Lola doing her best to prove she's still a young pup. On top of her favourite kiosk for treats.
Oscar has had couple of meet up with my parents’ BTs, they all share the same mother.
Our new guide dog in training arrives next week! Pics to follow.
Exciting times @Ransos. Our guide dog pup is now a year old. I think she'll be leaving us July/Aug time. We took her up to the London Landmarks 1/2 marathon at the weekend and she was incredibly well behaved.
Do you have the details yet ?
Currently down in Devon with Mr High Drive, working line, teenage dirtbag, GWP with a breed-specific training guru. His obedience was on point, but learning heaps about management and leadership. It’s been a little humbling, but he is a transformed dog and we are learning basically how to control a works rally car in canine form.
Turns out he is very high drive, which explains a lot about his reactions to both the environment, other dogs and distant movement. He also thinks that he is in charge. All normal for the breed, but not a great idea for obvious reasons. Now meandering around off lead with other dogs and basically ignoring them, ignoring sheep and recalling like a hairy boomerang.
We are a little bit blown away. He will also, encouragingly for a ‘future trail dog’ happily run with the bike. The change in him is amazing.
Took ‘Buddy’ out first thing this morning. Super nice Brindle Lurcher but has a massive food drive! As soon as he knows you have treats he’s constantly mithering for them.
Was out for nearly two hours with him, he enjoyed himself, he likes my company and gives kisses without me asking. Nice dog.
I then took ‘Snow’ out, 7 year old female Akita, another nice dog, chilled, regal, slow plodder of a dog, doesn’t pull…….loves rolling in fox poo!!!!
Lastly…..and by this point he was nearly bursting at the seams as I’d said hello to him earlier (and I took him out for a few hours yesterday as well) TUCKER!!!!!
Had a chilled day, went to my parents and he had a sniff around the kitchen, followed by a trip to Pets at Home (he was fine), then we visited Berts tree (Tucker didn’t wee on it!). Id collected some acorns a few years ago when out with Bert and grown them in a pot at home. I planted one (with permission) in the local park last year when Bert died. It’s doing fine and budding nicely.
Took Tucker back to Bleakholt. He really does love all the staff there and his kennel, they do a fantastic job.
Dogs and deer can be a tricky combination. When living over in Moray, our other dog a Labrador with quite a strong prey drive would take off up the hill if they were in sniffing distance. Since we moved to Mull, we have a small herd of wild deer around us with a very dominant female - she'll stand her ground and kick at any dogs that get close. The dogs and deer now will quite happily stand a few feet apart, each minding their own business. Daisy will bark at any other dog of person that comes into view, but completely ignores the deer.
That gate is a bit optimistic isn't it?
Talking of deer, this chap usually just has a thing for shoes. We discovered he also has a thing for deer. Walking in the local meadows some rustling in the bushes, both shoutzners getting interested, a deer pops out and legs it across the meadow. This lad takes off after it like a shot. Never seen one in the wild before. Don't know what he'd have done if he got close. Deer disappeared into bushes the other side, and this one keeps sniffing and quartering trying to work out where it's gone. Need to do some work on recall, cos he was so transfixed he couldn't hear the whistle. Back to the training lead when we're next over there
Love reading the Tucker progress, hoping everything works out for you all
Oscar had big brother Angus visiting this week in the motorhome.
That gate is a bit optimistic isn't it?
More optimistic than the stone wall, tbh
Both the gate and wall are perfectly adequate of the job - the dogs don't really stray beyond them, but it's parkland and forest down top the coast about 200m away. They've shown no inclination to run off in 5 years. The deer simply step over them - its not unusual to step outside in the early morning or at night to come face-to-face as they do a good job of keeping the grass trim, or they come looking for carrots and apples in winter.
This is Bruce. Met him in the pub post ride yesterday. Absolute spitter for our Fox Red Lab, Lola. A lot calmer tho, right up until someone bought some crisps, then he went into "never been fed, look into these eyes and tell me you're not going to give me a crisp" labrador mode 🙂
Not often a tongue out gurner but she's loving the sunshine
Our new guide dog!
Paddling Tucker today.
He likes a good paddle but freaks out a bit when it gets deeper - he is a good swimmer though. I think he's been disciplined in his past for getting wet as he always comes back and checks in with me and then has another paddle after I reassure him and tell him it's okay.
Leg twitching snooze at my parents on the way back to Bleakholt. 
Lola decided to root out a mink in a rock armour revetment today.
She was not for letting up. I had to pull her back out incase she came out wearing it as a face piercing.
@Ransos Lovely looking hound, is it a girl or a boy and is it in the breeding programme ?
Harley is doing well, 13 months old now, will be leaving about July/August time we think
We're a week back from five days of training in Devon with a GWP - German wirehaired pointer - specialist for our 14-month-old teenage dirtbag, Sprocket. Turns out he's a 'very high drive' dog, even by GWP standards, which explains a lot about his social and prey drives. He wasn't a 'problem dog', more a typical, high-energy adolescent with limited focus outdoors, but really good obedience and basically a really sweet temperament. Anyway, long story short. We got the training we needed, he got what he needed and the end result is a much calmer dog, who we can finally let off lead reliably and no longer thinks every other dog is a potential playmate.
He's still very much himself, but a calmer, more refined version. We can't believe the change in him and the calm, quiet leadership model we learned really works with this breed. Mostly he's just a brilliant young dog and I can't wait to start taking him out with the bike on longer rides this summer 🙂
That’s great news he is a handsome chap.
That’s great news he is a handsome chap.
Cheers, he is a cracking dog We're forever getting told that he's 'beautiful' and asked what breed he is. Ian, the trainer / GWP guru, was mildly offended that people in a local market we used for training around people/dogs/bustle, did the same to him. In his mind, GWPs are serious dogs, which they absolutely are. Hard to believe he's the same small, hairy blob we picked out when he was three weeks old 🙂
Love a pointer - make fab trail dogs. My GSP (infamous on here a good while back...) was a bit of a nutter when we got her, but definitely calmed down... when she was about 9 years old 😀
Love a pointer - make fab trail dogs. My GSP (infamous on here a good while back...) was a bit of a nutter when we got her, but definitely calmed down... when she was about 9 years old
They are fantastic dogs 😀 bear in mind too that wires are rather more than just GSPs with a beard, they really are something else, kind of a weird mix of intelligence, drive, goofball daftness and deceptive sensitivity. What's amazed us is that five days of specialist training has made such a huge difference to his level of calmness. Bear in mind that he's in peak adolescence, it feels like we've somehow accessed a cheat code to more mature behaviour. The guy we used, renowned in GWP circles, is a genius with the breed.
He's going to be a fab trail dog in time. I'll be back here asking for hints some time soon.
Fun time with the dogs this lunchtime!... 😱
Little fluffy poodle thing (Snoopy) decides to stop in a random place to have a poo, like he does!
Jack Russell (Frank) decides he's going in for a sniff mid-poo.
Snoopy poos on Frank.
This alarms Frank who then runs into the back of Snoopy - further smearing poo all up the back end of Snoopy and down the side of himself.
So I'm now back in work cleaning poo off two dogs and Franks harness!
...gotta love 'em!
Has anyone experienced a mucus poo before.
I swear for a second i though lola had shat a turd in a condom.
Big stretch. Madam is very happy the sun has arrived.
Very sad news today - Ted has taken his briefcase to the big field in the sky... 😢 😢
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2026/gone-fishing-ted
The ketamine might have been too successful
She's had a great long weekend charging about the borders finding new gentle exercise routes... And ignoring them.
An assortment from the weekend.
We've booked a few nights in June for a dog friendly house on the beach at Saunton in N. Devon. Recommended to us by a few dog owning friends. It means the offspring can come up from the South coast and join us for a bit. Neither doggo (lola was 7 least week how did that happen!) have ever been to the beach, so carnage is expected.
Both the dogs are very excited at the prospect 😉
Oh and a mate sent me this pic from one of the local pubs. I think the lab is saying "Half a pint of Woofs Original and 15 bags of assorted crisps please' 🙂
@joshvegas Yes, several, one last night in particular needed a second bag as I couldn't fit enough into the first! They always make me think of sausage skins 🤢 We've had to switch foods recently as she rejected her original kibble (which has been fine for years), the new one recommends way more volume for her size and damn the output has increased too!
Neither doggo (lola was 7 least week how did that happen!) have ever been to the beach, so carnage is expected.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
Took Bruce to a steam event on Monday to see what he thought of it all. The greyhound sanctuary had a stall so we had a safe space, he made a new friend, was curious about the big machines and didn't try and eat any small fluffy dogs.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
@joshvegas - we have loads of lakes and streams here so they both get regularly wet, but the nearest beaches are in Wales and not all very dog friendly (which I'm fine with!), so we just never bothered. I'm not a fan of beaches either. Walking on the cliffs above them, absolutely. Sand in my shoes. Get (back) in the sea 🙂
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
@joshvegas - we have loads of lakes and streams here so they both get regularly wet, but the nearest beaches are in Wales and not all very dog friendly (which I'm fine with!), so we just never bothered. I'm not a fan of beaches either. Walking on the cliffs above them, absolutely. Sand in my shoes. Get (back) in the sea 🙂
Yeah your photos show quite clearly two very happy dogs.
But dog plus beach is top dogging.
Snagged dew claw leads to cone of shame and much sulking
Ace off-lead Bank Holiday Monday walk with uz dog's friend, Harris the Vizsla. Just two dogs enjoying being dogs 🙂
A week last Sunday we took Woodie for a nine mile walk around Shutlingsloe and Macc Forest and he loved it, bombing around as usual.
Then he was a bit under the weather the week after. A few back and forths to the vet, an ultrasound and a CT scan later showed he had a brain tumour that had spread to his lungs, any options were palliative, and he had weeks at best.
Last Saturday Woodie was put to sleep.
Aw man, i am sorry to hear that IHN. Woodie looks like a smashing dog and what a happy life he must have had if he was getting 9 mile walks until the end.
Aww, that's put a downer on Friday. What a handsome boy he was, and not so much suffering at the end. Sorry for you IHN.
