Fab Finds - Dog Walking Wear

We have some fab finds coming up over the next few weeks based around dog walking wear! Walking your pet pooch doesn't have to look dreadful, so we have found some perfect pieces for fun and of course stylish looks for walking your dog! 

Today we have this beautiful parka from Ted Baker in a blush pink colour with rose - gold trims, a hood, zip pockets for your doggy treats and even a drawstring waist for a better fit! We have paired it with these super sneakers from Kurt Geiger, embellished with studs and will look great with skinny jeans or shorts!

See more of our Fab Finds for pet lovers and pet owners { here ]

Just Joey - The Sand Dunes

We spent our Easter Sunday at the beautiful Formby Point in the north west of England and you can see our earlier post about our time on the beach { here }. After enjoying ourselves immensely and Joey constantly getting in to the sea water, making friends with fellow fluffies and of course playing fetch, we had a picnic before heading off to one of the coastal paths in the surrounding area and through the stunning sand dunes.

Joey absolutely loves the sand dunes - bounding through them and over the tall grass like a little puppy! We took the Nicotine Path this time and highly recommend it for lovely scenery, beach views and somewhere peaceful. We'll let the pictures tell the story...

. Images by Catharine Noble Photography .

To see more posts about our life and adventures with our rescue dog Joey

the Staffador ( Labrador cross Staffordshire Bull Terrier ) go { here }
You can also read about Joey's rescue story on the Just Joey page.

Just Joey - Our Beach Day

We spent our Easter Sunday at the beach and witnessed Joey's first ever swim! He didn't swim very far but it was such a proud moment and has taken a while to get him to 1) go in water and 2) learn how to fetch and retrieve. So now he is doing both!

We love to visit Formby Point which is a beautiful place owned and looked after by The National Trust. It always feels like a little holiday for us and Joey adores it there! This was Joey's 3rd trip to the beach at Formby Point.

It was a wonderfully sunny spring day and the three of us enjoyed ourselves immensely and it was a fantastic atmosphere with so many other families out with their dogs too! Joey of course made a few friends too! We will follow up with another post which captures our afternoon at the sand dunes too!

. Joey's first swim .

 Joey tries to bury his precious driftwood stick which he has been playing with for a few hours.

Even though the hole he made was pretty huge, he couldn't quite work out how to cover it up.
We tried to show him by scraping sand on to the wood for him but he would just dig it up and start all over again.

What a mucky pup Joey was after all his digging and attempts to bury his stick!

. Images by Catharine Noble Photography .

Don't forget to see our follow up post of our afternoon in the sand dunes too!

For more posts about ourselves and Joey pop by his section { here }
you can also read his rescue story { here } too.

Just Joey - Off Leash!

For the last six days, our Staffador (Staffy / Lab cross) Joey, has been confined to his lead for walks - and he secretly despises us for it. Joey had been nursing a slightly injured paw (snagged his dewclaw) for a couple of weeks which was taking longer than it should to heal.  In spite of any pain or discomfort which Joey was feeling for most of the day, he was determined that his injury would not interfere with his social life in the park. He continued to bound fearlessly through thick spikey bushes, leap from high places, instigate mass doggy play time and generally run at a pace to rival any speeding train. That is, until the vet put a sudden stop to it.

The vet (the bad man wearing a blue coat) decided that Joey's claw needed to be cut right back, as far as it would go, and he told us it would need time to heal properly and start growing correctly again. Off leash walking was strictly off the menu.

Only in the last six days, whilst adhering to the vets advice (on leash), have I truly come to appreciate the importance of our usual "off leash" walks. Of course I always knew that my dog loved to be free and off the lead when on our daily walks, but I didn't realise how vital it really was.

Part two of this post will discuss the pleasures of the off leash walk.

. Images by Catharine Noble Photography .

To read more about Joey our rescue dog head on over to the
Just Joey page or see our regular posts here...

Fluffy Friends Anna and Freddie

Wonderful Manchester based wedding photographer Anna of Anna Hardy Photography shares with us a special trip with friends - including her pet Greyhound Freddie. Anna's beautiful photography inspires us to take a day out and do something your heart desires!

We love that whilst spending the trip with Anna's friends, Freddie also got to spend time with his own fluffy friends Louey & Duke too. Now we will hand over to Anna to tell us about Freddie, adopting him and how rewarding it has been...

"This was a weekend away camping with friends and family, spent eating, drinking, playing, surfing, walking, laughing and taking pictures. It's my favourite kind of weekend and we do this as often as we can. This particular place is near Abersoch in Wales, it's a favourite spot that my other half and his family have been coming to for decades and is absolutely beautiful. It holds a really special place in my heart and I love coming here. Although we live in Manchester, the sea is very important to us and we try to get away as often as possible, usually at least every two or three weeks outside winter, and our favourite place to go without a doubt is Anglesey and the west coast of Wales, it's an incredibly spiritual and beautiful place. This particular visit I decided to take a few pictures while we were there."

"The three dogs with us in these photos are Freddie, Louey and Duke. Freddie is our dog – he's a brindle rescued greyhound, he's nine now and we adopted him when he had just turned five. He's an ex-racer and unfortunately, like many others like him, was treated appallingly while racing. When we first got him he was all skin and bones and had bald legs and stomach from where he hadn't been given bedding. Apparently many just sleep on concrete with a bit of straw on top. It was so rewarding bringing him back to life and watching him heal and grow in confidence. He's the most placid, loving, gentle, sweet natured dog I've ever come across and life wouldn't be the same without him."

"I love his coat – his particular pattern of brindle looks like tiger stripes and his racing name was Fantasy Tiger - sometimes little kids in the park tell their parents they've just seen a tiger when we walk past with him! He was apparently a real champ racer and according to his race card (the rescue home give you this) he used to regularly win in the top category… But you'd never really know this now – like many greyhounds he is chronically lazy and loves nothing more than to just curl up and sleep. Every now and then he'll have a huge race around at breakneck speed for a few minutes and then he'll collapse for hours, happy to just snooze and be cuddled. He's absolutely enormous which can sometimes put people on edge who aren't used to them but they really are complete gentle giants – they're known for their lack of aggression (one of the reasons I wanted a greyhound as it was important he would be good with children) and they are actually real babies – they have a very sensitive disposition and are far more likely to be scared by you then the other way round. He's very daft and often has his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth which you can't help but laugh at. He's absolutely 100% part of the family and I love him to bits. He's such a lovely gent and has made our lives so much the richer since he's been around."

"Louey is my brother-in-law's dog and is a Bedlington Lurcher. He's a very old boy now and has got a very similar disposition to Freddie and is a total pleasure to have around. Plus he's got the cutest face on the planet! He's got a kind of haze of grey fluff that sits above his dark coat, and a grey fluff mohican, which I absolutely love. Duke is my sister-in-law's dog and is a Lurcher (deerhound-greyhound cross) - he's hilarious – absolutely enormous (even a little bigger than Freddie) and is only young – he's so sweet-natured and absolutely bonkers – a total whirlwind of energy and loves nothing more than to power around all over the place. It's wonderful seeing him and Freddie run together, one of my favourite things. I could never consider now having another kind of dog than a greyhound/sighthound/lurcher – they are amazing pets – wonderful dispositions, loads of character, great with kids and absolutely beautiful creatures. Plus so many of them have been treated appallingly and desperately need rescuing and a loving home. I love looking at Freddie bounding around free and happy, curling up in his warm bed with lots of love around him, knowing what a tough time he used to have and knowing that in the same way that he has made my life better, I have made his better too."

. Photography by Anna Hardy Photography .

"I specialise in natural, spontaneous photography that celebrates real spirit, personality and individuality – it's important to me to create images that are not only beautiful but also unique and full of character. I regularly photograph kids, families, couples, individuals and weddings, as well as a few select commercial projects. I'm inspired by the people I photograph – their quirks, their personalities, what makes them different to everyone else, what makes them shine."

With Thanks to Anna for sharing her images and day out with us!

For more information and to see Anna's fab photography 

portfolio head on over to www.annahardy.co.uk