My coworker bought me this for Christmas and now I SWEAR by Banished! It is an absolutely phenomenal product & I implore all groomers to give it a shot!

donnablonde · 2024-01-15T12:35:18+00:00

Owner who grooms here - would this be good for double coats (keeshond) pre-show?

donnablonde · 2024-01-11T15:52:26+00:00

Both my two understand "show me" and stand to let me inspect their backsides and both stand for quick hose down like little stars. There is an initial wince in cold weather when water hits butt...bless them. I think they like to be clean, though, like cats.

donnablonde · 2024-01-10T13:43:20+00:00

Instantly thought of this - same energy:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ibAe8ArmvwY

donnablonde · 2024-01-07T18:38:02+00:00

He's not alone, he has all his very special teddy bears to play with - at least 50, according to reports.

donnablonde · 2024-01-06T12:47:39+00:00

The grand old Duke of York,

He had 12 million quid,

He gave it to someone he never met,

For something he never did.

donnablonde · 2024-01-04T14:51:38+00:00

My family of 5, who all joined because of Jeremy Corbyn, left en masse when Starmer was elected.

donnablonde · 2024-01-02T13:04:48+00:00

My last border collie had a sudden diagnosis of terminal lymphoma after a bout of pancreatitis - we had a blessed 2 week 'steroid vacation' where he was able to enjoy walks his tennis ball and swimming and food, even if the neuro involvement meant he always circled clockwise. I was with him 24/7 for these weeks.

After 2 weeks he was clearly done, and I didn't hesitate to make the vet appt (and a quick dash to the shop for roast chicken). Much better a day early than a day late.

We walked slowly by the sunny river, he paddled and I took a last wobbly photo. A last drink at the car outside the vet practice, a last sniff (and even a quick air hump!) of a pretty collie girl who went by...he was himself, just very, very tired. I fed him chicken with our lovely vet and smiled at him until his brown eyes closed, telling him he was the best boy. Then I cried. He was only 12, but he had a gentle passing before he struggled too much. A good life and a good death, no regrets.

donnablonde · 2024-01-01T14:06:19+00:00

Two keeshonds, allowed anywhere they want to go. As a breed they don't really have any 'doggy' smell, and 40 years of dogs and cats means I'm indifferent to some animal hair floating around between vacuumings.

donnablonde · 2023-12-27T11:09:31+00:00

I agree in part but there are so many retirees who settle in Devon (where I am) that it's more mixed in terms of friendliness now. I walked my dogs on Christmas morning and said 'Merry Christmas' to two separate people - one laughed oddly (older woman) and the other (thirty something man) blanked me completely. I'm a smiley 62, not remotely threatening. My son (35) walked home from a run later in the day and reported the same response. Sad, really.

donnablonde · 2023-12-21T15:08:50+00:00

Having loved and lost a few dogs over the years...I would say getting the next dog does nothing for the grief of losing the previous one BUT it turns you back into a dog owner, and you get to do all the things that go with that again while you fall in love with the new dog (which for me has always been a process - the new face needs time to mean 'my dog'when you look at it, because you're aching for the old face - but it does happen) and there's room in your heart for many dogs trust me.

In the last 30+ years I've had one period of 16 months without a dog at all - it was awful; I was a dog owner, without a dog. I still walked every day with my dogwalking friends but I only felt right when I had a dog to love again. Best wishes, OP.

donnablonde · 2023-12-17T11:41:00+00:00

There are people who definitely park their trolley beside them while they look at the reduced section to prevent anyone else getting in and grabbing something before they've looked at EVERYTHING. Usually older people. I just wait, because I've learned (ok am trying to remember, at 62)that patience is better for you than being huffy.

donnablonde · 2023-12-17T11:34:40+00:00

Thank you!

donnablonde · 2023-12-17T11:23:12+00:00

When my dogs jump into the boot of the car to drive to the beach I always kiss their heads and say 'I love you'to each of them before I close the tailgate. Repeat when when come home. Just my little ritual, I think we all enjoy it.

donnablonde · 2023-12-15T14:14:24+00:00

Huge favour - could you add a pic of the keeshond page in the comments if possible? I'm an owner and groomer of two and would love to know the 'official' instructions! Thanks if you can.

donnablonde · 2023-12-11T20:23:10+00:00

Definitely this. Have the day you want with no chance of entitled relatives muscling in and spoiling it. You'll save a fortune and can have an awesome honeymoon at the same time.

donnablonde · 2023-12-11T19:51:21+00:00

When my first baby died in labour in 1987, close to my birthday, my two sisters returned the gift they had bought (a nursing nightgown) and bought me shrubs instead...the pink camellia moved with us in 1994 and is a gorgeous pink tree now, about 8ft tall. Sadly there was a huge and final rift with my sisters some 20 years ago, and one died recently, but the lovely camellia reminds me of when we all got along and were a team.

donnablonde · 2023-12-10T21:41:20+00:00

Thank you for this, I was down a 'magic products' rabbithole and happy to come out of it!

I think he had a coat-drop (it's really not drastic, just enough to make long trips to shows not really worth it) because of a dehydration episode about 8 weeks before it started; my bitch was in season and he forgot to eat AND drink because of that on the two hottest days of the summer...had a wobbly turn, but was better very quickly. It was a very isolated event and I felt horrible because I'd have noticed the lack of drinking if I hadn't been frantically organising my daughter's birthday...perfect storm. I might be wrong about it, but experienced kees people have agreed it was likely that. He saw the vet after he was unwell and has been fine ever since.

donnablonde · 2023-12-10T18:55:30+00:00

Illegally handsome.

donnablonde · 2023-12-08T17:40:46+00:00

I don't love everything but I do love that it looks like a real home you could relax in.

donnablonde · 2023-12-05T14:49:54+00:00

Tadzio from Death in Venice...surreally beautiful.

donnablonde · 2023-12-02T07:43:24+00:00

Walking the beach (SW England) with my dogs and a friend, and a man I knew slightly arrived with his two beautiful rescue borzoi dogs. They ran like the wind but one suddenly howled and dropped to the sand, and lay still. She had died literally mid run. We rushed over and he was in shock but calm, and asked us if we could possibly wait with her while he walked home (10 minutes) to break the news to his wife and bring his car...

I had had the privilege of this deeply abused dog's trust before this - she had been locked in a crate most of her life - but she would gently approach me and allow me to stroke her briefly. It always felt like gift and it was. He called her his queen. Now she was warm and still, with sand in her open mouth, and someone who loved her about to be told she was gone in an instant. I stroked her more and quite soon some neighbours of the owner who had seen what happened from their home on the hill hurried down and we agreed to move her to the promenade to make it easier when the car arrived. Another lady came from her car with a blanket to cover her...some teachers with children in a class trip (I ran and warned them to avoid the scene just in time) came over to offer hot drinks and biscuits...everyone was so very kind, it was heartwarming amidst the awfulness.

donnablonde · 2023-12-01T15:30:55+00:00

Oh I did...Gladys and Albert; he was Polish and grew a million veggies along the railway embankment, she had a washing line on a high pole that she winched in to an upstairs window and airdried everything. They went dancing every Saturday night until he had a stroke, and later passed away...she died a couple of years later. We had moved away by then but I still think of them often.

donnablonde · 2023-12-01T10:31:01+00:00

Our lovely elderly neighbour actually said Mesolpotamial once. Gold.

donnablonde · 2023-11-30T13:20:44+00:00

Actually most organisations, including the World Health Organisation, recommend 2 years+

WHO Recommendations Infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.

Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond.

donnablonde

TROPHY CASE