Six month report.

The dog is now 6 months old. Still growing and really testing us out. Not yet a teenager but certainly a terrible toddler. Won't do what we want: Still eating horrible things in the fields and garden: Sits in the house and ignores us: Destroying the garden.

This is his 6 month report.

1. Has he met the required standard?  10/10.
2. General behaviour. 10/10.
3. Quick to learn. 10/10
4. Taking part in group activities. 10/10.
5. Enjoys playing with others. 10/10.
6. Exceeding our expectations. 10/10
7. Fun to have around. 10/10

An exemplary dog exhibiting the right qualities and attributes that will take him to the top of his class. PL and AF.

 Sherlock Dog.

The dog and I, AF, were having a great walk in the fields. As we approached the next stile the dog spotted a lady in white who disappeared from our sight as we watched. She saw us coming but hurried away from us through the next field not acknowledging our presence.

At the next turn in the path she was still there but had quickened her pace and made for the woods. We continued to follow.

The dog was following her scent with his nose close to the ground. He stopped frequently to look for her, head, body, nose and ears alert. All his doggy hunting instincts in evidence.

Who was she, where was she going and why didn't she have a dog with her?

We caught fleeting glimpses of the lady in white between the trees and hedges as she continued down the hill. She frequently glanced back as if checking out where we were.

Through the ponies field and the next gate we went, the gap between us and the mysterious lady in white widening as we followed her down the hill. 

Eventually we came out from the wooded fields to see her still ahead of us on the country lane.

The dog was still alert to her movements and we continued to walk behind her into the town.

But as suddenly as we had come upon her high up in the hills she vanished and we never saw the lady in white again...... Sherlock Dog had lost the scent.

Why is it that.......?

Why is it that....

• There's a permanent smell of wet dog in the house?

• Dogs won't go into the garden to pee in the rain but will insist that you take them for a 'walk' in the very same rain?

• The dog only drinks from the fishpond despite all efforts to persuade him that the tap or rainbut water is really nice?

• Poo appears as if by magic in the garden just after I have done a 'poo patrol'?

• The dog finds the important mail delicious yet leaves the junk mail untasted?

 

Actions and consequences for the dog.

The dog enjoys rolling in 'stuff' in the fields but doesn't like the cleaning off acticity back home.

He is getting cleverer though and after a good roll and wallow in mud or manure he jumps into the stream to clean himself off.

This is not good enough for PL, however, who still hoses him down, then applies the dreaded hairdryer.





The dog with his new squeaky.

The dog loves this new squeaky so much I couldn't get the lable off before he started to walk it round and round the garden.

It 's a rooster so says 'cock-a-doodle-doo' every time he squeaks it.

I'm not regretting the purchase yet!!










Actions and consequences for dog owners.

The new larger crate arrived and is brilliant. The dog has plenty of room to stretch and scratch. Problem solved we thought. Not quite.

The crate is too big to move into the kitchen at night so we are leaving him in the hallway with the door fastened. The dog is OK with this but he now keeps us awake fiddling with his bedding that is too hot. (He liked to lay on the ceramic floor tiles in the kitchen.)

We are going to try to position the crate so that the door opens into the kitchen so he can get onto the tiles. Problem solved???  Watch this space.

Hiding in the bamboo ready to jump on the squirrel.

He now treats the garden as his own fiefdom; Chasing the squirrel and blackbirds out; Barking at the neighbours when he hears them over the fence.

I've ordered the bigger crate!!



He thinks it's funny.

 The dog is getting too big for his crate so I have ordered the next size up - large. I am just hoping that we don't need the one called Giant.

We had guests in for a BBQ. All was going well until I went into the kitchen to retrieve the pudding, Dorset Apple Cake, only to discover that most of it had disappeared into the dog. We learnt the hard way that he can reach quite a long way onto the kitchen worksurfaces with his tongue.


He is digging three escape tunnels in the garden. (Probably called Tom, Dick and Harry.)

I know where they are because of all the spoil spread round the entrance.

He doesn't know about getting rid of it down his trouser legs.

Looking innocent working out his next move.



He's a very patient dog and will sit for a long time sizing up a situation before taking any action. This can be in the middle of a field, walking on a footpath or crossing the road.

Can be a bit of a nuisance if there is a need for speed.

Is he the thinking dog's dog or just slow on the uptake?

He jumped onto my lap last night with such enthusiasm that my Gin and Tonic went flying all over the settee and my trousers. No more cuddles for him. No more Gin and Tonic for me??

Two wannabe comedians told me  'He's too big for you to handle.' I just gritted my teeth and made sure the dog sat until they'd gone.

A kinder and more intelligent man said that he's a 'love sponge'.

Another called him a 'lunatic on a rope'.

Ready for a walk with the PL.

The curious incident of the dog, the bull and the cows!!

A calm and peaceful evening in West Dorset.

One of the many good things about having a dog is that on a pleasant evening, or even in the rain, the PL and the dog can take a quiet and stressfree walk in the local countryside.

It was indeed a calm and beautiful evening when PL, our daughter, BF (Beta Female), our Grandson and two dogs, set off for a gentle sortie 'round the block' through a nearby field.

(NB. When the farmer judges the 'time is right', he puts the bull in the field with the cows and leaves nature to do the rest!)

Anyway, I was surprised, when PL, BF, our Grandson and two dogs came back in an excited rush; quicker than they, or I, anticipated; breathless and dishevelled; the calm and peace of this evening shattered.

Their story went like this:-

PL, BF, our Grandson and two dogs, were strolling along enjoying the view, minding their own business. The fish were rising in the lake, the sun setting over the hills that surround our small town. They noted the bull and his cows at the field gate, watching their approach. "No problem," said PL "they'll leave us alone."

Then suddenly .....
they heard a gunfire-sharp crack. 
The thwack of wood shattering. 
The sound of pounding hooves.

The bull had broken, demolished, crushed the field gate and was leading a resolute charge towards them. The narrow lane gave them no hiding place. On, on he came his hareem of cows short yards behind. 

PL, BF, Grandson and two dogs turned to run for their lives!!!!

Our Grandson was galloping in the lead with the dogs, adult commands ringing in his ears.
"Turn left, turn left" shouted BF. "Into the nearest gate" called PL bringing up the rear.
He did.

The bull charged straight on and it was all over. PL, BF, our Grandson and two dogs were saved to tell their tale.

Was the bull fed up with the cows because they had a headache on the evening in question? 
Was the bull all sexed out and just wanted to spice up a slow day? 

Who knows?

It'll be a long time before PL, BF, our Grandson and two dogs walk that way again!!

The dog and AF at 4 weeks.

That's another fine mess you've got us into.

The dog has had a great week with his very own 'in-house friend' (our 9 year old Grandson) to play with. The dog can now jump onto our beds; chase the ball up and down the hall at great speed; root out squeaky toys thrown overarm into the new seed beds. Bliss.

http://www.simonyorkphotography.co.uk/

We had another celebrity photo shoot at the house.



http://www.simonyorkphotography.co.uk/





http://www.simonyorkphotography.co.uk/



The dog and his 'friend' loved Ham Hill. They ran up and down the quarry sides, hiding in hollows, getting dirty but coming back for treats (the dog). I managed to bring them both back home with me. It was so good we went again.

The dog's nose is now at the right level to enable him to 'check out' the bottom of the AF!!

PL likes to talk to fellow dog walkers. The dog gets a bit bored with standing still so winds himself into a knot with the lead round and round his legs. Totally unbalanced he falls over. He's still got to learn about tipping points and equilibrium.

Random thoughts of an AF.

I took the dog to the beach early in the week before the holiday crowds arrived. He came out of the sea p.d.q. when a wave overtook him. There was definitely a look close to panic in his eyes as he clawed himself up the shingle. I have to ask myself would I have gone in to save him if he had got into real trouble. A dog owner's nightmare.

This morning, instead of his usual cuddle up to me on the settee, he was really 'antsy' and wouldn't settle. Eventually he went into the garden to deposit three lots of poo. Nice one, two or three. Typical male behaviour spending hours in the loo.

There was a cock up on the catering front this week as I forgot to buy more dog food. The dog had to exist on biscuits, eggs and sausages for a day. He was not impressed!!

Is it worth sitting and waiting for??



Learning to be a scent hound in the woods at Lamberts Castle.

The dog had his face bitten by another dog today because he didn't read the signs properly. The adult dog was saying "Go away puppy." The puppy wouldn't,so he had another of life's lessons administered.
"Don't mess with the big boys."

He's learning a lot of 'stuff'. 

He's trying very hard to be good and is a 'quick study' as the Americans say.

When we got him friends said it would be hard work but we had forgotten just how demanding it is training a puppy. 

The extra mess around the house is difficult to keep on top of so I have to, shock horror, do housework!!! Clearing up the water slopped all over the kitchen floor from his ears and beard as well as vacuuming up the bits of garden all over the carpet from his fur.

I didn't think this kind of 'hard work' was part of the deal!!

He already knows how to be a couch potato. He's a lot of fun.

All in a dog's week.

Enjoying the sun in his max 'getting in the way' mode, waiting for the PL to take him for a walk.

Sunday. Pack Leader (PL) fed him the fish food instead of his usual, especially expensive, puppy food. It made him rather 'bottom burpy' and very smelly. Could be a lot cheaper though if we can stand the smell.

Monday. The daily pattern is that whilst PL takes the dog out for his evening walk Alpha Female (AF) prepares our meal. It all got a bit disrupted today as PL brought the dog back covered in something very brown and smelly. Supper was put on hold whilst we bathed said dog and applyed the hairdryer until we had restored him to the tricolour dog that we love.

Tuesday. He is really good on the lead and will come back on the whistle when off the lead but just occasionally he throws a bit of a wobbly and does the opposite of what you expect, sits down and refuses to move either on or off the lead. I have a small, red/orange, squeaky chicken, two whistles and a small bag of delicious treats but, as was the case today, sometimes he has a crisis of confidence and no amount of squeaking, whistling or enticing with goodies can persuade him that the trees aren't going to fall down, the squirrel won't chase him and eat him or the distant noise isn't a spacecraft coming to take him to another planet. It takes a deal of patience and guile to enable him to continue on his lovely walk through woods and over fields. He's a strange dog sometimes.

Wednesday. Went up Pilsden Pen today which was a joy and delight. I have so missed my walks with a dog in the morning. This dog is a wonderful blessing helping me to lose all the 'couch potato' weight that I have put on over winter and letting me once again experience all that the countryside round here has to offer.

Thursday. He jumped through the front garden fence again today. PL has at last reinforced it but it will not be long before he is jumping right over the top. We could end up living in some sort of Colditz. 
The dog must be getting his adult teeth as a reject baby tooth turned up on the carpet. We felt it would be a bit excessive for the Tooth Fairy to visit however.

Friday. As I was out for the day I walked the dog at 6.30 am. What a splendid time of day this is. The cows mooing, hens cock-a-doodle dooing, NO OTHER DOGS TO DISTRACT HIM so we had a peaceful 'good dog' kind of experience.

Saturday. We live on a busy walkers route so Saturday is a day when lots of people not familiar with the dog pass by. He is in doggy heaven with all the fuss. We only have him out if we are there with him like bouncers to protect him from too much adulation - a bit like royality?? It also stops him from completely wrecking my garden.
Found his 'bark' again today. It's a curious deep, throaty 'bay' this produced for the strimmer and sweeping brush.