The Lion and Lobster - Brighton

Name: The Lion and Lobster Public House
Location: 24 Sillwood Street Brighton

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Website: http://www.thelionandlobster.co.uk/
Darcy Comments: It took us a while to find the place but it was lovely and warm inside after I got a bit wet walking around Brighton. Nobody questioned me being in there and I snuggled up under the table whilst mum and her friend ate their meals.
Darcys Mum Says: The pub was a little of the beaten track and not somewhere you would pass by as a visitor in Brighton as it was on a purely residential street. It is clearly a very old building and was very oldy worldy inside with lots of nooks and crannys. The food was lovely. My friend had a very generous portion of fish and very chunky chips which she was very happy with. I had a portobello mushroom on a potato rosti, with creamed spinach and a soft boiled egg. It was lovely and also unusual, not being a meal I had ever had before. The only complaint (and its a small one) about the meal was that the egg was more hard boiled than soft.
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The Fox and Hounds - Windsor

Name: The Fox and Hounds - Restaurant and Bar
Location: Englefield Green, Windsor, Surrey


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Website: http://thefoxandhoundsrestaurant.com/
Darcy Comments: I was really wet after a going for a walk round a nice park so mum and the rest of the family bundled me into the car and we drove down the road to this pub called The Fox and Hounds, which was very apt. They were happy to have me inside and it was nice and warm and so after I had my lunch I curled up for a snooze under the table whilst mum and the family had their own lunch.
Darcys Mum Says: It was my sisters birthday so we all (Darcy, me, my sister, my mum and dad) decided to go out for the day to Windsor. We went for a walk round the Runnymead National Trust property but it started to rain so we headed to a pub we found on the Doggie Pubs App. The Fox and Hounds is dog friendly and is situated right on the edge of Windsor Great Park. We selected our meals from the lunch menu, 3 of us had Blacksticks Blue Cheese & Leek Quiche with potato salad and 1 had something I can't remember but all of us agreed the food was lovely.
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Gentle Leader vs K9 Lead

Name: Gentle Leader
Make: beaphar      
Description: Headcollar formed of separate head and nose straps. The lead attaches beneath the chin to the bottom of the nose loop.
Where purchased: Hertforshire Game and Country Show
Price Paid: £6
Darcys Comments: I am not a fan of the Gentle Leader because when I try and pull on my lead it caused the nose loop to rotate around my face and rubbed my fur away. I was left with a bald spot that was very embarrassing as people thought there was something wrong with me and it took several weeks to grow back.
Darcys Mum Says: As with all the products we have tried to stop Darcy pulling on her lead it did work initially. However after a while Darcy discovered the Gentle Leader didn't actually stop her from pulling and so the problem reoccurred to a certain extent. After a couple of weeks I started to notice the Gentle Leader was starting to rub across the bridge of her nose. The Gentle Leader is not padded which I thought might be contributing to the rubbing so I got a piece of felt, wrapped it around the nose band and stitched it in place. This did initially seem to help for a while but again after a while I noticed it starting to rub again and this time it wore away the fur. I stopped using the gentle leader for a few weeks and the fur eventually grew back. Once the fur had grown back we decided to only use the Gentle Leader when we were walking in crowded areas. However despite the reduction in use we found that the adjustable sliding clamp (made of plastic) started to slip, letting the nose loop come loose meaning Darcy could get out of it.
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Wearing her Gentle Leader - its a bit covered in snow but the nose band is is clearly visible.

Name: K9 Lead
Make: One Stop Dog Shop
Description: Slip lead designed into a figure of eight. Lead comes from behind the ear as from a collar high up the neck.
Where Purchased: One Stop Dog Shop Stand - Herts Country Show
Price Paid: £12
Darcys Comment: I am not keen on the nose loop and try to avoid having that part put on my head whenever it is time to go out. It is padded though so it is quite comfortable once I have it on and it doesn't hurt my nose.
Darcys Mum Says: Darcy is never going to enjoy wearing anything over her nose, but she doesn't protest too much when it is time to go out. The fabric is nice and soft on my hand so even when Darcy does take a pull it doesn't give that burning sensation on the hand you get from stiffer fabrics. My only issues with the K9 are that as with all slip leads they are easy to slip on and therefore by default off as well. The stopper on the lead to prevent the K9 coming loose on Darcys head could be a little tighter as it does travel up the lead easily. My heart stopped for a while when Darcy managed to back out of the K9 one day on the way home and ran across the road (thankfully deserted at the time) into the adjacent park. However I have made and attached an emergency clip to the ring of the K9 which I clip to her collar whenever we go out now.
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You can see my homemade emergency clip going from the ring of the K9 to Darcys collar.

EzyDog Summit Backpack

Description: EzyDog Summit Backpack
Make: EzyDog
Where purchased: Amazon.co.uk
Price paid: £31.24
Darcys Comments: Its great I get to take my toys and some food and a bottle of water with me when whenever we go out for the day.
Darcys Mum Says: The practicalities of having Darcy carry her own bits and pieces when we go out are enormous. She can carry her food, water, toys, training lead, and poo bags, There is also usually room for some of my bits as well, meaning I have to carry far less with me. Going out for a day with Darcy used to mean I had to carry an entire backpack of stuff, a majority of which was hers, now she carrys all her own stuff and I only need a small bag for my keys, purse and mobile phone. There are a few issues with the backpack though. Firstly the fit isn't great. Despite tightening the straps as much as I dared without suffocating her, the pack still moves around a lot, both from side to side and also tips forwards easily. The side to side movement can be reduced by ensuring that the packs are evenly weighted, and the forwards movement reduced by ensuring the chest straps are snug and directly behind the front legs.  Another problem experienced regards the padded flaps (triangular in shape) below each pack that are supposed to prevent the straps from chaffing. However due to the fact they are not attached to the straps they frequently get flipped upwards under the packs themselves and serve no purpose and therefore leaving the straps to chaffe against the inside of Darcys elbows. This problem was resolved by the addition of a small piece of elastic to each triangular flap which the straps must be passed under before clipping together. Finally we have only been using the backpack since the middle of April but it has already developed a hole in the seam at the bottom of one of the bags. I think it happened because of strain on the straps when Darcy runs around whilst wearing the pack.
So overall its a really good product but it could do with a few design improvements.
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Dog Bed by Cath Kidston

Description: Red Polka Dot Dog Bed
Make: Cath Kidston
Where purchased: The Mayhew Animal Home - Hyde Bark Event in Hyde Park
Price paid: £15
Darcys Comments: Very comfortable for sleeping or generally lounging around, and I really like the colour and pattern. However I don't think mum was very impressed when I managed to put my feet through the base so soon after getting it home.
Darcys Mum says: The bed washes well in the machine but the base is really really thin and Darcy managed to put her feet through after only a few days. I have stiched it back up but I won't be surprised if it happens again. If it does I will have to replace the base.

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