When life gives you lemons make lemonade!

Last summer when our dog passed over the rainbow bridge, I was beside myself and my husband persuaded me that the best thing for us to do was to buy another dog. I was not convinced as I felt it appropriate to spend some time to mourn and grieve but he was insistent. He asked if we could consider Old English Sheepdogs, as these had always been his ‘dream dog’.

As luck would have it, after some research, we spoke to a wonderful breeder who had 2 puppies spare, as there were 8 puppies rather than the 6 on the pre-birth scan. It was meant to be!

 Knowing nothing about Old English Sheepdogs (OES), although this is our 3rd family dog, we went to visit the puppies. For any dog lovers you will know that it’s difficult to visit new pups without getting swept away.

We chose one of the two and the breeder explained to us the importance of regular grooming to maintain the coat and not surprisingly her dog (who by the way is a show dog) was an angel during the demonstration. Little did I know that it takes 7 hours to groom an OES for the Dulux ad!!

Our puppy, Dolly is not such an angel during grooming sessions and despite it being a battle I have persisted with the grooming in so far as I can, but whenever I have had respite due to illness or holidays, it has had disastrous consequences with matting. This winter has exacerbated this, as mud and water are not your friends when trying to maintain a long-haired dog growing from puppy to adult fur.

Well, I knew there were some matts and I thought that I had managed well until I took my puppy to the groomer. He thought the matts were too bad to maintain the coat and sheared her. When I collected Dolly, I did not recognise my own dog and the situation was not assisted by my children and husband going ballistic!!

So, what were we to do as a family. Yes, the groomer did wrong in not consulting me first, but he had good intentions and did what he deemed best for the dog. Shouting at the groomer was not going to change the situation and extended hostilities would not make anyone feel better.

2  weeks later and with the dust settling what I have discovered:

• having a short coat in mud and wet is so much easier for Dolly and me. She can play wherever she wants without me getting all stressed about it and I can clean her in 5 mins rather than 30 mins plus

• grooming takes 2 mins rather than 30 mins plus, so I do not have my hand bitten every night and Dolly does not have the ordeal

• yes Dolly is cold without her coat but she has discovered our bed which although I am sure is not the most hygienic those morning and night time cuddles are rather special!

• the coat will grow back so important to put things into perspective - and actually she looks like snoopy and quite cute (see image above)

Has the experience taught me any lessons for life and business?

This is my takeaway.
Yes you can have a plan and dedicate consistent time and effort to fulfilling it. But if it does not work out it does not mean you are a failure. With the new unplanned scenario before you, see how you can make the best of it, look forward not back, pivot and look at the facts you are faced with and see the situation from a new perspective. It may all turn out for the best.
 

In fact, we have had a very good example of this at Pep & Lekker. When there was a shortage of chicory inulin syrup due to an over demand and a poor harvest, we could not source one of our major ingredients. This led to many sleepless nights but with the help of our supplier we came up with a solution. We could make inulin syrup from inulin powder and if we used inulin powder in the right percentages with our other ingredients then our product could be tested to be a certified prebiotic.

What we believe to be the ONLY baked certified prebiotic that is free of allergens and can boast our nutritional credentials. We changed the recipe and pivoted and discovered something even better.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade!!! This is my motto and is certainly a more positive way to live.