Oh NO!!!

This week, and especially today had been going so well. I’ve had some really good walks this week. I’ve been to all the usual places, but Mum has been letting me off the lead more. I really like it, as I can sniff around wherever I want. But I find it’s quite stressful – I have to keep an eye out for where Mum is all the time in case I lose her. And sometime she walks in the opposite direction – just as I’m trying to run off to see something. Then at other times I want to stop and go back, and she just walks on and then I have to run to catch up.

This week Mum has taken me over the Heath, and to the Country Park. I met a new little dog at the Country Park – a Jack Russell which is just one month younger than me. And Mum let me off the lead to play in the stream with her. But after a while she started to snap at me. I didn’t like that much, so I left her alone after that. I don’t understand why some other dogs want to snap and snarl at me – and it’s always the ones that are much smaller than me. A lot of the time now I just avoid them. Mum and I also had a really good game of fetch in the woods up at the Country Park yesterday.

Today, though, Mum took me along the Trailway to somewhere called Broadstone – and she let me off the lead all the way along it, both there and back! It was really good. And then this afternoon Dad took me up to the woods and we went on another bit of the Trailway with some of my friends, and he let me off the lead too!! I was having such a good time. But then I ran down a bank too quickly and couldn’t stop and ended up in lots of mud. It was thick and black and was all over my legs, stomach and throat.

When I got home I wasn’t allowed in the house. Instead Dad put a lead on me and put me in my big drinking bowl in the garden (Mum & Dad call it a paddling pool) and Mum GOT THE HOSEPIPE AND HOSED ME DOWN!!!!!!!!!!! What was that all about??? I mean, what’s wrong with a bit of smelly, black mud? I hope that’s it and she doesn’t try to bath me as well. I only had a bath last week – I don’t need another one for 3 months. At least she had the courtesay to have a game of ‘ring’ with me afterwards. But now I’m worn out and need to have a bit of a sleep.

Whoo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been so to such a great place and had a really good time.

I had an inkling something was up when I was taken back to Hairy Hounds (my groomers) on Friday afternoon. That was ok, but I’m really not keen on all this bathing business – after all, what’s wrong with a bit of dirt and a nice doggy smell? But no, I had to have a bath with what these humans think is nice smelling shampoo, and then I was sprayed with some other fancy smelling stuff, and I had my nails trimmed!! And then they brushed me too. But I like the two ladies there, and there were other dogs that I was able to run round and say hello to. I was pleased to go back to my Mum when it was all over though.

Saturday morning I really knew something odd was going on. Mum kept getting out bags and putting things in them, and then she took my bed apart! Dad took me round to the cashpoint and by the time we came back it had gone! I started to get a bit worried about where I was going to sleep. Although I have a couple of other beds around the house, they’re not the bed I sleep in at night where I feel nice and safe. But Mum was taking lots of stuff outside and putting it in the car, and organising food and things.

Eventually we all got in the car. I was in the back seat with Mum, along with my duvet. It was a bit cramped for my liking – I like to be able to stretch out. But the duvet meant that I was sitting up nice and high, and could see well out of the window, and stick my nose out from time to time. I didn’t think much of the journey though. It went on for ever. We didn’t stop for nearly 2 hours. When we did Dad pulled into somewhere called Savernake Forest for a picnic lunch. Apparently Savernake is over 1,000 years old – which is really, really old. There were lots of other people and dogs there, either walking around or cooking barbecues or playing ball games. We didn’t stay all that long though, and I didn’t get to have a walk.

The next bit of the journey was a bit shorter, and eventually we pulled up at some place called a Travelodge. Mum went inside and then came back out, and she and Dad took lots of the stuff out of the car and put it in a room there. I was allowed to go inside. I’ve never been in anywhere like that before. It was all really, really exciting, as there were lots of different smells and places to explore. We didn’t stay very long though and soon left and got back in the car – AGAIN! I’d had enough of the car by this time.

This was only a very short journey though, and we soon drove down a lane into a really big garden where we all got out and went in the house. It was a much bigger house than I’d ever seen before – there were lots of rooms and seemed to be quite a lot of people around. And best of all, there was another dog, called Max, there. Max is an 8 year old Labrador who’s a bit on the tubby side. I’m told he’s on a permanent diet, but steals food – like ¾ loaf of bread! But anyway, as soon as I met Max they let me off my lead and I was allowed to play with him as much as I liked. So I played with him lots and lots. Max seemed to think he had to keep trying to prove he was top dog, but who cares. He can be top dog if he wants – I just wanted to play.

I am a bit annoyed with Mum, she didn’t take any photos of me and Max for you. But she did take some of the house and the gardens. Like I said, it’s a big house with lots of garden and no fences to keep me in. Not that I wanted to run off – there was far too much to interest me and anyway I stayed pretty close to Max most of the time. So here’s the house and the gardens…









I even found a duck in the garden, but Dad wouldn’t let me investigate it, and took me away again. And I saw some cats too, but they kept running away.

As time went on more and more people arrived. Late in the afternoon Mum and Dad took me off to the front lawn and played ball with me, and fed me. Mum said something about giving Max a bit of a break. I can’t think why he’d want a break from playing though, so I don’t really understand why she was so mean to him. There was a trampoline out there and Dad put me on it. I know a lot of dogs like them, but personally I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.

After a while someone came with another Labrador. This one was only 15 months old and seemed to want to play. But after a few minutes they put him back on the lead. We all went inside the house again and I went back to playing with Max most of the time. A lot of the humans were swimming in the indoor pool, but as I can’t swim yet I stayed away. This is the pool.



I did find a basket with some inflatable arm bands in it and was glad that no one tried to put them on me. I was a bit disappointed when the other young Labrador was put back in the car, as I didn’t see him again. I didn’t understand why he had to stay in the car all the time – he could have run round with me and Max. I was glad Mum didn’t put me in the car.

In the end there were lots of people and children at the house, and a band, and lots of food. I liked the lots of food bit – people kept giving me bits of sausage and chicken. And they kept wanting to stroke me (which I’m not really too keen on). I tried to play ball with some of the children, but Mum came along and told me to give them their ball back.

When it started to get dark I got a bit more nervous, as I was somewhere I didn’t know and there were lots of boundaries to patrol (I make sure I patrol the boundaries at night to keep out anyone or anything that shouldn’t be there). And I was getting very tired. I’d heard a lot of people telling Mum that they wanted to take me home with them as well, and was a bit worried she’d let them. In the end though, Mum and Dad realised I was tired so we all got in the car and went back to the hotel. Dad took me for a last walk before bed, then we went back to our room and I was able to get into my bed and go to sleep at long last. Here’s a photo of my bed in the hotel room, so that you can see where I slept.


The next morning Dad got me up and took me out for my morning wee and poo. Then I curled up on the bed and had a bit of a doze while Mum and Dad packed everything up.



We left the hotel and went back to Becky’s house (where the party had been) for a little while, so I got to play with Max again. Then we got in the car for the journey home. We stopped at Savernake Forest again on the way home. There were even more people there than on Saturday. We had our picnic, and then went for a walk in the woods.



After that we came home.

I was quite glad to be home, even though I’d enjoyed myself, as I was so tired. I slept most of the rest of the day, although I did wake up when Mum gave me some of her spare ribs from her Chinese takeaway.

Today things seem to be back to normal. I’ve been out over the Heath with Mum this morning, and met some really nice Labradors that I was allowed to play with. And Mum let me off the lead again for some of the time on our walk, which I really like. Time for another doze now, I think.

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!

I’ve done something to my back leg. There I am, walking or running about and all of a sudden it hurts and I find myself hopping about on 3 legs. It’s been doing it for 3 days now and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Sometimes it hurts a lot. But if they see me hopping about Mum or Dad come over and give it a bit of a massage and that seems to help.

Mum took me to the vet yesterday and she pulled my legs all over the place, including in directions I didn’t think they were supposed to go in. She told Mum she thought I’d most probably strained a muscle and that there was nothing wrong with the joints.

And then she told Mum I had to rest for a week!!!

Fortunately Mum’s idea of me resting is not quite the same as the vet’s, but I don’t think I’m allowed to run around with other dogs. This morning Mum and I just walked around the local ponds, where I was able to have a paddle and a good old sniff around. This is the Ponds from the air.



Mind you, I was lucky she took me for a walk at all. I got told off by Dad this morning. I’d been asleep on his bed, and got bored, so I started playing with the sheet, and somehow it tore. Apparently it’s a new sheet, so I’m not very popular.

What else? Well, I seem to have a new toy in the garden – at least I think that’s what it is. Dad put it up the other day.



I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with it though, although I’ve noticed that it seems be collecting rainwater nicely.

Talking of playing, Dad took some photos of me playing when we went to the Delph the other day.




And today Mum took a couple of photos of me in the garden.





Hope you like them 

My Story Continues - June to date

Sorry – haven’t got round to bringing this up to date. When I’ve done this I’ll be able to write about everything that’s happening to me on a more regular basis.

I liked June. It was nice and sunny, so it meant that I could spend lots and lots of time out in the garden, just generally lounging around and chasing the ants and spiders. And the days are much longer too. What’s all that about? I go to bed at night and it’s not completely dark. But the downside is that sometimes I get very hot and thirsty when I’m out, especially if I am playing with other dogs.

Talking of other dogs I have a new friend whom I meet quite a lot when I go to Delph woods with Dad. His name is Lenny, and he’s a lurcher. He’s quite a bit bigger than me but he’s great fun to play with, and we chase each other round and round for ages. Of course, I meet other dogs too, but I meet him most often. I must try to get Dad to take a photo of me and Lenny together.

And Mum’s started taking me to new places to walk sometimes. First of all we went to somewhere called Wareham Forest. It was ok, but a bit boring, although I found lots of boggy bits to play in. But I met a nasty little black dog that bit me on the nose and made it bleed. And I hadn’t done anything – I only went over to say ‘Hello’. How rude is that????

Then we went somewhere called Arne, which I really like. We’ve been there a couple of times. It’s really good cos there are woods and a beach. Not only that but there are deer in the woods. I hadn’t seen deer before. This is a photo Mum took of them on our first walk there.



The only problem is they won’t let me get near to them to say Hello, which is really frustrating. After all, it’s not like I want to hurt them or anything.

Then the other place we go sometimes now is called Ham Common. Mum says this is somewhere were lots of really old people called The Romans used to live. All I know is that there is a really nice lake there and a beach. So I get to go in the water twice.

This is the lake…



And this is me in the lake…





I’ve got photos of me on the beach as well. Mum says the beach is quite ‘scuzzy’, whatever that means, but I like it. There are hardly any waves (which I don’t really like), and it is nice and shallow so it's great for chasing sticks.

So here’s me and Mum on the beach…





And just me on the beach…






Sometime in June we went to another fun dog show. It was soooooo exciting with all the other dogs there. Mum and Dad said I got over excited. But I met lots of other Staffies, which was nice, as well as lots of other dogs. Here’s me and my Dad sitting quietly and having a bit of a rest.



Those ropes are cos they had something called Ferret Racing. I tried to get a good look at the ferrets, but wasn’t at all sure about them. They seemed a bit scary to me.

Anyway, Mum entered me for a couple of competitions, but I still didn’t win anything. I’ve got some photos of her and me though.





Let’s see, what else has happened. Oh yes, Mum’s dad came for lunch one day, and he and Pat have been over since. I always like seeing him. And I don’t travel on the front seat of the car anymore. I used to sit next to either Mum or Dad, but now Mum has got a dog guard and puts me in the boot. I didn’t like it at first, but it’s a lot more comfortable, and I can have lots of sticks and chews in there. Mum wasn’t very pleased when I decided to pull the covering off her back seats though. Oh and then there are the ticks. I’ve had two of them on me now. Mum took me to the nurse at the vets to get the first one removed, but she took the second one off me yesterday. Nasty little things.

That pretty much brings me up to date. Mum went away this week-end. I didn’t like that much. I didn’t know where she’d gone, and then she didn’t come back for two days. I was getting quite worried and missed her quite a bit. But she came home on Sunday and took me out for a nice walk. I got to play with some other dogs in the big pond on the way back. She let me off the lead to play which I like. Mum and Dad are letting me off the lead more and more, especially to play with other dogs and to play fetch. But Mum let me off the lead for most of our walk over the heath today. I hope they’re going to do that more often.

Oh, and one last thing. Mum tells me we’re going away in a couple of weeks. Apparently we’re going to a party, and we’re going to stay in a hotel, whatever one of those is. I’ll be able to tell you all about it when I’ve found out.