Arnie and Troon

Vizsla love!

2008-09-12T15:30:00.002+01:00

.............Sleeping!!

2008-07-18T22:31:00.000+01:00

Sun(?)/Showers, Sand, Sea and......

2008-07-18T21:53:00.003+01:00

Here's to good friends...

2008-07-03T19:47:00.010+01:00

I heard some friends stopped by my old Richmond résidence; thanks Tracy, Dan, and Jessie :)

For the benefit of those who don't already know them, Tracy was like a second mum to me - she looked after me every weekday since I was a pup, and holidays too. Her husband, Dan, used to take holidays to look after me - I suppose I am rather fun to be with ;) Thanks Dan! And Jessie, well, she's one out-of-this-world Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and she's been my side-kick since I was a pup too. She showed me the doggie ropes! We played together every day, and we were the best of friends - I think Arnie and Jessie would get along very well!

Just found a few old photos in my doggie basket... Thinking of you, wish you were here :)

Two peas in a pod

2008-07-02T19:53:00.004+01:00

Old collars...

New collars...(yippee! ain't we gorgeous?!)

Without collars....(such love!)

Just doing what we do...(regardless.)

No more, please

2008-06-30T21:11:00.002+01:00

Phew!

2008-06-28T20:58:00.004+01:00

It's back to just the two of us now. Rashes are pretty much gone, so a successful bath time and tablets are doing the trick!

I probably shouldn't say this, but Arnie and I are definitely getting closer (as you can see from the picture...) Arnie has taken to "looking out for me." He says this is because I'm his "little" sister. It's very cute ;-)

2008-06-26T20:13:00.000+01:00

Hop! Hop! Hooray!

2008-06-26T16:43:00.001+01:00

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy 1st Birthday dear Arnie!
Happy Birthday to you

2008-06-25T08:05:00.003+01:00

This week marks a new beginning for Troon (and us too.) It's been a brilliant few days in some respects, and terribly sad (for us) in others. But the important thing is, it's been a brilliant week for Troon :)

For personal (family) reasons, Troon has gone to stay with her half-brother, Arnie, and his parents Sarah & Matt. Sarah is particularly well-equipped to look after Troon as she has a PhD in animal behavior (at least that's my very un-technical interpretation of her degree), not to mention a lot of love for vizslas :) Arnie is nearly 1 year old, and the resemblence between him & Troon is quite remarkable - bar the fact that he is one BIG vizsla! They all love the outdoors and spend lots of time on the beach, mountains, woodlands, and on parents farm. Three days in, Arnie and Troon are inseparable, not to mention exhausted.

I keep telling myself not to be sad, and I must say the same to Troon's readers; Troon is in excellent hands and she is very, very happy, as you will see. Sarah has kindly agreed to keep us up to date with lots of photos and videos. So All Things Troon will not end here, it's just a new chapter, one we will call Arnie & Troon (like Benny & Joon ;)

Huge thanks to Sarah, Matt, and Arnie for making this transition better than any of us could have imagined!

2008-06-18T12:16:00.004+01:00

I love weekends - lazing in the garden on a Sunday afternoon :)

(he, he... yes Rocket (see comments), but a bit longer than 10k. It was a full lap 'round Richmond Park - perhaps 10 miles? Not sure, maybe not quite but it sure was tiring ;)

2008-06-17T21:40:00.003+01:00

Some old photos, for posterity's sake...

2008-04-15T13:28:00.002+01:00

We are happy to report that after a long, drawn-out, spoiled rotten rest, Troon is off the couch and back in business ;) Hooray!!!

2008-03-27T10:57:00.002Z

Aw thank you Ziggy, Pesto, Rio, Rocket, and Charlie for your notes... your sympathy and well wishes have made me feel better already! Great idea about the biscuits - I'll go tell Mum now. She was very pleased with me earlier -- I was so bored that I VOLUNTEERED for a bath!!! She said this was simply unprecedented,though I have no idea what that means.

2008-03-26T18:40:00.002Z

Troon has (sprained?) her cruciate ligament... not sure exactly what that means, other than the fact that she has to stay indoors for one month, with only a 20 minute walk per day. She is very, very, very sad.

2008-03-14T09:35:00.002Z

Me and baby Finn are going to get along just fine ;)

2008-02-21T08:12:00.003Z

I know, it's been an age since we've posted... between the holidays and my new baby Finn, Mum & Dad have been quite busy. I think we finally have our heads above water now, so here are a few photos from the holidays to catch you up. We'll be sure to post more again soon :)

2007-10-14T16:21:00.000+01:00

Meet my new baby brother, Finn Warren Heath!

2007-08-24T08:35:00.000+01:00

2007-08-21T16:31:00.000+01:00

Just spent the weekend being spoiled by grams and gramps down in Somerset. Grams had lots of tasty biscuits waiting for me on arrival and Gramps took me for a long run on the Quantocks - after which, I had a nice long nap. Those Cats hid out the entire time - guess they know who's boss when I'm in town.

2007-07-16T17:18:00.001+01:00

Got to meet TWO of my sisters yesterday at the Richmond Viz Whiz - yippee! Pictured from left to right is Ditto, me, and Dizzy. That woman I'm holding hands with is my mum - she's having a baby soon - won't I be jealous!

2007-04-12T14:30:00.000+01:00

On Easter Sunday, we went to a Viz Whiz in Richmond Park. There were about 30 of us good looking pups there.

I got to play with my sister Dizzy. It was all hugs & kisses. (I'm on the right.)

This is a picture of us when we tried to line up. The humans weren't very organised. (Click to enlarge.)

And this is us playing in a pond. I'm furthest to the right.
Toward the end of the day, I got a little tired and needed some attention from Mum. I don't think she minds ;)

And when we got home, I crashed out in the sunny garden.

What a happy Easter!

2007-02-13T13:19:00.000Z

Took a trip to North Wales last weekend and boy did we go through some snow to get there. But once between the coast and the mountains, it was pure sunshine. Had a fabulous time playing on the beach and hiking around Snowdonia. Can't wait to go again!

2007-01-24T19:33:00.000Z

Yipee - it's snowing! And the fun never seems to end... while mum and dad go to work, I head over to Tracy's house to hang out with my best mate Jessie and some other lucky dogs that happen to stop by. Here are a few pics of us hanging out this week. What can I say? It's a dog's life.

Thanks for the pics Tracy!

2007-01-22T18:28:00.000Z

Took a trip down to the New Forest to see my cousin Purdy this weekend. She's a six month old black lab and while she could really throw her body weight around, I was a bit quicker so we got along famously.

2007-01-09T06:39:00.000Z

Age: 18 wks
Weight: 29.5 lbs

My back right leg is healing up nicely from the bite. Even better, vet Liz excused me from getting any stitches :) I hung out with Tracey, my dog sitter, Jessie (my Staffordshire Bull Terrier friend - bring it on, Border Collies) and the rest of their gang yesterday. We went for two walks and had lots of playtime, so I was very sleepy by the time mum & dad came home from work. I'm a bit more awake this morning, so keen to get on with another day of play.

I'm really getting bigger now - less wrinkles, more muscle around my head. My weight is coming along - though I was down a bit last week from all of the holiday fun & games, I've managed to catch back up and am still keeping with the average two lbs per week.

2007-01-06T17:50:00.000Z

Been in the wars of late - my eye is still giving me a little trouble but Mum and Dad are helping me out with that, a little dab of ointment every morning. I had my first trip to day care on Friday, started out well playing with lots of dogs but then when I jumped on a sleeping border collie, the aggressive sod turned round and nipped me in the leg - nice puncture wound to show for it, but I didn't let him know he got me. Got taken home shortly afterwards and Dad seemed pretty annoyed with the carer. In fact, we had a quick run down to that vet place again - a little jab later and a pig's ear to show for it, and back home in no time. Mum was on the phone as soon as she arrived home and I am now going back to see Tracey, who I stayed with for the New Year - she's great and I get to play with my mate all day, yipee!

2006-12-31T08:09:00.000Z

The past few days have been terribly exciting for me. Firstly, Mum, Dad and Uncle Jon took me to a Viz Whiz. Pure joy! There must have been 25 to 30 of us! I've never seen so many Vizslas (or Vizslak, as they say in the home country.) My sister Dizzy was late, so I didn't get to see her (yet) but I played with 13-wk old Charlie and watched the big dogs jump and play in the water; I'm still not so sure about all that wet stuff. We did pretty well to keep up for the first half of the trek across Richmond Park, but then had to let the big dogs move on.

When all hope of seeing my sister Dizzy had faded, suddenly, she was at my door!! I think this had to be the highlight of my life :) We recognised each other immediately and even though we were both exhausted from the Viz Whiz, we had the best play session ever. Parents were again talking of our weight, but as it turns out, even though I look bigger, Dizzy was longer, so we weighed the same. I would love to see her again, even better, some of my other sisters too.

The day didn't end there though. We took a ride down to Somerset to see Grandma and Grandpa. I don't think anyone could believe how well behaved I was - I was really just tired from all the excitement. They spoiled me with lots of love and affection. The next day, they took me out for a very cold and wet walk, and only afterwards did they buy me a coat. Nice gesture, but I could have used it a bit earlier. At the same time however, they bought me some pigs ears, so all was forgiven!

2006-12-27T09:28:00.000Z

What a plonker... Dad chucked the Turkey in the bin and boy did he get some stick. I had to tell Mum where it was of course, heh heh :)

Wow what a present; a life size polar bear, which had the benefit of my jaws on emergence from the wrapping paper (What is it they always say, start as you mean to go on?) Thanks Mum and Dad.

Dad's a little slow on opening presents so I had to help out, on the whole though I heard a lot more 'good girls' than I did 'Troon, no.' Well it's Christmas, I had to give them a break.

Tiring day so crashed out on Mum's lap, although the constant comments about my weight are a little hurtful. How would they like it if I told them how much weight they had put on over the last few weeks. By the way, I gained another two pounds this week.

Age: 16 wks
Weight: 26 lbs
Merry Christmas!

2006-12-23T06:26:00.000Z

Christmas is fast approaching and I am getting a little dog tired of all this preparation - they managed to snap these when I was about to nod off; just to confirm I am not a bloodhound and I am a happy puppy, so please don't send in the RSPCA. I've managed to pick up that the in-laws are flying over shortly - perfect, nothing like a bit of jet lag followed by some Vizsla love, should be fun I'll let you know how it goes :)

2006-12-19T18:50:00.000Z

This toying with a crabapple was just a warm-up prior to my big hunt in Richmond Park. I'm hoping to catch a wildebeest sometime soon.

2006-12-19T06:55:00.000Z

Today is my 15 wk birthday. Mum tells me I weighed in at 24 lbs. So, looks like I only gained 1 pound this week. I'm pretty sure that's because I'm not being given enough biscuits!

2006-12-17T20:39:00.000Z

Troon's Weight Chart

We've been tracking Troon's weight, and as best as we can tell, she's on the path to 50 lbs (23 kg.) Click to enlarge.

2006-12-17T20:22:00.000Z

Vizsla Event!

What: Richmond Viz Whiz
When: Thurs, 28 Dec 06 @ 10am
Where: Dysart Arms Pub, Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7AA
Organiser: Penny, Mobile phone number 07973 165661

Hope to see you there!

2006-12-16T21:18:00.000Z

Troonisms

Troon is always waiting to greet us with a furry friend, whether away for two hours or two minutes. She holds them gently in her mouth, wags her tail incessantly and speaks in her grumbling, yet welcoming tones.

At night, she loves to be tucked in bed, wrapped in a warm blanket. She's out before you can say rumpelstiltskin. Troon can't seem to stay up any later than 9pm.

The mere scent of a biscuit immediately sends her into the sit or down position without a hand signal or a word spoken.

Troon loves to have her belly rubbed. She doesn't like the cold kitchen floor or when it's cold and wet outside.

Walks are often brought to an abrupt halt by... Troon; without warning she becomes Tigger, jumps two feet in the air, throws one of her paws over the lead, before looking you in the eye as if to say, 'Now what are you going to do about that?'

She should have been called sniffer or hoover. When walking with her, she sweeps back and forth, never taking her nose off the ground.

Troon loves to run free in Richmond Park. She's generally good with her recalls, but we cannot let her near joggers - she seems to know instinctively .. her future lies in being a running partner.

2006-12-12T20:42:00.000Z

Age: 14 weeks
Weight: 23.5lbs

Christmas is coming and I'm getting into my stride with lots of thieving to wind up Mum and Dad. I think they might be getting the hang of it though so I'll have to devise some new games :). The Christmas tree looks great with lots of lights to hang from, just waiting for some presents in the stockings over the fire - I just love Christmas ! Oh this is my first, but it will be one to remember :)

2006-12-05T06:34:00.000Z

Age: 13 wks
Weight: 21 lbs (9.5 kg)

Looks like I'm gaining about 2 lbs, (nearly 1 kg), per week! (Very soon, I will be big enough to steal biscuits off the dinner table ;)

2006-12-03T19:50:00.000Z

Big weekend for Troon... she's overcome her shyness of other dogs and is raring to go! But after all that running around, she needs a bit of rest - just like her sisters. Can you tell the resemblence? From first to last - Ditto, Dizzy and Troon.

Rub my belly, please, please!!!

2006-12-01T06:59:00.000Z

All's well at the Heath household. Troon is as gorgeous as ever.

2006-11-29T18:58:00.000Z

Age: 12 wks
Weight: 19 lbs

I'm doing very well with my sits, downs and offs; getting quite good at trotting along on the lead, and I'm an exceptional shoe thief. Hmm - which one of these things doesn't belong?

2006-11-26T18:36:00.000Z

The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind for the Heath clan - in fact, we're all currently crashed out on the couches, with two sets of snoring. We had lots of guests, walks in the park, puppy socialisation class and a visit to Waggy Tales. Troon is still quite shy around other dogs, but seemed to be coming out of her shell by the end of play today.

2006-11-24T20:20:00.000Z

Troon had her first walkies today!! We started off taking in the smells, but then pranced up Albany Passage, meeting a friendly poodle, Charlie from Trinidad, along the way. Troon was very shy.

Next challenge was the main road; we did very well for our first walk, though understandably those giant vehicles were slightly intimidating. Finally, back down Albany Passage, we met a puppy called Laura, a flat-coated Retriever, with her owner Penny. Troon was again quite shy, but ultimately we would give this a 9 out of 10 for great puppy experiences.

Dad was home at 7.00pm and we went out again, met two babies and lots of friendly people. Confidence is building and hope to show Mum where to go tomorrow. Really tired so off to my den. Chow for now.

2006-11-24T06:30:00.000Z

Yawn, Friday morning. I got up at 5am today, as usual. Mum and Dad seem a bit tired at that hour, nonetheless, they got up too and hung out with me. Some pictures of me last night - a couple at my favourite hang-out spot on the stairwell; it's even better with Dad. And just a bit later, snoozing on mums lap - (and they wonder why I wake up so early!)

2006-11-21T17:32:00.000Z

I am officially 11 weeks old now and I'm told that I weigh about 17 lbs - not much different to last week, though I am feeling much more mature. Actually, I overheard mum and dad say they were going to take me to puppy classes this weekend - Yippee! At least that's progress. I wonder if they will let me take my best friend? (I can't decide if he's a reindeer or a Vizsla.) They also said I get to make my first puppy paw prints in Richmond Park on Saturday...like a true Hollywood Star! Only first, mum says I have got to learn how to walk on that annoying lead ... sheesh! Why can't they leave a good thing alone?!

2006-11-19T18:33:00.000Z

Mum and Dad decided a day at the beach was in order, so off to see Uncle Stuart and Auntie Rachel's new house in Brighton. Nice place, needs some doing up but even I can see plenty of potential - tried to help them in the garden and left them a few presents for later!

They all seemed very excited about their Roast Leg of Lamb (I got Royal Canin, again), I just hope their palate remains focused on these farm animals they keep eating.

Brisk walk down on the seafront, although, as per usual I was carried. Strange because I thought my antics in the house were sufficient to convince them I could walk; oh well maybe next week. I am pooped and off to bed, talk later.

2006-11-18T13:57:00.000Z

Today, I went to the vets office. I had my second jab, which means next week I can finally go outside to play - I can't wait! Turns out, the jab was nothing to worry about - just a tiny one, which I didn't even notice because the nice lady at the vet gave me some biscuits to distract. I also ate some crunchy worming tablets; they probably didn't taste very good, but I didn't notice those either as they were served with biscuits à la carte too. I like going to the vet, and I behaved very well - not like some other dogs who were whining and complaining the whole time. Bow wow!

2006-11-16T21:33:00.000Z

I learned to climb the stairs today - my mum and dad are very proud! I also learned to open the rubbish bin all by myself ;) Smart girl.

2006-11-15T20:33:00.000Z

What can we say about Troon today!? Trouble is a word... or perhaps Frenetic would be more appropriate. But she's still beautiful and gracious and lovely and we love her to pieces!!

No accidents to report - though a bit of tail chasing and biting... I think she just needs to get outdoors. She keeps catching her refelction in the oven - I have a feeling she is missing her sisters :( Only one more week to go (and a couple of days) before we head out to the great outdoors! We can't wait!

2006-11-14T21:24:00.000Z

Age: 10 wks
Weight: 16 lbs (7.2 kg)!

Troon had an enormous amount of energy today as well as an enormous appetite.

At times she displayed some fairly bizarre behaviour, like digging a tunnel behind her den only to come out the other side and dive back down in the other direction. I suppose it was relatively normal for a puppy though.

She is steadily learning to sit, come, wait and fetch - but she's also quite sneaky in that sometimes she checks to see if I have a treat for her, and if I don't, she takes off.

Troon is also getting quite good at her signals to go outside, although there are still the occasional accidents.

Grandma's sessions with Troon took their toll on the way home this afternoon - going to sleep three times on the coach journey (woken by her own snoring!). Troon says 'thanks for stopping by and see you when I hit 20kg!'

2006-11-13T20:44:00.000Z

Today was a special day for Troon, she met her Grandma, and had to train her!!

"She got up late, couldn't open the back door, so I did a puddle on the floor, even though I had asked to go out with plenty of time to spare. She was just getting into the routine when Mum arrived home, obviously couldn't bear to be parted from her Troon (or didn't trust Grandma). Anyway, as the day went on things got better, had the attention from both of them, and it was great! I've had some good sleeps today, when they let me, and I think I know when to go out in the garden. Only one slip up, got too excited when playing on the sofa, sorry, won't do that again!"

2006-11-12T08:49:00.000Z

Congratulations to Troon (and her parents) for sleeping all the way through the night by herself!!! No messes or upsets whatsoever :) What a good girl she is!!!

2006-11-11T14:05:00.000Z

Age: 9 1/2 weeks
Weight: 15.2 lbs (6.9 kg)

Day Four: I think we are all finally getting the hang of this! Troon has settled in very well. At both Vet Liz's and Breeder Jim's advice, we battled out the solo sleeping arrangements last night with good success.

Troon went to bed at 9pm, and we only took her out for one bathroom break at 2am (she was quiet before we went out though.) She woke up three times during the night; the first time, she barked for 1 1/2 hours, the second time, for about 45 minutes, and the third, only 15 minutes! I think we're getting somewhere. (Touch wood.) No doubt we will do battle again this evening, but we'll be sure to run down those batteries before she goes to bed ;)

As for house training, our girl is doing pretty well. She doesn't much like the cold or the rain, but we've had few accidents to report since Troon's arrived. Today, she gave a very clear signal toward the door to let me know she needed to head out. Well done Troony!

2006-11-09T21:22:00.000Z

Day Two: Troon is doing quite well today - practically house trained as she's done 95 per cent of her business outdoors. She slept a lot, however, her activity level seems to increase significantly post garden deposits. It would seem lighter dog equals energetic dog.

Appetite continues unabated, though we're concerned about her taste for pebbles and garden foliage. We will add this to our list of discussion points when we make our first visit to the Vet Liz tomorrow.

2006-11-08T10:05:00.000Z

A lot has been happening around here lately! We're back from New York and had a fabulous time running the marathon, which took us 4 hours, 2 minutes, not to mention left us with an incapacity to walk down any stairs.

I'm glad to say this is finally wearing off and we're now embarking on our second marathon of the week - otherwise known as Troon. What is normally a 2 1/4 hour journey back from Lincoln, turned into a 3 3/4 hour journey last night, courtesy of the A1. Troon was an absolute star; sleeping, looking out of the window and playing in the back seat most of the way. She was even helpful enough to try to drive at one point!

A few picks of the last 24 hours... Troon with Jim, one of her wonderful breeders, and a few snapshots of Troon settling into her new home. As you can see, she is enjoying her kennel - though she didn't exactly sleep through the night. Overall, she did pretty well though - we are particularly pleased with her snuggle safe puppy. If pictures are worth a thousand words - these ought to be worth at least a thousand snores!

2006-10-28T23:18:00.000+01:00

We made a visit to Roughshoot today to see Jim, Sharon and the pups. Everyone was in fine form! (Isn't Richard going to make a great dad!?!)

2006-10-27T12:57:00.000+01:00

And then there were three... (Troon is in the middle)

2006-10-25T21:55:00.000+01:00

Naptime, playtime. (Troon is sleeping at the top)

2006-10-25T21:46:00.000+01:00

Troon at six weeks in a show pose

2006-10-25T21:41:00.000+01:00

Our little Troon is growing up! Here she is at 6 weeks.

2006-10-15T13:28:00.000+01:00

Our little pig is third from the left ;)

2006-10-12T06:46:00.000+01:00

Puppy playtime - guess which one is troon ;)

2006-10-09T20:46:00.000+01:00

Troon at 5 wks weighs in at 7.27 lbs (3.3kg) - three bags of sugar!

2006-10-09T20:41:00.000+01:00

The pups spring to life at 5 weeks

2006-10-06T21:36:00.000+01:00

Meet Troon! Our pride and joy :)

2006-10-03T20:05:00.000+01:00

And speaking of babies ... Pure joy! My niece Mina w/ her dad (my big brother) Jon :)

2006-10-03T19:02:00.000+01:00

How could we ever choose among these precious babes?!

2006-10-02T19:24:00.000+01:00

And a few more piccies ...
- Pigs in a blanket
- Ouch!
- Just waking

2006-10-01T21:18:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

2006-10-01T20:03:00.000+01:00

Richard and I drove up to see the puppies today. They are four weeks old.

We tried to pick one out, but they were all so cute, that we asked Jim & Sharon (the Breeders) to pick one for us in a few weeks. The pups' personalities will be better developed by then.

All in all, very excited and looking forward to introducing her to the family.

2006-09-27T15:48:00.000+01:00

Today was the puppies first meal ... apparently some of them ate too much!