Fantastic French Bulldogs!

At the Hound Dog Hotel, exclusive dog accommodation on the Central Coast, I've had many different breeds of come to reside as pampered guests. (Just to explain, I started out as the Perfect Pet Sitter but these days my elite specialist pet minding service is for your dog and VIP (Very Important Pet) at my Hound Dog Hotel).

Over the years I’ve cared for a great variety of different breeds. But recently young Douglas arrived who was the first French Bulldog who’s been to stay – and what a character! Just to look at him made me smile - and he blew away any preconceived ideas I had about Frenchies!


I’ve written a blog about French Bulldogs which you can find by heading over to my main website :
https://hounddoghotel.net/

To see a long, long list of the variety of breeds of dog I've cared for see further below.  

Meanwhile you might want to read a few of my most popular blogs (over 50 published) that you can still find on this site. 

• Is anything cuter than a Cavoodle?
• Unique 3 step check to finding the best breed for you
• Battle of the breeds! Which is the best dog? 
• Is your canine a Diva or Miva? (male Diva!) TAKE OUR QUIZ!
• Cavoodles & Labradoodles - protected or pampered?
• Perfect Pet Sitters Perfect Home Made Dog Treats!
• When dogs go bad - Part I who's driving who mad?
• When dogs go bad - Part II A.K.A. A very important behavioural Blog
• 10 top tips to find the PERFECT PET SITTER or PET MINDER
• Want to live forever – get a dog?!
• Laughing Labradors and an Avalanche of Afghan Hounds 
• Help! My puppy won't come back!  
• Two Dogs – Twice the Fun or Double Trouble?
• Are dogs really just ingratiating parasites?
• Rhodesian Ridgebacks - looks can be deceiving!
• Cattle dogs, Kelpies & Ginger Toms
• Puppy Power! Rare & gorgeous black Spaniel
• "But anyone can pet sit"
• Avoiding puppy problems with small children
• A Two Canoe doggie rescue
• Mucky Pups - mayhem on the Mudflats! 
• 10 reasons we’re the best of the best
• See why Perfect Pet Sitter is the best dog care anywhere
• The 4 worst Dog Walker Scams – are you being duped?

Here are the breeds I've cared for:
(The list is so long I couldn't even add all of them in Tags!!)

French Bulldog
English Bulldog
Dogue de Bordeaux
German Shepherd Dog
German Shorthaired Pointers
Wirehaired German Pointers
Labradors 
(Cream, Chocolate and Black Labradors)
Golden Retreivers
Groodles
Labradoodles 
Cavoodles 
Moodles (aka Maltipoo Maltese x Poodle)
Springer Spaniels
Kelpies
Border Collies
Old English Sheepdog
Rhodesian Ridgebacks
Jack Russells
Pugalier
Lagotto Ramango
West Highland White
Toy Poodle
Boxer
Wheaten Terrier
Miniature Schnauzer.
Cavalier King Charles
Beagalier  (Beagle x Cavalier)
Shitzue x Maltese
Lab x Boxer
Lab x unknown!

Laughing Labradors and an Avalanche of Afghan Hounds

From July to October 2016 I was in the UK visiting relatives and experiencing an extraordinary Indian Summer. 

Although away I knew canine guests at our outstanding 5* Boutique HOUND DOG HOTEL - a true Pet Resort - would continue to be looked after to the same standout care my many clients have come to expect. This is as in my absence my daughter was there providing continuity and our unique service.

But whilst it’s was good to visit my family, I did miss looking after doggie guests.

So imagine how happy I was to meet two Labs, Libby and Bonnie. They came bounding along the pavement to say hello one day. They had been outside with their owners but on seeing me came to investigate. With broad smiles on their faces as Labs so often have, and furiously wagging their tails, they were irrisistible.

UK dog owners are blessed as you can walk your dogs and let them be leash free almost everywhere. One such place is the outstanding Epping Forest. I enjoy walking there - but no walk is the same without a dog (or two) by your side. So when I heard Libby and Bonnie were alone during the day, I volunteered to take them out.

We’d been out for our first walk and they were good as gold, free and off leash, yet staying close to me the whole time. 
A win, win all round, great for the lovely girls, but equally great for me as I got the doggie fix I was missing!

When you love dogs you’re always on the look out for one to say hello to. And on a trip to Bournemouth on the south coast I came across a rare sight – an Avalanche of Afghan Hounds! Actually I make the Avalanche bit up – but there in the town park were about 10 stunning Afghan Hounds. The owners had come from far and wide for a meet up. As the owners compared notes the dogs behaved with great dignity, all lying calmly on the grass.

My experience of owners of spectacular dogs is that they can be friendly - but some can be standoffish. So I was thrilled to find the owner of Charlie - a superstar stunner of a dog – was more than happy to talk about his white wonder.

Charlie was apparently only two but had already won some best in show awards – hardly surprising.

I joined in as lots of people took photos of his handsome hound. But it wasn’t just that Charlie was such a wonderful canine specimen - his whole manner was regal – like a person born to high birth.

This encounter got me thinking I can’t recall the last time I saw an Afghan Hound in Australia. Maybe this is for practical reasons with their coats being so labour intensive from the grooming point of view. Maybe more of a concern in Oz is the heat and nasty Ticks that could be a problem hiding in such luxuriant coats.

It was enjoyable being bowled over by an Afghan Avalanche, but for an everyday happy and smiling companion you’d go a long way to beat a lovely laughing Lab (or two).

I enjoyed taking out Libby & Bonnie many more times before it was time up and a return to Australia!

Hard to tell apart even though they are a year different, this Libby

Battle of the breeds! Which is the best dog?

Being the Perfect Pet Sitter, providing a premium pet minding service for dogs in their own homes, plus with practical experience of many different breeds, people have asked me what I think is the best dog.  But the question is not what’s the best dog, but which breed of dog will work best with you, your family and lifestyle.

Most people tend to start with a preference for size and the look of a dog such as the following.  

I was walking Border Collies Jake & Benny when a man jogging past  stopped to talk. He said he’d owned a Border Collie in the past, and his family were now considering either a Border, or a possibly a Pointer (but he’d had no experience of Gun Dogs).  By default he was choosing between two of the main 7 dog Groups Gun Dog Group  vrs Pastoral Group 

In the UK I owned a pair of GSPs (Gun dog Group) and between my pet sitting bookings in Sydney I live with Border Collies Jake & Benny (Pastoral dog Group). With first hand experience of both breeds I’ve noticed both GSPs and Borders have traits in common. Example, unlike similar sized breeds such as Labradors or Golden Retrievers, they’re one person/family dogs, and rarely interested in people outside their immediate circle. A plus or minus? Depends on what you’re looking for.

Both breeds share have a strong need for exercise – at the very least an hour daily. In which case a home where someone jogs or runs is perfect -  the right kind of exercise and great company for the runner,  so a win win.

Let Battle Commence!

Gun Dog Group

I found my German Shorthaired Pointers to be superb family dogs - wonderfully athletic, heaps of fun, and very good with children. However, knowing my own (and other) GSPs, they do vary in intelligence. 

Our first rescue GSP was Flash age 2. He was a lovely dog, but to be frank, he was not terribly bright – and he arrived obsessed with tennis balls (balls are like drugs to Pointers). Our second GSP rescue, Harry, joined us some years later. Harry was another story completely, exceptionally smart - and became my dog of a lifetime. 

Intelligence aside, exercise means the world to GSPs. But crucially after a good run back home Pointers settle down and sleep – a big plus.

Pastoral dog Group
My experience with Border Collies Jake & Benny (and others we’ve provided with 24/7 care) has impressed me. They are super smart and loyal dogs and don’t stray.  When you’re out no need to keep calling them, they’re always watching  and keeping track of where you are. 

There are, however, practical issues with Border Collies.  Australian summers and the heat makes life tough in those thick coats (and ticks hard to find).  Regular brushing is vital to avoid matting. Clipping through summer and professional grooming all year round is also highly recommended. 

Coat differences aside, the biggest thing about Border Collies is that they were bred as working dogs. Their stamina is legendary and they could easily run 25-35 Ks a day when herding sheep or cattle. 


Both breeds are highly active and not necessarily well suited to life in the  suburbs. But of the two, Borders have an insatiable appetite for exercise. Not only that, they are so smart means they need to be challenged. If you are even considering a Border Collie, here are 3 questions to ask: 
Would you be prepared to stimulate your Border by Agility, Fly ball or Obedience training? 
Are you truly prepared to be a devote at least one hour ideally two – each day for their exercise sessions? 
Do you have acres of land where  a Border could roam? 

So - who wins the battle of these breeds – Border or Pointer? 

If you can honestly answer ‘Yes’ to at least one of the above then a Border can be a great pet. Otherwise (and particularly if you have young children) I’d strongly recommend a Pointer of some kind – GSP, Wire Haired, English Pointer. 

My next blog will expand on how to find the best breed match for you, your family and lifestyle in more depth. We’ll look at how to make an objective assessment  by using Perfect Pet Sitter’s 3 step check and investigate the 7 major Dog Groups.