Forum menu
Full of chickens.... rest time.
Harold had a blow dry
Oscar being embarrassing again, he knows who has treats and sits with them if he sees them.
Ours does that too! There's 5 or 6 regulars in our local that occasionally give him a treat. If any of them are in he just sits and stares at them, ignoring everyone and everything else.
There's a dog biscuit tin too. The closest person sat next to it also gets the Paddington Bear stare weather they realise or not. You're quite right, it is embarrassing.
Walked Bill for the final time as a kennel hound on Sunday - he came along for the group walks so we could assess his public manners. I am pleased to report he did not attempt to eat geese or dachshunds so that's positive..! This was at a local country park with a courtyard cafe - he was pretty overwhelmed by the time I took these photos but he did really well.
It's been a mad busy few weeks getting the house & garden ready but we can finally bring him home tomorrow. Five and a half years living in kennels in some way or another, it's going to blow his mind!
He's getting renamed to Bruce 🙂
Can't wait to see the NDD pictures! Congratulations!
Epic roaching from the hound this week.
Took ‘Chance’ out again this morning as he’d been such good fun last week. Good news - he’s found his forever home and was being collected this afternoon. Somebody has got them themselves a lovely dog there!
Then took ‘Buddy’ out, 2 year 34kg brindle Lurcher that’s been with them for 6months. Walked absolutely beautifully, didnt pull - but that’s all he could do, had no commands at all! Called in at my parents on the way past and he wolfed some tiny cheese morsels down so he should be easily food trainable. Will take him out again next week - very affectionate, snuggled in to me when he first came out of his kennel. Nice dog.
All these dogs I'm posting are at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary if anyone is interested.
Recall continues to be a problem 😉
I think it's time for a visit to the groomers, I'm no longer sure which end I'm supposed to feed 😆
Bruce came home a week ago and I think someone at the kennels has been showing him YouTube videos about sofas.
Five minutes after he came though the door he had found one of his new toys and got up on the sofa. He likes carpet, he likes beds but he thinks sofas are incredible. Only thing better for him is people. He was overwhelmed, stressed, excited and into everything. But later in the evening on day one he got up on the sofa and curled up next to me. I basically melted.
He's settling in well though, far better than expected considering his kennel demeanour and how long he was in. He's turning into a proper fun, cheeky adventure hound. I'll take some outdoor photos soon when the weather isn't mingin'
I mentioned up there the embarrassment of having a treat focused dog in the pub. Well the picture below was sent to me by a bloke called Steve who is one of Henry's suppliers. This is the view that Steve gets while he sits in the pub. This would go on for hours if we let it.
For reference, that's me and my dad on the background, and the big white one isn't our dog. 🙄
Brilliant!
Oscar was trying his luck again as the bar staff changed while were in. 
So, Sprocket is one year old tomorrow and has been with us for ten months now, which seems unlikely. He's totally unrecognisable from the blob of dark-ish fur we first met when he was three weeks old and equally quite unlike the frenetic, lunatic small puppy he grew into. He's still a complete goofball, but increasingly capable of finding his own off-switch and settling himself, which is good going for the breed. I am completely besotted.
People will tell you not to get a GWP because of the energy and the machine-like focus when they have a job, but if you're prepared to put in the hard work on obedience and mental and physical engagement - scent work, gundog training, games-based stuff etc, etc etc -oh, and physical exercise too, they are just fantastic. We talked about getting a dog for around five years before getting this guy and my only regret is that we didn't do it sooner.
And weirdly, in what seems like the last week, he's somehow gone from looking like a big 'puppy' to looking like a proper dog. Maybe he just grew into his big paws 🙂
The teenage year is about to start @BadlyWiredDog , don't let your guard down.
The teenage year is about to start @BadlyWiredDog , don't let your guard down.
They're adolescent from about six months on. Nudging boundaries, selective hearing, hormone spikes, tantrums etc. He is a full-on teenage dirtbag and we take no crap from him in a calm, consistent way. But yes, he's very not the finished article, he trains every day, every outing, whistle sits, recall, scent stuff. But yes, we have no illusions. His near future includes a week with a GWP ninja specialist to hone both him and, more importantly, us.
One thing, the whole dog training world is a mad place. A good chunk of it seems based on fictions and prejudices and thrives on putting people in a threat rather than a challenge state. If you don't do xxxx, your dog will be a disaster. People want perfect loose lead in five minutes, even if it means using aversive tools on small puppies, it's insane. Lots of angry men glorying in being 'dominant'. sigh.
Our 10 month old puppy is displaying extremely selective hearing so we're doing a stint of lead walks only. in fairness to her I think she's going to have her first season soon so (hopefully) we'll get out non deaf pup back eventually.
Bara vs squirrel.
Oscar is 4 today so he had a pamper day yesterday.
Cheers guys.
I forgot to add a puppy photo so here we go.
Happy birthday Oscar
Yeah, and from Sprocket too, looks like Sprock and Oscar share a birthday 🙂
This was our guy at three weeks when we first saw him...
And eight weeks when he moved in 🙂
Bruce is still working out how to live in an environment where he's not surrounded by his kin. Even though he didn't share a kennel, there were always noises and things going on. So we have a solid case of not knowing how to be alone, something I've started working on gradually. We are in cadence of a positive day followed by an agitated day currently - but we're also starting to learn his triggers and manage his exposure to them until he can relax.
Today is a good day (so far). He saw two German Shepherds and two horses on his walk and casually observed both. One of his big triggers are Bichon Frise and while he was a lot more interested when he saw one today he broke focus nicely. Still be a while before he can meet one though - they are the same size and fluffiness as the things used to train racers...
He has an exceedingly bendy beak and he's done his first awkward sit.
How about an old dog?
She's twelve this year.
She spent 10 minutes watching the cheese lady cut up the cheese through the door.
She has sampled all of the cheeses.
Another nice Sunday morning out with Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary dogs!
Took Buddy out again for a good walk, he is such a nice dog and becoming my favourite! Very affectionate and absolutely loves a tiny little bit of cheese! Would be a very trainable dog.
Then I took Tucker out. I haven’t met him before but we had a good stomp through the Plunge and Clough. He was a little excitable at times but absolutely loved his tickles and belly rubs!
#rescuesarethebestdogs!
Huey, Dexter & Dustie wait (not very patiently) for a little snack.
Later in the evening, Dustie decided to have a go at Dexter, drew blood from his left ear. She's a little unpredictable, and was not in anyone's good books for the rest of the night. Git.
If anyone in the Winchester / Southampton area is looking for someone to look after their dog I can higly recommend https://www.pawsomeretreat.co.uk/home
Margo and Jerry
If there aren't a pair of scruffy mingrels next door called Tim and Barbara, there is no justice.
Bruce is 'getting there'
Today he decided he needed to shout at horses. Yesterday he was wired because multiple people came to the house (deliveries, not actual visitors).
He great though, such a fun silly fella even while he's got those big feelings
Met a friend for a walk, slept HARD, looked out the window and finally he's a bit derpy
I've been a bit slack with posting of late, here's some more long dog spam.
Snow is life. Even for this old pup
Nilo's also been out in the snow, doing a bit of xc ski training
Then his best impression of a fur seal
Are those skis up there ^^ really Rossignol 'arse-kins'? 😂
Cold, frosty, sunny....it's so nice to take the crazy girls up the field tracks and not come back filthy. North York Moors on the far horizon, snow only on the very tops.
Today is also Francesca's 9th birthday. So we'll have to have a puppy photo!
1st in the queue this morning for her favourite pup cup. Such a pleasant change to be walking in the dry.
Took Buddy out a few times this weekend one of which was an absolute disaster!
He is very food driven and has clearly never been in a cafe before! He was absolute carnage in the Drop Off Cafe Edenfield so I bailed out and got a takeaway!
He had an ‘interview’ when I returned him with a family who had a lurcher previously. They were loving him and had booked for a walk with him this Sunday afternoon.
I took him for a quick walk Sunday morning and wished him good luck!
Fingers crossed - he is a nice dog that just needs some training/boundries.
Yesterday we had water play, today the arthritic paw knuckle needs some warmth and loxicon to ease the stiffness.
Checking out the table with fries 
Doug phasing between universes while I eat pie in Keswick.
