Received an update for Bayley on the 19th March from Glenda, on Bayley's 8th birthday. Bayley was one of ​Seven new arrivals born back in 2012 from their Mum, Millie, with their Dad being Reggie.

"Hello Jane,
I hope you and the family are keeping well and not caught this terrible virus.
Can’t believe that Bayley is 8yrs.  The time has just flown by.
He is still a very much laid back dog, for the most part. Although he does have a couple of Shitz Tzu’s that he really does not like.  I think it’s because they went for him when he was little.
He is my constant companion and follows me everywhere. I try and take him where ever I go, dogs permitting.  He loves the car and will go any journey without complaint.
As you can see from the photos, he is also very patient. He waits fro me to knock the ball off so he can catch it, he is unbelievable quick.
I am looking forward to your blog about the forthcoming litters.
Take care
Kind regards
Glenda"

Pi is the handsome pure KC register Cavalier boy, I got last year as a pup, but unfortunately had an undershot jaw, which did not improve, when his adult teeth came down. I got him neutered and he has found the most wonderful home on Jersey with Jane. Who sent me this lovely update on the 18th March, his 1st birthday. 

Last week Charlie passed away. He was 14 years old. Charlie is the Dad of Smudge and Primrose. In 2011 is was diagnosed by ausulation with a heart murmur, which caused him no concern until around the last year of his life. He meet ​Sheila & Vincent in 2011, who have given him a wonderful life in retirement, with each year have visiting us with him all the way from Kent, to catch up with how he was getting along, and how they were. Charlie was a sweet natured, mischievous boy, as a Cavalier should be, and I know he is going to be so missed by Sheila and Vincent. He lives on with us in his two Great Granddaughters Teagol and Lottie.

​Long live the Count Charlie!

Update for Bella, who is one of Casper and Blottie's ​nine little Blenheim pups

"Hi Jane
24 hours on from her Lap Spay Bella seems right as rain. She's not so sure about the body suit though, and to try and stop her jumping up on the chair or the bed is a nightmare!
She's going to love the next forever-how-long.....I have to self isolate so will be indoors with her all the time, and thankfully there are plenty of places around where I can take her for a walk without meeting a soul.
Sorry to hear your plans for Blottie and Ernest are on hold - this situation is more than a nuisance. I hope not too many of your much wider Poundlane family and friends are not affected.
With Love, Judith & Bella x"

Belated birthday greeting from Saffy. Saffy is one of Ernest and Bumble's ​eight pups. 

"Hi Jane
Firstly a belated happy birthday to all of Saffy’s litter - it does not seem like she is 2 years old!
Secondly my daughters boyfriend is an animator and he did this You tube thing ( link attached) is a demo for Britbox featuring Saffy (loosely) ! So she is now a YouTube star!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnLr5E6ScYI&feature=share
All good here - but so wet and muddy !  Spring is hopefully around the corner - saffy has been ‘enjoying’ a daily Bath as We have some cases of Alabama rot  so being careful
Anyway on the plus side to avoid the mud we have been on the beach quite a bit ! As you can see she is still jumping around! She has two best friends - see below.
Kind regards
Kathy"

Been a bit behind in getting updates sent to me of our pups, up on the blog. I start with birthday greetings from Ralphie. Ralphie is one of Casper and Blottie's ​nine little Blenheim pups.

"Hi Jane,
Sending belated birthday greetings to all his siblings
​from Ralphie xxx"

Not sure if I'm missing something at the moment. Why hoard toilet roll? Why fight over toilet roll? Is there some sort of nutritional value to it, that I'm unaware of?!

P.S, I have got loads of updates from our pups to get up on here, but our internet is pretty bad at the moment to use. I will get them up though!

The last few days, much to my bemusement, I have received phone calls, asking if I have any puppies available now or near future. One has to ask whether these people are living in some sort of alternative universe to ourselves. Why?
Well, let's look at why I'm bemused by people at this time inquiring if I have any puppies available.
Firstly we have a little thing called, "Covid 19" doing the rounds at the moment. Not breeding the litter that I had planned, I will admit would of been a welcome injection of cash, to spay some of my girls and do some other veterinary work, but our bread and butter income is that of the partnership we have doing agricultural work. I can't really afford to be ill, I can't really afford anyone else in our home being ill. So not breeding, means I remove a risk of contact with people, because we breed our dogs, right in the epicenter of our home. So coming to get a pup from us, would mean coming into our home and what if our home went down with this illness, whilst waiting on a litter or having pups in the home? 
Secondly, there is a real chance in the next couple weeks of shutdown and restriction of movement,. Now getting a puppy, as much as you may want it, I can't see it being on the Government's list of nessary movement.
Thirdly, if you have a litter due, bred before this all kicked off or on the floor at the moment you can be excused, but anyone mating dogs together at this time I would seriously question, their reasoning and whether they could be called an "ethical" breeder. I have already sent an email to my local MP asking to keep an eye over the pet breeding sector, as I believe we could have a welfare crisis on our hands, especially with big commercial dog breeders, as we can already see a big slow up in the puppy buying market. I have suggested maybe offering financial insentives (as they are in other sectors) to encourage commercial breeders to lay off breeding their dogs for a period of time, to ease the market and to ease the envitable off loading of dogs to shelters, as people struggle financially.
Fourthly, say you manage to get a pup now. It's vaccinations done and it's time you need to get them out in the big widerworld. How exactly, do you plan to do that? At the moment the Government's advice is to avoid non-essential travel and contact, by the time your pup is ready to socialise, we may be on lock down. We could see a lot more badly socialised dogs, and over filled dog shelters, if people don't start looking further than their nose.

Due to ​Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we have decided not to breed Ernest and Blottie together at this time. She will be on heat again around October time, and hopefully we can breed from her then, which will make a litter ready for homes, coming into the Spring of 2021.
At the moment we will watch and wait, as to breeding Puddin' and Teagol. Teagol is due on heat around the end of April beginning of May. 

Teagol is the pup we kept back from Ernest and Blottie's ​ten pups they had together the end of 2017. The photos I caught this morning of her, as I was just taking a photo of another dog, and looked around to see Teagol investigating the computer table, and realised her interest was the left open jar of treats. I said, "Teagol, what are you doing?" She looked around, like butter would not melt in her mouth and created a wonderful photo opportunity. The drool is because I had a treat, which she got in the end. You can tell the order of how the photos were taken, by the level and length of drool in each photo.
She is a very beautiful dog (I think most will agree). She is supper affectionate and loving with us all. She also is a keen ratter and has done two seasons shooting on the beating line. Proving to be an active, sporting sound little spaniel. 

1st Birthday update for Tucker. Tucker is one of Casper and Blottie's ​nine little Blenheim pups

"Dear Jane,
How are you? Tom and I were delighted (and relieved!) to see that you were able to find a solution for the blog. It's such a joy to see the updates from Poundlane and also to read and see the updates from Tucker's siblings. Happy birthday to them all!
Tucker has been doing well. He still goes to daycare weekdays and loves socialising with other dogs. I’m still jogging with him, and it’s a lot of fun to have him running to and fro as I lumber along at a fraction of his pace. He’s so fast! Also, I swear he gets better at cuddles every month that passes.
He was castrated around New Year. Luckily it proved straightforward to find the retained testicle. I was so worried about how he'd take to wearing a cone for nearly a fortnight. We tried a 'recovery suit' for a bit, but it didn't work as well for him as it had to be quite tight to be effective. It's tricky though to get the right sized cone for cavalier-sized dogs with decent sized snouts. 
We eventually found this e-collar and it worked really well for him. He accepted it pretty quickly and within a few days it was possible to take him outside with it without a fuss, and eventually for short walks to a park up the road. He was very adept at planting the cone on grass he wanted to sniff! He also wasn't bothered about me putting it back on, as I'd give him breaks from it a couple times a day so that he could enjoy a chew without my help holding it for him. That said, it was all-in a tough fortnight, trying to deal with his energy levels when the vet said to not let him run around, but I'm grateful he handled it so well and that it's done now.
About two weeks ago, we switched Tucker from Lily's Kitchen wet food to Butternut Box. Since doing so his poo has been amazing. He's never managed consistently solid poos, but the vet didn't think we should be concerned as he's always been that way. We also cut out all other meats from treats and chews except chicken, fish and ostrich. Much like Bella (by the sound of it from the update Judith wrote), we've always struggled to get Tucker interested in eating when we'd like him to, e.g. in the morning before going to daycare. In the evening, he'd sometimes leave his food there for hours. We'd have to hide his kitchen bed (as he’d lay down in it rather than eat), sometimes spoon feed him, and switch the flavours between two Lily's recipes for novelty. He just loves Butternut Box (so far) and they do a couple of recipes with ingredients very similar to the Lily's he was having, so the switch wasn't hard (unlike previous times we'd tried switching). It's so enjoyable to see him really into his food. It also costs the same as the Lily's food he was on. I hope he continues to enjoy it as much as he does now.
Tucker has also recently graduated in a couple of other areas: he weighs enough now (approx 9.6kg) to use a Sleepypod Clickit harness in the car instead of being in a crate and he's (finally, thank goodness) decided that having a bath is a good thing. He lets you clean him and dry him a bit, then pretty much insists on snuggling under a blanket to dry off. It's too cute.
Speaking of which, much like his siblings, he is just amazing at snuggling. It's truly the best. I find it so relaxing when he is snuggled up next to us. He’s also better at staying put for longer - thought not good enough at it yet to sleep outside his crate overnight.
It's still hard work with trying to train loose lead walking and to get him comfortable being on his own. About a month ago, the behaviourist we are still working with observed that he wasn't progressing as she would have thought by his age and advised that we should focus on sorting out his tummy first, as getting that right can make a big difference with some dogs. It concerned her that he's never been especially, consistently excited by his food, or had good poos. Hence the change to Butternut Box. Hopefully now that it is going better in this area, we can make some more consistent progress with his training, even if in small increments.
Tucker is just the loveliest little doggo. It's so much fun to go jogging and on walks with him. He loves running around, and socialising. Just today he was impressing a young woman in the park who used to have a cavalier. Tucker gave her some cuddles and did some tricks for her (sit in response to a hand signal, then shake), to which she responded "we'd never get my cavalier to do anything like that!!"
Thank you so much for our lovely little doggo, and for the updates from Poundlane.
Lisa, Tom and Tucker 
P.S. The especially good photos of Tucker aren’t taken by us, but by Roma, who works at his daycare. I have no idea how she manages to get such good shots."

An Australian study looking at dogs which were surgically treated for brachycephalic conditions ​finds cavaliers ranked as second highest breed for brachycephalic airway surgeries.

Dr. Chris Orton is testing minimally-invasive insertion of a clamp to mitral valve leaflets of dogs with severe regurgitation. You can read about how this surgery has helped humans at  ​MitraClip - British Cardiac Patients Association, as this also is the most common valve to fail in humans hearts. 

1st Birthday greetings from Esme. Esme is one of Casper and Blottie's ​nine little Blenheim pups

"Hi Jane
Esme  wishes all her siblings a happy birthday.
It’s difficult to believe it was a year ago we were looking at the images of tiny little puppies. They are a credit to you.
​Esme is a lovely little dog, still the pocket rocket she has always been. She is very loving, and amazingly docile for a puppy, a great hit with our family and friends, but not the neighbour’s cat!
We’re thinking she probably needs to re-join the training classes as she seems to forget what she has learnt – probably due to us rather than Esme! We had stopped them in the Autumn when she was spayed.
She now weighs 10.1kg,  She has the bounce of the Brittany, but I’m quite thankful she doesn’t have the endless energy, and is quite happy to go to sleep if nothing is going on.
I wish you well with your forthcoming litters, and all your present pack.
Love to everyone at Poundlane
Andy and Nick"

1st Birthday greetings from Obi and Sadie's family. Obi and Sadie are from Casper and Blottie's ​litter of nine little Blenheim pups

"Hi Jane
As it's Obi and Sadie have reached their first birthday here is an update and a few pics.
They continue to bring us joy every day with their loving natures, and amuse us with sibling squabbles and chasing on walks (or runs) as it mostly turns out!  They both have perfected the 'Brittany bounce' especially when treats are on offer, sometimes they jump above my waist! 
Sadie is becoming even more pretty, much like her mum I think too in build,  continuing on the slim side as 8.6kg.  She was spayed on 2nd March unfortunately was poorly afterwards requiring 2 days and nights in vet hospital, but is now home and on the mend.  Her favourite things are snuggles and bringing us gifts when we return, she also likes to chase and hunt anything that moves! 
Her brother Obi is 11.4 kg, and is also a few inches taller. He is a really cuddly boy and like his sister he loves to woof at and chase birds.  He's a very handsome boy, with a very cavalier like coat.
They really are a massive part of our lives and we love them so much.
I wish you well with the new generations to come in the poundlane pack.
Love Claire and family xxxx"

1st Birthday greetings from Bella's family. Bella is one of Casper and Blottie's ​nine little Blenheim pups

"Dear Jane
Bella wishes Happy First Birthday to all her siblings! It's hard to believe it was a year ago that we were glued to your blog waiting for the big event. And it's lovely to see the various photos their families have sent in - they're all so alike!
Bella is a lovely little dog - affectionate, loyal and clever. My Mum and I love her to bits. She's very tactile and is always running between my legs when we're out and about, and indoors there's nothing she likes more than squeezing herself into the smallest gap between my back and the sofa. Not so comfortable when she's soaking wet!
We go to training classes most Saturdays. She's quick to learn, though equally quick to forget when she's distracted. She only has to see a person or another dog on the other side of the field and she's off - deaf to my call! But 3 or 4 minutes play and she's back again. We're off to a workshop this weekend to try and combat that habit, especially the jumping up. She's like a pogo stick! You'll see from one of the photos that she has such long legs - definitely the Brittany look! And I guess she gets her jumping from Henry too. Loved that video of him jumping into your arms. She's a great snorer as well!
She weighs in at a healthy 10.8Kg, which surprises me as she's such a picky eater. I can't get her interested in dried food and often have to coax her with some fresh chicken on her wet food to get her to eat. I've probably made a rod for my own back with that! She's being spayed in a couple of weeks and I'm told that can result in weight gain, so maybe I should be thankful she doesn't overeat.
I'm also told she might get a curly after she's been spayed, so I guess it might be goodbye to her lovely sleek coat :(.
I could witter on about Bella for hours, but I'll close with a huge thank you for nurturing Blottie and Casper's pups, and trusting me to look after one of them. If the last 9 months is anything to go by I have years of love ahead of me!
Much love to everyone at Poundlane.
Judith & Bella xx"

1st Birthday update from Alfie's family. Alfie is one of Casper and Blottie's ​nine little Blenheim pups

"Hi Jane
Hope you are all well. I have attached a few photos of Alfie. He has grown into a very handsome boy. Alfie is such a loving and cuddly family dog. He loves attention. He gets on very well with our other dog Max but he is definitely boss! He loves meet other dogs and loves people. Alfie has been very spoilt on his 1st Birthday. See you soon.
Caroline xx"

"Hi Jane.
Can’t believe Eddie is 1 today- happy birthday to all his siblings.
Eddie is a lovely dog - he loves being on the beach and being sociable with all the other dogs! At 15 kg he is very strong and I’m working at him not pulling on the lead. He loves his routines and especially lying in the sun - when we see it!
Best wishes - Jackie and Nigel"