Monthly Archive for March, 2009

Easter Time at The Dog House

Published on March 31, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The Dog House is preparing for Easter with lots of fresh Spring-inspired colours &  cute ‘Easter Bunny’ prints, featuring my greyhound Max wearing bunny ears!

Max is a beautiful 6 year old brindle boy & our first rescue greyhound. He was photographed resting in the garden after a long walk. I popped these comical bunny ears on him just long enough to take a photo! Scarcely aware of their presence, I imagine he was probably dreaming of chasing bunny rabbits…

After converting the photograph of Max to a monochrome image, I hand screen printed it onto various items using non-toxic fabric ink. The ink has been fixed using heat, making it resistant to machine washing at 40 ° C & dry cleaning.

ALL EARS hand printed baby blue on vanilla ladies cotton vest top size medium

This cute vest is ladies size medium (chest 29 1/4 inches, length 22 1/2 inches) with thin straps. It is made of 100% fairtrade organic combed cotton in vanilla, with the greyhound image printed in baby blue: Lovely fresh colours for spring!

The vest costs $20 (approximately £14) & can be purchased from my Etsy shop.

ALL EARS hand printed baby blue on white cotton towel

This cute towel is white & measures a generous 46 x 74 cm. It is made from super-absorbent 100% cotton which is hemmed on all 4 sides, & has a hanging hook attached to one corner. The greyhound image is printed in baby blue. Ideal for use as a dish towel or for drying your dog’s muddy/wet paws before they create little paw prints all over the floor! Perfect for Easter!

The towel costs $10 (approximately £7) & can be purchased from my Etsy shop.

ALL EARS hand printed charcoal grey on leaf green cotton shopping bag

The practical yet stylish bag measures 38 x 43 cm. It has short handles & a 10 cm gusset which is double-stitched for extra strength. It is made of 100% cotton in leaf green with the greyhound image printed in contrasting charcoal grey. It is strong enough to carry all your shopping but lightweight enough to fold up and put in your pocket or handbag. Why not banish those dull plastic bags & brighten up your shopping trip with this sprightly carrier? Just perfect for Easter time!

The bag costs $15 (approximately £10) & can be purchased from my Etsy shop.

ALL EARS hand printed yellow on soft blue organic cotton tie up baby bib

This adorable bib measures 28″ in length, with a circumference of 22″, & has ties for fastening at the back. It is made of 100% organic combed cotton in soft blue, with the greyhound image printed in contrasting yellow. Suitable for either a boy or girl & perfect at Easter time!

The bib costs $15 (approximately £10) & can be purchased from my Etsy shop.

5% of the profits from the sale of all these items will be donated to Gracehounds (Scottish Registered Charity No. SC038872), a small local charity dedicated to finding permanent homes & a better life for greyhounds, like Max, who would otherwise be abandoned or destroyed after their short racing careers.

Special thanks to VioletBunnyfish on Etsy, who very kindly custom made the bunny ears for Max!

10 Days of Torres

Published on March 30, 2009 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Our foster dog, Torres, has been with us for 10 days now so it’s time for a wee update! He is settling in well & I notice such a difference in him already in the short time we have had him. He’s a very affectionate boy & loves nothing better than having his big neck rubbed! Initially very clingy, he now feels secure enough not to follow me every time I leave the room! He seems to have bonded well with my own 2 dogs, Max & Molly, who will both now happily share a sofa with him, (Only trouble is when all 3 are up at once & we’re left with nowhere to sit!) & my partner, Martin.

He enjoys his walks (which are all strictly on-lead during the fostering period) & walks very well on a lead, preferring to nose his way in between Max & Molly & walk with one on either side of him! He loves riding in the car, which is obviously new & exciting for him: He’ll sit & watch attentively everything going on outside the window! He’s just starting to show some interest in toys,  & seemed to really enjoy devouring a big dental chew I gave him the other day as well as gnawing on a Kong toy.

There was an unfortunate incident last Tuesday when he got in a bit of a scrap with one of the other Gracehounds foster dogs. We think it was because Torres had yet to be neutered at that point so hormones were high! Anyway, poor Torres ended up worst off & sustained a bite to his right foreleg & some nasty bruises & swelling. He was promptly whisked off to the vet, who put him on antibiotics & painkillers but reassured us that there were no bone breakages or internal injuries & no stitches were needed.

I think he got a real fright, & was very clingy that evening. I don’t know if it was anxiety or pain, or a combination of the 2, but he wouldn’t settle down for the night & kept crying whenever I left the room. I ended up staying up with him through the night to reassure him whenever he woke.  The next morning he was up & outside with my other 2 without hesitation & seemed back to his usual bouncy self. I, on the other hand, felt far from bouncy…!

He has since been back to the vets, but this time for a planned visit: Torres was neutered on Friday. He seems to have coped very well with the procedure, had a check up today & is to have his stitches out at the end of the week. Gracehounds pays the vet bills for all their foster dogs.

His tummy was a bit upset when he first arrived, but after a few days of bland food (boiled rice & turkey mince with probiotic natural yoghurt), it’s now settled & everything is now hunkydory in that department! His coat is already so much more glossy than it was 10 days ago: He didn’t seem to enjoy his bath much but he loves having his coat brushed. He has encountered our cat, Angie, for the first time, & it’s fair to say that, like my own 2 dogs, he is not a cat-safe greyhound. Thank goodness for baby-gates…!

He initially became quite anxious & worked up in the presence of other dogs (especially after the above incident), but after a few walks with the Gracehounds ‘pack’ & our Agility Day on Sunday, he’s now started to make friends & is getting on well with the other dogs. He does still show signs of separation anxiety – he whines & howls when left for more than 15 minutes or so – & that is clearly something we have to work on as part of the rehoming process. But everyday, he grows more & more secure & I think he’s going to make someone a fastastic pet!

An Aid to Recall

Published on March 25, 2009 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

We’ve not been getting anywhere fast with our Molly‘s recall training. Sausages seem to do it for our Max, who is progressing quite nicely & will now come to a whistle (for a sausage reward!). However, Molly just didn’t seem interested in whatever treats were on offer, the joy of running around off-lead obviously being more rewarding for her in itself!

She’s not a highly food-motivated dog, unlike Max who will practically do circus tricks in order to obtain anything that could possibly be construed as edible! However, I did notice the other day when my partner & I were tucking into some nice pate a friend had bought back from France for lunch that she suddenly seemed super interested! I let her try a smidgen & she could not get enough!

After a bit of internet research I figured it must be the liver in it that was so appealing to her, as apparently a lot of dogs like this. Not wanting to be importing vast quantities of fancy French pate specially for Molly (& not sure how healthy pate made for human consumption would be for her if eaten on a regular basis), I set to work coming up with a recipe for homemade liver-based dog treats.

I found various recipes online but, ever conscious of my dogs’ delicate digestion, felt many used ingredients such as milk & vegetables which might not suit my dogs so well. So I picked up a couple of pounds of liver from the local butcher & started experimenting in the kitchen. (A word of warning: food processing liver is not pretty & definitely not for the squeamish!) The following is the recipe I came up with:

Liver & Yoghurt Brownies

Ingredients:

500g lambs liver
500g wholemeal flour
3 cloves garlic
1 egg
natural yoghurt to mix (I used probiotic as I often give this to my dogs to settle an upset tummy)

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C
2. Grease & line a square or rectangular baking tin (I used a loaf tin)
3. Blend the liver & garlic in a food processor (be VERY careful to put the lid on tightly!)
4. Stir in the flour & egg till well combined
5. Mix in enough yoghurt to give a spreading consistency
6. Pour into your tin & bake for about 30 minutes, until firm like a cake
7. Cool on a rack then turn out & cut into cubes

The ‘brownies’ can be stored in the fridge for a few days but I usually freeze them then defrost small quantities as needed.

The good news is Molly adores the brownies & her recall is improving drastically! I took a batch to our local greyhound get-together at the weekend & they seemed to go down well with all the dogs there too.

Anyway, I thought I’d post the recipe in case anyone else is struggling to find a successful reward for recall training, or just fancies treating their hound!

New from The Dog House

Published on March 24, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Check out the latest item I have listed in my Etsy shop:

JUST JESS hand printed charcoal grey on sunshine yellow organic cotton tote bag

I’m so glad the weather has finally started to warm up & I can photograph my products outside in the glorious sunlight!

This freshly coloured tote features an image of my friend Alison’s beautiful black & white lurcher, Jess. Alison & I are both involved with Gracehounds, a small local charity dedicated to finding permanent homes & a better life for greyhounds & lurchers, like Jess, who would otherwise be abandoned or destroyed after their short racing careers.

Jess was photographed on a recent walk at Portmore Loch in the Scottish Borders. Her graceful stance & sleek silhouette against the wintery background of the loch along with the contrast between her black & white coat were visually striking.

After converting the photograph of Jess to a monochrome image, I hand screen printed it onto the bag using non-toxic fabric ink. The ink has been fixed using heat, making it resistant to machine washing at 40 ° C & dry cleaning.

The bag measures 36 x 40 cm with a depth of 8 cm & long handles for carrying over the shoulder. It is made of 100% certified organic cotton twill in sunshine yellow with the greyhound image printed in contrasting charcoal grey. The bag has been ethically made using a climate neutral process & carries the EarthPositive® label.

A super practical bag, it is strong yet lightweight: An eco-friendly & stylish alternative to plastic bags for carrying anything from books to beachwear!

This bag can be purchased for $15 (£10) from my Etsy shop, The Dog House. 5% of the profits will be donated to Gracehounds (Scottish Registered Charity No. SC038872).

Running with the Dogs

Published on March 23, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Great Winter Run '09I am currently training for the Great Edinburgh Run, a 10K event taking place in & around Edinburgh city centre on 3rd May this year. I’m a bit rusty at the moment as I haven’t done any serious running since the Great Winter Run in January.

It’s taking me a while to get out of the bit & I’m already a week behind on my training schedule! ( I’m using a basic 8 week training schedule which involves running 3 times a week.) So today I enlisted ‘the power of the pack’ to get me going!

My schedule indicated I should do ’2M easy, then 4 x 600m or 2 mins, with 400m or 3-min jog recoveries, then 2M easy’.  (Easy?! – Ha!) So I set off round the field with Max & Molly & our foster dog, Torres, on their leads. (Max & Molly have a double lead to minimise tangling!) They seemed to really enjoy it – it wasn’t a run for them, of course, they were barely even breaking into a ‘trot’! So I jogged & they ‘trotted’ around the (approximately 2 mile) perimeter of the field, before I deposited the 3 of them in the garden for some down time while I went & attempted the annoying middle part of the run.

I hate running fast! I love running slowly, & could happily run at a nice gentle pace for miles & miles (I completed the Great North Run half marathon in October last year – I won’t tell you my time though!) That’s why I find this whole interval training thing so hard. So, why am I doing it? Well, I really want to complete this year’s 10K event in under an hour. Last year it took me 1 hour 15 minutes (I know, I’m slow!), but this year I am running it in aid of my local greyhound rehoming charity, Gracehounds, & want to raise as much money as possible. I figure that since I got into this whole running malarky (about a year ago), I’ve pestered people for sponsorship money so many times (I raised over £500 for mental health charity Mind when I did the Great North Run), I need to give them a bit of extra incentive to cough up this time! So, I’m gonna try & run the 10K in under an hour…

Anyway, I got through the middle bit, paused for a glass of water & put Max & Molly back on their leads to accompany me on the last 2 mile stretch. I left Torres at home coz he’s not (yet!) used to coming running with me & I did’t want to over tire him. My 2 are of course used to coming on these funny little ‘trots’ with me & happily trotted off round the field again with me.

I like running with my dogs. I’ve heard there’s an official ‘sport’, CaniX, which organises events (& even international ‘olympics’!) involving cross-country running with your dog(s). It seems to involve harnessing the dog’s pulling power and chase instinct with a dog running harness, waist belt and line to make it more comfortable for both owner & dog and give extra assistance (handy for the hills)!

I’m not sure if me & my pack are ready for that (yet!) but for now they’re doing a good job at motivating me to get off my bum & get round that field!

Torres

Published on March 19, 2009 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

TaurusMy partner & I recently decided to become fosterers for our local greyhound rehoming charity, Gracehounds. Today our very first foster dog arrived & our own 2 greyhounds, Max & Molly, were joined by Torres.

Torres is a big black boy with little white ‘ballet shoes’ on his feet. He’s 2 years old & an ex-racer with only half a tail & an unusually shaped muzzle which makes him look a bit like a bull terrier in profile. He’s a little bit anxious & unsure of himself but has all the makings of a fabulous pet for some lucky person. Until then, I’ll be keeping you up to date with his progress…

The Dog House

Published on March 18, 2009 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

The Dog House is the name of my Etsy shop. For those who have never encountered it before, Etsy is a wonderful place where people from all over the world can buy & sell all things handmade.  If you’ve never tried it, I strongly recommend at least having a peak – there are so many wonderful creations to be found.

I have always loved making things, & will try my hand at anything from knitting to baking to card making to pottery painting…! I’m one of those people who just didn’t grow out of experimenting with glue & glitter & all manner of other (mostly messy) crafting materials as I got older! So, when I came across  a ‘cheap screen printing’ tutorial on the internet, it didn’t take long for me to get my hands on some fabric inks, ‘borrow’ some of my boyfriend’s less-loved items of clothing, & get drawn into the exciting world of screen printing.

Naturally, the first prints I created were of things around me in my day to day life which were eye-catching, photogenic & a little bit comical: my greyhounds! Observing that my boyfriend was actually rather chuffed with his newly printed wardrobe (& not thinking the results were too bad myself either!), I proceeded to decorate all kinds of items with images of the dogs I live with & love. Running out of things to print on & gathering new ideas for prints like a snowball, I decided to unleash my creativity on the world at large & The Dog House was born.

Inspired predominantly by greyhounds (in particular by my own 2 needle-noses, Max & Molly), I make & sell unique hand printed items such as T-shirts, bags & doggy bandanas. I think the sleek lines & graceful (& at times not so graceful!) poses of greyhounds make striking prints. After capturing the dogs on camera, I convert original photographs to monochrome images which I then use to make screen prints. I like experimenting with bold colour combinations & captioning in my work.

Importantly, 5% of The Dog House‘s profits are donated to Gracehounds, the rehoming charity with which I volunteer, & which is dedicated to finding permanent homes & a better life for greyhounds. However, not all the prints I make feature greyhounds & I enjoy working with images of other animals too. I have been approached by several customers to make prints featuring images of their own dogs, which I  am really enjoying working on.

Here is a small selection of my work:

Introducing Max & Molly

Published on March 11, 2009 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I am the proud owner of 2 beautiful ex-racing greyhounds.

a typical day on the sofa!Max is a 6 year old brindle boy adopted from the Retired Greyhound Trust 9 months ago. Through Max, I became actively involved with local rehoming charity, Gracehounds &, 6 months later, adopted Molly from this charity.  She’s a gorgeous 3 year old black & white girl. They love each other’s company & spend most of their time lying on the sofa together!

At the beachSadly, every year many greyhounds are abandoned or destroyed. Bred in large numbers for the racing industry, after short or unsuccessful careers they are surplus to the requirements of their trainers. Yet these gentle & sweet-natured dogs make wonderful companion animals & I couldn’t imagine life without my two!