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Online Diary 2007 May |
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The online diary started life as a blog of my strange 'other life' with the dog. I wanted to record some of the experiences that I had as a first-time dog owner. To access the archive, click on the appropriate month. The most recent articles are listed separately. You are most welcome to send comments about any of the articles. Record your comments via the Contact Me page. BEATTIE THE FRAUD!
I have been taking Beattie to special dog training classes on Thursday afternoons to get her used to working outside in a ring. If she does not adapt to working in different situations she will not be very successful in the Obedience ring. In the world of dog training, this is called 'generalisation'. We turned up for training today to be told the class had been cancelled. I had not received the message from AT, so we joined in a 'ring craft' class run by another member of Dog Club. This class is for owners who are 'showing' their dogs. This is not something that really appeals to me, but since I had driven for 35 minutes to attend a non-existent class, I thought I might as well give it a try. There were four other dogs at the class. I had to learn how to show off Beattie when walking around the ring. This involves getting the dog to 'move' properly with her head up and looking as if she is enjoying herself. She also has to stand still whilst being 'inspected' by the judge. It was not as interesting for me as an obedience class and not so stimulating for Beattie, but I was very surprised when C handed me a certificate at the end of the session. This declared that Beattie was the best puppy in the show! What a fraud! Beattie was the only puppy there. Still, it is another 'trophy' to display with her rosettes! Back To post a comment click here
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from sablonneuse Comment from Tracey Lilly
Beattie and I spent last week in the Lake District. Over the past few years, and, especially since I retired, I have been trying to climb the 214 fells. Of course, Beattie has now become a 'Wainwright bagger' herself, and this year she has climbed seventeen fells. She climbed nine of them last week, including her first 3000 footer - Skiddaw. There are four peaks over 3000' in the Lake District: Scafell Pike, Scafell, Hevellyn and Skiddaw. We climbed this mountain as part of a charity challenge to raise funds for Keswick Mountain Rescue. Beattie and I took the 'tourist' route up to the summit as I wanted to take in another neighbouring fell, which I had not bagged. Our walks ranged between two miles and seven miles in length. Unfortunately for Beattie, she does not derive maximum enjoyment from these walks as she has to have her long lead on, otherwise she would chase all the sheep! For the uninitiated, the mountains in the Lake District are known as 'fells', a Norse word fjall meaning hill. Alfred Wainwright wrote seven guides to the Lakeland fells detailing routes up and down, with a description of the view from each top and ridge routes to other connecting fells. He is the guru of any serious fell walker. The 214 fells he described have become known as 'Wainwrights'. Back To post a comment click here
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from sablonneuse Comment from Tracey Lilly
I'LL BE OK IN TWO TICKS! Beattie brought back some unwanted guests from the Lake District - sheep ticks! These delightful little creatures drop on to the unsuspecting host and gradually work their way into the skin before gorging themselves on the victim's blood. When they are satiated, they drop off the unwilling host to wait for the next meal to appear! We did not realise anything was amiss until Tuesday evening. Beattie seemed very lethargic and was worrying her leg. A investigated and found the tick, looking rather like a brown mouse dropping. I had never seen a tick, but guessed this must be one and decided to ask RB to look at it at Dog Club. Beattie did not seem very lively, but she bucked up as soon as she realised we were at Club. She strode in, straining on the lead as she usually does. I asked RB to examine her and she had removed the offending tick in the blink of an eye! The area around the tick was very swollen and RB suggested I take Beattie to her vet the next day as she might need antibiotics. She seemed a lot happier now that the tick was not in her leg any more, and she was very enthusiastic about training that evening. Yesterday, I took her along to the vet. In the meantime we had found two more ticks embedded in her front leg and the top of her head! These were removed quite deftly by the vet and Beattie was pronounced 'all clear'! Today, I noticed that the swelling had gone down on her leg and she is back to her mischievous ways. This lunchtime she ate all the tuna out of my roll when I was distracted by a phone call! Then she had the cheek to come around asking for more when I made myself a new roll with the rest of the tin of tuna! Naughty girl! I had to tick her off for her bad behaviour! Back To post a comment click here Comment from Tracey Lilly
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from sablonneuse
Photographs taken with a Fuji MX-2900
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