How to loose friends and upset people

In the last two weeks, her indoors has had three calls from families who have all lost their beloved Bernese mountain dogs. One was two and a half, one was six, and the last was seven. All the dogs came from the same breeder, all three had inbreeding COI 's of between 15-20, and all three died from cancer. Why when the facilities are there to plan healthy litters with lower COI 's is this happening. The first Bernese that lived in this house , born 14 years ago had a COI of 20, and died of cancer, and now a decade later nothing seems to have changed. Families are still having their hearts broken and dogs that are odds on to die of a cancer are still being bred because SOMEBODY ONLY CARES FOR THE CASH OR THE SHOW RESULT.  Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but to simply ignore what's going on in a breed is like burying your head in the sand. Ok working on just the COI isn't guaranteed to do the job, but it's a start. Some breeders say that using foreign stud dogs artificially decreases a litters COI , and it's cheating, but what it's actually doing is doubling the gene pool within the resultant litter.   Health checks are in place on the continent, where the gene pool is much bigger than in the uk. Dogs that are with responsible breeders, with all their accompanying paper work have been health checked and anybody who loves the breed is only going to import lines that they know will bring benefits. Now in addition to cancer, we are looking at Canine Degenerative myelopathy  which if you read the articles is definately hereditary ..... But can be both checked for and controlled with responsible breeding .  Yes miracles  don't happen overnight, but atleast take the time and trouble to research things for yourself, irrespective of being a breeder of twenty five years standing, a new breeder, or a CASH breeder. How many breeders do actually check the COI of dogs they sold ten years ago or know if they are still alive?  You only have to look at a veteran BMD class to see that the average age is no longer eight, and the number of dogs over 10 is negligible . If you lost one of the most precious things in your life at two and a half years of age would you go back to that same person again? I have said it before, and I will say it again..... I want to live till I am 12, be loved , healthy and pass away curled up in my own basket, but most of all I want those years to mean as much to the people that breed Bernese , as they do to me and my two legs.  I know that I am throwing the proverbial match in the fireworks, but it's about time somebody did!!!!  And now seems like as good a time as any other.  RUNNING RED  HOT Gryff

I just love the smell of Sundays....

Ok, ok, all you four legs out there know exactly what I mean...... The oven goes on, the joint goes in, the potatoes get roasted, Yorkshire pudding, is there anything better I ask myself. (And NO girls don't count fellas). Her indoors has officially declared it winter YIPPEEEEE ! That means Halloween casserole, hot veggie rice, roasted potatoes and all the goodies that we seem to loose a bit during the summer.  Now that they are forecasting seriously bad and blowy weather, her indoors has got out the winter cookbook for two legs and four legs and has already started. Today we have pork crackling on the menu ( no the TROLL  is not having it all, or our visitors!)  with roasties, carrots, parsnips, cauli and cabbage,  and and if we are really really good YORKSIRE puds.  But then again, I shall really miss all the BBQ sausage and stuff she does during the summer.  Then there will be Halloween casserole with pumpkin , sausage and all the bits for another day, although technically we should save that for after we have trick or treating. Do you remember last year Merlin went as a MUMMY (the Egyptian kind) . Now how does a mummy end up with lipstick kisses on its nose when it's supposed to scare everybody to death?  And now she's found a book on how to cook all different types of biscuits for us. Well actually we have to say thank you to Uncle  Mick and Aunty Jackie for it but who cares..... All I can say is I feel really really sorry for dogs that have to eat canned dog food. I suppose I had better go and find the three Moggies if the weather is going to be that bad..... But do I have to invite them to dinner? What do you think?  If they don't eat it all I could offer to finish it off, so they don't upset her indoors but they definately don't get yorkshires..... Yes they do, cause I know that they won't be able to eat all of it so I will get them. See all that fresh veg and stuff keeps the old grey cells working at their best. We will accidentally forget to mention that the two legs didn't alter the clocks last night so we went out an hour early and got to stay out longer. Perhaps a good thing if tonight's walk is doubtful. I tried on one of those airmanship leather flying hats last night, think I might need to borrow it, my old mate Dexter.... I hate it when the wind pins my ears back so I can't hear properly...(well that's my excuse LOL) .  Stay Safe everybody. Cool runnings Gryff

Sometimes I worry......

Www.the adventures of Gryff. ... You know as long as I live I don't think I will ever understand females. Take her indoors for instance. It's absolutely throwing it down and she wants us all out on a walk as normal. WHY? If it was snowing then yes but everybody knows us Berners don't like excess water. It just cramps our style when wanting to go in the sitting room or hop on a bed for a snooze. ( your bed that is)  And to make things worse, I got teamed up with Lace. If ever a female had to sniff every single blade of grass on our entire walk it's her. Then she has to say good morning (it's lashing it down and blowing a force 8by now) to the horses, all four of them on either side of the river. Silly mare (no pun intended) even had to lick the nose of her favourite. As if it wasn't wet enough in the first place.  The rains all in my fur making it go all curly and I REALLY really hate that! my ears are pinned to the sides of my face by the wind and I definately P@@@@@@d off. Just find me a bush, a post, a horses leg for all I care and I am ready to go home. But NO not her. She wants to know whose already been out, who lives with who, or is out walking together. Whether that pair of scratty westies that always swear at us are about...... As if anybody in their right paws would be out in this ! What is it with females.... It does make me worry.  Then when I eventually get home nearly an hour later I find Merlin went out wearing a coat! and is now getting the V I B ( very important Bernese) treatment complete with warm towel and the hair dryer. I bet they let him go through into the hall to his baggy basket thing! I knew it, I said they would. Talk about favouritism, he's only an old man for goodness sake. I tell you how bad it was, her indoors has got wet shoulders on her shirt where the rain went through her coat, and her jeans are wet to her knees. Well how does she think I feel...... My important  little bits hang about the same height as her knees, but did she think of me! No she darn well didn't!  That's it, I'm going on strike for better pay and dryer working conditions, and  I absolutely  refuse to go out with a female if it's raining again. I shall speak to the troll , I know he won't be out for more than five minutes, just long enough to find a bush, a tree or a gate post . Cool runnings Gryff

Carting crash causes chaos

Www.the adventures of Gryff..... Well after mixing it once again with the I pad imp... I am back again, again!. The little shit just won't give up. One day I can't get into safari, then it's the blogg and tomorrow I have no doubt it will be something else. Good job her indoors has got loads of friends who know how to deal with computers cluster f@@@@ ups!  Add to that the fact that I am in deep deep dodo over Merlins classic cart and you could say it's been one of those days! We got an invite to go out carting today, her indoors , me and Lace ( who in fairness has never been before). Me, well I've been out on a couple of double trouble runs with uncle Rob and Dexter, and I thought I had it sorted. Anyway off we went down this quiet lane and I decided that carting just wasn't my thing. I am handsome , good looking, cool and a babe magnet, so what do I need to cart for? It wasn't until she said that the girls always go for a guy with his own wheels that I decided to play properly! Anyway I did ok for a while and then I went for it big time. The end result was that I split the shafts where they join the cart turntable, bolts, pins and steel tube (where the hole is reinforced for the bolt) the lot. I knew her indoors was pretty ticked off with me when she said Merlin had used that cart for nearly nine years and apart from rolling it in the snow one year, he had never had an accident with it! Oooops!. Do you know what they made me do...... I had to ask him as I walked through the door if he was fully comp and had he got protected no claims? LIKE I can afford to pay for it! It was an accident (well nearly). Then to add insult to injury they put the harness on Lace together with the traces, carried by my old mate uncle Rob and she never even batted an eyelid.  She walked up and down with them like she'd done it all her life and I got left in the van to watch how a female drives. Talk about having the old bone shoot rubbed in it! Anyway Uncle Rob has kindly offered to try and mend the darn thing, JUST cause it's Merlins , to get brownie points with him , and I have been banned from Trick n treating..... Like I want to be wrapped up in bandages anyway!  Much rather be a dragon or a vampire bat than a Mummy anyway. Oh well I suppose I shall just have to suck it up... It's my birthday soon, perhaps if I ask for biscuits from everyone, I will be able to pay it off like that. Cool runnings Gryff

I hate I cloud......

Www.the adventures of Gryff..... Bet you were all wondering where I had got to! Well so had I!!! It's taken me one year and nine months to train my secretary on this gadget and then the @@@@@@ have to go and change it all without asking. I knew her indoors would panic when she saw everything was going to change with this I cloud thing and I thought she made a very sensible decision to not touch it till uncle Lawrence was about to pick up the pieces and glue her back together.  What I didn't bargain for was the troll interfering when my tail was turned. He just has to play, wouldn't mind but he has three computers of his own so why play with mine? Anyway yesterday I escorted her indoors up to the computer shop with the I pad, her I phone ( the two had had a row and weren't s peaking to each other anymore, or even for that matter agreeing on e mails coming in)  and sat there till it was all fixed. Then being a careful soul, we took them over to uncle Lawrence to get his considered opinion. Got to say the bloke in that shop is ok. She never looked like having a panic attack or getting upset and she even managed to say pardon and he repeated everything again without getting cross. What a difference to the troll trying to teach us. I keep telling him that her indoors is more dog than computer minded and that's why she knows what we are saying and he doesn't!  Anyway after an exchange of info on doggy diet, help for old age in a spotty dog, and how to calm down a labradoodle (sorry about the bad language)  we walked out the shop, as usual, free of charge. Who says the barter system is dead, complete with instructions to just "wander in anytime if there's a problem, and not to let the troll touch it!!!!! So folks I am back on the air so to speak. Having said that, life is really quiet at the mo. The kids are all having a monster of a time in their new homes. Merlin got an invite for another holiday last Sunday , tizzys gone off with her boyfriend, so that leaves me in charge of five dogs , three cats and a bad tempered troll.  Oh and a major hint here NANNY..... TED , Saxon and I will be having a party on the 2nd of November....... Cool runnings Gryff