Recent content by MissSBird

Not allowed upstairs - our last boy Nevis never had an issue with it, but we've had to get a babygate to enforce it with Lui, and if you don't shut it properly he'll have it open and sneak up. Not allowed on the furniture without permission and must immediately get off when asked. No food...

Ok, thank you everyone for stopping my panic. Needless to say when I left the house this morning I got a look of 'it's too early', a roll over on his bed, and ignored, so he seems none the worse for his adventure.

Hey all, It's late so cutting a long story short - my dog cornered a rat in the bushes at the corner of our garden tonight. He's not a hunting breed and his body language seemed more curious about it than actually trying to kill/catch. Couldn't get to the rat very easily, but I did spot blood...

Update! Yesterday after dinner it started again. As soon as I came downstairs he got very excited to see me, and started tailing me about right at my heels. This time I was firmer with him, telling him no when he put his paw on my leg, so he stopped doing that pretty quickly. He still hung...

That is one of Lui's bad habits - he's the perfect height for just wandering up beside you and sliding his head underneath his hand. Like you, I've a tendency to find it endearing so probably let him away with it a bit more than I should. He always stops and goes away with a sharp no though...

Thanks for your responses guys. I appreciate your input - what I was mainly trying to get across by 'cuddles and playtime' was that this isn't a dog who recieves no attention from his family, as I was aware this could sound like a dog who is desperately bored. I wouldn't call him the best...

Funnily enough Corvus that is something that has crossed my mind myself...I'm happy to admit that I have mental health issues, but these got very bad in August and I'm now much more...myself...again so the timing of this doesn't correspond with that. Unless this is his way of responding to my...

So this is a bit weird, and maybe (probably?) nothing, but I thought I'd share it anyway to see if you guys might be able to cast some light. My family has a bernese mountain dog called Lui. He's entire, 3 years old now. We've had him since he was a very young puppy. There are 4 adults in the...

As Gracie21 said, it kind of depends on her type - by that I mean if she is a show pony type or a show hunter type. If you can post a picture someone can advise you on that, but if you can't then she is most likely a show hunter type. In which case you want to show her in as plain tack as you...

Ugh, what a nightmare! Positive sharing stories to try and boost your spirits: I first started horse sharing at 14, straight from the riding school (though I was a 'helper' there so did have basic experience in stable chores as opposed to just lessons). As far as I remember I was reliable and...

What a beautiful girl she was. You can see what a great partnership you had. You kept her comfortable to her end, and that's all we can do for our wonderful animals.

Just to add a random totally useless fact into this conversation, when a ballet dancer goes around the outside of the stage quickly (usually doing leaps or jumps) it is called the manege because, as a professional ballet dancer once told me, 'it's like what the horses do'.

I agree with the others and say go for option 1. It will be less stressful for everyone involved, and gives you a chance to get settled in. I assume you are moving house and such as well, so you will have enough on your plate without trying to arrange overnights. Best let those with the contacts...

I'm not very experienced with ex-racers personally but I've seen this happen more than once in ex-racer classes, so you're not alone! Could you hire a local area, get some friends down and simulate a show ring environment? Have everyone enter and go clockwise so you can follow on in the same...

Totally depends on what sort of canter I am trying to achieve. If I'm looking for an engaged 'schooling' canter I sit deep. If we're just having some fun, usually 2 point to encourage him to open up some more.