Poppy and Smudge Enjoy Some Sunshine

Thought we'd share a couple of photos that we took this week of Poppy and Smudge
Both our pets are pretty laid back but our cat Smudge looks totally chilled out!

Alton has seen quite a bit of rain today.
We're hoping that the sun comes back out to play soon!

Happy Birthday Smudge!

Our cat Smudge is 10 today. This morning one of his friends (our dog Poppy) joined him for a birthday treat of scrambled egg and sausage.

Here they are tucking in!

Happy New Year for 2017

Very best wishes to everyone we know for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year,

from all at The Malthouse. 

We came across these photos of Smudge (our cat) and Poppy (our dog) taken last Summer.

What a lazy pair they are! 

 

Roll on the Summer!

Poppy is a Top Dog

Most Monday evenings we take our dog Poppy along to Waggietails Dog Club.  If you've looked at our blog before you'll know that we've been taking Poppy to the clubs training sessions since she was a small puppy.  Poppy loves to see the other dogs (especially Hamish the love of her life and Ruby another little girl dog that she adores!) and seems to really enjoy the training sessions as do we.  Each week at home we go over what we've learned at the club and try to put the training into practice, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't!   Over the last couple of years Poppy has been presented with a Bronze and Silver Award and has been working towards getting Gold.  To be honest Poppy is pretty good but not infallible so we were surprised and absolutely delighted when Waggietails gave her a Gold Award last week.  To prove it, here it is.    

Here is a snap of the "Top Dog" herself with one of her favourite toys Foxy - not a very original name we know!

Our Walk at Tittersworth Reservoir

We took a few hours off yesterday to spend with our dog Poppy.  The weather was warmer than it has been lately so we decided on a ride out in the car and a walk.  As Tittersworth Reservoir has good paths we went there so that we could walk without getting caked in mud.  What a good choice we made, the weather was sunny and the paths were pretty mud free. 

Here is a photo that we took during our walk, just beautiful! 

Tittersworth near Leek is operated by Severn Trent Water and well worth a visit if like us you love to be outdoors.  There are two marked walks, a short route that is suitable for most people including wheelchair users, pushchairs etc and a long route (approximately 5 miles) that goes around the reservoir.  As well as walks the site has an outdoor play park for young children, a place where you can have a barbecue, a visitor centre that serves refreshments, toilets, lots of seats/benches that are perfect for a picnic and the biggest plus for us is that dogs on leads are welcomed.  There is a charge to park at the reservoir but we feel that this is justified considering the facilities on offer.  We went on the long walk route and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Poppy seemed to have a great time too!

Holiday Tails

Sorry it's been quite a while since our last blog!  Our excuse is that we've been busy taking care of  guests staying here at The Malthouse.  Following a hectic season we went away for a well deserved holiday.  We decided to go to the seaside so that we could take our dog Poppy along too.  She loved Skegness beach, here she is on the sand.

 

 

Now, everyone in Lincolnshire is VERY friendly and Poppy is welcome in many of the shops. 

BUT there are non more friendly than two lovely ladies at a market stall near Fantasy Island in Skegness.  The stall is called 'Paws a While' here is Poppy modelling one of the creations they sell.  Doesn't she look gorgeous? 

 

 

We spent ages looking at the pet stall choosing several items including a new perfume for Poppy called Kennel No 5!  Well a girl has to be pampered and treat herself when she's on holiday!!!

 

Bye for now, back to the decorating.  Lots to do ready for the 2015 season!

Poppy - Before and After

Our dog Poppy has had a very busy afternoon at the dog groomers.  She looks so different after her pampering session that we thought we'd show you a before and after photograph.

 

BEFORE

 

 

 

 

AFTER

 

We promise that this is the same dog, we haven't swapped her!  We're sure you'll agree that the groomers have totally transformed Poppy in just a couple of hours.  She looks and smells fabulous.  Wonder if they can fit us in next week?  Might need more than just a couple of hours though!

Poppy the Wonderpup!

A quick progress report on our puppy Poppy.

First of all here she is looking totally cute after a recent haircut.  You will notice that she's not at all interested in looking at the camera.  She's far too busy sniffing the ground!  Well she is a dog!

Poppy is still attending dog training most Monday evenings and has now moved from the Puppy Class and moved into the Intermediate Class.  She really enjoys the training sessions (as do we!) and does well most weeks. This bronze award was presented to her so she must be doing OK!

Poppy will be one on 1st May2014, so we'd better start stocking up on birthday treats for her.

Poppy Gets An Award

If you've been following our Blog OR been to stay with us recently you'll know that in June a new member joined The Malthouse team - Poppy our miniature schnauzer puppy.

 

All youngsters have to learn to behave, so we've been taking Poppy along to a local Puppy Training Class.  Poppy loves going to the sessions as she gets to meet other puppies and really enjoys the training too!

 

Last week she was awarded a certificate and rosette at Puppy Training.  Here she is looking very pleased (if a little tired) with herself.



 

We like to think that Poppy got her award for her excellent behaviour and hard work but perhaps we're just deluded owners!  Some days she is good and pays attention to us and other days she  ignores us and does exactly as she likes.  We guess all pups are the same! 
 

Poppy Progress Report

Thought we'd let you know that Poppy our gorgeous Miniature Schnauzer puppy is doing just fine.  She's growing fast and into everything!  Here she is taking a much needed bath after a busy day exploring in the garden.

Like most puppies Poppy loves to eat,  play - her favourite toy at the moment is a squeaky pink rabbit, sleep and take numerous trips to the garden to get into mischief and powder her nose!

Here is a snap of Poppy that we took in our garden on a sunny day last week, cute or what. 

Poppy likes everyone BUT her favourite person (or cat in this case) is our cat Smudge.  She enjoys nothing more than following Smudge around, if he moves she trails after him, if he lies down she rests too, it's like watching a game of follow the leader!  Great entertainment for us!

Here are the best friends taking a much needed rest after chasing each other around.  We wondered how Smudge would cope with a young pup but we thinks he's secretly enjoying all the attention he's getting from his new admirer!