Bilbo is 14 today!

Our little Bilbo turned 14 today and was rather bemused by his gifts 😁 He has always loved chasing balls but since he had cruciate ligament surgery a few years’ ago he has had to be restricted on playing with balls.  So one of his presents was a large soft football to play with which he enjoyed chasing as well as chewing and shaking – it is still intact but will have to be kept […]

Dora wins her first KC agility course

Dora, our little super star, went to her first proper Kennel Club agility show this weekend and entered at Grade 1. She had already won Best Veteran Bitch in the Welsh Kennel Club Championship Show on 17/8/23 and then went on to win her classes on Saturday and Sunday winning a beautiful rosette and mug each time – whereas young Toby was totally engrossed in all the amazing doggy smells and got eliminated for weeing […]

2022 – What a year for MadinCrowd!

Having been very forgetful to update our website this year, we are doing a brief round-up of what our beautiful, talented dogs have achieved in 2022! SHOWING It was fun to get back to showing once again and Dora gained her third Challenge Certificate at South Wales KC in Veteran to make her a Champion – its been a long time coming but we can’t complain as she was often pipped at the post by […]

Trick Training

We are so excited to be starting a Trick Training course out in the open air and looking forward to putting some moves into a Heelwork to Music routine maybe!  We are training with the amazing Jodie of Crazelpup Dog Training  Toby loves to learn and we use a clicker and treat to reward the behaviour we are looking for.  To begin with we are just shaping behaviour with a box, so any interaction gets rewarded. […]

Homemade Dog Treats – Mini Mackerel Morsels!

It is fun to make your own dog treats or biscuits and this is a very simple but tasty recipe. You can adapt the base flavour to whatever you might have in the store cupboard, such as tinned mackerel, sardines, tuna etc.  For this particular batch I used a small tin of mackerel fillets in oil and all the dogs love it. You can buy silicone moulds from Amazon and there is quite a variety on […]

Heeler herding sheep

Training a Lancashire Heeler to herd sheep

Ann Jordan has kindly sent me a piece about her gorgeous liver and tan Heeler, Flora, and how she started to train her for herding.  We meet her each year at Discover Dogs so she is a multi-talented little dog! Wanting to “downsize” from Collies and Kelpies, I chose a Lancashire Heeler to help with sheep control in the future.  Not really knowing anything about how a Heeler may work, I was taking a risk […]

FAB Agility Show

Today we attended our first proper FAB Agility Show at the Turnpike Showground in Motcombe.  Just took Dora for practice and to fathom out how an agility show works – quite a lot of waiting around for your turn but everyone is very friendly and helpful to “Newbies”!  Our trainer Tracy Ryan was there competing and pointed us in the right direction although in the excitement of running the course I completely lost my way […]

Dora taking a break

Couch to 5k with your dog

How to get fitter for agility – Couch to 5k with your dog! Dora and I have started a 9 week course of Couch to 5k with Poole Joggers.   Well, I have joined Poole Joggers and Dora accompanies us on the two practice runs in between! It is a course especially designed for beginners – based on the NHS Couch to 5k plan  – and is ideal for anyone looking to take up running, meet […]

Recipe for Liver Cake

Making your own dog treats isn’t that complicated and is a way of knowing exactly what ingredients go into the treats.   Our dogs absolutely love the liver cake treats and will do anything for them! This is a very easy recipe and you can basically use whatever sort of flour you have in the cupboard – I often use a mixture of wholemeal and oats for example.  The garlic is optional but I add it […]

How to make a Snuffle Mat!

Snuffle mats can be made very easily and keep dogs occupied using their nose to find either small treats or kibble – especially useful when the weather is wet – they are also easily portable and washable.   Click on Dora to see her in action!   You will need: A fleecy throw or two (I found some in Wilko) A Rubber mat – you can use an outdoor mat or a sink drainer Sharp scissors Plus […]