & thought how wonderful I am going to have to share these lovely photos of Oliver enjoying the snow. Oliver is Smudges brother & Millie is their mother. Oliver looks like he is growing into a robust, athletic & very handsome Cavalier. Thanks Madeliene for these photos they really brought a smile to my face.
We have had it very cold but only a few flurries of snow so have not been able to get any photos yet of are dogs frolicking in the snow, it is always fun to see dogs running around in the snow as they seem to really enjoy it especially when it is their first time seeing it.
Lucy is well & is now coming upto 8 weeks pregnant  so any time from Tuesday we will expect the patter of tiny paws. Lucy is very big now & is sleeping lots which also means lots of snoring. She snored a bit before she was pregnant but in the last week she has taken it to a new level & I would think that she is snoring much more due to all the pressure inside on her lungs etc from her pups but it is funny to listen to.
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My Mum came home yesterday from hospital & has reacted well to her new medication for her heart so for the moment Mum is looking at the positive.
Lucy is now just over 7 weeks pregnant & is looking big. Lucy has just started looking for somewhere to have her pups & can be found under a bed digging vigourously. She is looking really well & her milk bars have really come down now & she looks like she should not have to much problems feeding as she has good teats & is long so making her have more room for her pups to feed easily. Have set up whelping box now & Lucy sleeps in it at night now away from the rest of the dogs, normally she would not like this but now is happy to have her own space to herself in preparation for her to become a Mum.
Got some lovely photos of my husband David asleep with the dogs. David is 40 on Friday & we will also of been married 11 years. A little tip for people getting married if you want your partner to remember your wedding annivisary get married on their birthday ! lol.
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Thanks everyone for the kind words & best wishes for my Mum, she is not out of hospital yet but is responding well to new medication so hopefully soon she can come home once they are sure that she is improving.
Lucy is now over 6 weeks pregnant & has started to develop her milk bars today, that is her milk starting to come in ready for her pups. She has just over 2 weeks to go from her first mating so she has slowed up a lot now & is starting to look a bit uncomfortable & prefers to lie on the floor now than on my lap. Having to watch her weight a bit as Lucy does like her food & it would not help her to get to fat now has this can cause problems when giving birth. She is looking very good in her coat & is doing all the right things now it is just a waiting game.
Primrose who is 14 weeks old & is Ysabels girl we kept is such an out going character & has forged a real friendship with Smudge who is Millies girl who we kept, she is now 6 months old. Also Primrose has a lovely relationship with her Mum & thay play so much together & it is like Ysabel being a pup again as ysabel is now 3 years old.
Smudge also has a strong bond with her Mum Millie & now at 6 months can still be found snuggled up with Mum fast asleep.
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Have not blogged for a day or two as Mum was admitted to hospital early Sunday morning & has had a heart attack. We know she has a problem with her heart & she has had her medication changed & she has to see now if this new medication can help as due to other health problems my Mum is not suitable for surgery thus medication is her only choice. So if my blogging is not so often in the next couple weeks you will know the reason why.
The dogs though have been fun the last few days with Smudge & Primrose very much paired up as the dastardly duo & you will see in the photos what they have been upto. If it is not wrecking the toilet roll it will be jumping in the dishwasher or nicking laundry & chewing up my kids clothes or rugby boots. What fun it is to have pups in the home. The trouble is with their cute butter would not melt in their mouths looks it is hard to be angry with either of them.
Lucy is looking really well & is around the 6 weeks pregnant stage. She is chosing now to lie away from the others for comfort so she can stretch right out & seems to like the ceramic floor of the kitchen as cool on her expanding tummy.
All the rest of the pack are looking well & are like me getting fed up with are very funny weather which seems rain then frost but today has been not so bad as it did not rain but was a very cold damp feeling day. Forecast is more rain which does not make you feel to enthusiastic to jump out of bed in the morning but does make it nice when your snuggled up with the dogs beside the wood burner in the evening.
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Weather has been a bit damp the last few days which is never good when you have hairy dogs as the other evening with rain hammering down & me outside the back door dressed in waterproofs enthusastically calling for them to come out of the house for a walk they all gave me a look of  " are you mad woman ". Did get them out eventually though but you know it is not good weather when even your dogs do not want to go out in it. We go through loads of towels this weather as you really do not want aload of wet Cavaliers rampaging through your home, luckily all are flooring is either wood or ceramic which is a real help in the war against dog hair & accidents.
Managed to load all the children up with husband & go to the bonfire & firework display at Torrington Rugby Club we did all get abit wet & cold but the overall feeling was that the children enjoyed it & the youngest was awe struck watching it as it was her first firework display & she is 20 months old now. Then on Sunday the two oldest boys were both playing for Barnstaple at Bideford Rugby Club so up early to do the dogs & although abit cold but at least the rain stayed away & I had a morning watching under 9s & under 11s rugby which I quite enjoyed.
Yesterday though it rained most of the day & the temperatrure has decided to drop so there is a chill to the rain now which seems to go to the bone. The dogs were happy for a short sharp exercise & Pupster really enjoys the rub down when he comes in with his funny old growling he does whether he likes it or not. Pupster has established himself now firmly has top dog since Smidge tragically left us back in the summer ( see "In Loving Memory" page ). Notice in the photo below how he is positioned above Millie & Smidge this is not just chance just like Smidge he now positions himself when resting in a look out or dominant position. It is quite interesting to see him develop within the pack as when you lose a high ranking member of a dog group it can unsettle the balance slightly but if you are a strong human leader & you have a dog pack member who can quickly come up & take over from the the dog that is gone things stay settled. My husband works for someone on a Dairy Farm who keeps working collies & working spaniels. A while ago their old dog died who was the one who kept order but after his death two of the dogs have kept fighting which did not happen when the old dog was alive & now because they seem not to be able to sort out a pecking order they have had to take one away from the farm to live with the owners father. This just shows how within a domestic dog pack that losing a dominant member who keeps order can unsettle the rest of the pack if another dog can not establish order quickly after the other dog goes. A top dog can be very subtle in how they exert their athourity with just a glance or stance they can convey their leadership. 
Lastly Lucy is really blooming & is now around 35 days in pup, she is already obviously showing & is sleeping loads & I am having to be careful that she does not put onto much weight as she is abit of a pig & could easily get abit portly which would not be good for her when giving birth.
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Amy sent me thse lovely photos of Florrie today & that brightened the cold overcast day up. Florries Mum is Bonnie & Dad is Charlie. Florrie has inherited her Mum & Dads confident temperment & charm as Amy says that she happily greets anyone or dog regardless of size with tail wagging & with those looks who could resist. She is the double of her Mum & Amy says that they could not imagen their family without her now. That is probably the most loveliest thing to hear, when the pups you have bred go off into the world naturally you worry & when you hear that they have become a valued member of their new family you feel you have done them justice. Thanks Amy & family for your great update for Florrie & will look forward to seeing & hearing from you in the future.

Today has seemed a long one as have not really stopped until now to type this. Have been to the vets this evening to scan the two girls Lucy & Cleo to hopefully confirm whether they are in pups.
Lucy has been confirmed in pups carrying at least 5 to 6 pups. It still amazes me when you see a scan of a feotus what ever species & to see Lucys little pups wriggling around was so wonderful. Three of my children came to watch & they where also amazed to see the little pups inside Lucy & the vet could actually measure the length of one as 2.3 cm which is a good size at 28 days, so we think Lucy may have taken from her first mating which would make her around 32 days in pup. At this stage a couple days makes alot of difference. I was actually getting pretty sure she was in pups even at this early stage so will be hoping for arrival of these pups around the first to second week in December.
Although dogs are very fertile creatures it is not unusal for a dog not to concieve & there can be many reasons why, the bitch may of been mated to early or to late, the dog may just not be compatable with the bitch or it can be a hormone problem & the bitch or dog may simply be infertile. A bitch not taking on her first time would not really be to much of a concern but if you try a couple more times with no luck & changing the stud dog it may be a hormone fertility problem so it may be wise to have the bitch sterilised as she may be more prone to problems that can occur within the womb like pyometra which is a very serious womb infection or cancer of the womb or fallopian tubes.
Its Bonfire night tonight but for us living rurally we do not have problems with fireworks & are dogs but tonight in Devon I think Bonfire night will be a very damp afair we hope tomorrow is better as we are taking all the children to Torrington Rugby Club at 7pm for their display done by the Torrington Cavaliers who do alot of fund raising for local charities & is usually a very good firework display & has alovely family atmosphere. It will be are youngests first firework display & so far all are children at a young age have loved & watched their first firework display with that wonderful look children have when they see something for the first time & are astonished by it. Fingers crossed for a dry day tomorrow.

Tomorrow this time I will know if Lucy is in pups as she will be going to the vets to be scanned at 28 days since last mating. I am pretty sure that Lucy is in pups & I will be shocked & disappointed if told otherwise. With Lucy it is more to know roughly how many pups she is carrying due to alot of interest in this litter & not wanting to hold people on & disappoint them. As it is an exciting time waiting for your little bundle especially when you are with us from the conception & it is always a hard phone call to tell someone when the pups are born that they can not have their little bundle.
 Had a visit from Pippa & holly this evening & got a lovely photo of Pippa & Lucy together & you could almost think they are sisters but their not. Pippa though is half sister to Charlie are stud dog they have the same father.
 Holly & Pippa live with my Mum in the annexe which joins are bungalow. I look after both & walk them for my Mum as she is not so mobile & in return they give comfort & company to my Mum but the visit across the patio this evening is a sign of how mild it is for the time of year as my Mum has had her doors wide open & we have had are doors wide open out onto the patio because it is so warm so all the dogs have been going from annexe to bungalow playing & sleeping. Doors are shut now as I write this & Cavaliers are snuggling up in their beds & settling down for the night now.
Click on photos below to see some photos of the pack taken today.

Charlie & Dolly are fine today after their dental treatment yesterday. Modern anaesthetics are quite amazing & recovery is so much quicker from them. Years ago the aneasthetic could take a day or two to get over but most dogs these days would be around & consious in a couple of hours after surgery.
Charlie scratched his eye bad a couple of months ago & it seemed to be getting better & then I noticed a small lump appearing where the injury on his eye had been. Yesterday whilst under aneasthetic for his teeth was a chance for the vet to have a good look at this lump & it looks like it is a small wart like thing so Charlie will be seeing the eye specialist at the end of the month to check it out further, as it does not seem to cause him any discomfort or noticeable problems with his sight but is abit of a worry if it is growing still & might effect his eye sight. Charlie is also fastly approaching 5 years old in January & yesterday by listening with a stethescope he has no sound of a heart murmer but it is recommended at 5 years to have their heart scanned & examined by a cardiologist so he will have this done in the New Year so this will be a nerve wrecking test to have done as it is really putting your head on the block but unless we do these tests & compile medical data from as many Cavaliers as possible it will be hard to improve health noticeably in them. Hopefully if Charlie has no signs of heart disease in the Mitral Valve he will then go on the list for Cavaliers over 5 years with clear hearts so then anyone with him in their Cavalier breeding will be able to look him up & know that his line has a lesser chance of early onset of Mitral Valve Regurgatation or Heart Murmer so hopefully helping future Cavaliers bred to stand a chance of better health.
Had some fun this afternoon. Just given the dogs their last run of the day & started to mess about chasing my two oldest boys about to suddenly realise Millie & Smudge seemed to of disappeared. We live very rurally & have lots of lovely woodland areas for the dogs to disappear into. So as soon as I noticed luckily my Mum lives in the annexe so she kept an eye on my younger children whilst myself & my second son & child came with me to find them. I must say I could of done without the extra exercise but actually I have to say I enjoyed going in hot pursuit of my two renegade girls. Alfie & me soon found them, as after tracking my dogs in this area for years I tend to know which way they go & just hope they have to stop & check ( when a dog stops on a scent when it goes weak) so I get a chance to catch up & they can hear me call. They greeted us with great excitement thinking that we where all going on a night hunt but I am afraid I had to return to feed the troops. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of this world & to look down the Taw Valley at dusk with the soft hoot of an owl & the eery call of a vixen ( a female fox ) is truly priceless. Thankyou Millie & Smudge for making me see the wood for the trees.