Kangaroo Leather Show Leads

Bad weather is seen by some as a chance to get on with indoor things... which isn't really true of leatherworking, as I tend to do it in the garden if the weather is nice. It is at least something that still can be done when the weather is bad. Here are some recent kangaroo dog show leads with semiprecious stones. These leads and my other leatherworking stuff are for sale on my Etsy shop, and if you're looking for something custom made with particular stones, do get in touch and I'll see what I can do.

Tigerseye

Jasper

Turquoise

Carnelian

On My Tod

Bess seems alert and well, but tonight and yesterday night, she chooses to keep apart from her companions. This could be an indication of impending labour. If it is, I'm hoping she will get on with it tomorrow when there is forecast to be a break in the bad weather.

The Bird Box

Heritage turkeys are hatching:

Otto's Achievement

Otto is 6 months old and has achieved KCGC bronze award at a local show. There was some interest in a training video I posted a while ago in which I said the most important things to concentrate on in training a puppy were focus and recall, and that I do not teach my dogs 'sit' until very late in their training. I still haven't taught Otto to sit. I might make a video about my reasons for this and my puppies' ongoing training later. Meanwhile, here are some videos of the poodles playing.

Saffi didn't come to the show to do the test -- I wanted to take Otto somewhere on his own for socialisation, and if I take them together they are just silly all the time. I think she could have done it though and I will probably go to another show with her when she is a bit older to do the same thing.

Poodles swimming

The weather was warm, so we went to a local place where the puppies can learn about water. Hobsey loves to swim, but the other poodles stayed at home, because Adhara had just been washed and Loki and Indi don't like water and I don't want Saffi and Otto learning from their bad example!

Pacas

I still don't know if Bess is pregnant. She looks a peculiar shape and sometimes I think I can see something twitching and squirming inside her, but it could be a combination of middle-age spread and my imagination. If there is a cria in her, it is very late, as come Saturday it will be a full year since she last mated. Incidentally I neither know if the other two are pregnant, but if they are, they are not due to give birth until July. I was rather hoping Bess would get on and have a cria so we could bring in a stud to mate her and check the other two at the same time.

Usually when one sees two birds hanging around with each other and one of them is strutting around making noise with its feathers blown up, it's to be assumed this one is the male and the less pompous individual is the female. However, this is not the case for emus. The bird stomping a display along the fence line is Odette.

Leather stuff & Poodles

The dogs have been enjoying the pleasant weather -- until it changed and stopped being pleasant. I admit that we needed the rain, but it needs to stop now before it spawns a plague of slugs and the delphiniums get eaten again.

Saffi clambering on things

Mother & Daughter

Otto

I won't be attempting to have another litter until the end of the year at the earliest. While I have nice people waiting for puppies and I'm sorry I can't offer them one sooner, there is just too much going on in the summer, and I want to enjoy the puppies I have and concentrate on Adhara's agility. And since I would want to keep a puppy if I were to do any of the breedings I'm thinking of trying, the timing is just not right. For anyone who is interested in a puppy, we may have some who will be ready to go home in the early part of 2018. Enquiring early and getting on the waiting list is the best chance of getting a dog who will be the best fit.

Adhara, who was not scheduled to be washed, but lay in something disgusting on a walk

"What are you talking about?"

I've decided to make my rolled leather collars and Twill leads available in black with a choice of any colour stitching you like, as well as the colourful versions. However innovative you make something, there are always going to be some customers looking for a traditional product that's well made. Here's one possibility I made for Otto in the colours of the German flag.

The poodle rolled collars and Twill leads are suitable for small and medium-sized dogs who are not aggressive pullers. They're designed to be gentle on your dog, your hand, and your dog's coat. If you need a collar and lead that can take more abuse, I make the Samson collars and Chevron leads.

I should also have some kangaroo show leads in new colours soon -- the leather is at the moment on an aeroplane from Australia.

Bess and Aquilegias

I know a lot about the genetics of coat colour in dogs and feather colour in birds. I find myself wondering about the genetics that control the colours of these flowers. I'm guessing there are several alleles that control the colour of the outside and the inside on completely different loci.

Is there just one of her, or is there more to it than that? She doesn't seem in much of a hurry to show us either way.