Well, it has been a few days since I found time to put paw to keyboard! I’ve been so busy, you see. You may notice that the website has gone through a bit of an overhaul. It was getting a bit unwieldy so I decided to make some changes to make it easier to navigate and this is the result. Now, let me see, when did I last update you, oh yes, it was Thursday – a lot has happened since then! Firstly, Bren has had his new knee – I think he is recovering well, although the pain is pretty awful for him. I’m interested in this for purely personal reasons, of course, because I am thinking about when I have my new hips. I’m not really sure what will happen, but I know I’ll end up at another flamin’ vets! Anyway … Friday was quite a good day really. I went for a good walk with Alex in the morning and almost behaved myself all the way around. Only a bit of pulling, so Alex was quite pleased. I did a humungous poo at Sniff Central which Alex said was one of my biggest ever! In the afternoon Alex had to go to a meeting (whatever that is) and he also wanted to visit Bren, so guest what? I only got an afternoon with Zena and Simon!!! Who could ask for more!
We went for a fabulous walk up to the church and back. We did have a couple of rests on the way and I was a bit naughty on the lead but otherwise we had a wonderful time! When I spend an afternoon with Zena and Simon it almost always involves a visit to the pub too, which is great. (Although I should mention that I stick to the water – none of that Bacardi or Vodka stuff for me!) Anyway, it was a really good afternoon. Alex was late back though – when he left Bren he went to join the M23 but ended up queueing for half an hour trying to get onto it. In the end he turned around and came home via the lanes which turned out better, but it took over an hour from Gatwick to home which is apparently not good. (Personally, I don’t know why he even thought about using the motorway at 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and at the start of the Easter holidays, but what do I know? I’m just a dog!)
I went out again on Friday evening with Richard and Alex. I decided to push my luck a bit and, when Richard had my lead, I decided to go inside someone’s pathway to their house and lie down. I don’t think they were all that impressed but I stuck to my guns and made them wait ages and ages. Eventually Alex told me that my Personal Trainer (Amanda from Happy Buddies) was coming in the morning and she would not be impressed by my antics, so I had better get up. It spoilt my fun, but I knew he was right, so I got up and walked home (mind you, I pulled a bit on the lead just to show who’s boss!). On Saturday morning I got up as usual. I couldn’t find an appropriate shoe to wave in Alex and Richard’s faces, so I found Alex’s jeans instead. That did the trick and they were up in no time!
Amanda from Happy Buddies came and I was all excited to see her, but there wasn’t a huge amount of training for me. She talked to Alex and Richard about all of my naughtiness – there was quite a long list – and how they might manage it. She did ask to see how I was behaving when the lead is being put on and she was definitely not impressed when I started jumping up and trying to nip. She just ignored me and told Richard and Alex to do the same. If I jump up when they are trying to put a lead on, they just ignore me now, so that’s another game ruined! I really like Amanda but she does seem to know how to put a stop to a lot of my games, which is not always good. She talked about my car sickness too and recommended that I try a couple of ginger biscuits about 20 minutes before I get in the car to see if that will settle my stomach. She also introduced Richard and Alex to a ‘long line’ – we shall return to that in a moment.
One of the things that Amanda told us about was a shop called Pet’s Corner which is at a place called Priory Farm and is not too far away. They sell lots of doggy things and are nutritionists too. She recommended that Richard and Alex talk to them and they might be able to make a recommendation on good food for my hips and also for my car sickness. On Saturday afternoon they put the ramp on the back of the car and, after a little encouragement, I got in. I wasn’t all that happy about it, but off we went to Pet’s Corner. They were really, really nice in there and they recommended some food and Richard and Alex bought loads of treats and toys for me too. Unfortunately, I didn’t really feel very well on the way there, so it took a lot of enticement (and bribery) to get me back in the car to go home. When we got home though, we went out for a nice long walk which was nice.
Our walk was our usual along Salisbury Road, through Dewlands and into Green Lane, but then it all changed. Oh my woof!!!! Alex changed my lead from the usual one to my new ‘long line’. It is 10 metres long! Freedom at last! I had a wonderful time running way ahead of them and then running back again. I didn’t need to pull on the lead, I could pretty much do as I pleased. It was wonderful! Richard and Alex also seemed very pleased with it and we all had such a great time. Then, as if things couldn’t get any better, it started to rain. We got soaked! Not just that though – there was mud everywhere and I pretty much managed to get into all of it! It was just fabby dabby doo!! When we got home Richard got a towel and Alex managed to get the worst off me, but I was still soaking wet and there was enough mud left that I could trample it pretty much everywhere in the house. Alex needed a complete change of clothes and then went off to see Bren at the hospital (I don’t think I’m going to go to the same one), so I lay down in the lounge with Richard and pushed out a few ?s.
When Alex got back I was completely refreshed, so I demanded another walk. He didn’t seem too keen and muttered something about being a bit knackered (whatever that is) but we went anyway. We didn’t go too far (our usual route around) and when I tried the lying down and refusing to move game, I could see that Alex wasn’t pleased, so I didn’t keep it up for long. When we got home I had to give Richard a bit of my attention as he hadn’t had much really. (Although he did want to go shopping on Sunday “just for a break and a change of scene”, so maybe he had really had enough.) On Sunday morning we went for a walk and I stopped off at Sniff Central for a poo. As is becoming the norm, it was a poo of gargantuan proportion but the really interesting thing was the smell. Having changed to my new food, the smell is not nearly as pungent as it was. In fact, Alex said that the residents of Salisbury Road and Dewlands could probably open their windows in a couple of hours!
Sunday generally passed with no real incidents. Zena and Simon popped in just around lunchtime – apparently they wanted to see if Alex had a plant pot of the right size for them, but I know that was just an excuse to come and see me! They stayed a little while and had a drink or two and I played in the garden. I quite like ripping up plants, although this is bad apparently, and I quite like eating the vegetables that Alex has spent months growing, but this is also bad apparently. Alex is talking about getting some ‘trellis’ to stop me getting at his beds, but I don’t really understand what this is or what it means. Another walk on Sunday afternoon (after Alex had been out to buy some blood, fish and bone whatever that is!) and then, just one more bit of excitement – we went to Zena and Simon’s for dinner with Cathy. They had a Chinese take away and I wandered around the house and garden looking for things to destroy. I didn’t find much, although I did find a cuddly toy that I tried to do as much damage to as possible. We all had a lovely evening and, when we got home, I was pushing out ?s in no time.
Monday saw a return to the usual situation. Alex trying to do that thing he calls ‘work’ (actually, it was mostly stuff for the Gardeners’ Club which I know isn’t proper work!) and me sleeping by him in the study. We go out for lots of walks though and Monday was no exception. I did play up a little bit though – Alex used to (focus on the used to!) have a remote controlled hovercraft under the desk in his study. I found it and, when he thought I was chewing my antler toy, I was actually chewing the hovercraft. It is not longer a hovercraft and will certainly never work again. I am not sure that went down all that well either. In the afternoon Zena came and took me for a lovely walk whilst Alex went to see Bren – it was fab. After our walk we went back to the house and I pushed out a few ?s for a while before I got Zena to play ball with me. When Alex returned I insisted that he continued playing ball with me for about an hour, which I think he enjoyed. Then, after dinner, we went out for another walk down to The Green.
When we got to The Green I was allowed to run about on my long lead again. I love that lead. As soon as I see it being picked up I know what is going to happen and I get really, really excited! (That has some downside because they end up ignoring me again.) It is just great fun though being able to run about almost completely freely. We had a lovely play on The Green and then we had to go home. I found a stick on the side of the road and I pretended that I was playing with it whilst I played a slight variation on the lying down and refusing to move game. It didn’t really work though – I can see I am going to have to abandon that game for good soon. Today is Tuesday already (where does the time go?) and the really good news is that Bren is coming home. I have missed him, although I don’t think I’ll be able to see him yet because I might bump into his new knee which would not be good. Amanda my Personal Trainer (I think every dog should have a personal trainer) is coming this evening and we’re going to go out for a walk. She wants to see how I behave with other people and with other dogs – I’m looking forward to that.
Before that though, we need to go out and I need to visit Sniff Central for a poo – I almost always do one there … I think the residents of Salisbury Road and Dewlands appreciate it. Alex has started walking me in a different direction that means I don’t get the opportunity to play the lying down and refusing to move game. Since I am thinking of giving it up anyway, I don’t really mind that. The only downside (for Alex) of our new route is that, following my poo at Sniff Central, there are no doggy bins on the way home for Alex to dispose of my produce which means he has to carry it all the way home. I guess there is upside and downside to everything and, as the famous novel says, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …”. Anyway, good news, Alex has just put my harness on, that means we’re off for a walk. So, for now, must paws … ?
