Lennie, our half kangal, is finally settling down and losing some of the mannerisms that he had from his days of roaming the streets. He does not run away as much as he used to. For his safety and to ensure that he does not do any thing stupid we have him on a long chain. Every now and then he used to escape and be disappear for most of the day. Now if he gets off he tends to go for half an hour. He is usually up the lane or in the field across from us. We now let him off the lead in the forest and he is getting to know the routine. Initially when we used to let him off he would run away. Although always in view he would not come near us. Now he runs off and comes back every so often for a fuss and a play. He knows that at the end of the run he gets some treats so he is happy to come back and be put back on a lead.
We had been using the flea and tick collars but one that we bought in Turkey before we left was not working properly. Holly, our border collie got a bad infestation of fleas and this resulted in a serious allergy. She has been under the vets care for the past 2 weeks and it still is not fully gone. She hae to be washed with special shampoo every 2 days and cream applied to the infected area 3 times a day. She also is on a course of antibiotics. Every time I call her she shoots off because she knows that something else is going to be done to her.We now use frontline. The vets bill for sorting out her allergy was 200 Euros. In France it is cheaper to see a doctor than to see a vet.
We like it so much here that we are seriously considering coming to live here. We need to return to the UK for 18 months and then we will qualify through age for medical care in France. Parts of France are suffering badly from migration from the country areas to the city. In some towns the population has dropped by up to 50% since 1962. To encourage people to live in the areas the local Mayors offices are selling land at very cheap prices. We have been offered 1100 m2 for 7,000 Euros including all fees.
