Thanks for taking the time to visit Branxholme Gundogs. These pages within the Website will give you a brief summary of the litters that Cola and Isla have had in the past 5 years. All the puppies in the pictures that you view are tipex marked to identify them throughout the time they are with us prior to going to their new owners...they are not Spaniel crossbreeds!!
LATEST NEWS
Sunday June 7th
NEW LITTER OF PUPPIES FOR BRANXHOLME SKYE ......Common Riding Friday arrival of seven labrador puppies for John and Lillian Hope. How appropriate for John, Hawick Common Riding Master of Ceromonies, for Skye to bring her puppies into the world on this day!....and needless to say Lillian didn't see any of the proceedings on Hawick Moor! Four yellow (1 dog& 3 bitches) and three black (2 bitches & 1 dog) puppies made up the litter. Skye was mated with Jagdens Druid, the same stud dog that I used for Rhea earlier this year, so the progeny should look pretty much like Rhea's puppies. For further details contact John, Lillian or Julie on 01450376598
Wednesday April 15th
SHOOTING GAZETTE HEADLINES !!! .....YOUNG LABRADOR PUPPY OF 10 WEEKS MAKES 1ST RETRIEVE……… Tonight in the wood above the Firs, Tess, one of the 3 remaining puppies, appeared from the bushes with a baby rabbit dangling from her mouth. To say it was a retrieve would maybe be stretching it a bit, but after a chase round the wood in hot pursuit of Tess I managed to salvage the critterbefore Kylo and Cookie got in on the act. (they were chasing Tess as well, and always looked to be catching her before me) The poor Rabbit appeared none the worse for it’s after dinner run around and I left it tucked in to a nice clump of cover where it hopefully made a full recovery. I’m glad the wee rabbit’s after dinner run around didn’t turn in to an after dinner tasty treat for Tess. Phew!!
With Cookie leaving on Friday and Tess going on Sunday things will start to return to normal at The Firs… but nevertheless it is always a sad time for us (OK Shiela, maybe not as sad for you)…. However, we still have Kylo to keep us occupied but it’s never the same, even with one puppy remaining… you really need a brace or more to see them frantically tearing about after each other and getting up to mischief that only puppies can get up to and get away with it.….. and it was really nice to get the feedback from ‘Juno’s’ new owners, who commented in their email…. “Just to say we are having a lovely time with this wee pup. She is very bright and has got the hang of asking to go outside which is fantastic. We had a couple of noisy nights but all is fine now.”…… “Anyway thank you once again for giving us this great experience. We really appreciate all the work that you have done to make this puppy such a delight to have.” ……Thanks for that Myriam and Victor.….Shiela and I love to hear all the latest developments with the puppies that leave The Firs.
March 31st
Eight weeks old today.....Saturday sees the departure of three puppies to their new homes. Two girls are heading for Edinburgh and a boy is staying closer to home in Selkirk. The good news for Kylo is that he will still enjoy the company of two of his sisters for another two weeks prior to their departure to London and Linlithgow. Now that the weather has improved our own little 'Alton Towers for puppies' is proving to be very popular. The only downside to this is carting the little blighters all the way up to the top of our garden near the main kennel.....carrying two at a time is akin to lugging a half bag of coal....probably worse..... the bag of coal doesn't wriggle!
See the video of the puppies in action at Alton Towers Part 1.....HERE and Part 2 HERE.....PREPARE TO LAUGH!
March 29th
Yesterday a new colour was added to the official KC colours associated with Labradors....Black & Tan? The puppies were playing contentedly at our back door when I heard what appeared to sound like a 'rumble of thunder' in the distance...closer inspection revealed Cookie, our little yellow girl, emerging unscathed from the coal bunker after a brief forage. As Shiela owned up to leaving the hatch open it was left to Shiela to dispatch Cookie to the kitchen sink for her 1st meeting with soap and water.....and knowing what Cookie is like it will only be the first of many future visits!.....or it may be that she just has a desire to evolve into a little black girl like her sisters?.......NA, I DON'T THINK SO
22nd March
New slide show of puppies to see on Rhea's 1st Litter subpage.....click......HERE
19th March
Eagle eyed visitors to our video uploads pages will have noticed one of our little boy puppies gamely careering about on three and a half legs! Last Thursday evening his over exuberant mummy jumped into the whelping box and fractured his hind quarter!! A visit to the vet confirmed the damage and a splint was subsequently attached to his hind quarter. As the videos bear witness it doesn't seem to hinder him in the slightest...he still tears about in pursuit of his brothers and sisters. The splint is due to come off this Monday so we will have to be a little more wary of him geting into any physical dust ups with his siblings in the short term. However, Kirsten likes the idea that he will need some swimming lessons in the bath to strengthen the muscles in his leg.... now we can look forward to videos of Kirsten and puppy playing in the bath together! Her boyfriend in Canada will no doubt find them very amusing! Watch the videos........ the upshot of this unfortunate incident is that 'Jake the peg', the name he goes by till Kirsten comes up with his permanent name, will be residing at The Firs and will become the 5th member of the Branxholme kennel. The things you have to do, something trivial like breaking your leg for instance, before you get your own way!!
The puppies were registered today with The Kennel Club and the names we have chosen should be confirmed by the weekend. The boys are to be Branxholme Torr and Blade and the girls Avena (yellow) Juno, Candy and Leona. After much deliberation and cross Atlantic chatting, Kirsten and Cam have decided on 'Kylo' as the pet name for Branxholme Torr. By mutual agreement the other shortlisted name of 'Duke' was discarded because of the Scottish- Canadian pronounciation differences.....Kirsten assumed that 'Duke' would become 'Dook' and that she didn't want her dog to be confused with a swim! Sorry Cam.
10th March
Shiela and Kirsten had the puppies outside in the sunshine today. The pups had their lunch at the top of our daffodil bank and top of the head, in keeping with her 'minnie the minx' nickname, proceeded to do a roll down the said embankment! The large hedge also proved to be an attraction with most of them disappearing for some time to explore the wonders of this new-found terrain......so much more exciting than the kitchen floor!! Needless to say barricades have been erected to deny the little scoundrels future escapades into hostile territory! On the plus side this sojourn into fresh air has done wonders for their appetite and they have shown more enthusiasm with their puppy gruel.....they will get extra rations of raw mince later this evening as a reward for this new found desire to fill their bellies!
March 7th
The first spring course of the year under the auspices of The Gundog Club started today. We have 2 Labs, 2 Springers and a Cocker (not forgetting 5 handlers!) in a Grade 1 Class. The next courses are scheduled for early May, another Grade 1 and possibly a Grade 2.
Watch the video of the puppies at 34 days... Rhea’s 1st Litter 34 DaysHERE
Feb 22nd
Watch the video of the puppies at 19 days... Rhea 's 1st Litter 19 DaysHERE
9th February
Today was a sad day for us here at The Firs. Our second dog Tally made his final journey from our home to the big kennel in the sky. He was 2 months short of being 13 and every day of that life he just wanted to be your friend. I would guess that there wasn't a softer dog on the planet than Tally....he wanted to be friends with everyone....he would amble up to your side, always with something in his mouth, and plonk himself down beside you looking up with his toothy grin. If I were honest, probably this day should have occurred earlier, such was his obvious discomfort with arthritus, and not forgetting that he was nearly deaf and half blind, (wait a minute, I fall in to this category!) but Tally would soldier on and was happy just to be part of the family, watching everything that went on around him and with never a thought of complaint, but you tend to take the objective view that his happy demeanor meant that he was content with his lot regardless of the downsides that prevailed. Tally, whatever you're up to up there, we'd like to tell you that all of us down here will never forget you and the happy times you blessed us with.
February 3rd
They're here!.....although 5 days early I'm happy to announce the births to Rhea and Tallow of 6 Labrador puppies.(what breed did you think you would get Alistair?!) We have 2 black boys and 3 black girls with the bonus ball of a yellow girl added for luck. Shiela and Kirsten had a blonde moment announcing the wee yellow lass as a boy! .....they are going to enroll in Andrea's primary class for some extra tips re the birds and the bees me thinks! Weighing between 6 and 10 ounces, and not much bigger than a mole, the little devils are going to need some extra postnatal attention with their feeding requirements although Mum should have plent of milk coming in and the fact that there are only 6 to feed instead of 8 or 9 should bode well. Sadly we had 1 puppy stillborn.
January 31st
Hallrule Keepers Day. With over 30 bodies at the muster (still alive at this stage) a great day was had by all with over 130 head of game accounted for. The most productive drive was Ruecastle with Steven marshalling the birds as if it was a 200 bird Mid November day. On this evidence Steven must have been wishing the season had another month to run ended late February instead of January...it would have paid for another wing, and not that it's needed, (it's already bigger then Hallrule House) on 'Southfork o'Rule'. Thanks again Steven for puting on a great day for us.(over 30 bodies still alive at the end by the way!) Check out the videos on the Keepers Day 09 link on the main menu.
January 26th
You may remember the video of my sister receiving her Boxing Day Surprise (check it at the bootom of this page) ......well Stoker is now 2 years old and I had the privelege of accompanying him on his first shoot day with the Branxholme picking up team. See how the day progressed (I think that is the correct word) in Stokers Report Card....HERE
January 10th
I have just spent a lovely day on the Temple Estate of Mr Peter de Vink. As a co-judge with Gary Ford, Joe MacLure and Andy Whiteford at the Lothian & Borders Novice Trial we experienced hosptality beyond compare. Under testing conditions for handlers and dogs alike Steward of the beat Mr Nail Patton excelled himself in presenting the birds at a timely interval. A worthy winner was Mr Steve Hore with Esmoro Dipper. See the pics and report.....HERE
January 6th
It has been confirmed today that Rhea is 'with pup'. Almost exactly half way through her confinement Rhea is in good health and is still very active in her picking-up working capacity. Unlike humans dogs don't get 3 months off work prior to giving birth!
Dec 6th
On Saturday 6th December, Rhea was covered byJagdens Druid. A repeat mating was carried out 2 days later and on each occasion we had a tie for around 17 minutes. By early January we will know if we are going to have puppies in early February.
Boxing Day 2006
will certainly be a day that my sister Lynda won't forget in a hurry! Watch the video and decide for yourself whether or not she had any idea what was about to happen!
