Oh Poo, Poo, Pooity, Poo

That’s all I can say. Now my other leg is bad. It really hurts most of the time and I can’t put it down properly (well, except when I’m playing cos I get excited and forget then). The vet has given me some different tablets, but it’s not any better. So now I’ve got to go back and see Ian Macqueen, my orthopaedic vet in Devizes. We’re going there on Monday and Mum says I might have another operation. I’m not looking forward to that. It’s bad enough having to go to the vet and being pulled about, but if you have an operation you have to have those horrible anaesthetic things, and you wake up in a crate in a strange place and can’t get out. And then your leg hurts like anything for several weeks. And you’re not allowed to go out for walks.

Not that I’m going out for many walks anyway, cos of my leg hurting. I don’t mind on the occasions when I don’t want to go, but at other times, like this morning, I want to go too, and Dad just takes Max and leaves me behind. And I know that he’s up the Delph saying Hello to all my doggie friends (or in Max’s case not saying Hello as he’s never particularly sociable).

It has been sooooo long since I wrote anything – I can’t believe how long it’s been. But there’s not been a huge amount happening. Most days it’s just going walks and playing with Max.







And Mum and Dad have been decorating, and that’s pretty boring. But I’m enjoying all the warm weather. Sometimes it’s been a bit too hot and I’ve had to spend 5 minutes in the sun and then move and lie in the shade for a while to cool down. We’ve had the paddling pool back in the garden but I still don’t like it. Max goes in it sometimes though.

Anyway, at the beginning of May I had a poorly foot. A red lumpy thing came up on my toe. Mum took me to the vet and he prodded it and it started bleeding everywhere. I bled all over the vet’s floor! So I had to stay there and have an anaesthetic (yet another one!). He said it was a wart and he did something called cauterising it. Mum came and got me later in the afternoon. Anyway, it’s all right now.

But we’ve been to two doggie shows. The first was the Waggy Tails Rescue fundraising day in Bournemouth (we went last year). But it was really got so I spent a lot of my time in the shade under one of the trailers.



But the really good thing about that show was that my friend Lenny the Lurcher was there. I hadn’t seen him for absolutely ages. I got sooooo excited and we had a good play together – well, as good as we could given that we both had our stupid leads on!

The next show was HUGE though. It was called Paws in the Park. And there were loads and loads of dogs there. I had a great time and Mum bought me a new bed which she was told would be good for my leg. So here’s me & Max & Mum…









And here’s me sort of sleeping on my new bed…





Then the week-end after that Dad went away. On the Saturday Eric & Maria came and visited us and Mum. It was really nice to see them again, and we spent all day just sitting around in the garden in the sun.

Then the day after that Mum too us over to see Eric and Pat. While we were there I spotted something on the lawn…



I told Max about it and he came to have a look too…



Mum told us it was a hedgehog.



I’ve never seen one before. I wanted to go outside to have a closer look, and Max nearly jumped through the window, but Mum wouldn’t let us. Spoilsport! But what a great week-end (although, of course, it would have been better if Dad had been there to – I have to say that cos I know he reads this and I don’t want to upset him or he may not give me any more peanut butter!).

This month I’ve not done a lot cos my leg has been getting wore. But yesterday was Max’s first birthday. I got to help him open his presents.





They were good presents. He had a sort of rubber bone that squeaks and holds treats…



And a big rubber ball on a string.



He’s got the hang of the ball: we can either play tug or chase with it, or you can shake it around…



But he hasn’t really worked out how to get treats out of the bone yet. I’ve tried to show him how to throw it up in the air, or roll it around on the floor with your paw, but he still doesn’t get it. And the very best way I’ve found is to take it half way up the stairs and then let it roll down them – that way lots of treats come out (although I have to be careful as Max gets to them and eats them before I can – come to think of it maybe he’s not that stupid after all!).

After we’d opened Max’s presents and played with them for a while, Dad gave us a blueberry muffin.



And then for tea we had chicken and spaghetti (my favourite!). And Mum had made Max a birthday cake, so we all had some of that too. It was a good day. I hope my next birthday will be as good.

So, while I try and forget that I have to go to the vet next week, I’ll leave you with a few more photos of me & Max from yesterday.

Walking back to happiness

What a fabulous time we had yesterday! At first we couldn’t work out what was going on – we didn’t go for a morning walk. And then, just after lunch we were bundled into the car. When we stopped I was a bit worried – I thought we had to see the vet, especially when Mum & Dad took us inside. But when we got inside there were quite a few other dogs, and over the next 10 minutes more kept arriving. I thought I’d died and gone to doggie heaven!

Anyway, it turns out that we were all there to go for a walk together. Mum said it was in aid of a pets charity. What a great idea! We loved it! There were 24 of us dogs!!!! And we ranged from 12 weeks to 12 years. We had a really long walk – it took all afternoon. We went along the river, so there was lots to see and do. There was the river itself, and lots of fields to run around in, and cows, and cow poo! When we got to the where we were going we all sat around in a pub garden while our owners had a drink and a chat. I got to play with some of the other dogs, especially a really nice young Irish Setter called Scooby. Then we all walked back again.

So here are some photos Mum and Dad took on the walk.


















Now, the more observant among you may be wondering why Dad hadn’t got any shoes & socks on at the pub. And that’s because Max went too far out into the current in the river and nearly drownded! Dad had to wade in after him – so his socks, shoes and trousers were soaking. Mind you, it was Dad’s fault – he was the one who threw the stick that Max went after.

But we had a really great time, and were gone all afternoon. All of us dogs got on really well together (although one was a bit nervous) and did lots of running around. Refreshments were available: beer & chips for the humans, or river water & cow poo for us dogs. I was a bit surprised that I was the only one who ran off to say Hello to the cows though – no one else seemed interested. And at the end everyone was talking about doing it again some day. I really hope so!

These boots are made for walking

And so, onto the subject of walks. I really enjoy walks. What I don’t enjoy is having to have a lead on! So when it’s time for a walk I skulk and hide. If I’m not careful though Mum/Dad go without me – well, I think they’re only pretending, but I’m not usually brave enough to risk it, so have to give in after a while. What I want to know though, is how come Max gets to get in and out of the car without having his lead on? Ok, I have a habit of running off down the street to investigate other gardens, and that really nice little alley I’ve found down there. But it’s not as though I go miles! And there aren’t many cars down our road. But no, I have to have my lead on to stop me running away.

On walks I’ve got wise to when we’re getting near the end and the lead is going back on again – so I stay well away, or at least far enough away so that Mum and Dad can’t get hold of me. They’re sneaky though. Sometimes they wait until I’m playing with other dogs, or saying hello to people – and then they get them to grab hold of me (the people, not the dogs, that is). While Max’s foot was getting better Mum decided I needed some more training, so she only took me out on my lead – I didn’t get let off at all. And that wasn’t much fun, I can tell you – although she did make up for it with lots of tasty treats.

Anyway, the weather has been much better, so Mum has been taking the camera out on our walks. There are lots of photos, but so that I don’t bore you I’ve chosen the best of them. This first lot are from the Roman Road and over the Heath.







Then these are from Wareham Forest. First, before Max’s operation.









And then after, when Dad was with us as well.

Dad and Max…



Then Max showing off







Then we move onto ME!




(Oops, bit of an ear malfunction there!)

Look at me – I’m almost swimming!



Sometimes Max has just no sense. I had to give him a very wide berth or risk getting stabbed with a long pointy stick!



Then there’s me & Dad…





Well, that’s it – hope you like them.

Oh, and one last thing. Dad – stop moaning about the typos. Those keys on Mum’s laptop are a bit small for a little dog’s paws!

I caught you out there in the fray

Oh no! Where did the time go? Mum forgot to remind me to update my blog and it’s been ages. And things have been happening. We’ve had two very nice men come round the house a lot. They’ve been doing work in the bathroom and kitchen. But they’re both very fond of dogs (well, I can’t really understand these people who aren’t) and so Max & I have enjoyed having them around. I got the impression that Max’s idea of helping them wasn’t their idea of helping though, so most of the time Mum tried to keep up out of the way.

I seem to have got lots of photos to share with you from our walks, which is strange really as Max wasn’t allowed out on walks for 2 weeks as he had to go to the vet for an operation to remove a lump from his foot. Which has been a real pain cos he’s had to wear one of those stupid Buster collars. I tried to tell him that he should have been like me and just left him stitches alone, then he wouldn’t have to wear it, but would he listen? So he’s spent 2 weeks bashing into me with the stupid thing. AND, it’s made it very difficult playing with him. First of all, it gave him an unfair advantage if he ran off with a toy, as I couldn’t grab it from the side any more. Then I couldn’t catch hold of his cheeks and ears when we play. In the end I devised a new strategy – I’d jump on him from behind and catch hold of the scruff of his neck and put my paws round his chest. That seemed to work quite well. Anyway, if you want to see how stupid he looked in that collar thing, here’s a couple of photos.





I think most of what I say has to do with walks, so I’ll leave that for a later post. In the meantime, we went over to see Pat and Eric a couple of weeks ago, which made me really happy. Here’s a photo of me in their living room.



And one of me with Pat.



And I’ll leave you of a few of Max & I with Mum on our walk round the duck ponds that afternoon.

Girls just want to have fun

In fact I’ve been having so much fun I haven’t got round to updating my blog. Max and I spend a lot of our time going for long walks or playing. I particularly enjoy the playing bit, although Max only seems to know how to play fight. He’s not really got the hang of chase or tug yet, but I’m teaching him and he gradually seems to be getting the idea. As for the play fighting, well he gets a bit carried away and rough at times, but I usually manage to get the upper hand and put him in his place. Mum took some photos of us playing in the garden earlier on today.

Playing generally involves a lot of teeth…





But as I said, I normally manage to get the upper hand…



And get him by the throat, just to show him who’s boss…


And Mum calls this one ‘Watch where you’re putting your teeth!!!’



Oh, and in this one you can see why I’ve always got small bites on my cheeks and neck – that’s where Max likes to get hold of me…



Walks have been good as well recently, as I’m now allowed to go for proper walks again. Most days Mum takes us over the Heath in the morning, and Dad takes us to the woods in the afternoon. But sometimes we go down the beach as well, which we both really enjoy. Oh, and I’ve had all of my injections for my leg now, so I’m hoping that that’s the last I’ll see of the vet for a very long time.

Like I said, I’m gradually teaching Max all sorts of things. He didn’t like other dogs when he first came home – well, he was scared of them – but I’ve taught him that they are usually good fun to play with, so now he’s happy to go and say ‘Hello’ to all the dogs we meet. And I’ve taught him how good horse poo and cat poo are – which perhaps wasn’t the most sensible thing as sometimes he nicks my cat poo breakfast before I get up!

Mum says I’m teaching him all of my bad habits though. Like how to have attitude and be stubborn. I don’t think I’m stubborn though – I just don’t always want to do what Mum & Dad want me to do, just when they want me to do it. Take walking on the lead. I’m a big dog now. I’m quite capable of deciding when my walk is finished or of walking along nicely without a lead on (well, ok, I normally run a long way ahead so that I have plenty of time to check things out, but I usually come back eventually). So why do I have to go on the lead? I hate it! Mum says I have to cos I can’t be trusted not to run off, either into people’s gardens or across the road. Anyway, I’ve got to know when I’m about to have my lead back on, so I’m not coming back when I’m called. I make sure I hang back a long way, and if Mum or Dad try to come near me I run off again. And they can’t fool me by offering me treats either – I’m wise to that one. Mum caught me out today though. We’d been over the Heath and I didn’t want to go back on the lead, so wouldn’t go anywhere near her. So after a while she went and sat on a log and waited for me, but I still wouldn’t go near her. Then she started a short training session with Max – and I fell for it! I went over to join in too, and after a couple of treats she put the lead on me and bought me home. I’ll have to remember not to fall for that one in future!

Anyway, I’ll leave you with a few more photos of me and Max that Mum took in the garden today. The first two are of Max…





And this is me and Max…



And these two are just of me…