M.T. Sanders's Blog, page 8

On our way...well almost

Finally after what seemed like hours of fitting everything into the car we set off for our holiday in Wales with Monty and Cookie. We were just feeling pleased with ourselves for managing to remember everything when I realised I'd left my walking shoes behind. Not the best thing to be missing when you're in the beautiful countryside with two dogs. Anyway no harm done we were only five minutes up the road so we turned round and set off again, this time with everything on board.After getting off the M6 we were almost at the turn off on the M56 when the phone rang. It was our daughter and she had just realised that we had forgotten something fairly important....Monty and Cookies food bowls and stands. Maybe not so big a deal you'd think but we are paranoid newfy parents who have raised anti gobble food bowls, and although other may disagree that's what we've always done and we're not about to change now.This time the missing luggage was a little more inconvenient as we were 30 miles from home so the turnaround would add an extra 60 miles and an hour to the journey. Once back we got the dogs out, as it seemed unfair to just carry on, so we thought we'd let them stretch their legs. Cookie happily jumped out and ran back into the house delighted at her 'holiday' and glad to be home. Monty though was most reluctant to leave the car as he definitely smelt a rat and obviously thought this was a ploy to leave them behind. We had a coffee to give them a chance to relax but Monty just lay across the front door staring at us, determined not to miss his second trip of the day in the car.An hour after originally leaving we once more headed towards Wales with everything and everyone hopefully on board this time....

Making space in the Newfmobile for our road trip.

With our holiday starting tomorrow, today is very much about getting everything ready for a week away. A very obvious issue is how to carry two big dogs, two adults and everything we need for being away from home for an extended period. Anybody that has ever owned a giant breed or multiple dogs will have, I'm sure at some point gone through the issue of transportation.Many go down the route of a van and it's something we have mulled over for quite a while. Unfortunately though we are just unable to run two vehicles and we do so many miles either travelling to schools or maintaining our caravan that it just didn't stack up financially.The option for us after going through four vehicles since Monty arrived is a Citroen Berlingo. We have found this gives us flexible space along with good fuel economy and that all important height in the back.We have been really pleased with this as all round workhorse but this will be sorely challenged tomorrow as we set out on a 180 mile journey with bags, supplies and 20 stone of dogs in the rear.The pictures show how much space is given up to Monty and Cookie and what we have left to pack everything else....I hope Dawn is reading this as she gets her clothes ready....Now where I can I make some more room?Wish us luck....or rather our long suffering suspension.

Sun, sea, sand and two huge dogs.

Anybody going on holiday knows that it can take some organising. When you add children or dogs into the equation the difficulty of the task suddenly goes up a notch. Make that going on holiday with two giant dogs and suddenly there is a different dimension.Don't get me wrong the Monty and Cookie are great and really well behaved, (well most of the time) it's just the logistics of a break away with two Newfoundland's. So this Saturday we leave for a weeks holiday in Wales with our two big bears and those that have been through it will find our vacation blog familiar. I'm sure for everyone else it will give you a good chuckle at our expense over the following few days.Our first issue is that despite already owning a caravan in Pembrokeshire at the beautiful and very dog friendly Cardigan Bay Holiday Park we have booked a cottage. The difficulty is that the site lies within a national park and because of that no decking is allowed around the holiday home so we have no secure outside area the dogs can access freely. We do have an outside grass area but it would mean tethering them when sitting out as the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.Whilst most dogs have an element of trepidation when in new surroundings the stubborn, headstrong and fearless nature of the Newf would certainly mean that every open caravan door would be an invitation to join the family inside, which is something I've been through a few times and have no wish to repeat.All this means that from Saturday we will be spending the next seven days in a cottage at Saron in Carmarthenshire and travelling to the wonderful beaches and towns of Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.Luckily this is a wonderfully dog friendly part of the world and we found something that suited us perfectly through West Wales Holiday cottages.Rosehill Cottage here we come, we can't wait and you can follow Monty and Cookie's holiday here as we post daily updates and share their exploits.

Monty and the Poppit Dragon release date announced

The book is being uploaded today....yay...It's had it's final checks and now it is on it's way to the printers. They will then get it ready to go and send me a final proof to ok and I'll then be able to order a copy to check. The official release date is June 22nd but we will have copies ready to send out to all of you that have pre-ordered before that.We will have payment details available very soon and will let everyone know as soon as we get them.If you want to pre-order a copy you just need to click on the sign up button or email montynewf@googlemail.com or comment below.I can't wait to see the book as a finished creation it's going to be lovely.

Me and the heffalump are off to the Whales

On Saturday me and the heffalump are going on our holibobs. We are off to a place called Saron in the Whales and it's a cottage wiv a garden and stuff. It says that it takes two well behaved dogs....I guess one and a slobbering hairy hippo is fairly close. It also says that there are miles of countryside walks....Not sure why they put that, like I'd be interested.There is a pub within walking distance...that I may be up for and I'd guess dad will be enjoying that walk as well. We will also be hitting a few seaside places so I'm pleased that my beach body is pretty much ready 24/7, so look out laydeees.....The name's Dogge.....Monty Dogge.

The Spangles get the munchies

When doing a review about treats with our dogs there is one main challenge. That is that I usually know that whatever the treat offered to them they will like them. Our dogs are so unfussy it's untrue, and so trying to gauge how good a treat product is becomes a bit of challenge to say the least. You ideally want some level of discrimination when setting up a review not for the product to disappear without so much as a trace.That said it is possible to see when the dogs really like something because the noses go crazy as soon as the packet is opened and they continue to look for more long after the treats are put away. We also have a very strict rule when giving our dogs any titbits and that is that they have to be good for them and full of natural products.We were very happy that the Pet Munchies that we received fromAnimedDirect ticked the boxes, and the variety of flavours looked really great. I was sure that the dogs would be very willing to test these tasty looking morsels. These treats are gourmet dental sticks, packed with goodies and grain and gluten free. They promote dental hygiene, due to the rough shape and their chewiness.We decided that the spangles should be the recipients and they were certainly very very excited when we produced the packs and it proved almost impossible to get a nice picture of them with the Pet Munchies and the out-take picture shows the difficulties that we had. They started with Duck & Sweet potato, moved onto Chicken and Calcium, Chicken strips and then the Chicken and Calcium bone. All of these disappeared without a trace within seconds. I have to admit that I didn't feel I was doing a great review and so decided to try a friend's two dogs who are, how can I say this? Very discerning in what they eat. They also loved them and the treats got the same vanishing treatment, so I feel happier now reporting on a positive outcome.You know that they enjoyed the treats as we've already gone through that but even on the spangle scale of constant enthusiasm this was a 10. It's fair to say that they loved them and the great thing for us watching them devour treat after treat was that these were great for them and that for us is everything. If you want any more info about these or any other great products from Animed Direct go to the website at https://www.animeddirect.co.uk/

Paws for thought pamper days offer

We have a great offer of 10% off these pamper days for Monty blog readersWe are a luxury life-style store for pooches and pooch parents at the lovely rural shopping village of Battlers Green Farm in Radlett, Hertfordshire. Along with a modern Grooming Salon we offer a range of services including Personalised Training for Puppies and Adult Dogs, Puppy Socialisation Classes, Pooch-participating classes such as Paws for Yoga, Canine Massage, Canine First Aid and Agility classes, a Relaxation Zone serving hot and cold drinks, ice-creams and snacks along with prosecco and beer, and a Boutique providing high-quality lifestyle merchandise for stylish dogs. We also offer Dog-friendly Day Retreats where pooches and their parents can spend the day with us relaxing whilst participating in our classes and guided rambles, being pampering with spa treatments and enjoying glorious food all within our beautiful farmland surroundings.If your Looking to have a fun and exciting time with your pooch, having new experiences and creating wonderful memories together? Then our unique and fabulous Retreat Days are for you!The classes throughout the day will be Agility Class, learn Canine First Aid and relax with a Paws for Yoga session plus a delicious lunch and a glass of Prosecco for you and Pawsecco for your fur-baby.Spoil yourself even more by booking a glorious treatment at Life of Luxe Salon and Spa located within our lovely rural shopping village and why not book your pooch a pampering treatment in our Grooming Salon at the same time (these would be at additional costs)Our next Retreat Day is on the 16th June at Battlers Green Farm in Radlett. We run these retreats 6 times a year – so 1 a month from may – September.For more info follow the links below and don't forget to claim your 10% off by quoting MontyDogge432....enjoyhttps://www.pawsforthoughtretreats.com/https://www.facebook.com/Pawsforthoughtgroomers/

The Slobbernosserus at St Pauls

Cookie attended only her third school when she was at St Paul CE Primary School on Friday. Monty had visited a couple of months ago and the school were very keen to have Cookie come in so the children could hear 'Monty and the Slobbernosserus'.It was pretty evident as soon as she got out of the car that it was going to be a hit as children and parents appeared from everywhere to say hello. This was Cookie heaven as she wafted everyone with her huge enthusiastic tail and gave some of the children an early example of why she was nicknamed the Slobbernosserus.Once inside the school her excitement never diminished as she greeted everyone who wanted to say hello and eagerly awaited the next victim...er admirer. The children came in to hear the story by age group starting with reception and finishing two and half hours later when year six rounded our visit off. As usual there were lots and lots of questions about Cookie, Newfoundland's in general or what it's like to write books. As is also usual the questions were great and as only children can ask them, honestly and with total innocence. The one we always get is 'can we stroke her?'This is one the dogs are always happy to answer and at the end of each session the children lined up for a newfy kiss and cuddle. Cookie was amazing and loved all of the attention. She also helped a young girl who was nervous actually get the courage to actually stroke a massive dog for the first time. A really nice visit to a lovely school where we are always made really welcome and a big success for Cookie in the early days of her career as a school visit dog.Our visits are free for schools and very flexible. If you are a parent or teacher who think your school would enjoy this just contact montynewf@googlemail.com for an informal chat and more info.

Book launch confirmed

The launch for our new book Monty and the Poppit Dragon is now confirmed for June 30th 2018 at the wonderful Coach house café and visitor centre in the shadow of St Dogmaels Abbey. It should be a wonderful, fun event and hopefully we'll have lots of children there to hear this very special seaside adventure.

Monty is loving his new hemp treats

When we are asked to review products we've said before that we're quite picky. That's not because we don't think it's any good or not a decent product but just that the market for dog treats, food and accessories is so massive that we would be writing about nothing else.Our first criteria is 'would this be beneficial to our dogs?' Then we look at something that would be of interest to ourselves and others and sometimes is it just as simple as something the dogs would just love. When we were asked to try hemp products by Trueleaf Pet https://www.facebook.com/trueleafpetuk/ I must admit that I didn't really know anything about it and certainly not as something used for dogs. After some research and talking to the guys at True Leaf I was very happy to have a look at some of their range of treats to see what the dogs thought and also to explore the potential health benefits. Monty has had numerous joint and muscle issues and as he's got older he is certainly creaking a little more each year. With that in mind we wanted to let him try the hip and joint treats for a period to see how it may help him with his general day to day aches and pains. The official description is as follows, 'True Hemp Treats designed to be more than just a treat! Natural, healthy & with joint support! These tasty treats use the wonderful properties of Hemp together with fresh poultry and no grain to give your dog a little extra support at treat time'. Contains hemp leaf and ground hemp seed, containing powerful actives and omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acidsGreen lipped mussel from New Zealand: known to support hip and joint function.Turmeric root: a powerful antioxidant to help protect against free-radical damage.Grain FreeCanadian product made in the EUOne thing I can say with no shadow of doubt is that Monty loved the treats and they were eaten very eagerly. In terms of the health benefits it is really only something that you can assess over quite a long time but I can say that he is certainly going through a period of good movement and he's as energetic as Monty ever is.All in all I'm very happy with them and we can certainly recommend them as something to try as both an enjoyable treat and a possible benefit to movement and joint pain.You can see all of their products and shop online at https://www.facebook.com/trueleafpetuk/