What a Fun Day!

Heeheehee! Well.... THAT worked a treat! Soggy belly.......no harness! Yessss!

Actually, of course, I love my job and I don't mind at all when Mum puts my harness on me. It means I get to strut my stuff looking after her. I did my fair share of that today; about 6 miles of so of it: to and from church, around Lidl's and then around a hoooooooooggggeeenormous garden place. I thought it was going to be workywalkies all the way - even though it was a sort of parkyplace. Mum says it was called The Vyne - National Trust place. 

After a long workywalkies around the place though, we came to a woodland trail. Mum asked me to 'sit' and took off my harness and lead/noseband. Then came that bestest of all command 'Go play'! Yaaayyyyyhaaayyyyhayyhayyhayyyy! Dad did my job of looking after Mum. (Thanks Dad!) and I had a good old romp around.

I found a place for a delectable cool down sploshy session. I shall make note of the consequences - Mum said she couldn't really harness up a soggy scruffamuffin so I only got to go back on lead when we got to the bit where I was no longer allowed to freerun. Reeeeesult!

Various photos of my freerun
Running and sniffing about in the undergrowth, wading shoulder deep in the stream, catching a yummy in mid air and sitting patiently waiting for Dad when he disappeared to the manhumans spending room.

Parked Like a Twat.

"What a good boy!" I like to hear that from Mummy. I did my job good!

I was workywalkiesing Mummy through Newbury when I had to halt us. There was a car parked right smack bang in the middle of the pavement. Blocking our way completely. Now, normally, I would take Mum to the kerb and wait for her to work out that I am taking her offkerb to go around the obstacle. This time it was different though. This was a nasty road with big beastie vroomy things whizzing by. Not a safe option for an off kerb. Mum stood for a few moments trying to work out the best thing to do. She was muttering to me stuff like 'I guess we will have to turn back .....go the longer way around.....' Then a ladyhuman got out of the car and came up to us. She said something about 'Sorry .......wait 10 minutes and I will be out of the way.....'

Mum was not amused. I could feel her getting stroppified. She said something about that parking on the pavement breaking something called the law....... Then the ladyhuman got all megastroppy and started angrybarking at Mummy. Then with a big huff (better than I can huff!) she stomped off into the road and stuck her front paws up in the air. This made the cars stop coming. Then she barked something at Mum and Mum, all flusterified, asked me to 'Find the way round'. Of course I did and we carried on our way, but stroppyladyhuman yelled something else at Mum as we passed her.....
The rest of our workywalkies was very uneventful. Dad picked us up in the car and we went off for a little ride before returning back to floatyboatyhome to receive visitors. That meant a nice long snoozetime for me.

I'm carefully looking after Mum's leg now - under my head! Night night.....

Black Bits, Flashy Bowls and Buzzy Machines...

Mum says this shows why I am needed. She says this blob shows how tiny her window of vision is. This is why I have to work so hard to keep her from bumping into things. She can't see anything around her edges. She says the black bits are where she doesn't see anything. The little white bit in the middle is where she can see. Today was quite a good eyes day so she did see about as well as she is likely to.

This morning, I had to guide her to Specsavers. She then put her head right close in front of a big upright bowl thing. It had little lights flashing inside it and she was supposed to press a button when she saw one of the lights. She didn't press the button at all, so the nice ladyhuman bleeped some other buttons and then Mum did the flashy bowl thing again. This time she did press the button a very few times. 

It was all a bit boring really. I just made use of the carpet for a snooze! Next, I had to take her to a little shop across the road. The manhuman in there took her shinysticks that she uses to open the front door of the boat and to operate the control boxes on the bridges across the canals. Mum often tries to use the wrong one because they are both the same shape. The nice manhuman in that little shop made a nasty bbvvvvvzzzzz noise with a machine and Mum was delighted to find that he had made one of the shinysticks a different shape. Now she can tell them apart! Yayy!

This afternoon, I rescued Daddy by taking him out for a nice long leisure walkies. When we got back we found we had definitely had a lucky escape. Our floatyboatyhome smelled of loads of that stuff she uses when she gets carried away with stroking cloths and whiskersticks and things. I did manage to come back with slightly damp paws so I sorted out some of the mess Mum had made with all her strange doings!

Photo shows Mum's field of vision test printout for her right eye. (Left eye is not measurable, as it really doesn't work at all). It is a black blob with a tiny white section just to the left of the centre.

Bum Sniffs!

Under the table. That's where I've spent a lot of my time today, while all the humans have been non-stop yackety-yackety-yackyackyacking. Their form of communication is soooooooo blimmin long and drawn out! What's wrong with a quick bum sniff? That tells every detail needed! Their eating takes ages too. 30 seconds is all I need to gallumph my meals. They seem to take hours over it!
Dogs vs humans in superiority contest = NO contest!

Poked and Prodded!

SIX AND A QUARTER MILES! That's how far I've workywalkiesded Mummy today. It has been hot too and she has the audacity to call me Ploddypaws! Huffffffff!

Actually, the slow-down-protest was because we were heading back instead of going further on more adventures. Going back is boring! More adventures is much more exciting.

This morning's workywalkies was to the vet! Apparently I needed my regular 6-monthly check up. Mr Vetman poked and prodded all my delicate places, then terrified me with his shiny ear-tube thing, but I survived having that pressed against my chest. I rolled over on my back. It was much less scary that way up! Then he got a shiny biter and bit a chunk off one of my claws! He stole a bit of me! Hoooooowwwwwllllll! 

He did say I was all good though. My numbers are good at 29kg and all my pokey and proddy bits are apparently in good order.

I think I should have got some kind of edible apology for all that shenanegins. All I got was a pat on the head from Mr Vetman! I want to go back to the vet I saw last time - she had yummies! I do remember she stuck her pawpointers where I didn't want them, but she had yummies! That makes the rest OK. Maybe next time......

This evening, I took Mum and Dad out of the floatyboatyhomekennel, over the bridge and back along the towpath. There, we met some humanfriends on their floatyboatyhomes, and, more importantly, my pooch pal, Bess! I got to go snooze on her floatyboatyhome for a while too! Yayhayy!

Photo of me lying on my back while Mr Vetman does his poking and prodding stuff.

University Trip!

Today's fuss-fest. It is such hard work being so admired! Aaaaalllll those ear-rubs. Aaaaaallllll the belly tickles. And, of course a good dose of kanoodling with other Guide Dogs and a GuideDogPuppyInTraining.

All of this adoration came after a good workywalkies taking Mummy to the train station, then on the train, then around Reading shoppyplace, then on the bus, then around the University grounds. Then, after all that hard work being irresistible, I had to workywalkies the return journey - and that included finding the way around the University grounds to 'Find the bus stop' when Mum couldn't work out which way to go. 

Then, after a brief time back home aboard floatyboatyhome, including a quick dinner, we were off out again - this time in the car with Daddy, to go play on the big bus and get yet more adoratiion from the bigminihumans.

Now, if you will excuse me, I really do have an enormous need for beauty sleep. Mummy......leg here please......my head is very very heavy.......zzzzzzzzzz

Huff, Huff and Treble HUFF!

Dullelm! Nice little outing! I don't think so!

That's what Mum said when she harnessed me up this morning: Just a nice little outing and then back for a quiet day.' Well! I can think of plenty of places that would fit the bill of 'nice'. Dullelm is NOT one of them! There is nothing even remotely sniffably interesting in there! Nothing even vaguely edible! Just boring old human stuff. Huff! Huff! Huffety Huff! I registered my protest by lying down at the end of the aisle while Mum did her browsing thing. Thanfully, she didn't do much of it this time. Just one aisle, then 'Come on Sulkysocks. Find the downsteps'. 'Find the checkout'. 'Find the door'. and finally 'find the way home'. I plodded as slowly as I could possibly manage........

It has been nice to snooze and relax with my bone for the day though. All rounded off with a nice leisure walkies this evening with Daddy. We came back to find Mummy with purple headfur. She really does do some strange things.......

Huff! Apparently midnight is an inappropriate time to be doing serious work on my bone! But...but...but.... I simply have to finish getting that deliciously gooey bit out of the middle! It's not my fault it clonks so loud on the wooden floor!