Tenkay

More training! I think I am going to like this ongoing process. It simply seems to mean lots of nice long workywalkies.

Mum says we clocked up another 4.2 miles today. We went a new route. It was all very exciting, even though it was just a leisurely wander along towpaths. On the way back, I had to give Mum a nuzzle on the knee to point out that we had taken a wrong turn. She is so daft sometimes! I got her back on track again though and we made it safely back home.

If anyone would like to sponsor us for this Brighton Tenkay thingie then please go to:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=TraceyOakleyClarke&pageUrl=1

Weemails & Sniffings.

Training. Mum says we are in training. I like it!

This training seems to involve long workywalkies. Yessssss!

Mum says it is because we are going to be doing a tenkay in April. I have no idea what that is but I am very happy to help with this training thingy!

Today, I have taken her for another nice workywalkies with no shoppyplaces, no buses, no trains, no kerbs, no crossings...... just tail-wagging walkies! We went on a different towpath route to yesterday and it was great! All I have to do is to keep Mum out of mischief between the water and the trees/walls/grass the other side of the path.

Apparently we did 4.3miles of it today and Mum was happy with that. She says this tenkay will be 6.2miles (all these numbers.....) and we hope to do that in less than 2.5 hours. I'm sure I could do it in far less time and I would cover at least triple the distance along the way too (Labradors are not supposed to walk in straight lines! There are far too many weemails and other important sniffings to investigate either side!)

One thing that puzzles me is that training for me usually involves little morsels of yummies when I get it right. Mummy says she needs to be eating LESS yummies. She says she is trying to lose lots of stones! I don't understand this, but I do keep offering to help her with the yummies but she declines. She says that I don't need any of them! Hoooooowwwwwlllllll!

Rough Night!

Cor! What a night! Huffety-fuffety-rocky-wump! Our little floatyboatyhome was wiggling and bumping all night! Then the big flashes and loud rumblesky too! It was not our bestest night's zizzing! After the big angry rumblysky I went to the back to check on Mummy and Daddy. They were OK but Mummy came and put me back to bed with some extra snuggles and loves!

This morning, we cruised - all of about a minute's worth! It was just to the other side of the canal where Daddy then fed the boat with the squirtysnake. While he was doing that, I took Mummy for a nice long workywalkies, just for the pleasure of going walkies! It was a nice easy, leisurely 4 miles along the towpath and back. The bonus was a brief freerun in a park we found at the turning point on the route! That was great fun. Mum said I had the wind up my bum and it was sending me nutty! Well, it was a bit fuffy and it was blasting straight from behind us! Brrrr!

Now, after a rough night and a good walkies, there is only one thing to do; snooze!

Photo of me with my head on Mum's big crowshaved cushion.

Yay. We've had Visitors!!!

There are some nice humans in this Bumingham place. I found them today! I took Mummy and Daddy workywalkies into the town centre shoppyplace again. There were still some people who seemed really scared of me and they did a funny little sideways jiggety-zip away from me. Actually, that kind of makes my job easier because it means they open up the path in front so I can guide Mum through! I don't like it though, when humans are all scared and upset. I want to go to them to show them my loves. Mummy says that is not a good idea.

We went into lots of different shops today and I got lots and lots of fusses and admirations from many different people.

All in all, it was a good 4.5 miles of workywalkies.

Back aboard floatyboatyhome, we got visitors! Humanfriends we haven't seen for aaaaageses. It was Pete and Helen Carter from Newbury, plus their minihumans too. I enjoyed greeting them but then I retreated to the back of the boat to leave them to their hot brown drinks and yacketying. I don't like to get in the way! Apart from which, visitors need my bedsofa to sit on and my bedcover gets removed!

This evening, I took Daddy out for a quick leisure walkies. When we got back, we found that Mum had been doing her floor-stroking thing again. I soon sorted out her error! The floor is now once again nicely decorated with paw-prints! Much more proper!

Just one further thing: We still have a few calendars and would prefer them to be hanging on walls than staying in a box here. So, we have reduced the price to just £5 now. All proceeds will still, of course, go to Guide Dogs via my fundraising account, to sponsor a puppy to be trained to change the life of a Vision Impaired Person.

www.guidedogoakley.org.uk/shop.html

Big Scary Solid Beast! No, not me...

Phew! I still have the same soft silky highly strokable ears! Has anyone got their waggy new ears?

Well, last night was peculiar: At around the time when Mummy would normally be snuggling me night nights, we went out! A short workywalkies to the church we went to in the morning. There were gazillions of humans in there! We just about squeezed into the last seats at the very back. Apparently it was a 'New Ears Celebration'. It would seem that when humans get new ears, they do loads and loads of humanhowling about it! Lots of them were doing jiggetywiggling too, and banging front paws together too. There were the noisyboxes of various kinds on the highfloor at the front, as well as humans howling into lollipops, and a manhuman in a box beating the living daylights out of the round things! It all seemed very happy; they all had upturned mouthcorners! I just tucked myself away under the seat and snoozed through it all as best I could! Well....it was way past my bedtime anyway!

This morning, we had a bit of a lie-in. Daddy says the tickydisk was telling 9.30 when I squeaked for my first 'let me out please'.

We've had a wander around town (thankfully it was much less crowded than the other day and I didn't meet any nasty human backpaws this time). We went into a huge pointy building, where we met a manhuman wearing a long black ladyhuman-like fursubstitute. Mum says he was a Rev-ended Cannon. He was very nice and Mum and Dad yacketyied with him for a while. I just sniffed - I smelled a colleague! He said I was the second Guide Dog to visit today!

Outside, there was a big high rock-tree-thing with a very solid-looking manhuman standing on top. I had to do a 'sit' beside it while Dad pointed his talkybone at me.

In the shoppyplace part of town, there was a big scary solid beast. Mum says it is a statue of a bull. I was a bit wary of it but I was brave and took Mum to pose by it for Dad to do his talkybone thing again.

Now, we are back home and all cozy again. My tummy is telling me it is dinner time but Mum says I shouldn't be ready yet because breakfast was so late. What IS she on about? What difference does that make? Honestly! Humans just don't get dogs do they?

3 photos:

 

Me curled up under the seat last night in church.

Posing next to the statue outside Bumingham Cathedral.

Posing with Mum next to the big scary bull statue.

Sofasnuggles or out? Decisions, decisions...

Mum says that today is the day to wish everyone a WAGGY NEW EAR.

I have absolutely no idea why anyone would want a new ear - definitely not a waggy ear but I will do as I am told;

W A G G Y   N E W   E A R to each and every one of my fans.

Mum says we are off out again in a little while....but it is sofasnuggles time.....oooooohhhh.....I love my sofasnuggles time.......but.....going out again.....Yeah! OK then! Let's go....let's go....let's go......

A Real Black Labrador!

Barking mad humans!

After a workywalkies to Sainsbury's and back, we then set off workywalkies to a huge building; one of those with lots of seats inside - all rows of them up a slope, and a highfloor at the front. I got my own space next to Mum's seat. Mum says it is a wheelieseat space, but,a s there was no wheelieseat, I got to stretch out on the carpet!

After all the seats were filled up, the glows went dark and then some humans appeared on the highfloor with some doggythings. They looked like Dalmatians but they weren't real. The humans had their front paws in places I'm sure they shouldn't have been! Those doggythings were prancing all over the place and doing all sorts of strange things, but all in a kind of dog-like way. It was all very peculiar.

Then a huge doggything (like a Great Dane) appeared right beside me and the manhuman with his front paw in unspeakable places started to bark! It was a huge, loud, deep scary bark! I hid under Mummy's seat! I wasn't gonna get got by that barking mad manhuman! He was loud!

After a while there were loads and loads of Dalmatian puppythings on the highfloor too. and a hissing furball thing as well! My world was utterly crazy!

Mum and Dad had little pots of cold stuff. Mummy was really nice to me and let me wash up her little pot. That was super yummy and took away the scares!

In one bit of this weirdness, a manhuman from the highfloor came in the door beside me. He was yelling out something about finding the puppies. I think I made him jump a bit. He said something like 'Oh my dog! There's a real puppy here!' That made everyone laugh!

When it was all over, all the humans spent ages banging their front paws together. Then Mum harnessed me up again and I guided her out. Lots of humans, including lots of minihumans who were sitting in the seats, remarked about the 'real black Labrador' as I strutted my stuff for Mum.

three photos:

Me sitting in my special space beside Mum. There are lots of empty seats around. This was before everyone else came in to fill them all up.

Settling In.

Me sitting in front of a big flappy wall thing showing the black and white dotty dogs called Dalmatians.