We’ve transferred our dog blog to http://www.roverrecommended.com/dog-blog
Please drop by and check it out! Woof!
Best of all we’ve enabled Comment Luv so you can comment and share a link to your lovely blog. We can’t wait to read it!
We’ve had a rainy weekend but this cute dog hasn’t let the damp weather spoil his fun!
Keep a mop handy for those muddy paw prints when he gets home…
Find dog friendly hotels at Rover Recommended!
Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!
Hoppy Easter!
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We’ve been contacted by a researcher for a TV production company asking for more information about one of our videos on You Tube. The questions she asked made me think back to when we first adopted Holly and reflect on how much she means to us so I thought I’d share them with you. Don’t worry if Holly becomes famous though – she won’t let it go to her head and will still keep in touch with her fans…
Our video is called Happy Dog Gives Owners Crazy Greeting
Location?
Old Dalby – a village in Nottinghamshire, England
Name of dog, you and other person in video.
Holly the dog and her owners Louise Dolan and Simon Howgill. You can also hear the voice of our dog walker Sally in the video. Holly stayed with Sally whilst we were away and Sally jokingly says that she’s sorry but we can’t have her back as she enjoyed looking after her so much!
What is the dog’s breed? What are some of the common characteristics of this breed?
Holly is a Border Collie crossbreed dog. She is very smart and loves dog agility which comes from the Collie in her. Unusually for a Collie she is not normally interested in chasing balls or other animals so Holly lives happily with our cat. I think Holly must also have some Spaniel in her family tree as she walks with her nose a few millimetres from the ground and stops without warning so she doesn’t miss a good sniff!
When, why and how did you first acquire the dog?
Holly was sent over to England on a ferry from Ireland with a shipment of dogs who had been saved from destruction in Irish Council pounds. There is a big problem with stray dogs in Ireland and very few rescue centres so many dogs are put to sleep every year. Holly was very lucky to get a second chance and was taken from the ferry to a rehoming centre in Rugeley, England called the Border Collie Trust. We had lost our last dog very unexpectedly due to sudden illness and were heartbroken and couldn’t face the Christmas holidays without a dog. So we went to the Border Collie Trust who were still open for rehoming dogs and found a dog who we named Holly for Christmas.
How would you describe the dog’s personality?
Holly was the most nervous rescue dog I have ever seen. She hid under a chair when we were adopting her at the rescue centre and wouldn’t come out even for some home cooked chicken. She got on well with our cat straight away and has always loved travelling in the car but was incredibly scared of people, especially men and children. It took Holly four weeks to let us even touch her and it was was difficult having to be so patient when all we wanted to do is give her some fuss.
Holly will always be a bit wary of strangers due to her terrible start in life but she is now the most loyal and loving dog I have ever owned. She likes nothing better than to spend time with us.
When did you realize that there was something special about your dog?
The first weekend we had Holly she was so scared she escaped from our garden when a visitor opened the gate and we couldn’t stop her from running away from home. We were devastated and got many family members to help us to search for Holly for hours. Simon’s mum saw Holly running up the middle of a busy road but couldn’t catch her that night. The next day we were eating breakfast before being ready to resume our search and we saw Holly walking up the drive to our house. We opened the front door and she walked in! I think that this was the first moment that she realised that we weren’t trying to hurt her and she might be better off at home with us. Since then she has never run away again and never even lets us out of her sight when she is off lead.
How would you say your relationship is like with your dog?
We have an incredibly strong bond with Holly. We don’t have children so she makes our family complete. She is very sensitive to the emotions of people that she has bonded with. So if we are fed up she will insist that we play with her until we have cheered up and if anyone in the family is ill or upset she will lie quietly next to them and give them a gentle lick. This was a great comfort to my mother when she was very ill.
Take me back to the very first moment when this video happened.
We had just got back from a 12 hour flight from sunny South Africa and were wrapped up against the freezing cold weather in England. We rang Sally to let her know that our plane had landed and drove straight from the airport to Sally’s house to pick up Holly. Sally heard us arrive and opened the front door so Holly came rushing out to greet us.
Why do you think your dog was so excited to see you?
Holly is always really happy to see us whenever we come home as we have such a strong bond.
Does your dog always get excited when you come home or was this particularly special?
It was the longest time we had ever left Holly because we went on safari for 3 weeks to celebrate my 40th birthday. It was particularly special to see her again as although we had a wonderful holiday we really missed her and she really missed us!
Holly has a nemesis. I know she’s a walking, drooling cliche but it’s the postman.He keeps posting letters through the door and leaving everytime Holly barks. So the coward doesn’t even stay to face the music…
She’s not keen on visitors at the best of times but this time she’s bearing a grudge. She only needs to see him getting out of his van or crossing the street on a walk and she starts eyeballing him. It’s like she’s thinking “What self respecting visitor would be wearing shorts in this cold weather? That is definitely a postman.”
She’s on red alert when she hears the van pull up our drive. She restricts herself to barking at him when we aren’t in the house. Apart from the shameful time we were in the garden and the gates were open and she chased his van down the drive but we don’t talk about that…
When we are home she adds an extra level of excitement as we rush to see whether we can pick up the mail before Holly shreds it.
Half our Christmas cards will have a little doggie chew mark on the corner where we didn’t quite make it. This is not quite as bad as when Simon ordered a new part for his computer from a well known internet auction site and Holly ripped open the attractive jiffy bag and ate the contents. After being really pleased to outbid his rivals and win the item Simon was slightly less pleased when he was asked to write a review and had to put “Arrived quickly and well packaged before being eaten by my dog.”
So if you plan to send us a Christmas card this year please put it in a thick envelope as I don’t think that Holly will be extending the season of goodwill to include postmen…
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Here are some of Holly’s favourite things from our week in sunny Cornwall.
First we stopped off at Pencarrow garden. There is a lovely formal garden and woodland walk and it’s super dog friendly! Holly particularly enjoyed watching the peacocks and chickens as we sat in the cafe courtyard. It certainly kept her entertained! Here is Holly posing for the camera next to the stream at the start of the gorgeous woodland walk.
Next was a visit to Trebah Gardens. What a view!
Holly paddled on the dog friendly beach at Trebah but her favourite past time was definitely watching the Koi carp in the pond. They were simply fascinating to a small dog…
We explored every bit of the garden doing the treasure hunt and when we handed in our quiz sheets to the nice lady at the entrance desk she gave Holly a bag of treats to say well done for helping to sniff out the clues. Then it was off to the best dog friendly cafe in Cornwall for some well earned fish and chips.
A visit to Gweek Seal Sanctuary was Holly’s final holiday highlight. They do brilliant work rescuing seal pups off the Cornish coast. Holly couldn’t believe her luck seeing penguins and otters on the same day…
Starsky the amazing juggling otter was a real holiday highlight for us all. We took some video footage and put it on our website in case you’d like to see him in action!
Finally it was time for ice creams all round to celebrate another fantastic holiday in Cornwall!
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Hope that you are all enjoying the long and sunny Summer days. We had a brilliant day out at a local agility show and enjoyed a picnic with friends at lunchtime. In spite of the large lunch, Holly and Simon did a great job winning the steeplechase in the afternoon cheered on by enthusiastic members of Melton Mowbray dog agility club. Holly won some dog biscuits that she shared with her doggie friends.
To see a video of twinkle toes Simon and super dog Holly’s winning agility run please click on the video link from the Rover Recommended homepage.
Well done Holly!
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Hello furry friends,
Hope that you are enjoying the summer and staying nice and cool. If you have a minute you might want to enter our simple competition to win dinner B&B for your humans at the wonderful Pen-Y-Dyffryn Country Hotel in Shropshire. Best of all the dog can come too!
The hotel is set in five acres of grounds and there is a 100-acre woodland next door that is perfect for walkies! If you fancy having a go then follow this link. All you need to do is Spot the Dog in photo A or B. Hint: Look under the bed in photo B!
Wishing you and your humans the best of luck.
Holly, Louise and Simon
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It’s confession time…I secretly love bad jokes about dogs. Some of these would be too bad even for a Christmas cracker… Enjoy
My dog’s got no nose.
How does he smell?
Terrible
Why should you walk carefully when it’s raining cats and dogs?
You might step in a poodle.
Click here to see more extremely woof jokes. You have been warned…
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Can you spot Holly the dog in the dining room of the Culbone Inn?
If you can, why not enter our Spot the Dog Competition to win a fantastic 2 course dinner with bed and breakfast for 2 people (and doggy friends) at Exmoor’s highest and award winning Restaurant with Rooms?
The Culbone Inn is situated close to the Somerset/Devon border on the beautiful Exmoor National Park with an abundance of world class walks from the doorstep.
Simply click the link here and let us know where Holly is hiding!
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Dog Friendly Days Out and Holidays 