Coton Buds

Getting ready for christmas

2009-12-04T21:37:00.001Z

Yu you gets her stocking up nice and early.

Hello, how may i assist you today?

2009-12-01T10:27:00.001Z

Yu you stands in for me on a call. No one noticed. ;)

Recent pic

2009-10-27T17:29:00.001Z

Yu You has rediscovered one of her old toys. :) she can tell that's a ball and her other one is a dog!

Hard day!

2009-09-11T15:53:00.001+01:00

While i am at my desk You Yu does this! It's a dog's life!

Curtain call

2009-03-08T22:09:00.001Z

I think this is the cutest pic of boomer ever. Curtains have obviously not stopped this member of the family being a nosy neighbour!

Neverending winter!

2009-03-08T10:44:00.001Z

More snow again this morning. Looks like spring hasn't reached ek yet!

2009-03-07T23:38:00.003Z

Bath Time

There comes a time that all dogs hate called 'Bath Time' and this week it was Yu You's. She had just gotten too smelly!

Tools of the trade...

Time=10mins.

To start, I get together all the things I need for her bath and grooming afterwards. When I first got Yu You, I just tried to groom her on the floor but it was too easy for her to run away and unfortunately for both of us, air drying really doesn't seem to work for her. Her hair ended up tangled and curly. Not curly in a good way either!

So, to save my back I invested in a proper grooming table which has had lots of benefits.

1) It's big enough to fit Yu You and all my kit.
2) It's non slip.
3) It's high enough that she can't jump off.
4) It saves my back!

I have actually forgotten to put her grooming spray on here but I use All Systems 'Fabulous Grooming Spray'. As you can see, Yu You has more grooming products than most dogs...but then she has more hair than most dogs too!

Before Shot

Time=30mins.
Before she gets her actual bath, all the grooming guides say to make sure she is tangle free before contact with the water or else! I've tried missing this bit out but Yu You suffered for it as the matts ended up tighter and hard to brush out.

She doesn't actually look that dirty or messy in this photo so you'll have to trust me when I say that she did actually need the bath!

Bath

Time=30mins.
These are some photos of her in the bath and with a towel. Her actual bath is pretty straight forward as she knows escape is futile. I use a whitening shampoo and a separate conditioner. It's quite hard to get her completely wet as her hair is so thick. By the time she is fully wet she is half her dry size and usually looks like a terrier!

When she has her bath, I usually attempt to brush her teeth while the conditioner is working. That's why there is a strange toothbrush on table. It doesn't always work well as she sticks her tongue in the way but it's better than nothing I think!

Blow dry

Time=60mins.

The longest part of the process is the blow dry. I just use my own dryer as I foud out that dog hair dryers actual cost more! As you can see from the photos, this is not a bit she enjoys and is glaring at me.

The best tip that I've ever gotten for this part is to only brush the area that is being dried. It seems to minimise the tugging needed and her hair comes out lovely and fluffy.

After

Ta da! These are some after shots of Yu You. She's normally returning to her happy mood by now as she knows she is getting off the table and will get a treat and a loo break. After she is dry I normally try to trim her fringe and cut her nails and neaten her paws. May as well do everything while I have her up there!

To finish, she gets a spray of her doggie cologne - Baby Powder smell this time! I can't actually use baby powder on her as I read that it can stay in the dogs lungs hence the perfume.

Over 2 hours later and looking beautiful!

2009-02-19T21:49:00.003Z

Beach Photos

We found these photos in Daniel's iPhoto library tonight and I thought I'd post them as they are mega cute! They were taken in Sept at Troon Beach (the posh part). We always stop there for a loo break before visiting Mum and Dad. That way Yu You is always very well behaved when inside!

It was a bit windy though...

On this one, look closely and you can see Yu You's little gap toothed smile!
"\(.:. .:.)/"

Lolcat!

2009-02-12T20:18:00.001Z

Boomer says: ffllbbblbpph!

Still white

2009-02-10T13:25:00.001Z

This is what ek looked like at lunchtime today. Somewhere in that picture is yu you but she's well disguised as a snowball!

More snow!

2009-02-09T09:02:00.001Z

It started snowing again about 3 yesterday and was still falling by bed time! V white today and yy got to wear her new jacket. Lightly padded for doggie comfort. :)

2009-02-02T21:57:00.000Z

RUN!!

Calvin is alive and well!

more animals

Woo hoo!

2009-02-02T19:03:00.001Z

We should've made a calvin and hobbes one but too many kids next door... This one has a strange scary face though!

Stranded!

2009-02-02T16:48:00.001Z

The baby oil ran out and poor yy got stuck in the snow! It took ages with the hair dryer to get the snow off her paws. :(

Snow!

2009-02-02T08:35:00.001Z

At last there is snow in ek! Have put baby oil on yy's paws so the snow doesn't stick and seems to work so we can stay out longer. Hurray!

Happy chinese new year!

2009-01-25T23:12:00.001Z

From boomer.

Happy chinese new year!

2009-01-25T23:10:00.001Z

From yu you

2009-01-18T15:37:00.002Z

It doesn't look like yy is pleased to have her view blocked by a large ginger cat...

2009-01-06T21:53:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

A little Yu You treat for you all!

2008-12-14T13:23:00.003Z

Family photos

Kathryn, Yu You's breeder, has sent me these Coton Family Photos.

I think this little puppy is new so I am not sure about his relationship to Yu You. I think Yu You is a lot cuter...

The dog on the right with the black ears is Kitty, Yu You's mum. I think there is a family resemblance. The puppy looks a bit fed up by this time! :D

This is the whole family! From the left is the unknown puppy, Kitty, Toddy (Yu You's brother) and Maria (unrelated aunt). Toddy looks a bit surprised in this. Not sure what is happening with his hair but maybe he has his fringe tied up. He is SO HUGE!

Yu You is cuter.

Starved!

2008-11-28T19:19:00.001Z

I am obviously much too slow to dish out her food- boomer decides to help herself!

The good life...

2008-11-28T14:30:00.001Z

In my next life i want to be a coton! This is where i found yy this afternoon when i was checking on why it was so quiet...

Hee hee!

2008-11-22T20:37:00.001Z

I think this is the feline equivalent to bed head! Dreaming of roast chicken noms.

2008-11-10T21:22:00.003Z

Old/New Arrival

I guess I should introduce the newest and oldest member of our family then!

This is Garfield. He is Daniel's original cat who stayed with his Mum when we moved into our house. He's 18 (!!) now and is no longer able to stay out all night so he has come to us for his 'retirement'. He reminds me of Grandad... he sleeps and groggily grumbles at me when I pass by.

He is the noisiest cat in the world! At random points during the day he meows very loudly as though he's hurt and when I run into the room to see what's going on I find he just wanted to let me know he was there!!

We had to house train him as he was an outdoor cat but this went very well. I think it only took a few of days and he's only had a couple of accidents. We used soil to get him used to the litter tray but under estimated the size if his bowels and one time he ended up flooding it! It as so funny how mortified he sounded but seeing as I was the only one at home I had the dubious pleasure of having to sort it all out... there is a very fertile part of the garden now!

Boomer is not hugely pleased about him as you can imagine. Garfield just ignores her - he is twice her size after all She walks up t him and hisses when she can and he pretends not to see her. Yu You just thinks that he's a new cat to play with and isn't bothered unless Boomer gets agitated.

Anyway, it's a houseful of animals now. Humans are out numbered and are only providers of noms. "\(.:.:.)/"

Truce?

2008-11-09T19:22:00.001Z

Could be sharing the heat from radiator though...

2008-10-05T18:17:00.002+01:00

Painting

Sau Wing made me this for my birthday. I want one of Boomer now!

It's a lot better than ones I saw on the web for £500! I hope I get discount...

2008-09-28T13:44:00.001+01:00

Hmmm... I wonder who created the carnage... hmmm...

2008-09-28T13:26:00.003+01:00

Doggie Mates

Yu You's new best friend is a Sheltie called Tootsie. They are roughly the same size so end up chasing each other in the park. Tootie usually wins as she is younger, fitter and has longer legs. She pins down YY and mock 'kills' her by nipping her neck!

I finally managed to remember to take my phone and got a picture of them in a brief moment of rest. As you can see YY is knackered but Tootsie is fine!

Here are some of her other doggie friends. We only see them at the weekend though as they seem to have owners who don't work 9 - 5!

This is Megan. I couldn't get a photo of Floyd, who is a pointer mix. He doesn't stay still for very long!

The German Shepherd is Eella (sp?) and that is her own version of 'Epic Fetch'... (ref: lolcats) The other dog is called Brodie. Brodie has burst many of Yu You's toys as she just refuses to let go!

Seaside

2008-09-06T13:25:00.001+01:00

This is yy at troon beach. She always seems to know that this is the way to go and doesn't want help to get up steps. :-D

Eyes bigger than mouth?

2008-08-13T17:51:00.000+01:00

Yy's find of the day! Don't think she'll be able to get it home though...

2008-08-07T20:16:00.002+01:00

Vote for me

Go! Go! Go!

PetChamp - Cutest Pet Competition

Don't let Yu You be '5th' again!

2008-08-03T18:49:00.002+01:00

Everybody needs good neighbours

As some of you may know we have quite (!) noisy neighbours.

Just now they are washing one of their many cars outside. Some days they have 3 cars parked outside because their adult children just don't move! rant for another day! Fair enough, not a normally noisy activity you may think. Sau Wai is just being odd again you may think.

When I wash the car - yes I *do* sometimes do this! - Yu You sits on pavement and watches me. Boomer too sometimes.

When they wash the car they have conversations with each other. Where one person is at the car and the other is inside the house! :-| And when their son walks out with a bag they shout at him while he is walking away asking what is in the bag and where did he get the bag from! In the street! I know this as I can hear every word they say when they are outside. Nobody can accuse them of mumbleing.

That is just the people noise. As I said, Yu You sits outside with me when I wash the car so their dogs are also outside when they wash theirs. Fair enough. Wrong! Their dogs bark at everyone in the street, even the ones they know. This then prompts more human noise. They shout at the little dog over the sound of the hoover! The little dog's name is 'Trixie-shuthup' or 'Trixie-comeanavabiscuit'.

It's a vicious circle of noise and not like Ramsey Street at all.

Random pic

2008-06-15T15:26:00.001+01:00

We are playing with dad's new mobile and took this photo.

Aww!

2008-06-13T22:40:00.001+01:00

Found this on my phone and thought i'd share it with everyone.:)

Striking a pose

2008-06-13T22:25:00.001+01:00

Sometimes yu you is such a show off!

Boomer

2008-06-08T17:25:00.001+01:00

In a rare day of scottish sunshine, the hunter stalks her prey... \(.:.:.)/

Happiness!

2008-05-30T18:00:00.001+01:00

Is a stolen ball!

Animal convoy

2008-04-30T12:06:00.001+01:00

We all took a trip to my flat today. Was going to leave boomer at home but she purred at me so we all had to go together. She seems to be calm now that yy is with her in flat.

Found!

2008-04-28T14:21:00.001+01:00

Back where she belongs now. Thanks to petsearch ek!

Grand day out

2008-04-26T14:01:00.000+01:00

Yu you and daniel were transit drivers today! Bet other van dogs don't have pink tshirts :-D

Short!

2008-04-25T11:30:00.001+01:00

She's going to need a jumper i think...

Ace of hearts

2008-04-25T10:37:00.001+01:00

Have discovered that yu you's black patch is in the shape of a heart!

Cozy pillow

2008-04-17T09:54:00.001+01:00

Taking a leaf out of boomers book and napping on warm laptop. We are all still missing her. :(

2008-01-28T22:28:00.001Z

Yu You is an Aunt!

These are Maria and Toddy's puppies. Toddy is Yu You's brother... he is like a mini polar bear!

Oooh! I realy want another puppy now!

2008-01-19T23:05:00.001Z

You Tube Video

Here is an old video clip we have of Boomer and Yu You which we finally got round to putting on You Tube. I am aghast at how scottish I sound in it so please watch on low volume!

They are both only about 6 months old here and Yu You was still sleeping in her cage. This one night Boomer decided that she really wanted to sleep with her in the cage...

2008-01-05T18:43:00.001Z

Thought would share this...

moar http://icanhascheezburger.com

Daniel has already laughed so much his head hurt!

2008-01-03T18:35:00.000Z

Happy New Year 2008!

Yu You sleeps off the excesses of the festive period! I'm not sure why she doesn't get a crick in her neck!

2007-12-26T14:49:00.000Z

Christmas Photos!

Daniel's nephew Matthew risked life and limb to put a santa hat on Garfield (Daniel's other cat) yesterday. Garfield is not known for his patience with foolish human games! This is the cat that *knows* his hair sticks better on black trousers than jeans and only rubs against me if i have said black trousers on! "\(.:.:.)/"

After a HUGE Christmas lunch at Daniel's mum's we drove to Troon for a HUGE Christmas dinner with my family. We managed to eat a bit more and then escaped to Ken's house to play Wii games. SY and SK are really good! I think they may have been practising!

Yu You was throughly petted and spoiled all day. This is a family photo of us at the end of the night. Alison wouldn't go in it though! That's her leg on the left there anyway!

2007-12-22T22:01:00.000Z

Coton in the mist!

It was so cold this week that we had a lovely ice park to play in. It was quite foggy as well which just seemed to add to Yu You's enjoyment. I thought that as she's from a hot country she might get cold but it didn't seem to bother her a bit - in fact she loved it. She was a snow bunny in the park, hopping about and running in circles.

Here are some photos for you (she's the large white dot!)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-09T22:51:00.000Z

Recent Yu You and Boomer Pics

Yu You has decided that sitting and looking out the window is not just for cats. Often both Boomer and Yu You will sit on the back of the sofa being nosy neighbours!

You can see from this photo how big Yu You is now. She still sleeps on her back but often her head hangs off the sofa - it doesn't seem to bother her though!

We've still got the little bit of matting that Yu You was born on and as you can see this is where she keeps all her stuff. Often she'll jump off the sofa to growl at Boomer if she goes to sniff at 'her' toys... it doesn't matter if they were originally Boomers toys!

I have no idea who's sock that is btw. It just appeared one day and we think it got stuck to our sheets at the laundrette! It's the secret life if socks! Somewhere out there are all the single socks that I have lost! Anyway, it's Yu You's sock now!

Working hard

2007-11-15T16:20:00.001Z

Yu you decides she wants to help me work but this really means she gets to sleep on the desk!

Waiting...

2007-11-04T16:22:00.001Z

We wait patiently for daniel...

Wet day

2007-11-02T16:11:00.001Z

YY refuses to budge on wet day. Lazy!

Hiding

2007-11-01T10:09:00.001Z

2007-10-31T08:50:00.000Z

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Boomer wouldn't stay still so only YY was 'persuaded' to pose. "\(.:.:.)/"

2007-10-06T20:58:00.000+01:00

Haircut

Before:-

After:- It took 2 hours and a very hair floor was left behind but this is Yu You after her grooming session. Daniel is calling her a dome head as the hair on her head is quite short to allow her to see. She's still mega cute though!

Notice how white she is in the after shot!

2007-09-20T18:32:00.000+01:00

Hurrah!

Yu You is not ill!

The biopsy came back showing that it was a wart! Urgh! But it was inflamed so I guess that was worrying. She's going to be prone to warts now the vet said!! Better than anything bad though!

2007-09-15T16:02:00.000+01:00

Comfy Collar

The replacement for her lampshade has arrived! So quickly too!

She's not very chuffed with it but I am as it seems much less scary to her than the plastic rosse. Here are a couple of pics showing her in it and feeling sorry for her self.

I did take her for a short walk to the show park this morning to try cheer her up which worked until she realised she wasn't allowed off the leash to run after the ball with the other dogs. Then she went on strike and made me carry her all the way back home!

Needless to say the other dog owners hadn't seen a comfy collar before. I sometimes wonder if I am the only pet owner who thinks there must be an alternative to these lampshades! It was quite hard to find a UK source but there were many US ones. Anyway, we'll see how we get on with this.

2007-09-14T22:24:00.000+01:00

Update

First full day after her op and she's getting better. It was a restless night for us though as she was a little uncomfortable I think. I had to take her down for a little snooze on the sofa with me as she was shuffling about noisily in our room and i didn't want Daniel to lose too much sleep!

During the day she didn't whine as much and slept a little i think. I tried to put a bandage on her leg but she was too cowardly so she has to put up with her lampshade.

I have orderred her a softer alternative though (Comfy Collar) and hopefully it'll arrive soon. I'm sure we'll be able to use it again although I am hoping later rather than sooner.

At least she's a lot perkier now. In the last couple of hours she's been smiling and playing with Boomer so I hope that means it's not too sore!

It's moments like this i am glad we got Boomer as Yu You and she really do enjoy playing together! "\(.:.:.)/"

2007-09-13T18:40:00.000+01:00

Poor doggy

Today Yu You had to go to the animal hospital to get a lump removed from her front leg and sent away for a biopsy. She's in a little bit of pain just now I think as keeps whining and won't settle for long. Now I have noticed she has a sore on her back foot between claws! :*(

Will find out results of biopsy in a week and I'll get the sore looked at as well.

So glad we got pet insurance for her - £200!!

2007-09-05T21:23:00.000+01:00

Haircut

How can I get Yu You's hair cut so that it's cute AND easier to maintain??!

It's taken me 3 days and a lot of hours to finally get all her tangles out. This was a result of a couple of days away in London for me and combined with a wet day in the park makes for a lot of combing and frustration. Sigh.

2007-08-30T23:12:00.000+01:00

Bookworm

Yu You studies hard so she can be as clever as daddy...

2007-08-27T22:21:00.000+01:00

Boomer watches my every move...

2007-08-27T21:56:00.000+01:00

Guest Appearance

Pui Lin gave me these photos of Halo so I am putting them here. I still think Boomer is cuter but hey - I'm only slightly biased seeing as I only like one cat in the world!

So anyway.... drumroll....da dada da! HALO DUNBAR!

Sadly, Halo passed away earlier this year. :*(

2007-08-18T16:21:00.000+01:00

Some random pic's

2007-08-04T22:04:00.000+01:00

Roadkill kitten

Around the corner from us is a little kitten which is always asleep in the sun in front of their house. All very good and well except it always looks like it's roadkill! It is a mixed coloured kitten and has a large moulting grey coloured back which if unfortunate combined with it's inclination to sleep in the middle of it's owner's/carers drive!

The first time I saw it, I had to walk past really slowly to see if it was ok - even Yu You doesn't bark at it! Earlier this week Yu You decided to become a rebelious teenager and wouldn't come back to me and ran away into people's gardens. She saw Roadkill kitten and went to investigate but although the kitten was hissing and doing other cat like defence actions, Yu You didn't chase it or bark. I think she was just surprised it was actually not dead!

One day I am going to sneak a picture of it...

Yu You got punished for running away though - the things she hates most - she was locked out of my office for a few hours. I am not sure it worked though as she is still a bit rebelious this week albeit very clingy. One day I hope she will come when called...

2007-07-29T19:16:00.000+01:00

Oh the shame...

Yesterday was The East Kilbride Cattle Show which seems to be a major event in EK... I dragged Daniel to see what the fuss was about but also because a fellow dog walker had told me there was a dog show there as well and anyone could enter.

However, I had booked Yu You to see the vet in the morning because she is still scratching herself so hard she makes her lips bleed! Anyway, the vet gave me some steriod cream for her (i have to wear disposible gloves to put it on her!) and then gave her her yearly booster shot. She was most displeased and dragged her tail all the way home. I even had to carry her some of the way as she looked so glum and was walking so slowly. As she seemed so down I decided not to give her a bath and took her to the Cattle show as she was. I wasn't going to bother enterring her as she hadn't had a bath but we met a neighbour of Daniel's mum's and she had two little shiz shu's enterred which i thought were just not in the same league of cuteness as Yu You - bath or no bath - so I put her name down. It cost 50p which Daniel had to pay as I had no money ;-)

As you can guess from the title we didn't exactly win... she refused to let the judge look at her teeth and then I made the mistake of walking her on my right rather than my left as I usually do. Doh! As a result she was right next to all the audience dogs and kept shying away and not walking like the pedigree, daughter of prize winning father, that she is.

She came 5th...out of 5! The shame of it all. For those that want to know, the shiz shu's came 3rd and 4th. A lovely little poodle came first but she had a "showbiz mom" who made her trot up and down and put her feet in the right position.

'No return on investment' Daniel keeps saying.

There were lots of different breeds of dogs there but alas, as expected, only one Coton. I felt a bit bad for her that there was no other little doggie like her but then, there was also only one Afghan so I guess that's just the way it is.

Must go practise for next year...

2007-06-29T23:23:00.000+01:00

Small Update

Yu You

The cuts on her mouth seem to have healed although she seems to be a bit of a self harming dog! First there was the scratching mouth until she drew blood and tonight I noticed she was cleaning between her claws but she was a bit rough with herself and had scratched her skin until it looked raw! No blood thankfully!

Oh - and this was after she swallowed lots of bits of foam from a ball and was sick. Sigh! It's my own fault. She had stolen the ball from a huge chocolate labrador named Brooke and run off to chew it. I just assummed it would come out and as long as it's not an expandable material she wouldn't choke. I just didn't realise it could come up rather than the other way! "\(:.:)/"

Boomer

She managed to catch and kill a bird today. Third time (un)lucky I guess as she'd caught a mouse and a bird before but Daniel caught her and released them before any harm could be done. She went in huffs with him but we ignored her. Anyway, she took the poor thing into Daniel's office and that's where I found her when I reslised she wasn't outside anymore. She had been very quiet for ages but what I didn't know was that the occassional thumps I could hear were not neighbours but Boomer "playing" with the dead bird! Ewww!!

Anyhow, I closed the door so she can't get in and Daniel very nicely said he would dispose of it. "\(.:.:)/" (2)!!

2007-05-20T20:55:00.000+01:00

Getting there

Yu You's mouth is getting better now. Her left side is all healed but her right might need a couple more days as she still wants to scratch it.

We went to Troon today and she saw the beach for the first time. I didn't let her off her leash though as I didn't want her to jump on anyone. She was very excited to smell the new smells though and had a big smile on face all day. I forgot my camera though so will need to take pictures next time.

The bad news is that she seems to have regressed a bit with her house training this week. :( Sigh. Bit depressed about it now.

2007-05-17T09:23:00.000+01:00

Brief Update

Yu You's mouth is slowly healing. I have resorted to using a hair band to keep her sock on longer but she still manages to take it off during the night. Better than nothing though!

Boomer hasn't caught any more creatures - Phew!

2007-05-14T21:55:00.000+01:00

Boomer News!

Boomer caught her first mouse last week! I forgot to blog it as was worried about Yu You's ulcers (yes I am biased) but apparently she brought it into the house in her mouth and Daniel found her holding it on the sofa. Yuck!

He managed to pick her up and put her outside with it where upon Boomer dropped the mouse. It was just stunned and ran away again. Phew! We obviously taught her not to bite down well!

I am a little concerned that this is just the start and one day she will drop a live mouse in the house. At least a dead one can be swpt up without much problem but if there is ever a live one I may have to scream like the girlie I am!

Anyway, we are proud parents. First catch!

Yu You's Shoes - kind of.

Her pink boots...

Yu You in my gloves - please do not call the RSPCA!

In her custom made socks... ok, these are the gloves cut up and designed by moi. It's for her own good!

2007-05-13T20:34:00.000+01:00

Elizabeth Arden

Yu You keeps scratching! I had to go on an emergency run to Pets at Home to get her something to cover her nails as she scratched and ended up with blood down her face!

They only had one pair though and they are not very classy but at least they were cheap! I have taken a photo but I've not managed to put it online yet as the mac is apparently on it's last legs. It is very funny though! She's like a baby elephant learning to walk and we have it on video. I must figure out You Tube so you can see!

A top tip is Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream. It's fab! I use it as a lip balm (only thing better than Vasaline!) and I remembered it's slightly antiseptic so I have been putting some on Yu You's sores. It's a tube not a stick for those who do not know! I am not *that* obsessed! Anyway, I think it might be working as it seems to be helping the cuts heal a bit faster - as long as I can get her to stop scratching!!

I found this rather disturbing product though while looking at options online... Soft Claws. Now *that* is just strange!

2007-05-13T11:49:00.000+01:00

Poor little doggie

Yu You has some mouth ulcers that are bleeding. They are on the side of her mouth and sadly, when she eats she opens them up. Poor Yu You! It looks quite painful and blood stains her hair :-(

The vet has given her some anti-biotics but it's going to be a challenge getting her to stop scratching at her lips. I may have to get doggie boots after all!

2007-04-27T23:09:00.000+01:00

Ewww!

Yu You has a couple of Bichon Frises (not sure if that is the plural!) that she plays with in the park, Boo Boo and Pheobe. Boo Boo is named after Yogi Bears companion apparently...

Today only Boo Boo came out to play and a few other big dogs. His owner is a very nice woman and is quite chatty. So there we were, letting our dogs exercise each other for us when I noticed Boo Boo has a white thing in his mouth. At first I thought it was a tissue and being a bit of a protective dog owner I thought I'd better take it from him. I know Yu You chews and tries to swallow everything and then proceeds to have a minor asthma attack afterwards. But as I reached for it I had to pull my hand back as I realised it wasn't a tissue but - EWW- a used condom. EWW. EWW. At this point Boo Boo has run away from me, clearly not understanding the situation!

Ok, so this is not my dog, but I can't let him eat it so I start to chase him shouting at him to leave it. Not my dog so doesn't pay attention (although what's new there as my own one also does not pay attention!). At this point his owner asks what is it he has in his mouth and I have to mutter it to her to save embarassment as there were other owners around. At which point we have caught Boo Boo and the decision has to be made about how to get it out of his mouth... again, not my dog so obviously I do not volunteer to touch it! Boo Boo's owner eventually managed to ping it out of his mouth with her finger nails only and we have to quickly black bag it (they should use this as an example of why dog owners shuld carry poo bags!) as Boo Boo insisted on getting it back!

Anyway, I thought I'd just share this nice surburban dog walking story with you.... hope I haven't ruined your dinner!

2007-04-13T22:07:00.000+01:00

Bird alert!

Boomer and Yu You ganged up yesterday and somehow managed to chase a bird into the kitchen. Little monsters! "\(.:.:.)/"

There we were eating dinner and all of a sudden there are a lot of scrabbling noises in the kitchen and Daniel goes in to investigate. I remain on the sofa as I am lazy and had assummed Yu You had draggged in some twig stuck to her furry behind or such like... He did yell that there was a bird in the kitchen but I didn't really understand until I walk in on him cleaning bird blood off of the kitchen window! Bleeeeee!

Luckily for the bird, Daniel got there in time, caught it and set it free but not before it had flown into the window and given itself a nose/beak(?) bleed.

There was a lot of flash disinfectant sprayed that evening as I tidied up feathers and some strange grey liquid that appearred on the cabinet doors! I don't wanna know.

On the bright side, at least it wasn't me who went to look! birds freak me out - beaks and claws - arrrrgh!!! You may be hugley unsurprised to learn I won't watch a v famous Hitchcock film...

p.s

Yu You's scar is healing well and she has resummed her role as the largest rabbit in the park. I am sure she has the soul of a doberman though! Grrr!

2007-04-11T22:15:00.000+01:00

Stiches are out!

And she's doing well. There is a tiny bit which seems slightly raw but no bleeding which I shall take as a good sign. Our neighbours Jack Russell had the same op in March but ended up with a small cyst which burst (bleee!) so we are watching out for that.

p.s. Jack Russel is a nedette dog - head butted Yu You last week! I had to carry her home so she couldn't do it again!! No manners!

2007-04-09T10:28:00.000+01:00

If only!

If only I could get her to do this on command!

Update on op

Yu You is doing well since her operation and tomorrow the stitches come out! Hoorah! It's been hard stopping her from jumping up and running up and down the stairs. She doesn't seem to feel much discomfort from the stitches at all. I think they might be itching a bit now as she is trying to lick them a lot more.

I'll be glad once she's given the all clear and can have walks off leash again though. She's soo soooooo slow walking on leash! Has to sniff every lampost and catch up with the doggy gossip!

2007-04-01T12:53:00.000+01:00

The BIG OP

Friday was the date of Yu You's big operation i.e. neutered. At the same time we asked the vet to remove the small hernia she'd had since she was born as it was on her tummy anyway.

When I took her in on Friday morning she was her usual waggy tail self and as she's not scared of the vets she was quite happy to be there until she realised I was leaving! The operation requires an overnight stay so we didn't pick her up until Saturday monring. I called at 10am like they asked me to but ended up feeling like a neglectful parent when as soon as I said I had a dog in to be spayed yesterday they knew immediately it was for Yu You! It made me wonder if perhaps she was the last to be either picked up or called about!! But they said call at 10am!! It's like being the last one at the school gates to pick up your child after school! :(

Anyway, the operation went well and she was pleased to see us although very droopy and sluggish. I think she also charmed the nurses as there were a lot of "she's so sweet" comments. That's my girl!

Here are some photos of her after we got her home.

Note the droopyness. Poor baby!

This is her little protective "hat" to stop her messing up her stiches. She hates it as when she bends her head it drags on the floor and scares her. I had to put it on her this morning as there was a lot of investigation of her belly going on - she sat for almost 2hours not moving because it was on! I think she lay a bit but always with her head up. Stubburn miss! Although does that add more to my neglectful parent profile...?

She slept a lot during the evening. At least she used to sleeping on her back anyway and didn't seem uncomfortable at all. You can see her huge wound on the second pic but only look if not squeamish!

2007-03-26T21:08:00.000+01:00

Random blog

This is a cute picture I took today of Yu You barricading the door when she saw I was putting on shoes at lunchtime. She won't come if you shout her to go for a walk but if she thinks you are about to leave without her she'll run over, give a little whine, and sit right at the door incase you forget her! V cute but v tragic at the same time. I still worry about leaving her but sometimes we catch her snoozing on top of my slippers and not fretting at all which makes me feel better!

I forget if I have put this photo of Boomer sleeping on my laptop on the blog at all but never mind, it'll just have to be there twice. After all, it's not often Boomer stays still enough to get her photo taken!! I wonder how long before the fan gives up...

2007-03-24T21:54:00.000Z

Hair

Yu You's hair is growing very fast and thick now. It seems that she
grows knots faster than I can brush them out but I don't have the
heart to deny her when I see how happy she is running over the grass
and in and out of bushes. She just jumps about like a furry rabbit. Every kerp is leapt, not stepped and all stairs must be jumped off 2 steps before the end! :-) Sometimes she even skids at the end but it doesn't seem to stop her!

Must find a solution to her tangles though. I spent 2 hours last night and that was only half of it. Then I spent another 2 hours today PLUS an hour after her bath trying to get all the knots out. So far I think I've gotten 90% of them. I've left some as I can't figure out how to get rid of them without hurting her or leaving her hair all "holey" :-( I now understand the attraction of hairless dogs...

2007-03-11T22:28:00.000Z

Coton history!

This year is the first year that Coton de Tulears have been able to show in the toy group at Crufts. I think (not quite sure) that previously they were only allowed to compete in the imported dogs section but as I may have mentioned before, they were taken off the list last year.

Yu You and I watched crufts especially to see if there would be any Cotons as you can imagine, we don't often see one! Well, when I say we watched I really mean, I watched and Yu You growled at them! She really doesn't like to see dogs or any kind of animal on TV and often jumps off the sofa and runs growling at the screen!

I have taken a photo of Yu You watching TV. If you look closely you can see it's a Shar Pei on the screen. I was too slow to get a pic of Boomer watching though. She's too clever to think they are in her living room at least!

2007-02-11T18:47:00.000Z

What it takes to be beautiful!

As those who have met Yu You will know, her hair is (usually) gorgeous, soft and cotton wool like - hence the name. However, as I have found it takes a lot of work to maintain the hair she is used to. The slightest wrong move it seems can produce a tangle which won't budge and needs to be cut out! Arrrgh! She already has a slight "hole" on her paws from earlier tangles.

The golden rule is supposedly to comb out all the tangles before getting her wet but I don't seem to have the patience for that so she goes straight in the bath. I use a special white dogs shampoo now (if you remember I spent quite a lot on "pet costmetics" recently) which is to keep her white and bright, like Daz Daniel says... It's royal blue but really does seem to work!

It takes forever to get her hair all wet through. I think I have her soaking and then I find that the hair underneath some patches are still bone dry! This is why she doesn't feel the cold on rainy days I think. Her skin isn't really soaking!

There is a right and a wrong way to wash a Coton I have found. I have to always rub the shampoo into her coat in the same direction. If I do what feels natural and rub it in a circle to get lather she will pay for it later when I am tugging at a tangle! This, as you can imagine, takes ages. It is also very horrifying how much dirt comes out of her hair! Rivers of brown water!

After she has been shampooed she gets through two towels (pat only! again no rubbing!!) and then is blow dried. This is her "Before" shot.

I used to just blow dry her for a little while and use my fingers to de-tangle but this wasn't working. It was taking forever as she has so much and such thick hair. And after 30 mins she still wouldn't be dry!

I did some research and now I spray her with Vellus anti static conditioning spray first and comb her while I dry her. The special Mason & Pearson comb is absolutely wonderful! I think I need one for myself. Yu You doesn't seem to feel the tugs as much with it. It does seem to make her hair dry faster if I am combing at the same time.

And 40 minutes (yes, 40!) later this is the finished result. Ta Da!

Looking good!

2007-02-09T22:10:00.000Z

Cola...

Those who have seen Il Mare will know what I mean. No way is the dog meant to be big and brown! That would be Chro...

I wonder if she thinks the cushions are Cotons... :D

2007-02-05T20:50:00.000Z

Growing Pains

I'm feeling a bit sad today as it seems Yu You is growing up and becoming more independant every day. She no longer sleeps contentedly next to me on my sofa but often jumps down to sleep on her rug or walks over the sofa arms to get to the other sofa.

She no longer sleeps in all her funny positions in my office but sleeps either at the front door (this is admittedly funny when the post comes...) or at the top of the stairs so she can see the front door and protect us.

But she does still like to sleep on top of my slippers when i am not wearing them and so I know she still wants to be near me :-)

2007-01-29T20:21:00.000Z

Food

It's been a long hard slog but Yu You seems to be eating (almost) sensibly at last. It was all my own fault as although I have read the book and ALL the websites say do not give in to your dog when it is begging for food off your plate, I was too weak!! She was ok at first and still ate most of her own food but last month she turned down almost everything except human food. In fact on several occassions she turned down scrambled eggs and smoked sausage! I'm not sure what tje final straw was but something had to change - she was moving down a notch on her collar as a result of being ill at new year so it was time to be her pack leader and do what was best for her.

Initially she was very stubborn and would rather starve herself than eat dog food. It was very stressful as I felt that I'd ruined her! We tried a lot of different brands of dog food, dry and wet. Eventually we bought Morrison's own brand "My Dog' tinned food and she seemed to eat that - albeit after I put it on a plate and made a small game out of it by "dropping" some on the floor... But at least she was eating almost a whole plate of it! Beef and Rice is strangely her least favourite food but apparently a lot of dogs develop allergies to beef so perhaps that's why.

I have moved her onto Pedigree chum now though as I was a bit worried at the thought of what "animal derivatives" might be! I've noticved that she is now back at the second hole of her collar rather than the third and it looks like she soon will be on the first if she keeps eating as well as this :D My big baby!

Here are some new pictures but also one of her eating as proof!

Note her nice hair - obviously the "pet cosmetics" are working!

This last photo is of Yu You's brother Toddy and her mum Kitty. She looks a bit like her mum I think but Toddy is massive next to Kitty! Toddy is destined for the show ring so he is not allowed to get his hair cut unlike Yu You. I still think Yu You is cuter though. I am not sure I can cope with all that hair!

2007-01-27T16:29:00.000Z

The white stuff

It's been a while since I posted any pictures of the pets so here are a couple of them looking very confused at the recent snow we had. Boomer really would rather not touch the strange white, wet *and* cold blanket in the garden hence her paws are almost all on non white pavement although I had gently nudged her out of the door...

Yu You on the other hand is more confused (hence frowny look) as to how it got into her back garden and had to do a peremiter check before settling down to eat it :D

Lately, Yu You has needed a lot more grooming due to the length of her hair now and the bad weather. It was bliss when we had ice as all the mud was frozen! I am now considerring buying a grooming table but they cost upwards of £65. Eeek! I am searching ebay now but the odds are i'll give in and buy a new one before my back kills me!

Yesterday I strangely managed to spend £50 on doggy hair products as I noticed her hair was getting very dry. I got her a Mason and Pearson comb which means nothing to most people. I didn't realise myself but they are *hand made*!! I tried it on my own hair and I think I may get myself one now. So comfortable on the scalp! I may swap my own boots branded one with Yu You...

2007-01-17T22:16:00.000Z

Update

We have taught her "tummy" i.e. rollover :-D and she and Boomer had a play in the snow last night. Boomer didn't like it much and tried to stay out of the way of falling snowflakes but Yu You seemed to enjoy exploring the new white garden!

2007-01-08T18:39:00.000Z

:O

Yu You has learnt "Paw"! She needs to be touched on the leg first though but huge leap forward! Hurrah!

2007-01-08T10:36:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

Wow! It's already more than a week into 2007! So much has happened to us already.

I had my eyes zapped but this meant travelling to London to get it done as I am (was?) uber blind. Daniel's mum kindly agreed to look after the kids for a few days while we were in London. And so starts Yu You's tale of woe...

On Tuesday afternoon I was picking up the rubbish that had blown onto our front lawn as a result of the storms and the cheeky puppy decided to go to the toilet on next dorrs lawn. As it was a no 2 I had to get a poo bag and pick it up and noticed it was a bit soft but thought nothing of it as by then Yu You had invited herself into Hannah and Beth's house for some play. Cheeky, cheeky puppy!

Boomer had decided that outside was too scary as a result of a slight accident (it was!) the night before when I had locked her outside for the night. She was very, very clingy for ages afterwards but I refuse to feel (too!) guilty about it as she has to learn!

Anyway, that night Yu You started to vomit and had diarrhoea and by bedtime had nothing left in her belly. She hid herself under the bed as is her preference when feeling a bit poorly. By morning she seemed a little bit better so Daniel dropped the kids off at their grans as arranged and a quick check on Wed night showed she had been a bit down but ok and so we thought that was that...

On Thursday, we called again to see how the kids were and discovered that now in addition to Yu you being ill, she'd managed to spread the bug to Jake, Daniel's mum's dog. Poor Jake!

We collected the pets on Friday afternoon and found Jake still ill and Yu You not too bad but on Sasturday morning we had a huge amount of mess to clean up so I called the vet and made an emergency appointment for them both.

The vet thought it wass probably just some bacteria picked up at the park that caused the bug and gave them both some pills and a jab.

I am pleased to report that they are now both better.

Boomer is still asking for lots of cuddles so obviously I am not quite forgiven for locking her out!

2006-12-30T17:27:00.000Z

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

As you can see from the photo below, the kids were very interested in thier presents but as with most children, it turned out the just liked the wrapping paper! Although Boomer did eat a couple of catnip treats and was promptly hyperactive for a good half hour afterwards. Those treats are rationed now!

Yu You recieved a lovely doggy coat but unfortunatley she is not a Next medium it would seem... This is a photo of her looking a bit glum. Luckily we don't reeally believe in dieting in our household so we'll just accept Next has unrealistic expectations for a medium and buy a different one!

We were uber proud of Yu You on Christmas day. Both Boomer and Yu You went with us to our first Christmas visit which was to Daniel's mums for the big lunch (although it was at 3pm!) and we all ate far too much turkey.

Yu You had a lovely time playing with Jake, Daniel's mum's dog. There were some tussells when denta bones were involved but nothing major. Afterwards we dropped Boomer off at home and then Yu You came with us to Troon for her first visit.

I was very apprehensive as I wouldn't say she was 100% reliable on the house training front but I was asked very specifically by my siblings to bring her. But my fears were unfounded as she was perfectly behaved! She even managed to wrap my mother round her tail with a few puppy looks and sitting when she was told in Chinese no less! Lucky for us we have trained her with hand gestures so it barely matters on the language but it looks very impressive when she sat, lay down a,d stood on hind legs all with "hakka" commands ;-)

But that wasn't the end of our adventures. After our second dinner (!) we all drove around to my Uncles house in Irvine and again I was an extremely proud mummy when she didn't have an accident.

And that wasn't the end either! We had one more house stop to my cousin's house and by that time she was very sleepy! Luckily she just peed outside and then found a corner and fell asleep while we played Name that Tune (80's edition - v hard!) and oscasionally raised her head to show her annoyance at our loud voices disturbing her sleep. Sweet puppy!

Any how, when I eventually called my parents to let them know we were home safe, my mother asked if Yu You was ok and not car sick at all... I suspect she will get a repeat invitation to Troon now and a lot of ribs at her disposal!

Happy New Year!

2006-12-22T09:09:00.000Z

First Christmas

As it's the kid's first Christmas I thought I'd try and take some festive photos. Unfortunately Boomer was having none of it! Boomer is systematically "de-baubling" the tree but never when there is a camera to catch her in the act!

A massive sock!

Yu You putting up with my attemps for a Christmas picture. She and Boomer had a bit of a fight with the tinsel afterwards and she smiled then but she wasn't too chuffed at this indignity!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Yu You is in heat right now and we are not walking her outside just incase... As a result she has taken to begging to be lifted up onto the sofa and then peering out of the window. She sometimes looks a bit confused when Boomer is also looking out as if she can't work out what Boomer is looking at that's so interesting! Anyway, here are a couple of pics of her being a nosy puppy! Like her owner some would say...

2006-12-11T22:19:00.000Z

All grown up

Yu You is starting her first heat season now. We noticed the blood yesterday. It's really quite odd as I didn't know female dogs (they *so* got the short straw for female names! Girl cats are called Queens!!) had a little bleeding. It's almost like a small period for them.

Poor thing has had mood swings Sad and a bit withdrawn yesterday and chirpier today.

I gave her and Boomer chicken roll and Yu You had some shortbread as well for comfort food. :-) Nothing quite like tea and shortbread to keep spirits up! Daniel dunked it in tea for her. So sweet!

2006-12-08T16:42:00.000Z

Relations!

Relations! How cool! I still think Yu You's the cutest though!

2006-12-03T20:26:00.000Z

Hibernation Time

Winter is here and the wind is howling outside!

Boomer has had her operation and is now neutered and allowed out whenever she wants... not that she wants to in this weather! All she seems to do just now is sleep (and bully Yu You). We took a few photos of her sleeping as it's easier than when she is moving :)

I want to buy Yu You a rain coat as I think she needs it in Scotland but Daniel is resisting. I thought that the All Weather Trekker coat from www.britishdog.net would be ok as it's pretty simple but I havn't gotten the green light yet!

Despite that Yu You seems to like walking in the wind. She just gets more leaves to chase after!

While looking at raincoats I came across this web site - www.trixieandpeanut.com and had a little chuckle to myself. Daniel would NEVER agree to this one http://www.trixieandpeanut.com/apparel/133740.html. I just love how Kiko looks like she's ready to kill someone as soon as they take it off! Haa haa! But if she did they might out her in this... :-)

2006-11-12T20:13:00.000Z

Random cute photos

Luckily I had my camera phone with me!

Yu You and Boomer having a nap in my office.

Yu You meeting a bunny friend in Pets at Home.

2006-11-07T21:02:00.000Z

Remember, Remember the 5th of November!

We have survived Bonfire Night! Hurrah! No need for the CD of bangs the puppy class instructor was trying to sell as well. The pets were nice and calm and cosy inside and Yu You only barked at some bangs if she felt like it.

Boomer is in heat now though and is very "meep"-y. She's ultra affectionate just now but very vocal at nights about wanting to be let out. I'm afraid she'll just have to wait until next month when she's been spayed along, hopefully, with Yu You. Don't want an unexpected addition to the family unless it's a human baby!

Yu You has been to the groomers again and I think they may have forgotten that an inch is slightly longer than that! She's looking very small and teddy bear like with her haircut but she's so cuddly still!

I've also put in a picture of Daniel playing with Yu You and having a towel fight just cos she looks like she's having a great time in it :)

2006-10-28T18:54:00.000+01:00

Holey Cat!

Just a short entry to show that cats are not as easy as they would like you to think! Boomer has decided that the sound of cat teeth piercing blinds is very satisfying and as such has proceeded to put a lot of holes in mine!!

And Yu You needs a haircut again!

2006-10-25T09:03:00.000+01:00

Getting back to normal

The jet lag is slowly going now although it's very hard to stay awake after 8pm!

The first night was the worst. Both of us were trying so hard to stay up but we had the pets to look after too. When 10pm came I went to put Yu You in her cage and she howled!! Daniel had completly conked out by then and was just saying yes to my pleas for some help. I forgive him though as he had work the next day and I didn't.

Anyway we eventually gave in and just let the pair of them roam the house but Yu You did have accidents so it wasn't a huge success.

The next night we decided we had to put her in her cage as it prevents any accidents so again she howled and howled. :( Poor thing! I think her holiday family had given in and not put her in her cage at night! :-| It was on the instruction sheet! Pah!

This time though Daniel (angel!) went down and sat with her until she fell asleep. He ended up falling asleep there too but came up an hour later when he woke up. Hee hee!

But last night she was fine. Phew! I had to push her into the cage but there was no howling. Hopefully thatll be the end of the noise! She's more vocal now than she was when she left anyway!

Next challenge for us is trying to figure out when they go on heat so we can chase unsavoury suitors away!!

2006-10-22T17:49:00.000+01:00

Back!

We are just back from Japan this afternoon and have gotten both pets back from their respective holiday homes.

Boomer was first as she was staying with Daniel's mum. She had certainly settled herself in! We saw her playing with Jake instead of hissing at him and trying to get at the budgie! She was a little anxious when we got home but seems to have settled now Yu You is back.

Yu You arrived back at 5pm with lots of enthusiasm!

They have definatley both grown! Yu You has started to loose her puppy teeth and her host reports loved rost lamb and scrambled egg!!! She'll wonder why she has been downgraded when I feed her tonight!!

Boomer is much bigger now and is quite happy trying to see if she still fits into her old hiding places.

So tired so will stop now. Must try not to sleep yet!

2006-10-07T00:17:00.000+01:00

Hollibags

I just thought I'd quickly post this picture of Yu You looking in my suitcase before we fly off to Japan for two weeks. Yu You is going to stay with a nice (better be!) family nearby care of a company called Barking Mad. I decided against a kennel as they all looked a bit hostile and I didn't want her house training to regress. Yes, I know, pampered poochie! I need all the progress I can get as she still has some accidents although she has started to develop signs of trying to tell us she needs out.

She got a bit down as we were rushing about packing and she suspects something is happening, especially when she sees her toys dissapearing into her own luggage!

Anyway, I'll report back on wether she still remembers us when we get back!