4 weeks
It was an exciting trip down to Herefordshire to choose our puppy. We had 2nd choice of the dogs, I wanted a liver and flecked and was very touched when our little man chose me constant licking of my face, pawing my hair and what a noisy little boy. How could we say no, he was the one!

Trip back and waiting to hear from Andrew and Jane was anxious. Would we get our first choice? I was over the moon to receive the good news, we had got the boy we wanted! From now till pick up time, I had everything ready, having bought everything and training classes etc were arranged before we chose him, I was so keen.



8-10 weeks
Pick up at 9am, night before I was too excited to sleep, what a gorgeous boy he is running to greet us with his mates, what a little character, very confident who took to his travel crate straight away soft padded one with a new teddy which was a lot of comfort for the journey, 5 hrs it took us to Heysham with roadwork's etc he slept all the way cuddled into his monkey and at times on my lap. It was a 2.15am sailing to the Isle of Man. Thankfully I had booked us into a dog friendly travel lodge to kill some time before our sailing, little D however having slept now wanted to play so mummy/ daddy had no kip. D was racing around the room such fun playing fetch with his teddy. For some reason he did not like the taxi ride to the docks and screamed, we put it down to a long day and it was dark not seeing us properly in his crate. Happy again on my knee in the terminal then onto the boat dog lounge with our own tv and no other pooches so we relaxed and D slept again, a calm sailing arriving in the Isle of Man at 5.45am. Then 10 mi journey back to our cosy home.
All three of us were very sleepy. Ray and I having been up over 24 hours, D headed upstairs with us. what with new smells we didn't want to put him on his own straight away. Following a training book D slept in his bed in our room for the first week being ever so good to use his puppy pad for a wee during the night. Only after the second day home he was asking at the back door to go out and has been taking to sit on command.

D had been a star to use his puppy pads there are of course occasional excitement and accidents. He now sleeps in the kitchen at night, the first night was rough as he started screaming at 2am, having spoken to a good friend who has 2 GSP's I borrowed her large puppy crate for the kitchen and created a fun comfortable den for D, pillows blankets, a cardy of my scent, teddies, puppy pulse which micmicks his mums heartbeat and how he loves his hot water bottle! He was so excited seeing me set it up and raced in straight away remained there fast asleep for the rest of the afternoon. I had high hopes that we would try again the kitchen night time sleeps. I got him settled waited to hear his heavy breathing and crept up to bed myself waking up at 7.30 all of us having a peaceful night... success!! Every night after that he has been brilliant no crying , he knows now when bedtime is. Creating a den is a must he sees it as his area, something fun and safe. I have blankets over the top and sides, always leaving the front open. I have no need to close this as he is so good to come out of his den and toilet on his pad when he needs to. Another good idea we used is a pet safety gate, so when he is left he doesn't have the door closed and feels less anxious he can also see us, if he has some timeout, if he gets a bit too excited.

Trips to my parents farm are an adventure, firstly he loves the car and I have now taken him out of his travel crate and onto the car seat with a dog seatbelt. He is so well behaved and settles quick on each journey loving the music station. At the farm he loves to run in the field and has already started 'pointing' new smells, what fun he has chasing me and is such a good boy to come when called. The space is such a buzz for him especially at the moment, with not meeting other dogs or walkies yet. Trips to the vet have been great, a strong healthy boy brave too with jabs and microchipping no crying, very much admired by all.

He is growing fast has a licence excepted his collar straight away although he wears a harness to as we will walk him off this and not the collar. He has been so excited about Christmas. He has already had the tree over and has run off with the baubles cheeky monkey! He enjoys his cuddles, very attached to his mum, but also knows he has to sleep in his little soft bed that we have in the sitting room.

Training classes start in the new year after he has been cleared by the vet... can't wait

Darcy has brought joy into our lives.... the fun has only just begun!



First walk
Darcy had his first walk last week, he was quite nervous looking at me & putting his paws on my legs for reassurance, lots of sniffs and smells along the way rather than much walking! We went somewhere quiet though, met a few doggies, which Darcy made friends with the owners commented on how well behaved and beautiful he was. He's going to be a charmer! :) He did however, wait to "toilet" till we got back to the safety of his home. However on his second walkies, he was much more confident toddling ahead of me happily and had a pee.



Puppy School
Puppy School started on Tuesday, he was so excited!! There were 2 dogs, when we got there, he was quite subdued and showed his nerves again on meeting new people/dogs. We let them off the leads after a bit and he showed his pointing skills trotting around the whole arena (classes held at glebe stables). In total 10 dogs were present at the class. Darcy didn't know who to say hello to, one large female dog cowered poor little D he only wanted to make friends. He certainly stood out from the rest of the class though to be fair to him we were new starters and they had been going a good few weeks, so he was bound to a bit restless. His getting very good to 'sit on command' and Andy the trainer said he did very well for his first evening. We did an exercise near the end to which Darcy and I had to wait to last with him being more excited Andy held him while I let him sniff a treat, I ran down the other end of the arena and called him, dogs each side on him down the arena, what a good boy he came directly straight to me and after 3 asks to sit he did.

He has now just out grown his sweater, but as the weather is so cold and wet here I have a waterproof on order for him he is now 21 inches in length amazing how quick he is growing!



11 – 16 weeks
Darcy is processing well with puppy school he has started being used as the demo dog and even brought a tear to the trainers eye. He is a quick learner and very intelligent . We both always look forward to classes as Darcy gets to meet all his friends. His best buddy is Dillion ,the great Dane. They have lots of fun for the first 10 minutes, before class begins chasing one another around the arena. Darcy shows his pointing skills very well and is very in tune with his ‘nose’. At home he displays being able to sniff out a toy when asked and is only allowed his food when he sits and then when the ‘ok command’ is given he sits patiently despite being very keen as his dribbles with anticipation.

He loves his runs up at the family farm and its amazing to see how fast he is getting now he looks like a greyhound! He is ever so good, not to bark at my parents cats and if anything shows curiosity at the neighbours chickens, no barking or chasing the same goes for meeting other dogs. He loves to look out of our alcove window at home and watch the people who live in the area go by. We have a school across from us too, so pick up time for the kiddies his is favourite to observe again no barking. He does hear the postman though and has on a couple of occasions with the paper boy seen the paper come through the letter box and has fetched that, though I am working on training him only to deliver to us and not run around excitedly tearing it up! Puppyhood!

We decided to make the decision as he is growing so fast to stop him lying on the settee (he does love a cuddle) and it only took me 2 days if that to retrain him to stay off and use his new bed, I have now brought his adult bed down into the lounge so he can relax with us if he wishes. Sometimes when he is very tired, he still likes to take himself off the kitchen in to his den. So when the time comes to take the crate away and convert him to his adult bed solely we will have to see. If it means he would become distressed if his Den was no longer there, while we are out during the day, we will allow the crate to stay.

Darcy is now fully toilet trained and will always ask to go outside. We are able to go out happily a leave him for a few hours. He shows no signs of stress as everything is in order in the kitchen and he doesn’t toilet while we are absent, we are most of the time greeted by a sleeping if not stretching contented little pooch who has obviously had a peaceful kip while we are not around. He still gets very excited to see us but now his adult teeth are coming through he no longer grabs us as much and will generally greet us by grabbing a toy and running around, he knows I take him for his walk as soon as I get in from work.

One of Darcy’s favourite places is Millenium Oakwood, which is up near our Islands Hospital (5 minutes drive from our home). It is an enclosed area ,where dogs can be let off to have a good run around. He loves it and always stays close by. If he goes out of my eye line he always hurries back to make sure ‘mummy is coming’ and responds on recall



16-18 weeks
We Introduced our GSP to Ballaugh Shore recently all very exciting new smells of the sea and sand, he was very curious of the waves and was brave enough to confront the water, however when a wave came in he was a bit unsure and took a run back, when he is bigger we will allow him to have a paddle, as he certainly likes the water from being bathed at home I can be running the water and he is trying to get into the bath tub before its ready!

Poor Darcy has however over the past week or so come down with Kennel cough he was put on to antibiotics. I noticed he was making funny noises with his nose and in the early hours of the next morning. He was crying downstairs, so he had me up half the night, as I had bring him upstairs to the bedroom as my poor little man kept coughing and was very miserable. So off to the vet first thing later that morning. He has remained fairly happy during this time if not more quiet and sleepy but is making a good recovery and we hope to be back at puppy school next week.

No matter what the day has brought arriving home to be greeted by this special little boy never fails to put a smile on my face.



18-24 weeks
Darcy has been ill for over a month now and we have not had a chance to progress with anymore training as he really has been quite poorly, I dropped him off at the vets on Monday morning for tests, he has an xray, to which I am still awaiting the results, hopefully I will get news today. He struggled with the effects of the anaesthetic the poor chap and was very wobbly, shaky legs and off balance when I got him home. I couldn’t believe how cold he was, freezing! so I had him wrapped up on the settee with me on Monday evening in a sleeping bag to give him my body warmth. He is on 4 different medications at the moment, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that its nothing serious and he will soon be well again.

Unfortunately this has meant that some of his routine has been disrupted, at the moment he will no longer sleep on his own in the kitchen he has been very distressed, which is understandable with what he has gone through over the past month. Usually he would be tired and would quite happily go off to his bed. but as he hasn’t been able to sleep properly, having a temperature, coughing etc he has been up and down and will only find comfort knowing we are with him. So he’s on a doggy cushion, wrapped in blankets to prevent a chill, on the floor next to our bed ( I invested in a heat pad for dogs as we have gone through a few hot water bottles with him nicking his sharp teeth, as a young pup, into the rubber. So I found this product that heats in the microwave, no water and keeps warm for 10 hours. He can’t damage it so I fully recommend this! In some ways though this is good because I can keep an eye on him should he need help in the night. One medication is to open his airways up as he has had real trouble with his chest so we want to keep a close eye on him. He has had a few nights of being sick, so I have had to rush him into the bathroom into the empty bath while he hangs his head down as you know the GSP have beautiful ‘dumbo’ ears. I have been holding these back for him (just like a child holding their hair back).

I feel so incredibly sorry for him, and like a mum, I’ve been a worry wart. He is however, being very brave and is strong boy, you just wish you could help them more!

Andrew and Jane wish Darcy a speedy recovery.



12 Months
Can't believe Darcy celebrated his 1st Birthday yesterday! year has flown by it didnt seem long ago when we were picking him up at 8 weeks old for his journey back to the Isle of Man.

Things are going well with him, still very much a puppy of course but he is doing us both proud. D went into Kennels in September for 10 days while we went to Scotland we would of have loved to had him with us however we had to go to Bakewell on the way back to a friends wedding and it was also a good trail to see how he got on. When I left him he knew something was going on, when he is unsure he will keep glancing at you and sometimes put his paws on your back he even licked my face this day so he knew it was horrid to leave him he had a lovely big kennel though but once he was put him he screamed and as I was going he looked at me with his tooth sticking out 'that look' that pulls your heart strings.... I was excited to pick him up as much as he was to see me, gosh he went nuts jumping up licking me crying I will remember not to wear a hoody next time as he went behind me and tugged on my hoody good job i wasnt on the floor! haha bless him he missed his mum. Liz (lovely lady who owns kennels) said 'what a very affectionate well mannered dog he was/is' she said he had periods of quietness where he would lye in his bed and sleep and then times of barking, whenever anything was going on he was watching, but he is like that ever curious. His throat was hoarse for a week or so coming home so he must of done a bit of pining for me and despite a good appetite there he had lost a bit of weight. But it was his first time and its hard that you can't explain to them that you will be back. All in all they cant wait to have him again which is nice to hear.



16 Months
We had a weekend in Manchester to visit some friends so D went into the kennels for a short stay, they always look forward to him coming as they say he is such a character and a lovely boy to have around, he doesn’t get any less calm when I pick him up though goes nuts, he has obviously missed me. D enjoyed his first journey in my new vehicle when I took him down for his hols, think I might of mentioned that I was in the process of buying a Nissan Qashqai, prior to that I owned a hyndai I10 as it used to be just myself to take care off and was easy and what I could afford at the time, but it wasn't a car for boot space especially and D was on the back seats in his hammock (to keep the seats clean) which was fine when he was a little tadpole but he is huge fur baby now!! Towers over labs and retrievers so the car looked a lot smaller with him in haha! I love the Qashqai nice and roomy and Darcy didn’t complain having to now travel in the boot, I have a dog grill up and boot cover with a nice blanket for him and of course he still needs his 'big teddy' what I call his travel bear, Darcy loves ted has survived gosh it must be a year now. In the house though his favourite toy is his kong carries it everywhere and when he looks out the window when I have pulled up on the drive he peeks at me then he disappears from view and reappears with his kong, he has to find something to bring to you when you arrive home, funny to watch him when he can't find something rushing around, sometimes he ends up getting a sock just so his has something to show you.



18 Months-2 Years
We are in the second week of the TT Races so very busy on the Island, thousands of extra people over but a great atmosphere.There has been on rider killed a french fella very sad and we had a bad helicopter crash where the pilot was killed taking off in high winds thankfully the passengers were dropped off but still sad news for the island. There have been so many accidents happen everyday people going to fast and going mad over the tt period, 2 people have been killed so far, very dangerous time.
The weather has been gorgeous today, once the roads were open again this evening we drove out to Peel (where Darcys sister lives) yet to bump into them, although they have never made contact with me again sadly. Attached are the pics from our evening walk it was lovely and warm today as we have yet to get any camping in as we usually do over the tt period but it hasnt been warm/dry enough however ever hopeful for this weekend, i have friday off as it is the senior tt race day so most businesses are closed.




Lodon Ranger at 2 Years
Today Darcy celebrates his 2nd Birthday. I made Darcy a special Tea (see picture) . One very happy poochy, he is lying next to me crashed out. He had a good walk and then a trip to the farm for a big run where he had oodles of fun chasing pheasants. Ray still needs to come with me and take some great shots of Darcy bouncing around the field he is amazing the way he moves around the field.

I was so thrilled, a few weeks back, to be stopped by a car on the road and to find Ginny (Darcy's sister) was in the back and they were finally able to meet up again. Gosh how small she is, but then her owner can't get over the size of Darcy saying there are quite a few GSPS who live in Peel and are similar sized to Ginny so he really couldn't get over the sheer size of Darcy. I must admit he's grown into a big beautiful healthy fit lad. I continue to exercise him 3 hours a day he thrives on the fresh air. Poor Ginny has pulled a muscle when she was in a plantation and her owner said she hasn't been able to have much if any exercise and she is going mad at home trying to rip their floor up, i can imagine though as Darcy loves to get out so it must be very frustrating for the breed when they become injured. Had a good chat and Darcy and Ginny were a little wary of one another but soon Darc started to wag his tail and give her a lick.

It’s only a matter of weeks now before Ray and I go on our cruise really looking forwards to it, poor Darcy will have this Christmas without us I know he will be very well looked after, we will have Xmas early on the isle of man for him so he can still enjoy the festive season before we go and have his turkey dinner.

My mum loves spending time with Darcy she walks him on Monday and Wednesday mid am to pm for me while I work, so he is keeping her fit and they get on very well. Darcy is such a happy little soul always wanting to make new doggy mates. He is wary of people he doesn’t know and if there is more than one new person he gets very nervous and doesn’t always like to be touched by people. He has never acted snappy he just comes to me for reassurance. In a way its good because I wouldn't want him to go off with a stranger, though with some people he will wag his tail and have a pat. They are clever to pick up on how a person is inside and he is very protective towards me if any lads with hoodies are near. As ever we love him to bits and look forward to another year of fun and laughter and mischief, he never fails to keep a smile on your face he is just too loveable!!




Lodon Ranger at 4 Years
People still stop me and point to admire D. Haha yes he will match his dad when he goes to work in the evenings in his own combats (RAF) , D has been chasing swallows in the field up at the farm, well i should say its the other way around they do tease him to chase them, i can't remember if i told you, but earlier in the year darcy caught a pheasant in mid flight (both him and the bird) right up the air , it was amazing!!! i am sooo disappointed i didn't capture it on camera.

3 years on D is still the first thing i think of when i get up in the mornings and last thing at night, and i get so excited when its time to leave work to get home to him..... i have been told i am not normal!

Very lucky to found you, and Lodon GSPs, without you both we would not be blessed with such a beautiful kind boy.



Andrew and Jane would like to thank Caz for sparing time to write this article.

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