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Apart from horses, dogs have always been a part of my life and my family's :-)
For the past two years there has been a big void in my life as I have not had a dog :-(
Just as I have my preference to Thoroughbred horses and Welsh ponies I also have my preference to the Labrador :-)
Well that void for me has finally been filled with the arrival of Harley :-)
Since our last lab Peggy was put to sleep we had been planning on getting a puppy but with all the work and shows we have been doing we felt we didn't have the time to dedicate to a new puppy.
I had been checking out breeders on the internet and doing lots of research which then got put on hold because of shows and work.
Well I finally got in touch with a lady called Jenny Green of Thurbojen Labradors and she put me in touch with a guy called Colin Hinkley of Sanglier Labradors in Flimwell, East Sussex.
WOW!!! I am so glad we arranged to see Colins dogs :-)
All his dogs are beautiful they are from show stock but work for him too!
I have a preference to the Show dogs compared to the Working dogs as I like a chunkier lab but Colins are dual purpose so he has the best of both worlds :-)
I took Philip along under the pretence of looking at a horse for a friend of mine...fortunately Colin also has horses at his farm so Philip was none the wiser as we walked past the horses and into the stables where the puppies were lol
We went to see some young puppies but Colin also showed us his older dog puppy and we fell instantly in love with him :-)
He was everything I dreamed my puppy would be :-)
He was a rich dark chocolate and very chunky and the most important thing..he was very very friendly and playful :-)
So I gave Colin a deposit after he had grilled me on being a responsible owner :P
Later that afternoon I took Laura with me under the pretence that I needed her to ride the horse for me to see lol
This was funny as Laura was all kitted out for riding and when we arrived Colin told her to get her hat and go to the stable and get the horse out lol
Laura looked over the door and was looking around the stable for a horse that wasn't in there!
Colin told her to open the door as it was definitely in there lol..so she did and out ran the puppies lol
So now we have a new member of our family called Harley :-)
Philip came up with the name and I love it :-)
Philip likes his motorbikes and Harley is quite an apt name for our puppy and he is going to be a big boy!
Harley was born on June 20th 2007 and we bought him home on September 24th 2007
September 25th 2007
Harley went to the vets today for his Vaccinations and his microchip.
He was a very good boy and happy to see everyone :-)
Laura had to carry him into the vets as he hadn't had his jabs yet and we had to put him down on the counter because he was sooo heavy lol
The vet weighed him and kept saying what a big boy he was for his age lol..he is nearly 3 stone (16kgs) at 14 weeks!
He was very calm and didn't cry at all when he had his jabs and his microchip :-)
He has been playing at home in our garden but he has to have his naps as he mustn't run around too much on his joints at this young age.
He has lots of toys but still prefers anything he isn't meant to play with lol..he was dragging around a half full coke bottle today !
Here is Harleys page to share with you :-)
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
Image: Harley 25/09/07
OCTOBER 3rd 2007
29th October 2007
We bought Harley a new bed today..it is called a Fatboy lol
He laid down on it as soon as we got it out the box :-)..he actually likes the box too so we haven't thrown it away lol
He has been a good boy and since having his second vacs has met new friends :-)
His best friend is Polly (Mandy with Bens jack russell) she is about 6 months old now so still wants to play and Harley has a hard time keeping up with her but when he does he nearly flattens her lol
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1st November 2007
Harley went for his first walk up Joydens Wood today :-)..he was a little scared which was funny because he never is scared of anything usually lol
Image: 13th dec 07
13th December 2007
Image: Harley 13th Dec 07
7th January 2008
Yesterday we went to watch a Labrador dog show at Ardingly run by the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Labrador Retriever Club.
We had a great time and met some nice friendly people and learned lots too :-)
We were very lucky and met Harleys daddy called 'Deeds' and his half sister 'Shine' owned by Di Stevens....they both did very well..Deeds won his class and Shine came 2nd in hers and was also Best Chocolate in Show :-)
Well you've guessed it lol..we have decided to have a go with Harley :-)
Today we took Harley to a Ringcraft training club in Crayford.
He was soooo excited about seeing all the other dogs lol..at first I thought it would be a disaster as he was dragging me about just wanting to play!
But he soon got the hang of it and luckily so did I !
The difficult part is that Show dogs are not supposed to 'sit'..they must stand all the time!
Of course we have taught Harley to sit and he immediately goes to sit when we stop etc....sooo we have to learn all over again lol
By the end of the evening he was standing most of the time so we did achieve something... thank goodness! lol
He was actually pretty good at the trotting up and down and stayed nicely by my side :-)
It was more difficult getting him to stand up and look at me because he was more interested in all the other dogs lol...the pro's make it look sooo easy lol
Harley is just over 6 months old now and is 'HUGE' ! lol
HARLEY'S DADDY 'DEEDS'
Image: Harleys daddy 'Deeds'
Image: DEEDS
Image: Deeds
Image: Deeds
HARLEY AT RINGCRAFT TRAINING
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Image: 2nd ringcraft
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25th January 2008
Harley had a very special visitor today!..it was his brother Charlie :-)
Charlie has the same mum as Harley and is nearly a year older.
Charlies owners had seen Harleys page and as they have relatives that live near to us they popped in for a visit :-)
Charlie is gorgeous and Harley adored him :-)..they played and played and Harley slept like a log afterwards lol
Hopefully Charlie will come again soon as Harley loves his big bro :-)
Image: Charlie and Harley
Image: Harley and Charlie
Image: Charlie (top) and Harley
Image: Harley and Charlie
27th January 2008
Dartford and District Canine Society Open Show at Maidstone, Kent.
Today was mine and Harley's first show!
He was such a good boy even though mummy was overwhelmed by it all and made some silly mistakes lol
Harley came 4th in the Labrador Puppy class even though I messed up the trot up by trying to 'bait' him. The judge was very nice and told me to try again but keep my hand with his bait in away from his nose..we were better then :-)
The judge said that it was a very strong puppy class and all the puppies were a high standard which was nice to hear :-)
I was annoyed with myself for messing up his trot up but people outside said not to worry about it as it was our first time..they did say though that if our trot up had gone well they thought he would have come second..which is encouraging :-)
We then entered the Any Variety Gundog puppy class and our trot up went better and we came 2nd :-)
I learned so much today (so did Harley lol) and I had some great advice from lots of friendly people that were happy to help the 'newby' lol
Harley slept like a log on the way home lol :-)
Image: Harley in Lab puppy 27/1/08
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Image: Harley 7 months
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3rd February 2008
East Kent Canine Society Open Show.
We took Harley to another show at Maidstone on Sunday :-)
He was a good boy and got 3rd in Lab puppy and 3rd in Any Variety Gundog Junior.
We forgot the camera this time :-(..silly us!
17th February 2008
Today we went to Horley and District Show at Ardingly.
Harley got a VHC (5th) in Lab puppy and VHC (5th) in Any Variety Minor puppy :-)
Harley met his daddy Deeds today and his half sister Shiney :-). Deeds came 2nd in his class and Shiney was 2nd in hers :-)
We took them all for a run and Harley had the greatest time playing with his family :-)
Image: L to R: Harley, Deeds, Shiney
Image: Deeds and Harley (Father and Son)
Image: L to R: Deeds, Shiney, Harley
Image: A very tired puppy lol
Image: What a handsome boy :-)
24th February 2008
Harley got a 3rd today in Lab puppy at The Kent County Canine Show at Maidstone
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Image: Polly and Harley
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