Maddie

Idiots? [:D][:P]

Lovely to meet you today Maggi, and Trev looks an absolute doll - well done you!  That meal looks great too!!

You think you have a long journey - we drove over 1000 miles to collect our pup and we hadn't even seen her!!! [:D]  She's worth every penny though.  The same breeder is also based in Cleveland in the UK (Kira - Felicity's daughter), the phone number is on their site, so if you are interested she could give help and advice and is familiar with exporting pups all over the world, including France, obviously.  Her pups are all KC registered rather than LOF (French kennel club) though as they will have been born in the UK. Good luck anyway!

You think you have a long journey - we drove over 1000 miles to collect our pup and we hadn't even seen her!!! [:D]  She's worth every penny though.  The same breeder is also based in Cleveland in the UK (Kira - Felicity's daughter), the phone number is on their site, so if you are interested she could give help and advice and is familiar with exporting pups all over the world, including France, obviously.  Her pups are all KC registered rather than LOF (French kennel club) though, as they will have been born in the UK. Good luck anyway!

I have just got a pup from Tintagel Winds Labradors, www.twlabradors.com .  All their dogs are superb quality, from hip, elbow and eye checked parents.  Also some litters come from Optigen tested parents (PRA - a hereditary disease which causes blindness common in labrdors).  They are dual purpose dogs (dogs which both show and work), they are all registered with the French Kennel Club (SCC).  I can not recommend them highly enough.  I bought my dog to show but she comes from working/show parents.  They do also have many pup which go to non-working/non-show homes too.  The lady who "is" TW Labradors is English (Felicity Leith-Ross) but has lived in France for many, many years.  Take a look at their website, regardless, you will find out lots and lots of useful information about labradors.  If you need any help or advice regarding registration/hip/elbow scres etc (the scoring is very slightly different in France but the same sort of standards apply) do feel free to pm me.  Also, if your French is any good take a look at the Retreiver Club de France website where you will find details of puppies available from labrador breeders. http://www.retrieverclubdefrance.com/retrievers.htm or the SCC website www.scc.asso.fr . As you can tell - I LOVE LABRADORS!!!

I'm so glad Maggie is on the road to recovery.  It's funny just how different vets are in France.  Yes, the costs are almost alwaysa fraction of what they might be elsewhere in the world but when I had my older two tattooed, it was done by the vet under general anaethetic and I didn't collect them until early evening by which time the vet was glad to get rid of them both!!

I'm inclined to agree with Andy.  I've just taken on one, wish I hadn't.

You should have complained while you were there.

We are either too expensive, have rubbish marketing or in a blooming awful location because each year we are getter fewer and fewer bookings.  Then again, maybe it just seems that way because we are getting a lot more last minute bookings!

Like Ian I go to a French dog training club. I was lucky in that my club has a weekend of training - Saturday agililty and Sunday obedience. Saturday is far more relaxed - we do obedience and agility and now have a puppy/agility socialisation class. Sunday is more geared up to obedience and "mordant" or "ring" training with a bit of agility thrown in. The techniques are different t those used int eh UK but, as I have come to see, effective. Most of the dogs at my club on Sunday are European line working dogs, that is to say malinois, GSD, boxer etc. Working dogs that need firm handling. I don't recall if anyone has mentioned this site www.cnea.net - click on les clubs and your department and there will appear a list of clubs with details of their fields of speciality. I've been really lucky, I love my club, the folk that go (all French) are fabulous, I do agility competitions with my older lab and am now working on agilty and ringcraft with my younger. Only once has the instructor man-handled my older lab and now, quite frankly, she is such a handful I'm beginning to wonder if I should not have persisted with their methods. All my dogs (except my new pup) started their initial training in the UK. I belonged to a training club in the UK so am familiar with both methods of training. I favour reward based training which is what we do on Suaturdays and at home. Unlike Ians club most of the folk I do agility with tend to heap their dogs with praise! In fact we get told off if we don't praise our pooches! I would say, go along, watch, take part and make up your own mind.

I'm sure you have seen this but it alwasy makes me cry and smile when I read it: Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and vigour; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing - they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent, his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carry him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face, your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then together you and your special pet cross the Rainbow Bridge. Author Unknown Lots of us who have loved and lost our furbabies know how you are feeling now. My Sophie is right there waiting to keep your loved one company...until you meet again. Run free Eddie....

Did you know that Burns now do a hypo-allegenic range too? "PORK & POTATO **New** A hypo-allergenic diet for the avoidance of food intolerance - no wheat, soya, rice or chicken" I know "the Diva" is not over keen on Burns but someone else may be interested. They are alos doing a hypo-allergenic mixer for you to mix with home prepared meals.

Afy, Aotal is not the generic name for the drug I mentioned. I think the generic name is acamprosate. Try looking at http://www.doctordeluca.com/Documents/AcamprosateSummary.htm for information. I was actually prescribed half the recommended dose for my treatment. It looks like it is for alcoholics but it's for also those that drink more than is healthy for them. Do see your Dr, it can only help. Good luck and well done on your progress so far.

Lovely Bud - and the pooch!!! [:D]

No it may not be expensive for you, Ian, but for those of us that live "darn sarf" the costs clock up a bit more - not just the cost of the tick/worm treatement but the hassle of taking the car goodness knows how many kms to the nearest port when I, for one, could fly for a fraction of the cost!!  I guess that's more what SB's vet had in mind.   The last time I took the dogs back to the UK was in October 2 years ago.  I am, however, still getting my new pup a passport "just in case (we qualify for Crufts one day! [:D]!!)".  There's no way I'm leaving her anywhere!

Afy, I sypmathise with you. The one good thing about living in France is the health service. Get yourself off to your GP and discuss your worries with him/her. I did and mentioned as an aside that I thought I was drinking too much and he prescribed me a drug called Aotal. It has worked a treat and I have cut down loads. Well done on what you have acheived so far. My GP also said he would prefer I smoked up to 5 cigarettes a day to drinking excess alcohol. Just a thought. Good luck anyway.

I take my dogs into Spain all the time.  (It's 30 miles away from me).  There are no check points that are manned near me but I do always take their pet passports with me.  I suppose it depends what route you take as to whether you are likely to encounter manned check points.

[quote user="P"]There is also a diffrence in rabies jabs between the UK and France - in the UK they are every other year and in France every year. Paul [/quote] Ah, but it is, in fact, the very same vaccine!

Refuse! Goodness me I have 3 dogs but we don't accept dogs in our gite full stop (though IMHO kids cause more mess and damage and I am thinking of banning kids and accepting dogs!) Why is someone wanting to bring 5? I can appreciate perhaps if they are on their way to a show or competition with 5 dogs but on holiday? In France? They must be mad or very rich!

warren, that could be because the officials can see from the address in your pet passport that your dogs live in France where jabs have to be given annually (if you have them!)

See post below

Glad to hear the Diva is in the mend! [:)]  The first thing I always do when my dogs have "the trots" is starve for 24 hours then feed chicken and rice (that's I because I know they don't have any allergies to worry about).  With an allergy I imagine things are a lot more tricky.

Folks, be aware there is more than one strain of parvo.  My friends dog, age 7, fully vaccinated all his life recently contracted it.

I've only ever had one family leave the palce as they find it (apart from the oven where there were a few crumbs and they phoned up to apologise!).  More often than not I have to spend 4 hours plus making the place as spotless as it was when they found it.  I am beginning to resent this a lot.  I do say on my terms and conditionn quite clearly that I can make a charge for excess cleaning but so far I have not.  How do you define excess cleaning?  I have charged for breakages.  I check everything before guests arrive so when cutlery goes missing or crockery is chipped they have to pay for it to be replaced.  A chipped plate gets replaced and the client charged for it.  I also show people around myself when they arrive so they know exactly what state the property is in when they get there. I leave cleaning equipment/prducts for my guests and expect them to use it.  In the future I shall be making up a letter to be placed alongside the fosse information telling renters exactly how I expect the place to be left. PS I have found family staying to be the WORST renters.  After a member of my family left I ended up having to wash duvets and sofa covers where the children had been sick and has squirted a bottle of sun tan lotion over the sofa!  Thankfully they left midweek and the next guests didint arrive til the weekend.  When they want to come again I shall be fully booked!

[quote user="KathyC"][quote user="Mrs MDW"] Some of the things you descirbe are down to the owners not being au fait with the rules.  [/quote] And some things are down to the UK vets not being au fait with the rules. I have to check all the rules on the internet and then go and quote chapter and verse in the surgery. Here on the Isle of Wight they obviously think that going over to the mainland should be quite enough for anyone! [/quote]# Hee hee exactly!  If the owners are "au fait" then there's no problem, it's then they are not the problem arises.  We owners need to keep these vets in line!