Do you buy into Father’s Day? Sometimes I think it’s nice to have a little reminder to appreciate the Dog Dad’s out there so I’ve popped together a list of some lovely, quirky, fun gifts for Dog Father’s Day 😉

Trying to think of a different, stylish gift for the Dog Father in your life?

There’s nothing more lovely than a guy who absolutely dotes on his dog! If you’d like to celebrate that amazing relationship for the Dog Father in your life I’ve put together a few fabulous products that I think you will love! All these are small, independent brands who will genuinely be over the moon with your order.

Cards from Dotty Dog Art

I adore Kathy’s quirky, humorous cards which are sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face! She’s also the most positive smiley person you will ever come across, and I’m pretty sure does a little happy dance with every order.

Etsy Store: www.etsy.com/uk/market/dotty_dog_art 

Distinctly Distinguished Collars and Lead from Collar & Tweed

I mean, come on, it can’t just be me that conjures up a country gent, briskly walking through the Scottish heather when I see these stunning leather & tweed collar & lead sets? I could totally see these being adored by the London style set too though – definitely a Sunday Best set for the distinguished chap.

Order from: www.collarandtweed.com

Prices for collars start from £24.99 and leads from £35.99

Personalised Portrait by The Slumbering Hound

I love stories like these! Dee was already known to me for her gorgeous bespoke blankets and beds but during lockdown, she turned her hand to something she used to love but hadn’t done in ages; art. She did a couple of ‘walking the dog’ and immediately started getting commissions – which doesn’t surprise me (I actually had one commissioned for a friends birthday too). Dee can also do you a gift voucher in case it’s getting a bit close to the day!

You can email Dee at: info@slumberinghound.com

Prices start from £85 for one person and one dog.

Hand stitched ‘Boop’ Tees by Hello Boop Design

How absolutely adorable are these personalised & hand stitched tees by Rebecca? Maybe you could buy one for your Dog Father a size too small ‘by accident’…..

(She also does other pets hand stitched on to teeshirts, as well as kids drawings which are super cute!)

These are handmade to order, you can drop her an email at hello@boop.design and check out her Instagram here: www.instagram.com/hello_boop_design

Prices from:

Stylish ‘Worlds Best Dog Dad’ Mugs from Scruffy Little Terrier

Stylish and sleek, with a selection of two tone colours, who wouldn’t want to have this mug staring at them every morning and reminding them who’s the best?

Order from:  www.scruffylittleterrier.com/product/the-worlds-best-dog-dad/ 

Price: £10.95

And last but no means least, a stylish photoshoot with yours truly

Photography is so powerful, it can transport you back to a time and place and can even make you remember smells & sensations. Having a photoshoot means that the Dog Dad in your life will forever have those memories of their best friend. The gift voucher comes in a smart presentation box so they have something special to unwrap.

Details: www.furandfables.com/shoot-overview/dog-photography

Prices from: £175

Sometimes, having to reschedule a shoot can be the best thing that can happen, just like this London Whippet shoot.

Meet gorgeous Ezra

It’s not often that I have to reschedule shoots, it’s usually weather related, so its even more rare to have to reschedule twice! Ezra’s humans were super relaxed about it though, wanting to make sure we got the best images from the shoot.

A Perfect Day

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect November day! Lovely golden light, and the gardens at Chiswick House offered such an amazing array of colours so late in the year! It was also fairly empty, we didn’t see very many people at all! This location is walking distance for Ezra and his humans, so it is a very special place for them.

Ezra is very much attached to his humans, and not really fussed about anyone else, so I felt very privileged that he was happy for me to give him a good neck scratch.

On Lead but that’s okay!

You may not realise it, but most of these images were actually taken with Ezra on lead. As long as the lead is positioned in a certain way, then it’s quite easy to edit out afterwards.  But enough of that, look at his ears, aren’t they just amazing! He so reminded me of my own hound, Scout, when his ears did this.

Here’s what Ezra’s humans had to say about the shoot (I felt super comfortable chatting with them both, so I was quite surprised when I got this!)

“We’ve had the most amazing shoot with Kerry, with truly magical photos of our whippet boy – Ezra to keep. We’ve been following Kerry’s work for years and we knew if we ever have a photo shoot it must be with her, but as we’re both shy and a bit socially awkward – the idea made us nervous. When we finally decided to do it I was anxiously waiting for the big day, but Kerry made everything so easy. We hit it off right away, she was so nice, brilliant with our dog and she made us feel relaxed and safe. She chose beautiful locations and set ups and turned Ezra into a supermodel – she clearly has a way with dogs!

Overall it was a fantastic and uplifting experience and we’re truly grateful for the wonderful pictures we now have on our walls capturing the sweet personality of Ezra.”

Meet Bernie, the St Bernard! Bernie’s human mum bought a gift voucher for her partner and wanted to do a bluebell shoot, however it wasn’t meant to be. Bernie had some complications and we had to bring the shoot forward, and I was so nervous about how he would be on the shoot.

I needn’t have worried! Bernie had a pace maker fitted and was like a new dog! He gets tired quite easily, but that’s to be expected for a dog his age, look at this happy face.

The shoot took place in the garden of the family home as Bernie couldn’t walk too far, and the temperamental British weather was kind to us with some beautiful early morning golden light and frosty ground. He was joined by Luna the Cavapoo who is nervous of dogs, but adores Bernie, the gentle giant that he is.

My job can be difficult at times, I get to work with dogs who are in the prime of their lives who are cruelly taken away from us too soon, to older dogs who may not have much longer, so when I get to do a shoot for a dog who has turned such an huge corner it’s a really amazing feeling.

There’s one thing for sure though, Bernie absolutely adores his human – the bond was so visible to see. The above shot makes me giggle – Bernie has had this bib (pretty necessary for a big dog who produces a lot of drool!) since he was a puppy when it was far too big for him – he obviously grew into it!

Here’s what Bernie’s humans had to say about the experience:

“Kerry was amazing to work with, very professional but also fun and caring!

From various emails and phone calls before the shoot to helping throughout the process she was great!

We have one dog who is very nervous and one was is very old and was very unwell, she helped to put them both at ease on the day and moved mountains to make sure our shoot was done earlier than originally planned. Her website is very easy to use and very professional given she runs it alone! Everyone commented on our photos and how beautiful they were! We will defiantly be rebooking her in the future!”

If you’d like to book a shoot, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com – I can’t wait to hear from you! Kerry x

Professional Dog Photographer right on the Surrey, Sussex & Hampshire borders.

I love working with brilliant dog brands, and I’m lucky enough to be able to be quite choosy on who I work with. So when I was asked by Nash me to do their launch photography and sent me the details of their dog drying coats, I was sold! Responsible packaging, using natural bamboo & twin layered they sounded fantastic. There was one thing though, it was a week before Christmas and they were hoping to launch in the new year, could I do it they asked? Well I was certainly going to give it a try!

After chatting with them to find out how the look and feel of the shoot should portray their product (luxury, practical, stylish, active) I enlisted the help of my water loving top dog models Eko, Boris and Twiggy the spaniels, and Laula the Nova Scotia Duck Toller.

Because the courier managed to not deliver on time (of course, just before Christmas, did anything get delivered on time!?) we went ahead with the lifestyle section of the shoot anyway, which of course, for a dog drying coat, involved lots of wet dogs! I think this is the first time I’ve been thankful for the grey miserable weather we have been having.

When the coats arrived I was so impressed with the feel of them, and I’m happy to report, that the dog models humans were massively impressed with their drying quality!

Boris the Spaniel’s mum couldn’t believe how quickly his ears dried (as well as everything else obviously) in just a short car journey, she said they usually take hours! Laula’s mum is a convert too – considering they are a new brand, to have such amazing feedback is so great to see.

As well as doing a few shoots in the car, we decided the other place a dog drying coat would come in handy was probably at the pub! Any excuse 🙈😉

The Nash brand also now includes drying mitts and covers for dog beds/car boots too so you can have a full selection. I also know they have been very kind to my dog models so they really are a lovely brand. It’s been a pleasure working with you Nash!

You can find Nash at www.nashdog.co | Instagram | Facebook 

If you have a dog brand who could benefit from a professional photoshoot to not only help you stand out from your competitors, but also help you stand out to your clients, drop me an email to kerry@furandfables.com and I can send you my price list. You can also check out what I can offer you here: https://www.furandfables.com/shoot-overview/brands/

Meet Monty. Monty is a coated Xolo – a breed I hadn’t come across before! Monty is smart, funny, has a plethora of gorgeous expressions. Monty is also anxious and a little skittish. He is pretty wary of new people and definitely doesn’t want to be touched if he doesn’t know you. He’s also very food motivated.

I learned all this on my initial call with Monty’s mum, so I knew to go into our shoot with some yummy roast chicken and a calm attitude (very difficult for me when all I wanted to do was cuddle this gorgeous boy). Before long, Monty was clambering on me to get to the chicken, and I knew we were going to be okay!

During the shoot, I kept my distance and kept calm, eventually though he was readily running up to ‘the roast chicken lady’ and even let me scratch his chin. The best feeling in the world though was when we moved location to a few minutes down the road to capture Monty in the red ivy in one of the gorgeous streets of Midhurst. When he saw me walking down the street, he almost pulled his human off her feet to come and say hello (I’m under no illusion that the chicken was the main event for him! 😉

Isn’t it amazing that dogs can make us feel so loved just by wanting to say hello!?

So if you are worried about how your dog would respond to a photoshoot, it will honestly be fine! I have had owners who think their dogs are too ‘naughty’, too nervous, are anxious of other dogs. By talking to you, we figure out the best way for the shoot to happen to make sure you are both completely relaxed.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or drop me an email! You can find full details of the packages I offer here: www.furandfables.com/shoot-overview/dog-photography

I’m based just near Haslemere, Surrey, which borders West Sussex & Hampshire.

Kerry x

With Christmas sneaking up on us, there are a dizzying array of products out there to give to your dog loving friends, or, in fact gifts to buy to treat yourself! I have put together my personal top products, supporting small businesses and made in the UK, which I use & buy myself and which definitely won’t be re-wrapped and given to someone else next year.

Collars built to last by Dogs & Horses

I don’t think my love of Dogs & Horses collars and leads is a secret. They are the first collars I have bought that have lasted the distance, they have been through swimming in the sea, snow, mud the works! I occasionally treat them with a leather wax but that’s pretty much it. Hard wearing yet elegant, classic yet with personality. If you want luxury then Dogs & Horses are for you.

Prices from 45.00 GBP (15% Discount Code with WHIP15)
Dogs & Horses: Website

Natural, High Quality and Irresistible to Hounds – Dog Treats from The Innocent Hound

I think we are, as a nation of dog lovers, becoming more aware of the foods we are feeding our hounds, which is why I love The Innocent Hound. They have a very high percentage of meat & only use British meat from sustainable farming. Oh, and their menu sounds good enough for humans! For Christmas they have fabulous festive treats as well as a dog friendly Christmas cake mix – which is super easy to make, even for me!

Prices from 9.00 GBP for Christmas Treats
Innocent Pet Company Website 

Elegant Sofa Toppers To Revamp & Protect Your Sofa by The Lounging Hound

If you are a bit soft like I am, there is no way we could ever keep the hounds off the sofa so I can’t quite believe no-one has thought about this genius idea of a sofa topper before! They come in a great variety of colours to almost match, or compliment your sofa, as well as standard sizes, they can be custom made. If you don’t want to stop there, they also have boot toppers & bench toppers – we have all of the above!

Prices from 150.00 GBP
The Lounging Hound Website 

Affurmation Candles from Dolittle & Co | Moments

I have this is burning while I am writing this blog post, and although smaller than some of the candles on the website, it packs a punch on the beautiful scent. There are lots of pet friendly candles out there, I chose this one though for a couple of reasons.  Firstly they are poured in the UK, soy based and dog friendly; I also really adore the addition of an affirmation card so that you can write something positive and say it out loud every time you light the gorgeous candle. If you are struggling to think of something to write, the website has a beautiful one: 

“You are Beautiful, You are Loved.
Believe, Belong and Become.
You are everything and you are enough.”

 
Dolittles & Co by Moments Website
Price 16.50 GBP

Completely Natural Handmade Soaps by The Dog & I

I am a big fan of supporting small businesses & also using natural products as much as I can on my hounds. If you are the same, you will be pleased you have found The Dog & I – they only use three ingredients in their soaps and why should they need any more? It is exactly what you need to get your hounds clean; lathers amazingly but rinses of quickly and smells divine.

Their absolutely fantastic Spa kit is really reasonably priced and if you have friends dogs who love bog snorkling (like my crazy spaniel friend) this would be perfect. Both the soaps and the spa kit would be brilliant as stocking fillers (because everyone gets stockings for their hounds right??). 

And if you wanted even more convincing about switching from bottled shampoo to soaps, this statistic always blows me away: If just 1% of the nation’s 8.5 million dogs (well, their owners anyway) converted from a bottle of shampoo to a bar of soap, that would be 85000 less plastic bottles out there. That figure blows my mind. Of course long haired dogs may still need shampoo, wouldn’t it be amazing though if they used a product with natural ingredients instead of lots of unnecessary ‘stuff’.

Prices from 2.80 GBP
The Dog and I Website 

For Hounds Who Step Out In Style by Redhound for Dogs

For hounds who need to be kept warm; Redhound for Dogs are an amazing company who always go out of their way to make sure their coats are not only practical but super stylish. They are in a very unique position that they design in house, with Debbie coming from a background in wedding dress design, which means they can create coats like this gorgeous Dorset (shown in Plum). It’d be a hard choice but I have included the Dorset as it’s the first one they have designed that is washable. The cross over design gives easy movement while the padding keeps your hound super warm.

They should come with a warning though – you will get stopped constantly by people admiring your hound when they wear this! And you will also feel the need to upgrade your own wardrobe to keep up.

Prices from 53.00 GBP
Redhound for Dogs Website

A gift that keeps giving – subscription box from The Collar Club

I adore treating my hounds to new toys and treats (who doesn’t!), it keeps them interested for training and helps stimulate the senses. There are SO many new treats and toys out there for dogs now though that it’s confusing, especially as I try and give the hounds natural products. This is where Collar Club takes out the decision making process! Every month a box of high quality, natural treats and toys are delivered to my door – each is thoroughly research to make sure it’s as sustainable as possible. It makes me so happy to see how excited they all are when they are ‘helping’ me unpack. This is such a great gift for either your own hound or the dog lover in your life. There’s no minimum subscription so you can cancel any time you like.

Price 32.99 GBP
Collar Club Website 

The Ultimate Luxury Dog Bed by Charley Chau

For those of you who would love a dog bed which looks gorgeous in your home, and also is built to last, you can’t go wrong with Charley Chau. The snuggle beds are a firm favourite in this household & when I read how much time and effort they have put into designing their Ducky Donut bed, I knew that it was going to be pretty special. One of the great things about this brand is that they really pride themselves in making beautiful quality that lasts, so an investment, and one that your hounds will thank you for!

This is the first dog bed that I have come across (apart from the ‘cushion’ ones) where you can take off the entire covers to wash, if that wasn’t great enough, you can also wash the individual side pads & the removable mattress from the bottom. The sides are super plump & filled with duck feather pads and keep their shape amazingly well. We love them so much, we took them to France!

Prices from 195.00
Charley Chau Website 

The ultimate bag for all your dog walking needs by Ridgebag

I have been lusting after these bags for about a year. Designed to be the ultimate dog walking bag, they are at the high end of the price scale, and with good reason! They are made in Wales in the UK and have absolutely ingenious design elements. Built in poop bag holder, removable treat pocket, a zip up pouch with removeable pocket for your used poop bags, and even a side pocket with a foldable fabric dog bowl! There are many more little designs that make it perfect, it will be the only dog walking bag you will ever need. 

Prices from 95.00 GBP
Ridgebag Website

Elegant Whippet Cufflinks by McKinley And Moth

When I ordered a pair of dainty little whippet earrings from McKinley & Moth, my husband immediately asked if they could do a set of cufflinks…and a tie pin….and a lapel badge….and they were happy to oblige my equally whippet mad husband! I think these were bespoke at the time, I couldn’t see the cufflinks on her website (the lapel pin is there), so you may have to drop her a message. 

From 45.00 GBP
McKinlay and Moth Website

A great little stocking filler from Adios Plastic

Ever since season 2 of my podcast ‘For the Love of Dog‘ I have really trying to be a more eco friendly dog owner. Ben from Adios was my first guest and it completely changed my view of the poop bags on the market – I have been a firm fan ever since and have signed up to his subscription service. I love the fact that he is making poop picking up festive by introducing Christmas Poop Bags – 100% plastic free, compostable and a cute little stocking filler. 

From 4.79 GBP (10% off with discount code FUR10)
Adios Plastic Website 

A Gift of Forever – A Photoshoot from Fur & Fables Dog Photographer

Dogs are such a huge part of our lives, having a photoshoot is so much more than taking a few shots. I offer products that people are able to see every day of their lives – a sleek metal print above the fireplace or a rustic wood panel of their favourite walk in the hall. For people who love being outdoors, in our beautiful country with their hounds you can give them a gift, a memory, of their walks through the woods, running along the beach or hiking in the hills.

The vouchers come with a few little extra’s, ready to give to your favourite dog lover. 

Prices from 175.00 GBP
Shoot detail are here

Thanks for reading! I’d love to know what you think. Kerry x

www.furandfables.com
Stylish Dog Photography for people who put dogs first.
Covering Surrey | Sussex | Hampshire
Kerry@furandfables.com

Don’t pass by the dogs who are unconventional looking when thinking about adoption. Meet Anthea, who has had a very tough life but still has plenty of love to give. 

Chinese Crested Adoption Story

Anthea, an ex over-used breeding girl, was adopted last year from Many Tears. Estimated at about 10yrs old feisty Anthea has two inguinal hernias, they’ll only be operated on if they become an issue and also had to have teeth removed for being in a poor state. 

Anthea has been with Katie, her new owner, for 10 months and still struggles with her confidence on walks. She’s easily spooked, will frequently refuse to walk at all and doesn’t like people she doesn’t know touching her (which I found difficult when I met her, because of course I want to cuddle ALL the dogs!)  

Lots of Love to Give

However, in the house she simply wants to snuggle, Mara (you can read her story here) and Katie are her main targets and Mara and Anthea sometimes have to be separated because Mara doesn’t like snuggles!  The snuggling seems to really help some of the other foster dogs that Katie has from Many Tears, all ex breeding animals who have never known a kind person or lived in a home.  Anthea snuggles up around them and with her warm presence they’re reassured….until she tries to eat their dinner after gulping her own! She may never forget her years of hunger so she has to be fed in a crate and only let out when the other dogs have finished eating or else she would be huge! 

Anthea’s favourite times of day are meal times and sofa time.  She digs furiously at whatever she’s sat on (the sofa, the bed, even Katie’s butt!) to “make” a bed before curling up for a snuggle.

A lot of people may have rejected Anthea based purely on looks – but after hearing her story, have you fallen in love? I know I did!

I failed my sales targets but it’s still a win!

Dogstival was my first big event so I expected to learn a lot, and figure out what I could do better next time. The week before I sat down with a good friend, put on my business head and tried to think of strategies; my theory was I needed to at least break even and cover the pitch fee & hotel. I didn’t even come close, but I’m not upset at all! Here’s why:

Using the sneaky method of putting treats out to lure dogs to the stall.

The Event

It was an brilliant event, one that I would definitely attend myself. Everything was well spaced out unlike some of the dog events I’ve been to where there’s a narrow strip in between stall holders. There was a good variety of stalls and what was brilliant to see was that a lot of them were smaller, independent brands. The footfall was huge! Particularly on the Saturday – I can’t remember a time I enjoyed talking so much.

The always awesome Lazy Hounds

Dog cuddles

Oh, and then were the dog cuddles. Oh.my.days – I was honestly in heaven! So many dogs, so little time. So with all these people who obviously all adored their dogs, why am I not upset that I didn’t meet my targets? Because you cannot put a price on meeting & bonding with people and their dogs. I heard amazing stories, met & chatted some of my followers from facebook & instagram and got to say hello to some of my biggest dog crushes. As one of the other stallholders said – you can pay a fair few hundred pounds for a print advertisement and have no idea who’s seeing it. 

Oh.My.Days.

Did you go? Did you enjoy it? I’ve already asked to be included in next year!

Check out the gallery of some of the hounds who visited here.

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Yesterday I sat in front of my iPad for about 10 hours or so in total. And all I was doing was looking at dog images. That’s a long time for anyone to look at dog photographs, no matter how cute!

But I’d registered ‘National Dog Photography Day’ earlier in the year and I wanted it to do well and not flop, I wanted people to rejoice in their obsession with taking pictures of their dogs, I wanted people to share their favourite images and why it meant so much to them. And share they did!

So here’s how the day unfolded and how #NationalDogPhotographyDay went viral.

A favourite from a @RedhoundforDogs at the start of the year. You can see Bertie and Shadow are just about to move, and George had been held in place to till the very last second. Scout of course, being a consummate professional as always!#NationalDogPhotographyDay pic.twitter.com/HqzxNvW5gY

— Fur & Fables (@JordansWhippets) July 26, 2018

It all starts with creating content.

No-one tells you when you have a small business how much you need to think about creating content to help clients find you. So not just selling what you do, but creating something interesting that people will enjoy. Over the last year I’ve been listening to PR Expert Janet Murray (and attended one of her events) and read The Million Dollar Dog Brand twice (an amazing book for any dog brand) and one bit of advice was too look at all the national/international ‘days’ that I thought my followers would be interested in, from dog friendly pancake recipes for Shrove Tuesday to creating a Valentine’s Day image with my hounds eating lamb spaghetti together!

https://twitter.com/JordansWhippets/status/1022404275065049088

Apart from the usual days that everyone knows, there are others, LOTS of others. From days that have been created to raise awareness – important days like World Lupus Day (10th May) & International Homeless Animals’ Day (18th August) to fun days like National Hot Dog Day (23rd July) & Take Your Dog to Work Day (22nd June) to the downright bizarre like Ugly Truck Day (yes really, 20th July) & Frankenstein Friday (26th October).

One of those random days was about ‘Make up your own holiday’ and in a round about way, it got me thinking what national day would I create if I could. The obvious one would be my two favourite things! Dogs & photography.

I thought, why not give it a try? So I researched how to register these days and found Year Ahead which is an events database. I chose 26th July as it’s the birthday of Elliot Erwitt who is famous for his documentary photography of dogs and pinged Year Ahead an email. They asked a few questions as to why the day should be listed, and the event was created!

That was back in February, and suddenly the day was almost upon me. I hadn’t really done any preparation, I had no idea if people would pick up the hashtag so I knew I needed to kick it off. I asked some of my lovely dog business friends to help and on the 26th July we started posting and asking people to share their favourite images of their dogs, using the hashtag #NationalDogPhotographyDay

This morning I took probably my favourite ever series of photos. I can’t not smile when looking at his gorgeous happy face! Good timing for #NationalDogPhotographyDay pic.twitter.com/Ypix4srJ2K

— Woody & Wilma (@Cotswoldspaniel) July 26, 2018

It started off a little slow, I spent hours on facebook, instagram & twitter using my own images with text to try and engage people, retweeting posts by other people, commenting on posts on Instagram & Facebook. By mid morning it was picking up, particularly on twitter. And then it really took off. After lunch it had hit #11 on the UK twitter trending list, and people were loving the hashtag feed, because who doesn’t love a stream of gorgeous dogs, even Admiral Insurance dog Winston joined in!

https://twitter.com/JordansWhippets/status/1022521420931375104

By late afternoon a lovely chap from the Press Association contacted me and it was added to their viral page. I couldn’t quite believe it!

It was such an awesome day, I saw so many gorgeous images, and read so many inspiring stories.

https://twitter.com/HoneyGreyhound/status/1022403456378843136

Was it worth it?

So was it worth it? I got to spend the day looking at dogs so heck yes! When I set out, I had no expectations of how the day would play out so it was always going to exceed my zero expectations. For a small local business, it’s all about getting your name out there, apart from the exposure, nothing may come of it. Or, in a few weeks, someone will want a dog photographer and remember National Dog Photography Day and check me out to see if I’m right for them.

Huge thank you to everyone who joined in, I can’t wait till next year!!

Kerry x

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlshZwKlP49

I have always loved the idea of going abroad with the hounds but wasn’t sure it if it would be a real faff. I certainly didn’t want to go the ferry route, we have done that with Scout twice (once when he had to stay in the kennels – never again & once where he could stay in the car on his own, not ideal). So when we got the opportunity to stay at a friends property in Hautefort in the Dordogne, we decided to take the leap.

We looked into Eurotunnel and it seemed so easy! Why hadn’t we thought of this before? A few people have been interested in how the process went, so I’ll start from the beginning 😊

Passports & Rabies Jabs

Before we even looked at train times, we knew that passports and rabies jabs needed to be first on the list. Rabies jabs need to be done 21 days before travelling and it has to be done after your dog has been microchipped (which of course is a legal requirement now).

As with most things in the Jordan household, we left things a little last minute and did it about 1 month before travelling, and all at the same time. We are lucky enough to have a very patient and sensitive vet who did the relevant check over and took all the details for their passports which we picked up about a week later.

Considering we have 5 dogs, this wasn’t a cheap process, the bill coming up to around 450.00 (it would have been more however Shadow already had his passport). They will scan for the chip and make a note of the location, and take details of any distinguishing marks which all go on the passport (there is the option to add their photo too if you like!) and add all the rabies vaccination information. Double check all the details are correct before you go!

Ticks, Fleas & Sandflies

This is honestly the thing that caused me the most stress. I wont use any ‘spot’ treatments anymore after both Scout & Jasper lost fur that still hasn’t grown back and there was no way I was going to feed my hounds one of the oral pills which apparently keep ticks away for 3 months, the thought terrified me that is how long it stays in their system.

So I had two options: the collars or a natural remedy.

I really wanted to go with a natural remedy. Friends have sworn by Billy No Mates by CSJ, unfortunately you need to be feeding that months before you go away, and as I mentioned, the Jordan household can be a tad disorganised.

I already knew from past research that ticks and flees seem to be repelled by the smell of lemongrass and/or cedarwood essential oils so I decided to look into this a little more. That’s when I are across this blog: http://www.primallyinspired.com/easy-natural-tick-repellent-that-really-works-essential-oils/

Here was a woman and her dog who had been diagnosed with Lyme disease but didn’t want to use harmful chemicals on her dog and had a natural remedy!

I put a post up on facebook to see if anyone else had similar results but not many people had tried it. I then got a little scared because of the warnings regarding how much worse the ticks were in Europe to the UK and so, I decided to go down the collar route.

This honestly still made me feel uncomfortable, if you read the instructions you have to wash your hands after coming in contact with it, and yet we put them round our dogs necks. If I had something like a husky I don’t think I would have been so concerned, however my hounds have barely any fur round their necks.

The two main options that came up were Seresto & Scalibor. Seresto was out after a friend with a short haired Daxie said that her hound had lost the fur round it’s neck. This was turning out to be a nightmare! I bought the Scalibor after a another friend who is completely nuts about her hound and travels extensively recommended it. Thankfully I called my vets to double check with him; he told me that Seresto is the one he recommends as it has been registered, but if I wanted to go with Scalibor I needed to take it off before they go in water because it can be dangerous to small equatic life (seriously!?).

The good thing about Scalibor is that the collar has much more flex than the Seresto (which is much thicker) so it’s easier to slip over the dogs necks to take them off.

In the end, the hound hardly wore their Scalibor as I didn’t think it was necessary when walking round towns. They are supposed to wear them all the time to be effective, but instead I put a drop of Rose Geranium on my finger and rubbed it on their shoulder blades and top of the tail for when we were walking in low risk areas. I even put a few dabs on the hems of my shorts and on my shoes (it is an oil though so be careful of staining). Neither hounds or humans came away with bites of any kind. I am not saying that this is the right or correct thing to do, it’s just what we did.

Fun fact I came across: Ticks must be engorged from 24 to 36 hours before they are able to transmit Lyme disease and only 25% of nymphs and 50% of adults carry Lyme in the highest endemic areas. This might seem like a high number, but only 5% of dogs who are naturally exposed to Lyme disease become clinically ill. This means that if you find a nymph on your dog, the risk of Lyme disease in endemic areas is 1.25 out of a hundred and 2.5 out of a hundred if you find an adult tick on your dog. Of course, the risk will be lower in other areas. (Source: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/ticks-natural-prevention/ – it’s a really interesting read and includes herbal methods to boost the immune system agains Lyme disease)

The Eurotunnel

This was the easy part, so easy that actually we somehow managed to bypass the lounge and the dog excercise area (which looks fab with mini agility courses), and found ourselves in the lane for the tunnel in the blink of an eye. Which is a bit of a shame as we decided to take the ‘flexi’ option which gives you access to their fancy new lounge – it did mean however that we had the fast track on boarding & it didn’t matter what time we arrived.

Our passports were checked on the way out but not the hounds.

You are loaded onto this huge transport train, one car wide, bumper to bumper and within 40 minutes we were at Calais.

The hounds didn’t seem to be bothered by the process at all, it was pretty quiet journey.

On the road

Here’s the great thing about travelling in France, once outside of Calais, approximately every 10-15 miles there were ‘rest stops’ usually signposted as Aire de Repos. Some are quite basic but most include pretty picnic areas with large grassy sections, and if you are lucky, you may get one with a lovely wooded footpath for you to walk your hounds.

There are a few toll roads but it’s well worth it as the roads brilliant. We went the week before the school holidays and only came across traffic when we went round the French version of the M25 on the way back. Generally we found the roads wide, smooth and free of traffic jams (and when I say ‘we’ I mean my husband as he was a superstar and did all the driving!).

For some reason, our old boy Jasper was over excited as soon as we got to Calais, which meant more stops than usual just to make sure he wasn’t too hot or needed the toilet.

The French Holiday

We were in a tiny place called Hautefort and it was my idea of heaven. Our home for the next week, the stunning Rediat Cor, sat nestled at the base of the impressive Chatau at the top of a hill. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect location after a hectic and sometimes stressful year so far. The lanes were one car width (although plenty of parking spaces) and every home seemed to have a beautiful array of flowers on their doorsteps and window boxes. Pair that with the rustic shutters and and stone buildings and it felt like a fairytale location. It was super clean, and get this, despite it’s rustic location, there were discreet stations for electric car top ups!

We had a whole list of recommendations of places to go, we only managed a couple as we were content to slow the pace of life a little and sit out on the terrace with the wonderful views and read books that had been stacking up for months.

For anyone worried about not being able to take your dogs in places in France, you needn’t. Everywhere we went, people went out of their way to make us comfortable, from a fancy restaurant down an alley in Perideux where we stopped for lunch (they moved chairs so we could have more space) to the lakeside cafe who brought water bowls to our table. Although we could see dogs were more than welcome in restaurants in the evening, we decided to eat in after we had to leave red faced when the hounds got too excited after seeing a cat. They weren’t settling down (I should have brought my Guru trip bones – hindsight and all that!) so we cooked in the house in the evenings. If we had only two hounds it’s likely they would have settled much easier, but with five, they just ended up feeding off each others excitement. We did find that the majority of places had outside areas too where we saw dogs a plenty.

A friend who visited France could barely believe that her two hounds were even allowed in a beautifully ornate hotels and restaurants (seriously, one was called Hotel Imperial Palace, yes Palace; think carpeted restaurant and marble staircases).

The dogs were on lead most of the time however they didn’t seem to mind as it was quite warm so they weren’t up to doing anything energetic. We visited the insanely pretty Segur on the way back from the vets which has a shallow river running through it – we let the hounds have a paddle to cool off and they then had a mental zoomies for a good half an hour.

Rediat Cor is at the base of the Chateau and dogs are welcomed in the gardens so I went twice in one day as it was so amazing.

Apart from a couple of hair raising moments (thanks to Shadow thinking that he was made of rubber) and the embarrassment of having to leave the restaurant, it was super relaxing. I felt so inspired taking early morning walks, usually with just one of the hounds, before anything opened. I’d go and sit at the local cafe and have a coffee watching as the town woke up, and felt really welcomed when after a few days they knew my order.

Here’s a link to where we stayed, I honestly can’t recommend it enough!: www.positivelyfrench.co.uk/index.html

Vets in France

We were lucky enough to have the details of a vet that the owner of the house uses. We called on the Tuesday to get an appointment for the Thursday (we left on the Saturday). Working tablets should be taken no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days before you travel back to the UK. I’d recommend doing a search in the area you are staying and giving them a call before you travel to book your dogs in. Most receptionists will speak enough English to understand what you need.

Our vet spoke good English and was brilliant with the dogs. We found the price ridiculously reasonable – 5 dogs worming plus a 30 pack of calming tablets was 77€ – he went through and double checked all the details with me as the last thing you want is to get to Calais and realise something is incorrect!

One thing to note is that we tried to call on the Monday not realising it was a French public holiday so most places were closed.

The Hounds Pack List

Food: We packed Guru for the hounds (you can read why we chose this here) and a couple of times bought mince, chicken wings, eggs and tinned fish from the local supermarket as an evening meal (I also brought a tin of pumpkin and their golden paste).

Beds: We took the hounds favourite beds (Charley Chau Donut & Snuggle beds), a couple of The Whippet Company fleeces to throw on furniture or leave on the patio and two Charley Chau spotted blankets that we could take when we ate out. I kid you not, we got a roof box specifically for all the beds! We dotted them all with lavender essential oils before we left so that they had the benefit of the relaxing effect the entire way through the holiday. I also think its good to have something that they know from home.

Calmex: We got this from the vets before we went as Boo was anxious in the car after I had an accident last year. We have been working on her confidence however it was too long a journey to risk her being stressed the entire way. We tried it on a couple of journey’s before we left and she definitely made an improvement. It may be worth having something like this on standby (or for example, the pet remedy defuser) as even for the most confident of dogs this could be a strange experience. I’m glad we did as the weather was warm when we went and we had a few thunder storms so it really helped with Shadow.

Bandanas: We took bandanas for two reasons; one so that we could wet them if the hounds got too warm and secondly to dab essential oils like lavender on before the journey. Ours are from Redhound for Dogs.

Essential Oils: It’s only in the last 6 months or so I’ve really started to get to know and love the natural benefits of essential oils (thanks to Sam at Hoof to Tail Healing) and now I use them all the time for both myself and the hounds. I took lavender for their beds and bandanas to help them relax, I dabbed either cedarwood or lemongrass on their bandanas to help repel ticks (they are quite strong smelling so I left it for about 30 mins before putting them on), and then the rose geranium for ticks too.

Passports: If you are even thinking of taking your hound abroad it may be good to get this whenever you can as it lasts for 7 years.

Favourite Toys: It’s really good for your hound to have something that is familiar to him when you are in a new place.

Harnesses, Leads & tag collars: We took more leads than we needed just in case we lost one and made sure our tag collars had all the details visible & correct.

Portable water bowl: We had one in the house however we kept one in the car too with a litre bottle of water. Most places had water bowls available however my lot are a bit fussy and only seem to like fresh water and not ones that other dogs have used. Pampered much??

Poo bags: took way more than we needed so that we could put them in the car, pockets & bags all over the place.

Things we forgot

Jumpers: thankfully we didn’t need them, but I was worried on the way out in case the nights were a bit cooler. I also should have thought about their wax coats in case of rain!

First aid kit: We have a dog first aid kit at home and it was only after I thought back to Shadow’s antics of the week it would have been a good thing to bring. Thankfully we didn’t need it!

I hope you enjoyed our journey! If you have any questions about travelling to France with your dog, please do as and I’ll answer if I am able! Kerry x

The best harness fit for Whippets

Updated January 2025

As a commercial pet photographer, I have photographed 100s of dogs, I get asked quite a lot about these harnesses so I thought it may be useful for anyone who was thinking about one for their hounds, my experience is with Whippets but you can take a lot away from this article for most dogs.

Why I choose Ruffwear

There were two reasons I was looking at harnesses; my old boy Jasper was quite sensitive around his head when he had his inner ear removed, I felt a harness would be much gentler for him, and then there was Shadow.

When I first adopted Shadow, I realised that we would need a harness for some of our walks, basically wherever there was going to be any excitement, if he saw anything even remotely fun then he would leap four foot in the air and dance around like a maniac. Not great when the only thing he is tethered to is a collar round his neck.

It’s notoriously difficult find harnesses for sighthounds, most fits seem to be too loose because of their deep but skinny chests. I was pleasantly surprised by the RuffWear Front Range Harness, because of the amount of adjusting we could do at several points, it fitted perfectly. I also loved the fact that rather than being strips of thinner material like a lot of harnesses, this has wider, more padded sections and the front almost feels like a chest piece.

The front range harnesses are great for general walking, however Shadow learned how to back out of it. So I checked out the six point Webmaster – problem solved! Again this is super adjustable, it fits him really well and with the added benefit of the harness coming further towards where the waist tucks in, it’s Shadow proof. I went for the addition of the stomach protector as he had previously had trouble with an awful rash after going through long grass. Hey presto, I have the perfect harness!

I used the front range harnesses for all the other hounds with great success. I had the small size for all five hounds, that shows how adjustable they are as they are very different in height & weight! I can also pop them over  Redhound for Dogs fleeces, although they now have lots of great whippet coats and jumpers with harness holes.

I got asked quite a lot of questions about the fit, so I have popped a little video up here: Ruffwear Harness Fit

When do I use them?

We use them quite a lot, like if we are going somewhere super busy like DogFest or now I live in the Lake District, I really need that useful handle to help my dogs over stiles and do a bit of scrambling. Anywhere there is too much going on for us to be trying to direct the hounds from collars, somewhere like a dog event isn’t easy on their necks as they are constantly trying to hoover up dropped food or follow exciting smells.

Update January 2025:

This blog was initially written in 2017. I am still using Ruffwear and now I have moved to the Lake District, they are much more frequently used, alongside the Roamer Bungee lead they are indispensable! I’ve changed Bertie over to the Flagline Dog Harness with Handle as for some reason he didn’t like wearing the Webmaster, not an issue I have had with the other dogs, but he’s very happy with the Flagline!

If you have any questions about my experience with these harnesses, please don’t hesitate to ask, and I’d love to hear if you have them for your hounds too!

With thanks to additional models Buzz, Ozzy & Ollie who are also RuffWear wearers 🙂

Kerry x