Photography

Photography

Before working at the vets, I studied Art & Design & Photography at college for 3 years in total. I passed with double distinctions, I adore taking photos of my pets, I'm still using the same Canon Digital Rebel Xti as I did back in college.  Max & Ruby tend to be very easy to take photos of as they sit beautifully, Max cause he is instructed too & Ruby cause shes lazy. Floyd on the otherhand, if you catch him sitting still, its a very rare occasion!

Here's some photo's of the dog's, some are crap quality from a year or so back cause I lost the original files >.<

... Keep your eye out for my next post.... It has CUTE all over it. ;)

Ruby + Max Update

First off, sorry for the lack of posts! Had a busy busy busy busy busy busy time at the moment!

Secondly a quick Max update, he has ruptured his cruciate but wont be going under the knife, he is currently on 2 tramadol a day & 2 carprieve tablets. He should also be on glucosamine supplements but he got awful runny poo last time he was on them, so we are waiting to bring them back into his routine slowly. He's still so eager & full of life, bringing toys to you, wanting to go for his walks (although they are restricted). Its such a shame as he is only 7 & full of beans still, however he seems to be managing amazingly well.

Right... The last article about the dogs.. Ruby! If you have found this blog, its probably through Ruby's twitter page, so lets get on with the show!


Ruby

Age: 5yrs 
Breed: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Likes: Misfits treats, walks, Mums bed & FOX POO >:(
Hates: Trimming claws, other cavaliers(!!!!) & feeling poorly.


Ruby, Ruby,  Ruby, oh where too start... The day me & my Mum went to view Ruby at her home, we didn't know what we were letting ourselves in for. She was beautiful, a bundle of cavalier cuteness, at 3 years old she wasn't a puppy but was still a youngun'. She lived with another cavalier, who had obviously been used for extensive breeding, its coat was quite a state & the owner just claimed 'she loses condition everytime she has a litter'. Ruby has never had a litter but it was quite clear that if nobody purchased Ruby, she would face the same fate. We snatched her up, she was... expensive to say the least!!! She came with no papers, when I think back it was quite irresponsible to take her without any documents, we did try to get some but the owner claimed she never had any... good start!!  After we had exchanged the money, we picked her up & were ready for off, that's when the owner piped up "oh yeah.. she urm, gets excited when she goes out"..... Understatement of the YEAR. She SQUEALED, you would of thought we were strangling her, oh my..

At the time when we had her, we had 2 retired greyhounds, they weren't bothered by her, they just thought she was a bit of an annoying fluffy thing. Once we had her home, the first thing she did was go to the toy basket & found a squeaky toy to play with. In the weeks after having her we had to go through the grueling process of training her to walk on the lead.. it was quite obvious she had never had any experience of going out. Even to this day she finds going on a walk an amazing, exciting experience, with a few squeals & barks for good luck! She is also obsessed with her lead, she walks with a piece in her mouth for the first few minutes, shaking it like mad! 

Over the years shes blossomed into a beautiful pet, shes full of beans for Cavalier.. shes out there, you imagine most cavaliers to be sat around on their owners laps, but no, Ruby is... in her mind a greyhound, she lives life in the fast lane, which probably can be explained by having 2 boisterous brothers to keep up with!

The vets I work with recently confirmed she does not have a heart murmur, which is brilliant for a Cav! Time will tell whether she will go down with heart troubles as many Cav's do, but right now, shes full of life! 

Just a quick extra, as many Cavaliers she does have a tendency to put on weight, Burns high oats has literally gave us a new dog, shes much more trim! She's off JUST high oats now & has all the flavors, her fav. is Pork & potato! 

Max

The first thing I thought I should write about was each dog in detail,  as he the top dog, oldest & most intelligent it seems that Max is who I should introduce first.

Here goes ..

Max

Breed: Collie Cross (Most likely Collie x Springer).

Age - 7years

Max was adopted from Burton Upon Trent's RSPCA kennels when he was 9 months old. Being a rescue you have no, or very little idea of their past, Max has obviously been through rough times due to his tendency to show aggression through fear.

He shows his aggression through barking & lip curling, he will bark at most dogs which can prove very frustrating when you are can't relax on a walk incase of bumping into another dog & scaring the life out of it. When actually it is Max who is petrified & only knows to respond by putting on a false act. Since he has gotten older you can really see just how scared he is of.. everything! He is alot more sensitive to noises, how people act, etc than he was before. 

Putting that aside, you can't fault him on loyalty, he would protect you with his life. To the people he trusts, the close family, he is the sweetest dog you could know. He lives for affection, he isn't happy unless he is being fussed! He forgets just how big he is a lot of the time when he comes to sit on your lap, or squeeze into that small space on the sofa!

His only other love is his toys, apart from fuss, he lives for toys.. he isn't fussy what the toy looks like as long as he can fetch it. He loves to retrieve he will bring it to you & place it on your lap, he will try to encourage you to throw it with little nudges & air snaps whilst wagging his bum in the air!

He would of made an amazing agility/flyball dog back in the day.. why back in the day you say? Unfortunately in recent times, (some may of seen me posting about this on twitter, @rubythecavalier), that he has developed in the past year the dreaded arthritis. (I will be posting regular posts about his develop with his arthritis, I hope these will help others in the same situation).

All in all, Max is an amazing dog who has his flaws as we all do, but what he lacks in social skills he sure makes up for in his buzzing personality.