Battle of the Bees

Today I thought I should prepare a toilet area for Yu You. It was sunny, the plants at the side of the house desperately needed tidying, I was bored. Yep, good idea.

So I dug out the gardening gloves (we only have one pair as only one of us gardens... ) and the pruning shears and started "tidying" the plants up aka "hacking away at them". All was going well, I could actually see the path now and I'd only had a minor incident where I put cuttings from the roses into the pile of leaves and then forgot there were thorns in them thar leaves when I went to pack them into the bin bag. Ouch!

Now, there was only one plant with leaves training the path but it had nice blue flowers. Hmmm, should I cut them or not? I eyed the bees buzzing about the flowers and thought yep, I think I should! Doh! Doh! Doh!

I managed to cut them without too much debate from the bees but when it came to putting the flowers into the bin bag the bees decided that enough was enough and started to buzz close to my head and legs and ears and body. Yep - they were not happy!

Bees 1; Human 0.

I retreated to the safety of upstairs and peered out of the window down at the pile of flowers and bees. "Daniel", I asked nicely, "will you please go and move the flowers?" "No way, they have in built weapons" my dearest replied! Hmm. Well I guess I'll just have to brave them myself. "Scream if you need backup" he calls from his PC. Uhuh.

This time I don't see as many buzzing over the flowers so I bravely take the broom and start moving them. BUZZZZZ! They start flying over my head again! "ARRGGH!". No back up arrives and I retreat.

Bees 2; Human 0.

Later on I discover that there is screaming in his game and thus my own scream was lost and this was the reason no back up arrived. The lesson here is: double check game before venturing out to face bees.

Later still, I realise that the reason only one of us gardens is that tiny problem with pollen that I have. My eyes have changes to red slits as I recover from my battle.

Sigh.

Close call!

I called the breeder last night to make sure she had received all my details ok for the contract (not sure what that is for yet) and the insurance. She includes 6 weeks insurance with her pups and microchips them which will help me get a pet passport for Yu You if I need to. I haven’t read up on that yet but I will!

She also mentioned another party was interested in a female puppy! :O So, so glad we went to see Yu You at 5 weeks and paid the deposit now. It would have been very upsetting to have located a Coton only to lose her at the last hurdle! Daniel would never have heard the end of it… I think the breeder saved the situation by promising the other party (from Ireland! Cotons must just not exist there!) a bitch from the next litter planned. Phew!

Apparently Yu You is now sleeping until about 5 in the morning and the more she eats at night the longer she sleeps. Sounds just like me!

The crate has landed...

The dog crate has arrived and the blurb was right! Even a DIY non-enthusiast like me can put it up in 5 mins. Might have taken Daniel 2 mins but I had some problems with pushing a couple of the clips in place as I have weakling arms. But still I was very impressed.


I bought a 61cm Savic Residence Dog Crate from www.canineconcepts.co.uk which I think will be suitable for Yu You even when she is fully grown. It has two doors, one at the front and another at the top. I’m not really sure when we’d use the top door but perhaps it will come in handy some day! There are also two handles for carrying. I haven’t figured out how to fit these yet as they seem to just fall off but I’m sure Daniel will figure it out… I don’t think I’ll carry Yu You in it though as I know *I* don’t want to knocked against a wire cage! And after all, she will be a very carry-able size when she’s big too! Besides, in the car we’ll have her little car seat!


Along with the crate came (or rather along with the crate I also ordered…) a dog bed which fits inside her cage and cushion which has an electronic dog heartbeat which is designed to help puppies be by themselves the first time. I hope it works! I tried it out and it sounds a bit loud to be a real but hopefully Yu You will think there is another dog in the crate with her at night time and won’t be too scared. They only had pink ones left too!

I have just checked bank account and the breeder has cashed her cheque deposit so Yu You is definitely mine now! Yay!

Shopping!

Last night a simple browse on pet websites turned into a bit of a shopping spree for me! I would be lying if I didn’t own up to expecting this to happen though…it’s a brand new shopping world! I just wasn't quite prepared for the £100 or so that flew out of my purse!


One of the things I have purchased is a small crate for Yu You. I have been reading in my puppy book and both the book and the breeder seem to agree that a crate is an essential purchase for all dogs. Apparently it acts like a doggie bedroom and provides a “den” for them. I am not quite sure where I will put it yet though. The book recommends somewhere like the kitchen so it’s out of the way but not completely away from activity. However, in a small family like mine – just 2 of us for now! – I think the kitchen could be quite boring for her. Also it doesn’t have any heating. The plan just now is that her crate will sit in the living room. I think the corner of the dining room may be best rather than beside the sofa as we have initially discussed. That way she should be able to hear and see us in the living room and it also has the advantage of having a radiator to keep her warm. Let’s see how it goes anyway. I’m sure Yu You will tell us if she doesn’t like it!


Another thing I have done is enrol Yu You and I in a puppy class. We will be attending the Glasgow Dog Training Club (http://www.glasgowdogtrainingclub.org.uk/aboutclub.htm) in August. I wonder how many times I’ll be asked what breed Yu You is… I’ve taken to saying “I’m getting a Coton de Tulear. They look a bit like a mini English sheepdog.” when I am asked what kind of puppy I am getting. I guess a little background wouldn’t go amiss here but what I know I have read from articles on the Web and from my Coton de Tulear Kennel Club book.


Cotons originally come from Madagascar and apparently the name Coton de Tulear means Cotton dog of the Malagasy Port City of Tulear, which makes sense considering that their hair has a cotton like feel to it. The Coton is also known as the Royal dog of Madagascar and it has even appeared on a stamp! There are not many Cotons in the UK. My breeder thinks there are maybe about 200 in the UK with only 20 in Scotland. Although there is now a UK breed club - http://www.coton-de-tulear.org. They are quite popular in the US and France and although still rare, they are still in demand in the UK and I think I was quite lucky to have approached the breeder at the right time!


Anyway, back to shopping! I think I shall have to put this little doggie seat on my wish list for when Yu You grows up!

First Coton

Finally saw my first Coton on Saturday and they lived up to all my expectations! We travelled to see our chosen puppy for the first time and she is much, much cuter in the fur than in photos. We are going to call her Yu You meaning “Happy, Friendly” in Chinese which is exactly what she is!

When I finally managed to negotiate a working from home arrangement I knew I could be around enough to care for a dog and the search began for my “perfect” breed. I wanted a dog that:-
• Didn’t require more than a walk or two a day. i.e. I didn’t want to have to worry I wasn’t exercising it enough
• Didn’t demand my attention all the time
• Didn’t moult too much
• Wasn’t large
• Wasn’t a Toy Breed (This was Daniel’s requirement!)
• Remained cute even when grown

After considering a poodle cross (cockapoo – cocker spaniel & poodle) for a long time due to the fact that poodles also do not moult too much I stumbled across Coton de Tulears. They seemed to fit all my needs:-

• They are quite happy with short walks
• They will happily just sit quietly in the same room without constant demands for attention
• They don’t moult but do need grooming
• They grow to 12inches so were small but not tiny
• Adult dogs are extremely cute also


All that remains to be seen is if the real life dog lives up to the literature! So far I have high hopes.

Our breeder has 3 Cotons living with her and they were all very well behaved and happy little dogs. Even Daniel was charmed although being a man he tried not to show it but I could see he was smiling at them! 12 inches high sounds as though they are not too tiny but up close they are much smaller than I had imagined. Although 12 inches is not far off the ground so I have no idea why I thought they were a bit bigger… most of it must be hair as well! The impression I got when her dogs greeted me was of a mini white tornado rushing to say hello to me!

Kitty, the Coton mum, and her pups were in the kitchen and a stair gate kept the other dogs out. Yu You is the only bitch of the litter. She has two pure white brothers but she herself currently has two black patches on her eyes and a patch on her back. She very narrowly missed out on being called Zorro! As Yu You has a patch of black on her back the breeder told me that she may not be eligible for show as colour is only allowed around the face. This is isn’t a problem for me as I don’t have the time to devote to looking after a show dog. Show Cotons are not allowed to have their coat cut and this is a bit too much hair for me! Yu You’s eye patches are definitely fading though as you can tell from the pictures. Although we shall have to wait and see if the black patch on her back fades. She’s adorable either way!

I think she is looking forward to growing up already. Several times during my visit she padded over to the stair gate to have a look beyond into the Big Wide World! I think I will have to watch her carefully as she doesn’t seem to be scared of anything at all just now! Only 3 weeks to go until she comes home with me! Counting the days but I expect I shall busy myself buying her things to make her feel more at home when she arrives…