My First Shopping Trip

Tonight when Wendy got home from work, Wendy and Richard put my harness on, put me into the car and took me to the shops.

We went to Jollyes pet superstore as they had to get some food for Biggles and I. Dogs are allowed in the store and boy was it exciting. It smelt fantastic and I was like a Bisto dog walking around with my nose in the air.

Wendy and Richard said I could choose something special as a treat so I chose a 'Postman's leg' from one of the big bins.

When we got home, I was given my treat and it kept me quiet for hours. Richard took the main bone away for another day but I still had lots of bits to chew. I'm very tired now and hardly have the energy to chew any more. Perhaps they'll let me have some more tomorrow.

The New School - Week 2

Well we went to school again last night and Richard came too. The nice lady Jo was there again. There were 2 new dogs this week and one of their owners used to go to school with Wendy. The big white German shepherd was a bit hormonal and barky last night and kept going for other dogs. He's very big and is obviously too much for his owner and hadn't had a walk that day.

Wendy had 3 different tubs of treats - smoked sausage, cheese and smackos - boy was I a good job. I did pretty much everything I was asked to do and again became 'demo dog' - Richard said everyone was saying how good I was.

Last night we did

• Walk to heel (I was really good at this when Wendy had sausage in her hand and did this on and off the lead


• Sit and stay


• Lie down and stay


• Stand and stay (not so good at this one - I stand but then sit down again)


• Walk to heel, stop, sit at owners side, let owner walk on a bit while dog stays, call dog to heel, stop, lie down at owners side, repeat


• Retrieving - I was suprisingly good at this so for me Jo made it harder and threw the ball whilst telling me to stay and then we only fetched the ball when she was ready then bought it back (I'm still not good at this outside but now have some tips on how to help with this)

Was exhausted when we got home from all the mental stimulation so crashed out. Can't wait until next week - I am going to train towards my Kennel Club Bronze Good Citizen award now.

A Good Weekend

Well I had a nice weekend. My tummy is better now. Eleanor and Mike next door have 2 extra dogs staying with them so I went over to play on Saturday morning. There is a golden retriever who's quite bouncy and the two of us had a whale of a time running round and round the garden jumping all over each other.

My safety harness arrived which allows me to sit on the back seat of the car (on a blanket of course) and then be safely plugged into the seatbelt mechanism. I'm much happier on the back seat and don't get thrown around so much. On Saturday I was bundled into the car for a short journey to a place called Wick. We then did a 2.7 mile circular walk which was very interesting. We went through a nature reserve with lots of trails (so more to go back and explore later) - then we scrambled up a steep hill (quite short) up to Wick Rocks where we had a good view over the quarry. Then we walked across a small field where Richard threw the ring. He misjudged the wind and it landed in a tree. Funny how every time it lands in a tree it's a prickly hawthorn - tee hee. Richard had to climb the tree to get the ring back.

We walked down a lane for a bit past some nice houses and a farm then turned onto a footpath across a big field. There were 2 other dogs - an old English sheepdog and a fat German shepherd. The sheepdog was quite young and good fun - the shepherd was too fat to run fast though he'd have liked the ring - I think he was quite impressed with it.

All too soon we were back at the car and it was time for us to go home - Wendy and Richard went to see Emily, Jack, Ian and Kristine in the 37th Gangshow on Saturday night so I was on my own again so I just slept.

I ate some very strange dog treats on Saturday. They were orange and squishy and I took them from Wendy's bedside table. She says they were ear plugs - they didn't taste very nice - Wendy said I wasn't meant to eat them but as they're small and soft they probably wouldn't do me any harm.

A New School

My exciting weekend at the caravan has played havoc with my digestion. I've had an attack of the runs.

When Wendy came home at lunchtime yesterday I was nowhere to be found. She eventually tracked me down in the bathroom where I'd managed to shut myself in. I'd left a rather nasty poop pile on the floor for her to clean up (well I couldn't make it onto the loo).

Had a suprise trip out last night. Wendy put me into the car and we drove for about 20 minutes (I was good and not sick at all). We parked and Wendy took me out of the car and there were other dogs - it was a dog school.

The class was only 6 dogs - a labrador, a retriever, a cocker spaniel, a King Charles spaniel and a big white thing that looked like an albino alsatian - oh and me of course.

It was inside which was good (no sitting in the mud) and was taken by a nice lady called Jo. Wendy quickly found out where she'd been going wrong with my training - basically the wrong treats. Jo had sausage and cheese and for that I was prepared to do almost anything I was told. Several times she used me as the demonstration dog and said how good I was. Wendy had a pocket full of kibble so couldn't compete - she'd better sort it out next week or I'm going to live with Jo.

This school was much better than my last one. We were always doing something - here's what we did:

• Sit


• Down


• Stay - in sit, down and stand


• Walk to Heel with direction changes


• Socialisation - walking round the room and then being good and sitting/staying quietly when our owners stopped to talk to each other


• Walking though doorways - letting owners go first and only coming through when asked

Jo also checked all our leads and collars were safe and on properly and that our identity tags complied with the law. 5 out of the 6 of us had wrong tags. By law they have to have your owner name, address and phone number - mine just had my name and phone number.

So we're all on the way to our first Kennel Club award and I think I'm going to enjoy this class as Jo is very nice and helpful.

Now if I can only do something about the runny tummy. I got Wendy up 3 times in the night and needed to be let out so this morning I had to have the special vet food for upset tummies. Wendy said she can't wait to go home at lunchtime today and see if I've left her another pressie.

My First Holiday - Day 2

Boy was it cold last night - even though the caravan has heating and double glazing I was a bit chilly so when Richard was asleep I snuck up onto his bed for a bit of a snuggle. I know I'm not really allowed on the bed but I was clean and I had a good excuse and I helped Richard keep warm too.

I woke up at my usual time of 7.15 wanting my breakfast so Wendy begrudgingly climbed out of her warm bed to feed me. I was desperate to go to the loo after all the excitement so Wendy took me for a walk around the camp and up to the sea front. We'd just got back and Little Nanny came out of her bedroom all dressed up to take me for a walk!!!

So Wendy had a cup of tea and then the 3 of us went out again. The sun was up but it was still really cold. We went down to the beach and the sea had disappeared but there was lots more sand. I had great fun for about an hour chasing the aerobie ring - there was hardly anyone about.

Then we went around to the farm shop to collect a paper and back to the caravan for breakfast. After breakfast we climbed into Baggy's car (I sat on the back seat with Wendy and Little Nanny) and we went to somewhere called Horner. I was very good in the car and wasn't sick.

From Horner we walked up through the woods for ages - the smells were fantastic and I had an excellent time running all over the place. Richard and Baggy kept teasing me by throwing rocks into the undergrowth so I'd think it was an animal. A couple of times I ran off on the trail of a fresh scent but always came back. After about an hour we climbed out of the trees to a place called Ley Hill which was open moorland. It was time for the ring then and I had lots of fun hiding behind the gorse and bounding over the heather.



Then we walked on, down a lane and then alongside a small river/stream for ages. Richard threw the ring into the water to see if I'd fetch it. I really wasn't too sure but knew I had to save my favourite toy so went an put my nose in - boy was it cold. Richard nearly fell in the river too - that was funny!

I got onto the hot scent of some red deer and ran off for a while but the rest of my 'pack' waited for me. Finally we made it back to the car and I jumped in without a grumble and slept most of the way back to the caravan.

We had a rest for about an hour then it was time for us to head home in the car. I sat in the back and fell asleept with my head on Wendy's lap all the way home and wasn't sick at all.

I had a lovely weekend and really like 'holidays' although it was nice to be home last night - I even missed Biggles. Apparently I'm going on another longer holiday in about a month - I can't wait.

Tonight I'm off to a new dog school to try and become a Kennel Club Good Citizen - more news on that soon.

My First Holiday - Day 1

Well - what an adventure. I've just come back from my first holiday to Little Nanny and Baggy's caravan in Blue Anchor near Minehead.

We went down on Saturday morning and again I nearly made it all the way there without being sick.

A caravan is like a small house. It was very nice but I wasn't allowed on the sofa and there wasn't room for me to run around inside and throw my ball like there is at home.

The best thing about a caravan is that there are lots of people in it to make a fuss of you and it's really easy to see when anyone goes to the kitchen so you increase your chance of being able to pilfer some food.

Another good thing about caravans is that they tend to be near places called 'beaches'. Beaches are lovely big parks with no grass and something called sand and pebbles Sand is lovely to run on and very soft on your feet. The only problem with sand is that it doesn't taste very nice and sticks to your tennis ball and aerobie ring. At the edge of the beach is something called the 'sea' - the sea is like a big river but it tries to jump and grab you when you run near the edge. The sea is also rubbish when you're thirsty - it looks like water but it's all salty.



On Saturday afternoon Wendy, Richard, Little Nanny and I walked along the beach to Minehead (about 4 miles). Baggy was lazy and stayed in the caravan to sleep and watch football. It was a great walk - we met lots of other dogs and I ran and ran.

When we got to Minehead we went to somewhere called a 'station' and bought some tickets including a special 'dog ticket' for something called the West Somerset Railway.



I was then let into a strange room which was a bit like a caravan but there was no kitchen just seats. About 5 minutes later there was a jolt and a rumble and the room started to move!!! In no time at all we were at another station and imagine my suprise when I left the room to find we were back at Blue Anchor - it was magic. Apparently the moving room is called a train.

By the time we got home it was time for tea and then I just slept for the rest of the night.

Tanks and Plains

Well it's been a while since I've written and what a lot's happened.

On the 9th February I had the longest car journey I'd had since I came over from Ireland.

Wendy and Richard took me to a village in Wiltshire called West Lavington. We did walk number 6 on this website http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/site/things-to-do/activities/walking.

It was a lovely circular walk and there was woodland and open plains. We could hear tanks firing in the distance but didn't see any soldiers even though I tried to hunt them out.

It was a lovely warm sunny day and on the 6 mile walk we hardly saw a soul. I saw a deer which I chased (as per usual) - Wendy and Richard apparently saw 2 other deer which I'd flushed out bound away over the plain but I didn't see them.

I think Richard may have broken the world record (0.25 miles) for throwing of the aerobie ring. I had such fun chasing it.

I nearly made it all the way to West Lavington without being sick in the car - literally was ill in the last 5 minutes. I was so tired on the way back though I just fell asleep on Wendy's lap in the back of the car and didn't wake up until we got home.

It was a lovely day and I hope we do lots more like it.

Oh deer I'm in trouble

Well since writing last, Wendy and I have had a bit of an adventure and I'm in trouble.

The other morning we were doing our normal walk and I was off the lead and running a bit ahead having a good sniff around (as us dogs do). Imagine my suprise when I went around the corner and ran smack into a small deer. The deer was as suprised as me and rather than running just sat down. Wendy came around the corner and thought the deer was maybe injured but that thought went out of her mind when it saw her and took off.

Of course I thought that was part of the game so ran after it. Through the barbed wire fence, down the hill, across the cow field, through some brambles. Several times the deer stopped seemingly exhausted and I just led down next to it. Then we'd be off again - me barking at the top of my voice. Now I didn't want to hurt the deer - I just wanted it to play with me and my favourite game happens to be chase.

Meanwhile Wendy's trying to track me down. She's calling and whistling and can hear me barking but I won't come back (sorry Wendy but you just aren't as interesting). So Wendy gets on her tummy and crawls under the barbed wire fence - makes her way through the brambles and catches up with us almost in Swineford - both sitting on the grass. As Wendy draws closer the deer runs off again and I go too. At this point Wendy gives up. She had to go to work and figured I'd come home when I was hungry.

Rather than go back through the brambles and barbed wire she thought she'd make her way onto the main footpath. All she needed to do was make her way through a muddy gateway the cows often congregate in and then she'd almost be there. So in went one foot (in a welly boot), then a second step, then a third.....oh no Wendy couldn't make a third step because her foot and welly was completely stuck in the mud. So she tried to move the other foot - same problem. She tried using both her hands to tug her foot and boot out of the mud but still no luck. Eventually she had to resort to taking her foot out of one welly, putting her socked foot in the mud and pulling out the stuck welly. With one foot on slightly firmer ground she managed to get the other foot out. Not wanted to put the muddy sock inside the welly she removed her sock and put her bare foot in the welly. It was at about this point that I showed up to help (Wendy stuck in the mud became more interesting than the deer).

So we headed home having given up on the idea of trying to get to the path we had to go back through brambles and barbed wire fencing. Wendy's wellies (a bit big anyway) were rubbing the back of her heel. We eventually arrived home much later than normal and Wendy had to rush to get ready for work. She literally looked like she'd been pulled through a hedge backwards. Bits of twig in her hair, mud on her feet, hands and face, bleeding legs from the brambles and a bleeding heel from the wellington boot. All her clothes had to go straight in the wash and she was not best pleased with me.

Still - I'd had a great run which I don't normally get in the morning and slept the rest of the morning away dreaming about what a good time I had.