The day the dogs were stripped

Our two terriers Boo and her son Eric are country dogs. They're not ones for the high life. Walks and runs in open fields, guarding the perimeter of their own little kingdom and curling up on the sofa are their delights.

Boo is on the left next to her son Rudi (my daughter's dog who lives by the seaside) Eric and then at the right is Winnie, my son's dog who lives in the city.

Boo and Eric  aren't ones for pounding the pavements of city streets like Winnie. They do like the beach , but not going into the sea , unlike Rudi who is a real salty sea dog. Unlike certain high maintenance celebrity dogs, they don't frequent dog grooming parlours either..

Oh no. They're patterdale cross border terriers, and Boo has always rocked the Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy look while Eric has a smoother but still wiry coat.

They like to be brushed, but hate being bathed. Until about a fortnight ago.

Recent searing high temperatures made it obvious that Boo needed hand stripping for the first time.....so yesterday off they went for their first visit.

I took a before photo......

And when I came home  this is what I found...Eric looking much the same but a little tidier, but as for Boo....

Doesn't she look pretty? I can't get over how much younger she looks too...positively puppy like!
No more being called Hairy Maclary from now on.......

Days of weekend walks



 

Weekends are made for walking. Whether it's a casual walk around a village or town, or a romp or yomp with the dogs...I love my weekend walks .

Any time is a good time for a walk....I find exercise, fresh air, being completely in the moment, away from interruptions, is so beneficial. Then there's  something about the Autumn light and colours. A real shift from day to day.

Usually, there's Boo and Eric to accompany me on my walks. Once out of the village, we head for certain fields where I know can safely let them off the lead to run, to explore and sniff.

The fields full of stubble provide the perfect toning backdrop for Eric to pose

Boo however usually is too interested in everything else around her to stand still and look into a lens.

 



 

But most weekends , Winnie,  my son's dog joins us for a walk, and at the moment I 've been walking four dogs. Boo's other son Rudi has come for a three week stay while my daughter has been on holiday. Of course while she was here to drop him off, we went for our favourite walk....

 

 

 

 I love the contrast of colours....the green grass against the light brown stubble, then the richness of the dark brown earth





 

 

Boo, Eric, Winnie and Rudi walk so well on the lead, but even so it's good to have a little help. My friend Debbie has come for a walk with us twice now, and it's been so enjoyable.

 

 







Walking and talking , we've covered so much ground, in both senses. Planning our new joint project, life's  hopes , joys and problems...there's not many things that a walk and a talk can solve.

On every walk, nearing the village brings the sound of Phil the farmer on one of his machines, and  a wisp of wood smoke in the air which defines autumn days.....the smell of which brings winter ever closer.

As soon as we get home, no matter how many dogs have come with me for a walk, they all jump onto the wooden trunk, and sit patiently while I get the dog biscuits.  Then they settle in their beds for a rest, while I put the kettle on. By the time I sit down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in my hand, they're all asleep.



Days of the visiting dogs at Christmas

The build up, the preparations, the present buying, making the beds, the cooking, the fun....Christmas has come and gone in a flash. We've all had a thoroughly good time - all seven humans and four dogs.

Of course the dogs don't know it's Christmas, but Boo, as top dog in the house, knows when something is going on. She recognised excitement in the air when the postman delivered more cards and parcels  than usual, and the fridge was full of tasty treats.

Then Winnie, my son's dog came to stay while he spent Christmas in Australia. She's the smallest one of all....

And there was unrestrained joy and frenzied excitement when Eric's brother came to stay. Rudi is the  one on  the left, a lovely social chap  just like Eric, but a bit more lively than his more serious brother..

 

 

And here they are altogether in this picture taken by my daughter Lucy. She can get them to pose brilliantly....

 

 

 

 Boo, her two sons and little Winnie. Having them all around has reminded me of Christmases past, when my children were small. The rough and tumble, the constant wanting to go outdoors to play,  the jockeying for prime positions on laps in front of the fire or the telly, and the ability of dogs and little children to just fall in a heap and sleep anywhere when they are really tired.

 



 

And all children and dogs need a good walk every day, come rain , come shine, to blow the cobwebs away. Mind you, so do the adults.

 

 

 

It has been so good to have them all here...they get on so well together. But this afternoon, Rudi had to go back down to Southsea with Lucy and the hairy husband.

 

 

 

I really didn't want to say goodbye to any of them, but I couldn't help laughing as they posed for on last photo. "Smile" I called out. Even Rudi obliged....

It suddenly seemed awfully quiet after they had gone, so it was an ideal time for the remaining three dogs and I to have a little nap on the sofa. We all needed one but I couldn't help but think how lovely it would be to have four dogs living here permanently.
 

A day of rain and dog modelling

It's not just damp out there this morning, it's wet. It has been raining cats and dogs since I got up at 7.30am - so much so, that even my two dogs don't fancy their morning walk just yet. They've been to the kitchen door, poked their noses out, smelling the air, and nope, it's just too wet.

Eric is not amused...he's sitting there, paws crossed, waiting for the rain to stop.....

Boo is lying on her chair looking rather peeved too. It reminds me of rainy days when my children were small. They needed to get out into the fresh air and let off steam, and I would be frantically thinking of activities to amuse them. Putting a blanket over the dining table as a makeshift tent, sitting them all around the table and making biscuits, you know the sort of thing. Anything to keep them busy until we could go puddle jumping.

Unfortunately I can't do that with the dogs. But Eric had his first very own parcel arrive last week. Addressed to Eric Blair, it contained a new blanket which Mama (my mother ) knitted for him. He's very enamoured with it, so we've decided to do some dog modelling while we wait for the rain to stop.....................

This is the off the shoulder shot.....

Then Boo thought she would get in the act with her own blanket too...(also knitted by Mama)

There's something about the camera that Eric and Boo love...they'll sit for ages posing. So does Rudi, Eric's brother...he even smiles for the camera. That's one dog who needs to be snapped up by a dog modelling agency!

Well, that kept them busy for fifteen minutes, and although it's still raining, it seems to be petering out, so I suppose I'd better get my boots on and brave the elements. With a puddle jump or two...there are some things that are always fun!





 

Wordless Wednesday : The last walk on the last day of the year

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday : Attention! Winnie, Boo and Eric

 

Then the day there was one



Where have the last nine weeks gone? They've flashed past in what seems like a couple of nano seconds.

 

Nine weeks since Boo had three beautiful puppies - two boys and a girl who didn't look their parents at all. No, they weren't completely black like Boo and Bow...they didn't resemble patterdales at all and  looked more like border terriers.

 

 

 

 

After a couple of discussions shall we say, they were all given names - Eric and Rudi and the little brown girl was named Fizz .She had to be ...she's fun and fizzes all over the place.

 

Of course I would have kept all of them. Well, they're so lovely, so playful, so snuggly and they immediately stole a place in my heart.

 

 

 



 Rudi was the first to go to his new home...he went to live by the seaside in Southsea with my daughter Lucy and her hairy husband Harry and he's having a wonderful time.

 And then there were two....here's Eric, Fizz and their friend Winnie who belongs to my son.

An d here they are with Boo, being trained to sit and stay....

And then came the day for  Fizz to go to her new home.

I was on edge all day Thursday waiting for her new owners to come. I managed to put on a brave face for the last photo here...

But  Fizz has gone to a lovely home....to a farm where Boo her Mum was born and where her grandmother Dinky lived. Amy and her children Joe and Nell all love Fizz very much and she's getting on well with her new friend Flump, a cross basset hound / dachshund.

The fact they are such a great family  still didn't stop me bursting into tears as they took Fizz to her new home.

And that leaves Eric who is enjoying all the attention and enjoying peaceful naps without his brother and sister pouncing on him at all times. He's a quiet boy is Eric. He sits and ponders, and if you're thinking that the name Eric Blair sounds familiar,  well it's the real name of the writer George Orwell.
And the name of Mr Thinking of the Days much loved father.

So there's one puppy left, and Boo looks rather relieved. Three eight week old puppies take a lot of time and energy to look after...like toddler triplets. So she's catching up on some sleep and conserving her energy until Christmas ...when Rudi's coming to visit, Winnie too, so the house will be full of dogs once again.

I can't wait.

 

The day Boo gave birth

It all happened yesterday, three days before due date.

Boo refused breakfast before I went to work, and she 'd not eaten her supper either the day before. Mr Thinking of the days whose nose has not been out of the excellent "Book of the Bitch " for weeks,

said this could be of significance. She was also shivering, so I wrapped Boo up in her blanket and Mr Thinking of the Days nodded, saying this also could be significant.

I went off to work leaving him with a strict reminder that he was to call the moment anything happened. No call by mid morning so I rang quickly...he said he 'd taken Boo for a walk and she was fine. Nothing to worry about at all.

I was half way through eating a jacket potato at lunchtime when my mobile rang. An agitated man was on the other end...."Oh my God" he shouted...she's amazing, I can't believe it!"
Holding the phone slightly further away from my ear as it was hurting from the volume.....he went on "There's two of them, a girl and a boy......they're brilliant", and before I could ask any questions there was a strangled cry and in an extremely loud voice "The third is coming...I'm putting the phone down now!"

I waited ten to fifteen minutes , but no more phone calls. By now I was so excited, yet worried that something had gone wrong. I rang back....the third, another boy, had been delivered was safe and sound according the shouty assistant midwife .

 A fuzzy photo was sent by e mail, I gasped and oohed and aahed and showed the photo to any of my colleagues who would look. One of them, who I shan't name, (oh go on then, it was Giles) shouted out across the newsroom "Bridget wants to show you her puppies" ...and I assure you he will pay for that at some stage.

As soon as I arrived home , Boo came racing to the door, as always, to welcome me. I gave her lots of fuss as usual, and she ran to her whelping box to show me her little darlings. Three perfect little puppies, who are all showing signs of  their dual border terrier and patterdale terrier heritage.

So here they are today.....24 hours old.....

The little girl is the smallest with the browny, Border tinge. I'm absolutely besotted with them, and have spent a couple of hours just watching and admiring them, plus giving lots of praise and fuss to their gorgeous Mum Boo....who is looking extremely proud and perky.

 

The day of the scan

So, this afternoon my dog Boo was taken to the vet. Following her exciting "date " with a rather handsome dog called Bow six weeks ago, we were sure she was expecting puppies. Oh yes, it was planned my dears....and all went very well. Instant attraction, even though rain nearly stopped play, as both dogs hate getting wet.  But never fear, they carried on regardless on the kitchen floor when we let them in. That was odd....Mr Thinking of the Days standing by the cooker making a chilli , also carrying on regardless with his culinary duties while Natalie who owns Bow, the father and I watched anxiously. The dogs, not Mr Thinking of the Days that is....

Anyhow, Boo's been a little delicate, was off her food for a few weeks but is now ravenously hungry. I know just how she feels.......I was exactly the same when expecting my three children. Luckily she hasn't had a craving for pineapple fritters from the chip shop or blackcurrant jam which I had with all three pregnancies .

No, Boo is fancying scrambled eggs or chicken, the sensible girl. Not that I'm allowing those every day, oh no.

Anyway, back to today....

Mr Thinking of the Days came to the vets too for Boo's scan...which I have to say, is more than he did for our three children. He didn't manage to get to three out of four of those.....

I digress...so our very nice vet Jackie popped Boo on the table and scanned her , and look...

There's at least three of the little darlings....and Jackie was reluctant to say exactly how many. There could be four, or possibly five if a couple were hiding, which is all rather lovely, and I have to say I felt ridiculously excited and quite emotional about it all.

We're obviously keeping one of them and my daughter is having another and I think they will all be spoken for with lovely new owners. Now we just need to know what sex they are....and think of a name for the one we will keep.

Today's track is from a French band called We are Evergreen, who are based here in London. They're quite quirky, and I bought their album some time ago on a whim. This is one of my favourite tracks called Summer Flings....and it makes me smile....just as I'm doing now thinking about Boo and her summer dalliance...

 

Wordless Wednesday - when I met a very British bulldog

The day Boo met Bow - a doggy date

We love our little terrier Boo. So much so, we decided we would another little one to keep her - and us - company.

So, today was the day.

A very handsome chap called Bow travelled down from Derbyshire to meet Boo for a date.

As his owners Natalie and Joe brought him into the courtyard, I liked him immediately. He has such a lovely nature, is very friendly, and as soon as he clapped eyes on Boo, it was obvious he wanted to be more than friends.

Boo liked him too.....

 



 

 

 

Bow felt very pleased with himself afterwards.....

And then both were relaxed enough to pose for a photo...and were remarkably affectionate with each other.

 

 But all too soon it was time for Bow to go to back to Derbyshire, so there was a quick goodbye at the gate.

 

Since he's been gone, Boo has been a little unsettled. She's on her favourite wicker chair though, asleep on her blanket, no doubt dreaming of Bow and a rather surprising Saturday morning.

 

 

Nine weeks to go...so you'd better watch this space......