Hazel did great!

All went well for Hazel’s pups but I had a scare at the end where I wasn’t 100% convinced that all of the pups and placentas were out. (I’ll spare you the details…) It’s the first time I’ve felt the need to involve the vets but better safe than sorry!

She got the all clear and has been an amazing mum, if somewhat OVER-protective. Just like the others she’s a bit careless when walking around the pups and sitting on them but that’s why they’re in my bedroom. Normal “where’s mummy” squeaks don’t wake me but “I’m being crushed” squeals really do.

Puppy Welcome Party

I was sure that they’d be born last night but in the meantime the others, who know 100% what’s going on (apart from Cora) decided to do a slumber party for Hazel’s litter. When the birthing begins, if Hazel doesn’t kick them all out, I will.

Pro tip: plush toys

Pet shops can charge around £8 for plush teddies and toys. Staffies LOVE to destroy them so that’s an expensive way to go! I’ve just ordered a trio of destructabears 2.0 from Amazon (https://amzn.eu/d/eGgTQUL) and I’ll update with my findings. I have a feeling I’ll end up arguing with Amazon about the definition of the word “indestructible” 😆

In the meantime though, my pro tip is to get your plush toys from charity shops!

Just look out for plastic eyes & noses, internal electronics and little bean bags in the paws and bums.

if you’re crazy like me you’ll also get some knee pads so you can crawl around and pick up all the stuffing after the massacre has occurred 🫣 it’s a lot of work but they LOVE it and if we took that attitude, no kids would ever be allowed to play with Lego 😂

Hazel is getting bigger and cuddlier.

I nearly called her squishy but as she’s stretching she’s like a full balloon :-) due on the 12th January!

Waking up with 5 Staffies 😂

Just another morning for my puppies and I….. Staffies are the best!

Yes, I probably need my head checked but what can I say, I love Staffies. I especially love their cuddles and limitless love.

!! Next Litter Due 12/01/25 !!

My beautiful Hazel has now been mated, and is due in mid January 2025, meaning that her litter will be 8 weeks old in mid March. This will be her first litter and for those for whom it’s important, the colours are likely to include Blue, Blue with White patches & toes, Blue/Brindle and maybe even Fawn (light brown). I’m planning on keeping a female from this litter, assuming the litter contains at least one! Get in touch to discuss the details :-)

Thor, the Stud Dog :-)

Charities

I feel awkward doing this but I made a pledge on my charities page that I would donate £10 per pup that I sell to four dog charities. Ellie had 10 pups so that’s £400. Just in case anyone thought i didn’t mean it, here’s the evidence. (for “Almost Home” I visited on my motorbike and donated cash in person in october sometime and didn’t ask for a receipt. It’s fine I trust them to put it to good use) I would encourage you to also donate to one or more of these awesome charities. Almost Home, Dogs Trust, NISBTR & Hope For Paws.

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Dogsni.love - promoting ethical dog breeding

Hillsborough Staffies is happy to promote Dogsni.love based on our shared values regarding dog breeding. Have a read!

Our ethics at Dogsni.love

At Dogsni.love, we are dedicated to promoting ethical breeding, responsible advertising, and doing our very best to ensure that every dog on our platform finds a safe, loving home. We are dog lovers, run by dog lovers, and our passion for the wellbeing of dogs is at the heart of everything we do.

We take great pride in adhering to the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) guidelines and support the principles of the Kennel Club's Assured Breeder Scheme. While we are not part of these organizations, we align our practices with their high standards to ensure the welfare and safety of every dog listed on our site.

By working with breeders, sellers, and service providers who share our commitment to ethical practices, we strive to create a trusted community where dog lovers across Northern Ireland can feel confident. Whether you're searching for a new furry friend or connecting with top-quality services like vets, groomers, or dog boarders, you can trust that Dogsni.love puts the welfare of dogs first.

We believe in transparency and responsible ownership. That’s why we ensure all listings meet strict ethical standards and encourage ongoing education through our DogBlog, where you’ll find expert tips and advice to guide you from your first search to a lifetime of companionship.

At Dogsni.love, our mission is simple: to ensure every dog has the best start in life and finds a forever-home filled with love.

Thanks,
Eimear x

Spread The Word!!! - Opinion by Alwyn Walker

Why do so many dogs end up in shelters and what can be done about it?
In 1978 The Dogs Trust created the slogan about a dog not just being for Christmas. The message got through to the public and very few people now get a dog at Christmas without taking into account the rest of the dog’s life - however, we still see shelters full of unwanted dogs, so how is this still a thing?

Being a dog breeder I sometimes hear that I’m part of the problem. This simplistic thinking goes something like this:
        [Too many unwanted dogs ; must be the fault of people producing more dogs]
While this seems on the surface to make sense, it is not the responsible breeders providing puppies to well vetted families who are the issue, but the irresponsible owners whose unspayed and unneutered dogs are producing undesirable types that are sold off for pittance a pup, to people who don’t value the purchase more than “getting a cheap deal” on something that they might not have planned of getting otherwise.
People abandon their dogs for many reasons but tragically two of these reasons are easily avoidable:

      1- Poor Training (obviously!)
      2- Uninformed choice of breed (root cause)

1- Poor training leads to “bad behaviour”.
Shelters know that a huge proportion of dogs that come to them are better at doing useless tricks like “giving the paw” than getting along with other dogs or having good recall. Despite us all having access to the internet and specifically youtube (which is a FANTASTIC resource for dog training tips), most people simply don’t know how to, or simply don’t bother to put in the time required to fix bad behaviours.
2- Uninformed choice of breed. This can be broken into two parts:
      A - Uninformed
      B - Choice of breed
A - Uninformed:
      We need to get the message out to the public that different breeds have different
instincts and different needs. Everyone can see that breeds are of different sizes, different athletic abilities and most of the public would be able to guess that some breeds are better as guard dogs and that Huskies shed their fur - but does the public really understand the prey drive of a Greyhound, the energy level of a Belgian Malinois or the stubbornness of a Frenchie? Even more importantly do they fully grasp how these breeds require EXTRA training (or facilities) to ensure that these instincts don’t become a serious problem?

B - Choice of breed:
      It’s understandable that many people choose a breed based on looks alone. After all,
beautiful dogs get more positive attention from strangers and we appreciate beauty in many things such as cars, houses, partners, landscapes etc... but this completely ignores the years, decades and often centuries of selective breeding that has created breeds that were tailor made for specific jobs such as hunting, fighting or guarding.
Thankfully the internet is full of advice these days including of course the sites of the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust but even better, many websites have built “choose your breed” software, and that’s how I settled on Staffies . These websites and brands should be praised for this user friendly approach: selectadogbreed.com (insurance), Purina (food), iams (food), PetPlan (insurance), Orvis (outdoors shop) and many more.
Put simply, we need a national campaign to educate people (and kids) about the instincts of different dog breeds and the importance of tailoring socialisation, facilities and training for each breed.

Alwyn Walker - Nov 2024
www.hillsboroughstaffies.com

Ellie’s first litter starting on solid food

Just like us after Christmas dinner eh? This was still in the box with duvet. The second pic is their first meal in the puppy palace.

3:30am Ellie feeding her puppies

Ellie woke me at 3am to help her feed her litter. I use a timer on Google home to tell me when to switch over the pups in batches of 2, 3 or 4 depending on how many nipples I think she needs emptied at that exact moment :-) watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YO41_2IRQkg?si=3PTWUySISRDYwIVO

Counting puppies with Ellie

Nighttime Update:

I’ve split the litter into two boxes now but even with that, Ellie isn’t going to the pups enough (they’re hungry and she’s full of milk) so I’m having to use a timer every night (and day) and bring the pups in groups of 3 or 4 to her (moving them from one box to another to keep track of which ones had had a feed)

Ellie freaked out a minute ago when she noticed that one of the boxes was now empty.

So I brought her to the full box and I helped her count them all, touching each one as I did. After I had finished she started licking me furiously 😂😂😂

I’m always afraid of anthropomorphising because I don’t want to make assumptions but….. she knows I wanted to show her they were all there. :-)

Ellie’s first litter :-) (born sunday 22/09/24)

Ellie's first litter of staffy babies :-)

Look at the little bear on her back 😂

She did fantastic, was very trusting and affectionate as expected. The first pup caused her a bit of pain but after that it was plain sailing and she’s a great mum… very protective but after 24 hours I even had Ellie’s sister-cousin Hazel cleaning a puppy at the same time as Ellie ❤️

Ellie is definitely pregnant :-)

She's starting to look like a wee hippo when she waddles :-) Plenty of belly rubs incoming!

Due date: 20th Sept, pups ready for their new homes in mid-november :-)

This time I took Holly and Willow to meet Holly’s pups from 7 months ago!

Holly and Willow playing with Holly’s pups Loki and Shield

As expected Holly and Willow got along great with Loki and Shield. They had a fantastic time chasing after each other and getting loads of treats for being well behaved :-)

Staffies meeting family members :-)

Ellie and Hazel meeting up with their cousins Loki and Shield. Big staffy smiles all round :-)

Really great to see Ellie and Hazel meet up with two pups that they both babysat as puppies themselves. Everyone got along great and they had a great time running around off lead. If you want fur babies like these get in touch on whatsapp 07925 847 174. www.hillsboroughstaffies.com

Upcoming litters in 2024

This was Holly’s first litter… The dad was black, so some black pups!

We have 2 or possibly 3 litters coming in the summer of 2024, exact dates to be confirmed closer to the time! To be added to the Whatsapp Broadcast list, you know the drill….get in touch on Whatsapp 07925 847 174, specifying the gender and colouring you’re ideally looking for. (could be anything between blue, blue/white, blue/brindle and fawn.)

www.hillsboroughstaffies.com