Grumpy Mummy...

MmmMMph! Leaky skies workywalkies.....Not a happy Oakley! Not a happy Mummy either!

Oakleys don't work properly with drips running off schnozzle. Oakley not working properly makes grumpy Mummy. Oh dear! I guess that goes down as a not-good workywalkies all round really.

We did eventually make it to the flat, via Tesco. I did 'Find Tesco' for Mummy. I also did plenty of 'find left' 'find right' 'wait' 'mind yer bum - I need to open that fridge door'.....That bit was OK. I did a 'find the checkout' then 'find the door'. Then it all went soggy yucky - in all ways. Soggy leakysky drippy schnozzle makes for a very ploddy Oakley. Oops!

I did get a good towelrub when we arrived. Mummy said she didn't want the new carpets decorated. I think they would have looked much improved with a few pawprints.....

Most of the rest of the day, I have spent watching Mummy and Daddy both do oooooooodles of that peculiar human behaviour where they stroke things with flappy things and squidgy things, adding stinky squirts from various bottles and hissytins. Every single bit of the flat has been subjected to this weird fussing. Then Mummy got one of those nasty noisy growly carpet stroking machines and pushed and pulled it all over every single bit of carpet, leaving it all with strange stripes. I kept well out of the way of that beast! I did sort out a few of the stripes afterwards though.....when it was safe - when the stroker monster had been given back to the ladyhuman next door - I had a wonderful roll and rub session. It was a great face and back massage!

In the midst of it all, i did take Daddy out for a bit of a respite leisure walkies. The leakyskies had stopped by then. It was all good again in Bournemouth!

Back in the Kennelblock!

Never a dull day in Oakleyworld!

Today has been all about asnoozing in a car. A long snooze on a long vroom. This long vroom has brought us to Bournemouth again - to the same humankennelblock again - and almost the same kennel within it! I tried to guide Mummy to it but Daddy took us to the next but one door.

The long vroom was broken by a very welcome workywalkies on another old stomping ground: Newbury! Oooooh! That was good! Mummy was super impressed with me for remembering the way and for being a super good boy in my working. It wasn't a super long workywalkies but it was a super good one - along some streets, over a bridge, along the towpath and through town, into the butchershop and then to the human yummyery. In there, we found some humanfriends; Chris and Sally, plus their grownup humanpuppies Sam and Becky. (Don't tell Mummy but I managed to do a bit of hoovering work under the table! She thought I was just being a fidgetbum! Heehee!)

A nice long walkies exploring this bit of Bournemouth again has been a welcome paw-stretcher this evening. Now, if you will excuse me though, I have a job to do: I have a bone to deal with! Thanks Mummy!

I'm Back! Fandabbydoozee!!!

Oh Boy!!! What a crazy few days!

We are now in a human yummyery where we have some of that interweb stuff, so we can do some catching up. I have carpet to snooze on so all is good!

The last few days have been all about gazillions of human back legs to guide Mummy around, with gazoodles of pooch pals to meet & greet and sometimes to 'Leave', a hamhoosive array of 'leave it' yummies all over the floor (I managed to snaffle a few but Mummy was far too vigilant!), and a squllionbillion fusses and admirations! Mummy says it was called the Crick Boat Show. She seems to be super pleased with me for all my hard work getting her around it all.

On Sunday morning, I had to get Mummy up onto the highfloor inside a hugenormous flappywalls where Daddy had been humanhowling into a lollipop, and stroking up and down on the long whiskers on his noisebox-with-a-long-stick. Mummy didn't do that, but she did do some yacketying into that lollipop thingy. I just had to lie down and look handsome! An easy little job!

There were lots and lots and lots of floatyboatyhomes. Mummy and Daddy went inside many of them. I got to go with them on some of them. Others I wasn't allowed on, so I had to stay onshore and look after a human. One of the humans I got to look after a couple of times was a nice ladyhuman who speaks Guide Dog speak! She is a Puppymummy! It was nice looking after her!

There was one floatyboatyhome that we all went on several times and Mummy and Daddy did oooooooooodles of yacketying with the humans on there too. I am getting the impression there was something a bit special about that one......

Yesterday, was the last day and, once the stand we were on was all packed up and we had said goodbyes to all our humanpals, I got my dinner. Then came a lovely end to the weekend; I got a very welcome relaxing freerun! Well....actually, it was more of a freewander really! I didn't really have the oomf left to run, but it was a super unwind for all of us! We wandered along the towpath and up and over a hill, then back along a bit more towpath. On the way, we had to go through a gate and into a field where Mummy was a meanie! She put me on my lead so I couldn't go play with the four-legged white clouds that were bouncing around in the field! I was a bit miffed about that, but the freedom was reinstated when we went through the gate on the other side of the field. The wander took us to another floatyboatyhome, belonging to humanpals John and Jane. I managed to wrap myself around the tablestick and have a good snooze while they all yackety-yacked. That was just nice before the return freewander.

Today was super fandabbydoozee! A day that starts with a freerun is always good, but this was a freerun with a Guide Dog colleague! Inez is a black girlie labrador x retriever. She is something called a Retired Guide Dog. I'm not sure what that means but it seems that she no longer has to do her job! I'm not sure what that must be like but I gather that it will happen to me sometime. I'm not sure what to think about that idea. Inez seems to be happy doing it though. She still seems like a colleague to me! More importantly though, she was great company to romp with and I got to take her (and her humans) to an old funplace called Millennium Woods. We went there three years ago when we last did this Crick thingy. It is a wonderfully woofy place with lots and lots of trees to water and long grass to roll in, and a good path route for the humans to cope with while we pooches got on with having fun!

Inez sometimes lives on a floatyboatyhome, but not all the time like I do. It was supergood to meet another me though! Our humans seemed to get on well too, so hopefully we will get to meet again......

A few photos of me with Inez this morning. All of them show us both having a wonderful time running and sniffing and chasing and rolling in long green grass with lots of trees all around. We did manage to sit still and pose for one picture!

Find the Co-Op!

7 locks - boring but yummy! 

 

Actually, I'm sure Mummy did windy-uppy-windy-downy-pushy-pully stuff on about 20 locks - we kept on going up and down and back again as lots of other floatyboaties came through before Daddy arrived with ours. All of it involved a lot of 'find the beam' etc and a LOT LOT LOT of 'Down. Stay'. It was a bit boring because I only got away with sniffing the grass within the range of my head-movement, but Mummy was pleased with me for doing a good 'Stay' and the 'Good boy!' was accompanied with a yummy each time! I can live with that!

We are now in another long-ago-familiar place. Mummy says it is called Crick. We have moored in a slightly different place to last time, but I still worked out how to find 'Up-slope' to the road, then along the pawment, through the bit of track behind trees, then 'Find the Co-op'. Mummy was impressed! She says it was three years ago that we were last here. Heehee! I do like to impress!

We wandered across the canal (well....over the bridge really!) to the giganticenormous field. There we found loads and loads of white flappy-walls buildings being put together and a few floatyboatyhomes arrived while we were there too. They weren't floating on water though; they were on the back of huge growly lorries. Most odd!

This evening, I have had to bring Mummy and Daddy to a pub across the way from our mooring. Apparently this is the only place we can get interweb (whatever that is). Mummy says this means that I might not be able to dogblog very regularly for the next few days. I will do my bestest but can't promise.

Two photos

1 showing me in a 'Good Boy Down Stay' beside a lock

the other is of me sitting at the spot where I got my first boater's baptism 4 years ago. Mummy says the bridge behind me in this photo is the M1 at Watford Gap. I have learned so much since then! Lesson one was not to try to jump aboard when the boat is moving!

Swallowed in a Tube!

I am not alone! I met another floatyboaty Guide Dog! Well, a retired girlie actually, but she has been a floatyboatyguidedog! Her name was Inez and she is a black beauty like me! Her humanmummy is a blinkie like my humanmummy and she was also carrying one of those strange bent bonethings in her front paw - the ones the humans use to do the windy-uppy-windy-downy stuff at the locks. We met at a lock and got to have a bit of a sniffygreet while our Mummies did some yacketying.

Inez doesn't live permanently on her floatyboatyhome like I do, but she does spend quite a lot of the warm days on it, then goes home to a house on the cold days time.

The rest of the day has been all about cruising and snoozing. There was one scary bit when floatyboatyhome got swallowed up into a big long dark tube. That didn't last too long though and I stayed inside with Mummy so it wasn't too bad.

2 photos:

Me meeting with Inez at the lock.

Me waiting by a white fence while Mummy was doing all her windy-uppy-windy-downy-pushy-pully stuff.

Sniffer Dog Oakley at Your Service!

I LIKE today! I've only workywalkiesded a tiny bit and that was this evening when it was a bit cooler and we went to a church (we normally do that in the morning but today was different).

The rest of the day has been taken up with TWO freeruns. This included TWO dips in the same lovely stream. Perfect cooling - and good bigshake splattering too! Heehee! The first freerun was through a big huge enormous field with a track for humans to plod along, I found myself a great toy! It was a wonderful stick! Mummy says it was half a tree and I am not supposed to play with sticks, so she wouldn't throw it for me. She says that would be dangerous and really not a good idea. I did my best to drag it along but it was a bit too big. I nearly succeeded in a good hefty thwack on her back legs but she heard it coming and managed to dodge out of the way! Humph!

After that, we went to the human yummyery opposite our mooring. There, we found Debbi and Ryan! Yayyyyy! The only minor disappointment was that I wasn't allowed to give Ryan my usual enthusiastic greeting. Apparently having a soggy belly makes for unwelcome cuddles! Oh well.... It was nice to snooze on the grass under the table while the humans did loads and loads of yacketying and noshing. The nice ladyworkyhuman there brought me a lovely big bowl of water and she had doggy biccies to offer too! She asked Mummy's permission to feed me and I had to sit like a good boy first but I got a lovely big crunchy biccie!

After that, it seemed that Mummy, Daddy, Debbi and Ryan needed to go walkies to 'work their meals down'. Well..... I couldn't complain about that opportunity could I? Another freerun through that same field! Yayy!

In the old pointy church this evening, I got to be a sniffer dog! There was a really interesting smell. The humans all thought it was disgusting. I would have simply loved to have been able to get to it for a good roll, but I couldn't! Apparently some little squeaky furry thing has started to rot under the floorboards somewhere and they can't find where. Mummy asked me 'where is it, Oaks? Show me. Find it'. Well, I had a good sniff around. There was one particular spot that I really wanted to get to. That delectable eau-du-dead-beastie was really enticing. Mummy led me to a slightly different place and said 'Is it here?' 'Find it'. I sniffed and sniffed and sniffed but my nose led me right back to 'that' spot again. It was great fun doing that and apparently it meant I was a really good and clever boy for helping them to know which floorboards they might need to lift up. I do like to be helpful!

2 photos:

One of me with my little twig I found to play with on my freerun.

Me workywalkiesing Mummy along the towpath on the way home after church this evening.

Daddy Barkday!

Mmmm....Chillylickycrunch!

A lazy start to the day - just a cruisin and a snoozin on the back deck. No locks. No team towpath. We moored up after just a short while and then went workywalkies. A little way along the towpath and over a bridge, then up a steep slope narrow twitten. I recognised where we were going! We've been here before. Mummy says it is called Braunston. It is where floatyboatyhome came from.

When we got to the top of the twitten and onto the road, Mummy and Daddy were unsure which way to go. They couldn't remember. Mummy said 'OK, let's see if you remember, Oaks. Find the butcher'. Of course I remembered! Straight up the road and turn right. After a short while the pawment gets too narrow, so we have to cross over, then back again a little further on - and straight to the door of that mouth-watering array of yummies behind windows! I think Mummy was a tad impressed! She even asked for some marrowbones for me but they didn't have any! Harrumph!

Next came the challenge; 'OK then smartypants, find the Co-Op'. Well that was no challenge at all. It was just across the road! Easy Peasy!

A trip around the shop to get some other human noshies, and we were outside again. 'Find home, Oakie'. I was not impressed with that idea! We had only been out a short while! I registered my disappointment with a firm deployment of severe ploddypaws mode! It worked! Daddy got out his talkybone and apparently it told him a different route. That was much better! We turned around and headed off down another road, then through another twitten, then across a field. I didn't get to freerun. Mummy said she needed me. I didn't mind. It was good to be exploring.

When we did get back home, Mummy opened the big white chillycupboard and I got a chillylickycrunch treat! Mummy said she had hoped it would keep me occupied for a good hour or so. Well that was a daft hope wasn't it! How could I leave all those yummy bits trapped inside that cold crunchy stuff? They all needed urgent rescue!

'MuckyPup' was then my new name. It would seem that I wasn't supposed to leave chunks of that cold crunchy stuff all over the floor! But.... but.... but.... I was saving that for later! I could have had it after I took Daddy for another walkies to the shop with all the floatyboatyhome medicines and toys in it.

When we got back from there, Daddy disappeared into the big den of the growling monster that lives under the back deck. When he came out he had big splodges of me-colour all over him. Apparently that was his task for the day - and today is his waggy barkday too! It seems he is very very old today!

Photo shows me licking at my 'ice lolly' - a green tray with chunks of carrot, peas and doggy treats frozen into water.

Contemplation.

'Find the beam', 'Find the bollard', 'Down. Stay', 'Up stand', 'Find the beam', 'Wait'.......'On we go. Next lock'......'Find the beam........Thirteen times! Oh, and some nice workywalkies along about 4 miles of towpath too!

This evening, I took Daddy for a leisurely stroll so Mummy could do her whiskerstick-floor-stroking thing and, when we came back, my bed had gone into hiding! It is now under the table. Mummy seems to think that me having three choices of sleeping places is a bit excessive, (Hufffff!) so she has put two into one. I'm not too sure what to think about this... I am currently registering my protest by sprawling across as much floor as I can manage to take up. I shall contemplate my thoughts here for as long as I can possibly manage to stay in the way!

Photo shows a sideview of me sitting waiting atop one of the locks, watching the world go by.....I'm sure there was a skitterjitter up that tree......

Otter Poo!

Team Towpath with a vengeance today! Four miles of challenging towpath and ten mahooosive locks!

The towpath started off nice and easy, but then got narrower and all nose-tickling overgrown. Some of the grass and other ticklytwigs were taller than me! Some of them made my nose explode too! One of those explosions was so big I bumped my nose on the ground in the process! Humph!

I had to strut my stuff looking after Mummy. At one point I had to stop her and give her a nuzzle on the back leg to warn her about the sticky-uppy tree-toes across our path. She was super impressed with me for that and told me what a clever boy I am. I thought that deserved a quick snack to celebrate and there just happened to be a suitable snack right by us. Mummy seemed a little unimpressed with my choice of self-congratulations. She said otter poo is not nice! Well, I think it would have been delicious had I been allowed to sample it! Harrrumph! Humans are so very discerning!

Photo of me guiding Mummy along the better bit of towpath to follow. Poor internet connection is stopping the upload!

Hoicked!

'Stay on the boat' was the command from Mummy, who was with me on the back deck, as Daddy was tying its leads to the ring things. 

 

Well I DID stay. 

 

I didn't jump off the back deck. 

 

She didn't say anything about the front deck! 

 

There was a tree there that sooooo needed a good watering....... 

 

Errrr.... I somehow don't think my initiative was quite appreciated..... Harrumph! 

 

Well... at least I got a moment's sniffing in before I got hoicked back aboard floatyboatyhome.

Fusses and Admirations!

A day that starts with a freerun is always good. When that freerun includes meeting a colleague it is ever better!

It was a nice bright light and we were on a good towpath so Mummy didn't need too mch help from me. That meant I got to enjoy a nice leisurely wander along with as much sniffing and weemailing as I liked! As I was a-wandering, I spotted a colleague coming towards us. I sat down and waited patiently for him to get to us but then my bum went into turbowag mode. His name was Yoshi and he was a ginormous yellow lab x retriever. We both really really wanted to play but Yoshi was not allowed because he has been poorly and has to only have little walks. It was still fabtabulous to meet up though.

Not very long after this, Mum asked me to 'head in' to my harness. It was work time. 23 locks and a lot of waiting, plus a good dose of fusses and admirations worth of work! Mummy started off trying to do some of that dissy plin stuff; asking me to 'Down. Stay' while she did all her windy-uppy-windy-downy-pushy-pully stuff. I did do it. I was a good boy. The problem was that lots of humans were not so good. At least they were not good in Mummy's opinion. In my opinion they were perfectly lovely. They all came up to me and got me out of my 'Down. Stay's for fusses and meetygreets. It seems that the squiggles on my harness that say 'Do not distract' don't apply to lots of people. Mummy gave up trying to get me to 'Down Stay' and went back to old methods of asking me to 'Find the bollard' (they were on the right side today!). Then I got attached to the bollard by my lead. That meant I still got the fusses and admirations but I couldn't get away! Huff!

Photo shows me in a 'Down Stay' beside the first lock of the day. This was before we reached all the humans that Mummy called Gongoozlers.

Super End to a Day.

Hmmm...This Dissy plin thingy seems to be spreading to lock working too!

Today, I have workywalkiesded Mummy for about 8 miles and 20 locks. That makes it a great team towpath day. Mummy seems to be less willing to let me sniff and exchange weemails along the way - that is a bit miffing, but she seems determined so I guess I will get used to it.

At the locks, where Mummy usually asks me 'Find the bollard' there were no bollards to find. They were all on the wrong side of the locks. On our side, there was just a big patch of long, highly munchable grass. The glowball was blasting us quite hot from the sky today so Mummy made me go into the areas under trees where the glow was not reaching. It was cooler there. Because there was no bollard or anything else to attach my lead to, Mummy just gave the 'Down' command, followed by 'Stay', and she left me lying there while she did all the windy-uppy-windy-downy-pushy-pully stuff. At the first lock, I stayed for a few moments then thought I had stayed long enough and so was entitled to get up again for a bit of a sniff about. Mum thought differently! She came back and 'reminded' me to 'down' again. This process was repeated once more at that lock. Then once more at the next lock. This time though, Mummy didn't come back to me. She just called out 'Down' from where she was. I downed and stayed! 'Good boy!'. I like being told I'm a Good boy! It makes my tail wiggle.

After this, I got the message and even managed to stay in my 'down stay' when doggypals came by. That got me megapraise and yummies! Well....OK....I may have been totally unable to resist a couple of puppies. A 7 month old Rottie girlie and a 4 month old black lab laddie were just too irresistible! Mummy forgave me for those two little blips in my dissy plin.

At the last lock of the day, Mummy was kind. She took of my harness and lead and let me enjoy a good sniff around. A few moments later, a couple of collies came along. That was a super end to a day of hard work. A few minutes of zoomies and chase!

Now, I do appear to be having a little difficulty in keeping my eyes open.......well....sofasnuggles with Mummy is a nice way to unwind!

6 photos of our lockworking day

1 of me sitting on the back deck watching the green water glide by

1 of a rather grey-speckled muzzle and a big black nose asnooze on Mummy's leg

 

No City Noise!

Team Towpath! Yayyy!

We are on the move again. I like it!

The day started with a trip to a new church. That meant lots of new humanpaws to love me! There were gazillions of minihumans so my ears got loads of tiny paws stroking them. I also got a nice carpet to snooze on through all the humanhowling. It was a bit loud at first but we moved to the back and that was much better. I kept Daddy's back paws warm for him.

Next came a tiny cruise backwards to the squirtysnake point to give floatyboatyhome a big drink. After that came a nice leisurely workywalkies along the towpath with Daddy chugging along behind. This came to an end when we reached a bit of towpath that had a big cage across it so we couldn't go any further. We hopped aboard for a nice gentle cruise. This has brought us to a lovely mooring with no city noise! Mummy especially likes moorings like this!

Jingly Jangly Clipcloppy Beasties!

Home again! Again again again.....

Thankfully, we didn't have to walk back along that horrid road with narrow pawment and lorries growling past uber-close. Papa drove us to the trainkennel. That was much more civilized. Thank you Papa! (I think I forgive you now for forgetting yummies!)

We had a few minutes wait - that was a few minutes of fusses and admirations from people who came to the trainkennel - so, no complaints! The train ride to big, beastie London was OK, except for the lack of carpet to snooze on! Slip-slidey floor is not so cozy! Then came the workywalkies from Victoria to Marley Bone. There were blue flashy neenaws all over the place and the cars and buses and lorries weren't doing much vrooming. Then we came to the end of a road to find that there were loads of jingly-jangly clipcloppy beasties with big manhumans on their backs in big pointy head-toppers. They all went clipclopping across in front of us and on up the road past the park. (They were daft to go the wrong way! Going INTO the park is MUCH better!) We went INTO the park! Yayyy!

I had to workywalkies Mummy a bit of a way through the park, but then we stopped and Mummy asked me to 'Find the seat'. I did! I wagged my tail and gave Mummy my bestest 'Please love me Mummy' look. It worked! Off with my harness! Off with my lead! Aaaaannnd.....just at the right moment too! A fantasmagorical buddy happened to be coming my way just at that moment! Henri the Bulldog was the bestest fun I've had in ages! We ran zoomies and chased and rolled and ....well....played boy doggy games.....for a wonderful and tongue-hangy-outy-puffy-panty half an hour or so! It was magnifical wonderiferous fun!

The rest of the workywalkies was perhaps a tad slower than it might have been! I think I was a bit pooped after all that exuberance but oooooohhhhh! It was soooooo worth it!

When we got to Marley Bone trainkennel, I got to zonk for a bit while we waited for our train home. (I still haven't found Marley or a bone there!)

On the workywalkies, Mummy was impressed with me because I remembered the way - every step of it! She didn't need to give me any directions. It was much easier than on the way yesterday - all the roads we had to cross had long pointy upturned bowls in a row across the end. These things seemed to have some power to stop cars and lorries and buses from turning, so I didn't have to do the usual wait...wait...wait at the kerbs!

On the train home, we started off sitting right next to the human spending room. There was a manhuman sitting with us who had a white stick-with-a-ball on the end. I stayed curled up on his back paws to make sure he was OK. When he got off, we moved to different seats. Apparently the ones by the smellyroom were really uncomfortable. Moving also meant more comfort for me: CARPET! Yayyy!

4 photos:

1 me lying on the blind manhuman's back paws on the train

3 of my funtime playing with Thierry.

 

 

Bigmouthed Box.

Phewwyy! I've worked my ba... errmm....paws off today!

It all started with bag-packing, then another session of that dissyplin thing. Then we set off to 'find the train'. That meant a workywalkies across Bumingham. That was fine. We got on the train - only to get off again at the next stop! Dad says that our one was cancelled. We got onto another one though and that was all good - a nice comfy carpet to snooze on. When I woke up, I had serious work to do: We were in that crazy London place!

We left the trainkennel and hit the streets. 'Let's go find the train' said Mum. Uh? But we only just left the train! Oh well... it was a good workywalkies and I remembered the route. Apparently we left Marley's Bone and went to Victoria via a lot of 'find the crossing's and 'find the kerb's, and via a delectable and very enticing Hidey Park. I was well miffed when Mum failed to ask me to stop in there for harness removal. Harrumph! We just kept workywalkiesing all the way!

Two more train rides later got us to completely new territory for a session of very serious workywalkies. It seemed to go on forever along a mega busy road with a very narrow pavement. Mum was a bit scared but I kept her on the straight and narrow. After a long walkies, Dad consulted his talkybone and it apparently told him that we had gone the wrong way. Mum really didn't want to walk back again beside that nasty road, so we went on a tiny way further to 'find the crossing'. Several crossings took us to the other side of the nasty road and on to a bus stop.

The bus then landed us near another 'find the crossing', which took us to a humankennelblock. When we got inside there my tail made my whole body wag! I found Papa! Yayyyyy! He is in the kennel opposite ours.

Next stop was the human yummyery, then my dinner, then off out again. This time we went in Papa's car and landed by a big pointy building. There, we found Debbi and Ryan! Yayyyy! It was another of those 'humanhowling sessions with lots of them up on a highfloor and Debbi sitting tickling the black and white teeth on the bigmouthed box. At the end, when all the humans were banging their front paws together, I managed to shove my head between the two seats in front and sneak a lovely ear-rub from the two ladyhumans sitting there. It made their mouths go up at the corners!

Now, we are back in our kennel and I seem to have rather heavy eyelids! Night Ni........zzzzzzzzz.....

It Fuffed Right up my Nose!

Ooh Eck! Daddy's at it too!

Walk a bit .... 'Sit' .... 'Let's go'.....walk a bigger bit....'Sit'....'Let's go'........and so on.......

I thought Daddy loved me! I thought he was the funtime walkies buddy! I thought wrong!

Is this dissyplin thing contagious?

I got it from Daddy this morning when I took him walkies into town (I had to wait forEEEEver in a shop where Daddy got his headfur snippetysnipped off). Then I got it again from Mummy this afternoon - first of all in the gardenish by our mooring, then off on a workywalkies along the towpath and back again.

I did get to have a bit of loonytime with a squishy green ball I found though! It was a little bit squishy when I found it. I soon made is super squishy and good to wap around my shnozzle! It didn't half make me jump though when I popped it! My fang sank into it and it fuffed right up my nose! Apparently my bunnyhop backwards was hilarious!

Paws!

Daddy's walked me off my paws again!

You will have to read tonight's blog to learn more... At the moment, there is a lot of clickertyfingersing going on, but I'm sure Mummy mentioned something about a worky-walkies aaaaaaggggggeeeeessssss ago. I can only snooze for so long during the day.

Now, where's my lead?

Random Sits and Downs!

Oooerrr! Strange happenings!

Mummy has been yacketying on her talkybone and it has been yacketying back at her - lots and lots and lots. I have heard stuff about 'training' and 'obedience' and 'practice'.....

This morning it happened! I got some 'obedience training practice'. I'm not too sure what is going on but it was quite good fun. It got me lots of 'Good boy' and fusses from Mummy. I am always happy to accept those.

We went out into the gardeny type area by our mooring and Mummy put me into my new noseband-and-lead-all-in-one. We walked a few paces, then she told me to 'sit'. There was no apparent reason for this, but I did it anyway. 'Good boy. Let's go'....a few more paces then... 'Down'. I was a bit less keen to do this but she clicked her pawpointers and pointed to the ground. That meant business! I went into a 'down'. 'Good boy. Let's go'..... this continued at random points - sometimes a 'sit' and sometimes a 'down' - to and fro and around and about the gardeny place.

After many of these repeated random sits and downs, I had to sit and stay while Mummy walked away from me. Then she turned around and called 'Oakie come'. I zoomed in for a super fuss and praise session! Next time it was a 'Down. Stay' and then 'Oakie come'

After all this peculiarity, it was on with my harness and off into town with Daddy tagging along. I tried to get in a few sneaky sniffs and snaffles but today Mum was having none of that! Huff! It seems it is game over and Mum is talking about getting me 'out of bad habits'. I really have no idea what she could possibly mean......

Headless Mummy!

Surely I must need at least double rations for tonight's dinner.....

Daddy has walked me off my paws! It was worth it though - it was a trip to Pets at Home to get a big bag of my nosh!

Mummy stayed home today to rest. She has been eating little white disks and saying she needs her head to go away! I'm not sure I want to guide a headless Mummy! She seems a lot more like my proper Mummy again this evening though so I think it was a good move for her to stay home and let me exercise Daddy!

Now....There is a huuuuuuge bag of my din dins out on the front deck and it isn't yet inside the meanie box that won't let me in......I'm sure it needs to be tested .... quality control......

Wobly Humans!

Hotdog! Mum offered to put me in a bun! I'd rather put the bun in me!

We've done 8 locks today and, while working each one, Mummy told me to 'Lie down' in the shady area wherever there was one. It was quite nice lying down on the cool grass but I really wanted to be beside Mummy. I was a good boy though. I did stay where I was told to. Then, when Mummy called me 'Oakie come' I trotted along as best I could with my lead trailing between my legs (how undignified!) and bounced my bum down triumphantly in front of her to make sure she realized just how good I had been. It got the right result: a yummy each time! Heehee!

Eight locks was enough for today though, so we cruised the rest of the way. That was nice - just lying on the back deck watching the water slide past. There were some pairs of big honking featherballs with little tiny cheeping puffballs with them, and a pair of quacking featherballs with even tinier puffballs - loads of them! I so would have loved to check them out more closely but they stayed away from our floatyboatyhome.

By one of the locks, under a bridge, there was a group of humans all gathered. They all had shiny bones in their front paws that they kept putting to their mouths and slurping. They were a bit wobbly! Most of them were also putting little smoking twigs in their mouths and then huffing out some stinky puff. Mummy was yacketying with some of them for quite some time and I got some nice ear rubs too. Then two of them went to help Daddy with our floatyboatyhome. It had got stuck on shopping trolleys and so the wobbly manhumans got hold of the floatyboat's lead and heaved it along. I got more ear rubs when they came back! I like those wobbly humans!

Photo shows me and Mummy atop a lock with floatyboatyhome going into the lock.

Helping with the Sorting Out.

I had to work today before I got to relax outside floatyboatyhome! Wellllll....a little bit of workywalkies is always good and today it was to go find humanfriends at church. I successfully guided Mum and Dad back via the freerun route too! I think I can declare that a good and successful bit of work!

Before returning to our floatyboatyhome, I got to go explore Isaac and Marley's garden outside their floatyboatyhome.

This afternoon, I mainly enjoyed a lie out on the grass beside home, but Mum and Dad were doing some of their peculiar 'sorting out' stuff. That included putting a bag on the grass containing three bones! There are only two in there now! Mummy says I am a cheeky imp for helping myself. I think I was just helping with the sorting out! I made a pretty good job of sorting that bone out! It is much smaller now!

Stolen Bones.

Aaaaaannnnnddd .......R e l a x!

Yep! That about sums up today. A ride with Daddy in the big car, then a walkies back. Another leisurely walkies this evening. In between has been all about asnoozin on the grass.

Jessica terrier stole a toy yesterday. Isaac husky stole 3 bones from my collection today. It is good to share! 

 

Photo of me lying in the sunshine on grass beside floatyboatyhome.

Pooch Paradise!

Home again! Yayy!

It has been a rather splendid day too! OK, the looooooong journey was a bit tedious, but I did get a lovely couple of freeruns and only a tiny bit of work to do.

It all started off with a sausage! I guided Mummy to the yummyery in the humankennelblock. I laid down like a good boy under the table while Mummy and Daddy tortured me with the smells of bacon and sausages and eggs and.....ooooh! It did smell mouth wateringly good. Then Mum dropped a sausage right by me! Well...I couldn't leave that there to make the carpet dirty could I? Heehee!

Next, Daddy disappeared and left me to supervise Mummy packing everythign into the wheeliebag. Then there was a knock at our humankennel door. It was our humanpals John and Barbara come to visit! John has yummy ears and they most definitely needed a good clean out! Delivery of such cleaning service makes my tail go very waggy! They didn't stay long but it was lovely to meet n greet them. Daddy came back while they were with us. Then it was time for bags and everything else to be packed into the car. But it was a different car! Apparently that was where Daddy went - to swap the car. Apparently the other one had something wrong with it and needs to go the carvets. The new one was even niceer! Big and high up and ooodles of luxurious doggy-stretch-out-space!

This car was also nice because it took me to the Clifftop Park for a wonderful freerun. I met up with Lucy and Lola too; my little whippet pals. It wasn't a massive long freerun but it was very enjoyable before settling down for the loooooooooong journey on all the zoomy roads. (Well....they are supposed to be zoomy, but some of them were very ploddy).

After a big long snooze, the car stopped and it was time for a doggy necessity break. I watered the tree outside and then took Mummy to the human necessarium inside. Then I had to endure more humanyummies time. Next though was another welcome surprise; another freerun! Daddy says the place was called Cherwell Services where lots and lots of cars and lorries and coaches stop for a break. Behind the building is a wonderful pooch paradise! A mile-long track of freerun territory beside a little streem and with loads of trees and open spaces to run and sniff and have a real proper leg-stretch!

That made the last bit of the journey all snoozy too! I like snoozy journeys after freeruns. Much nicer than travelling with too much zoom left inside me!

I did have to do some workywalkies taking Mummy aroudn a huge Morrisons shop, but I managed to clean a stray carrot from the floor to fuel me for the rest of the work around the shop.

When we arrived back at the cage where our floatyboatyhome is, I was greeted by another girlfriend; Little Jessica, the terriermess who lives on one of the other floatyboatyhomes here. That was a very nice welcome home, even if she did steal one of my toys and run off with it! Heehee! She can have it! I love her!

Photo shows me in the open space of the freerun area behind Cherwell Services.

Heeeheeeheeeee!

Yahyaayyy!!! I got a freerun! I got a freerun! I got a freerun!

The hotball was glowing big and bright in the sky and, after a little while at the flat, I set off with Mummy on harness to go workywalkies into town. We didn't get far though; just to the corner. Then Papa came up the hill towards us! So, after a quick doggy necessarium on the grass, we returned to the flat. Huff! I thought. It wasn't for too long though and then we set off again. This time, Papa came with us. That meant that, as we just happened to be going via the Clifftop Park, I got to enjoy a good romp around while Papa sort of did my job for me. I even met my long-lost girlfriends, Lucy and Lola the Whippets!

We continued on down the long steep slope towards the gardens and then town. About half way down, there were some big bleeping roaring beastie machines rumbling about on the paw-way. Mummy harnessed me up again at that point and workywalkies began again. We went into town and said tattybyes to Papa, then I had to 'Find the bank' for Mummy. I took her straight there and in the door, even though the entrance we used to use was all blocked by some big poles. Next stop was a funny little shop where a manhuman made some vsvsvs noises with a machine and then handed Mummy some of those funny little shiny sticks that go into holes in doors.

We then went on a rather extended workywalkies around parts of town that I didn't recognise. I rather suspect that Mummy didn't recognise them either! It was a much longer route back than we have ever taken before. We made it though.

This afternoon brought another workywalkies. This time I knew exactly which way to guide Mummy (Daddy came too). Mummy simply said 'Let's go find Teri'. Off we set and went to the clinkyclunky ladyhuman who seems to hurt Mummy and Daddy but yet leaves them with uppy-cornered mouths! Weird!

Ooh! Did I mention? I got a FREERUN? Heeeheeeheeeee!

I Do Love My Job!

Mummy's hero this morning.

The sky was big bad leaky so I really had to work my bestest to guide Mummy. The super-leaky sky meant that she needed to pull her hood up over her headfur. She hates doing this because she says it blocks out the sounds of the vrooms on the road. It was also huffyfuffy which makes this effect even worse. Also, when the sky is leaking it makes her eye-windows all blurry so she takes them off. Apparently this makes her eyes even more blurry! So, basically, she placed her life in my paws as we went workywalkies. The road was super busy with slow creepy-crawly cars and buses and big beastie rumbly lorries. In some ways, this makes it easier for us to cross the side roads, but in other ways it makes it even harder for Mummy to hear what is going on because the vroomers and rumblers and growlers all fill her ears up and leave no room for anything else. For the first few side-roads this was OK as they are rarely used. So, I stopped Mummy at the kerb and she was able to listen and hear that it was safe to cross, so she told me 'Oakie Forward'. There was one road, however, where we did this and Mummy told me to 'Forward'. As we started to cross, a car came zooming around the corner and so I had to bring Mummy to an emergency stop! We made it safely to the kerb and Mummy made a big fuss of me and told me what a hero I am! I thanked her with a super big shake that gave her a good shower! Heehee!

Most of the rest of the day has been uneventfully spent much the same as yesterday, but with a lovely freerun in the middle! I got to explore my old playground of the Clifftop Park! Mummy said something about needing a break and a breath of fresh air to help with her buzzzing head from all the information given by the visitors yesterday and today. Daddy was in need of the same. I was very happy to help with that! It seems that the Clifftop Park is a good place to de-buzz and humanhead! It is certainly a good place for a doggy to enjoy a good buzz about!

This evening, after a brief return to our humankennel for my dinner, and for Mummy and Daddy to change into different fursubstitutes, I had to step into workywalkies mode again. This time, it was to take them to a human yummyery. I endured the smells from under the table but then got to guide Mummy (with Daddy too) back to the humankennelblock, via the longer route back through the gardens. I had to work rather than freerun, because it was getting dark and so Mummy really needed me again. I got a yummy chewstick for doing a good job! I do love my job!