On the fourth day of Christmas ... I strangled Satchmo

On the fourth day of Christmas my Satchmo chewed for me...

Four doggie collars
Four leather shoes
Three organisers
Two of Nina's moo-moos
And a really nice honeysuckle tree

The dog collars were all on Max's neck at the time.
The leather shoes were all real favourites except one.
The latest organiser had been bought only two months ago
And the honeysuckle had been cultivated for years to the point where it climbed right over the wall. It's now a two-inch stump.
Sigh.

Satchmo passes another exam!

Satchmo and 8 others took their Foundation test at the Southwest Dog Training and Behaviour Centre yesterday. The exercises include things like a stay amongst chickens, walk and wait, formal recall etc. The tricky bit is that you can't use any extra commands. Satch lost 1 point for raising his head off the floor during the lie flat; and 2 x 1/4 points in the formal recall, for sitting slightly at an angle and finishing a bit wide. Nonetheless, he did really well. All the dogs passed, even the ones that were having real problems only a few days ago. V v proud as always.

Serious stuff

Serious post this time. A few weeks ago, I thought I was going to lose Max. He's 13 yrs and 3 months and that's old for a dobe, but he's been so fit I've always kidded myself he'll go on for ever. Anyway, he'd been quite a couch potato since I've not been going out to work, especially when there was a cold, wet spell. I'd noticed he'd lost muscle tone on his back end. I had a couple of days when I couldn't walk them much and I then came down one morning to find a lake of pee and Max losing his back end every few secs. Poor lad couldn't make it to the door, but peed across the doormat and then couldn't cock his leg. Big panic and off to vet. Transpired he'd presumably both got lazy and stiff and also been leaving it too long to go for a pee, so he had a urinary infection. Anti-inflammatory eased the stiffness; antibiotics cured the infection; and 3 walks a day, rain or shine, built the muscle tone back. I shall learn that lesson and not let it happen again. Coddling him is obviously riskier than sending him out in bad weather.

Slapstick flatcoat

Molly the flatcoat retriever is very brave and aggressive ... as long as there's a gate between her and the three dobes. When she walks past with her owner, she races up to our gate, barking like a thing possessed, and then clearly enjoys the degree to which Nina, especially, gets wound up by this. Was at the gate yesterday with big softie, Max, and Molly saw us and started at her fastest gallop, barking manically ... just as Max and I opened the gate and came out to start our walk. Well, if she could have gone into reverse, she would have done. She put the anchors on so hard that she slipped on her side and slid about two yards on the ground, still on her side. She then got up and stood a couple of yards away, feigning nonchalance, looking in the opposite direction, studiously ignoring us, while her owner and I stood there, hands on knees, crying with laughter. Been feeling very stressed so, thanks, Molly sweetie, you really cheered me up.

Not hell ... not really even purgatory, except for Satch

Things are gradually subsiding. I let Max and Satchmo play with Nina this afternoon. Satch jumped and skipped round his mother, playbowing and saying, "I love, love, love my Mum. She's so exciting to be with. Much more than usual. Let's play, play, play." Sweetie. He just doesn't get it, does he? Max knows Nina won't let him near her, so he mounts Satch instead. So, Satchmo is playbowing at his mum and wagging his tail and all of a sudden, Max is on his back end that he's inadvertently pointed skywards. You can see Satch thinking, "I don't know much about sex, but this isn't how I imagined it'd be."

Hormone hell - yet again

OK, so Nina's in season again and this time two sexually mature boys to keep away from her. As luck had it, I was already scheduled for 4 days away with friends, so I took the boys and got someone to house sit Nina. However, back yesterday and at least one dog whining all the time. Mostly Satchmo (typical boy), but both Max and Nina do join in regularly. (Short pause here while Satch tried to climb on my lap. Fey little look - what a poor boy I am, please cuddle me - and then belched in my face.) Max won't eat at all now, at least not dog food. Half a dozen sausages by hand and a pound of biscuits doesn't, of course, count as eating.

Anyway, Max now in kitchen barking and howling, Satch whining in my ear and Nina in the sitting room scratching my lovely oak door and whining. At least another week of this...

At night the two boys are in cages and Nina in the room with them. If I put Nina in the cage instead, Max pees on her. The joys of dog ownership.

Good day at SW Working and Pastoral

Satch was the only dog in Junior, so needless to say, got a first. I also took Nina, first proper show for about a year, and she won open bitch, which I was thrilled about. And then Satchmo won BOB. Very pleased, as he was up against four other dogs. Had to persuade one of the exhibitors whose dog Nina beat to handle her in the BOB line-up. He was very nice about it and complimentary about her. Long wait for the group judging and no placing in that, which is not surprising as Satch is still only 16 months and therefore still a bit immature. Good day out though.