Mad Dogs & Englishman

The country fair, village fetes and charity dog shows, are they quintessentially british?  

When I arrived at the Rye Dog Show early on Saturday morning, I thought to myself, "how very British". The rings were all laid out for the dogs to parade around, the stall holders were setting up, as were we, in the Pimms tent they were cutting up cucumber and mint leaves, the band were tuning up on the band stand and the vintage cars were arriving and parking in neat lines waiting to be judged.

Oh How I Love It!! 

So just a few images of my day so you too can share in this lovely British tradition.

The Cars made me think what a lovely time it was when the police only had Morris Minors.

Remember when you could buy this stuff for 35p/gallon?

And Best in Show went to this beautiful lurcher!

Very well deserved I say.

but Nancy won three rosettes!

I left feeling so proud of the country I live in, loving it's quirky traditions, and just a little bit sunburnt.

Essential Kit for Dog Walking

It occurs to me everyday at around 7.30 in the morning when I take the somewhat sleepy whippets out, how did I ever manage before I set up Redhound? No Hold it All bag, no stylish rain coat, and no decent coats for the whippets! So I thought I would share with you the items I believe are essential kit for dog walking. Especially in this country where it seems to rain - a lot.

Firstly you need a waterproof coat. Preferably one that is cut to flatter your body, not a straight up and down thing that you got at Millets! I know that there is a shortage of stylish raincoats out there, and this is why I designed a small range of four coats to flatter all shapes and heights. 20 years of making wedding dresses taught me loads about great style and how to make the best of what you have. So, no excuse to walk the dog looking drab!

So that's the coat. Now you need a bag. 

We make this lovely bag in two sizes, Treat Bag, which is great if you only have one dog. And Hold it All, which is bigger and great for multiple dogs, and they now come with a pocket for your mobile. Keep the treats, your keys, the ball, the leads......All in the Hold it All

If it's raining and you have hounds like me who hate the rain, then you will also need one of these.

We do these in various breed specific sizes, but I have blogged about that before, so I won't go on about it again.

There you have it, all that you need for walking out in style! 

Oh and one last thing, a really decent pair of Wellies! Don't scrimp on these, I have learnt that you really do get what you pay for, and my current ones are Aigles, and I love them. 

Wealden Whippet Walk

Some of you know this, but for those who may be reading my little blog for the first time, we live in the Garden of England, otherwise known as Kent! We moved from Surrey, via Devon, to be nearer to our families late last year. When you have dogs, you get out and about and discover the countryside in a way that is probably only shared with Ramblers. So today I thought I would take you on an evenings walk on the beautiful Weald of Kent which is on our doorstep.

Having parked the car, mmm I hear you say, on the door step, well, not literally, we do have to drive to this walk! we pass the beautiful manor house in the village which could not look more 'Kent', and every time we pass this green door, I so want to go through it, as I am sure that beauty lies on the other side.

Then we are onto the footpath, and the whippets are released from their leads, freedom is a wonderful thing to a whippet, they can then chase the many rabbits that are basking in the evening sun, just beside the stinging nettles, a very good place for them, whippets won't venture into those pesky plants even for the love of bunny!

The open fields have just been harvested and the smell of the drying grass is so wonderfully evocative of the english summer, I take deep breaths. The whippets are now running ahead, looking around and sniffing the ground at the same time.

I won't deny that some chasing of rabbits did take place on this wonderful walk, but you will be pleased to know, all rabbits out ran the whippets, they are getting on in dog years.

We pass orchards, and fields, and woodland. The whippets are so happy, and so are we. The evening sun is  still shining and making us feel glad to be alive.

Some time later we find ourselves back where we started, Frankie and Bruno somewhat tired, and us ready for our evening tipple of sloe gin, or did we fancy a sherry?

All happy in our household. 

Redhound goes Nationwide!

Apologies for the lack of posts last week, it's been more than a little hectic here at Redhound HQ! Some of you might know from other social media sites that we had a rather sizeable delivery to make to a new local stockist on Saturday last, and for it there was quite a bit of making to be done! mmm mostly by me! note to self, look into finding some HELP!!

So this post is mostly information, with a few images thrown in for good measure. I thought you might like to know where in the country one can purchase our lovely products, so here is the list of stockists for you to print off and stick on the fridge!

Redhouse Gifts, Totnes, Devon 

www.redhousegifts.co.uk

Vintage Now Interiors, Newton Abbot, Devon

www.vintagenowinteriors.com

The House Gallery,Olney, Buckinghamshire

www.thehousegallery.co.uk

Pink Whiskers, Clitheroe, Lancashire

www.pinkwhiskers.co.uk

Room No 9, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

www.roomno9.co.uk

So Heavenly, Bishops Stortford,Hertfordshire

Hunker Down Daisy, Bearsted, Kent

www.hunkerdowndaisy.co.uk

Charity Farm, Cranbrook, Kent

www.charityfarmcountrystore.co.uk

and from end of August

Parma Violet, Kirby Lonsdale, Cumbria

www.parmaviolet.co.uk

So there it is! not a bad start to our nationwide campaign to bring style into you and your dogs life!

All of these shops are lovely and sell other lovely things so if you are in any of their neck of the woods, pop in and have a mooch! 

Loving Life

It occurred to me this morning whilst out with the whippets, just how lucky I am. I might be feeling tired from all the late nights of working and not taking time off (apart from twice a day when we go walking) but, I am lucky because I am doing something that I absolutely LOVE! My time is spent designing, making and selling our fantastic dog products and even though I traded silk georgette ( I owned a Wedding Dress shop in my previous life ) for wax cotton, I still LOVE it!! 

What could be better in life than spending all day doing the things that you LOVE?

So I thought I would share with you some of my favourite images of our products from the vast collection I have, all of which have been taken on fun days spent with our wonderful photographer, Maz of www.lightanddayphoto.com 

So there they are, just a few, none made it onto the website, but they are all fantastic and bring back happy memories of great days, often dodging the rain in Sunny Devon! 

Whippet Love?

It is no secret that my tippy top favourite dog breed is the whippet, closely followed by the lurcher and then any other long dog, saluki, greyhound, and any combination of the above. However, this week I have encountered a very special breed of dog. The Dandy Dinmont. This dog is very much in danger of becoming extinct with only a handful born last year. So, imagine how lucky I felt to meet two of these lovely little dogs at the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair two weeks ago. I promptly insulted the owners when I asked if they were wire hair dachsunds, and should have gone with my instinct, and extensive knowledge, I do after all go to bed with my Observers Book of Dogs, circa 1961, every night, because I knew they were Dandies! After all I have knitted a jumper for one and had to familiarize myself with the shape of this adorable dog.

So, back to this weeks encounter, above is a picture of Hugo, the Dandie puppy that I was lucky enough to meet and cuddle at the Cattery where we take our elderly cat when we go off to sell our wares at shows, as we were this weekend. Hugo has stolen my heart! Such a beautiful, calm and adorable dog. And they have an adult girl with whom they plan to breed, so more puppys!! I am definately going to do some photos for the website with these wonderful little dogs. So keep an eye out!

The book says 'Coat soft yet thick, rather like the Bedlington' This could be a clue, I adore the little Bedlington Terriers, and at the Wiltshire County Show I met one, a little girl, called Alfie, mmm I too thought, that's a boys name, but the owners were lovely and the dog sweet and playful. 

Then as if to temp me to abandon my 'I will only ever have a whippet' rule, a customer sent me this picture of Violet the beautiful Welsh Terrier. This is another breed that I have long loved and if it wasn't for the fact that they are terriers, well, I could be tempted!!

So, me thinks maybe the best solution when I am faced with the decision of what to get next, it will be a Whippet/Bedlington cross. Then I could get two of my favourite breeds in one. Or could I be tempted by a Dandie???

Then I look at these treasures I have, sleeping in their beds, or our bed, or the spare bed, sofa..... and I think No Its Whippets for me everytime!!Because I just love them. 

Raincoats for all Dogs

It has been wet lately. Understatement!June has not been basking in sun, but battered by rain, the wettest it has been for many a decade. A fact that has not escaped us here at Redhound HQ. My sewing machine has been whizzing up many a rain coat for many different shaped hounds to keep them pesky raindrops off.

It got me thinking, that you may not know that we 

a)make to measure & 

b)have breed specific sized and shaped coats

And here are those special cases

Dachshunds. They present a few issues. This means that they require a whole different shaped coat. Straight back, big ears, and short bodies! But they are wonderful dogs, and we can now accommodate their little bodies, and you can buy your beloved a coat that won't be massive in the body because you had to buy the right length. It has a popper front too.

Spaniels. Wonderful Dogs. Often not in need of a coat at all, as they seem to love getting wet!! But, some owners of these super dogs, don't have a downstairs shower to wash them down after a walk and have asked us to come up with a design that covers the underneath. I give you the Kent coat. It does the trick. Won't keep all of your furry friend dry, but will do a pretty good job! 

The Terrier! Well, my experience at the many shows we do up and down the land, is that these busy little dogs really don't like having a coat put over their heads! So, if you value your hands as I do, you will need our Popper Fronted Dartmoor Coat. Easy, problem solved.

And onto my favourite breed, the whippet! Obviously I am bias, I admit it, but it is a breed who's shape I have come to be very familiar with over the last 9 years. They have small heads and necks, long skinny bodies that curve near the tail. So, we do a special Whippet shape. This will not drown your dog because you had to buy a long coat, and will sit neatly around the neck. Just look at Barney and Cloud here. Neat.

Labradoodles. Not really in need of a coat, but illustrating that if you don't want a soaking wet dog on the late night comfort break, our standard shape will fit these lovely hounds to perfection.

So, I hope that helps. The Redhound guide to getting the right coat for your dog! I know this rain is good for business, but I really really would like it to stop now. Enough.