Although Easter was mainly damp we did manage to catch a bit of sun between the showers. The twins enjoyed helping me out on the walks… Oliver was in charge of ‘stick throwing’ and Emily was ‘adventure captain’.
(photos at Henley Common)
We finally have a female dog in our pack! Carla is a lovely gentle giant who loves a good game of stick and plays beautifully with the other dogs. She is fitting in fantastically well and is always a pleasure to walk.
Also, hello spring! Its finally drying out under foot and the muddier paths are now firm enough to walk on without fear of losing a welly. Horay!
(Photos at Marley Common and Bramshott Common)
On Wednesday I took the dogs for wander around Waggoners Wells. After a few minutes of standing on the side the ducks came over to have a look at us. This is Sanchez’s ‘looking at ducks’ face…
He was very good and didn’t dive straight in after them. He looked at me with a sideways glance as if to say “is it ok if I get in?”. I gave him the nod and off he went…
And then much to my surprise, Milo plucked up the courage to jump in too. Normally he won’t even step in a puddle!
… the obligatory shake… definitely more effective OUT of the water…
…followed by a manic run around to dry off…
Monday’s dog walk at Bramshott and Wagonners Wells. Distance: 3.6 miles (5.8 km). Time taken: 1 hour 16 minutes.
Walkers Info: The route is mostly on dry, well-made, wide paths so great for wet weather, particularly on higher ground. The ‘straight’ along the bottom of the map is on an old disused road with tarmac under foot. The South East corner of the route passes quite close to the A3 and so dogs that like to ‘explore’ are probably best kept on a lead at the 2 closest points. Some of the lower paths are a little muddy, mainly those leading down to and away from Wagonners wells, although the paths surrounding the ponds are fairly dry with lots of protruding roots. The route was walked at a fast pace but with a few stops for the dogs to play on route.
While browsing the web I came across this interesting article and infographic about how much exercise various breeds of dog need. Some of the breeds are exactly where you’d expect on the scale but some of the breeds are surprising. It goes to show that size is no indication at all of the amount of exercise needed with the Great Dane coming in at the bottom end of the scale! It’s interesting to see that Huskies and Retreivers need less exercise than Boxers or Rottweilers and that the Cocker and Cavalier Spaniels need considerably less exercise than the English Springer Spaniel. Well worth a read, especially for anyone considering getting a puppy… https://www.petfitclub.org.uk/diet-tips/dogs/exercise-dog
Milo has found the most exciting pine cone in the entire world! I’m not sure why it was so exciting to him but the moment he saw it he lept on it in a kind of pine cone attacking frenzy that involved throwing it up into the air, pouncing, snuffling it into the ground, digging around it and then running at break-neck speed around it before starting again. He literally went bonkers! And strangely, when we returned to the same spot the following day he immediately went into a frenzy again.
This has been a playful week all round. Sanchez has been unusually boucy too and has even joined in a few games of fetch much to Milo’s delight. (Photos at Bramshott Common)
We have a new doggy too! A little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Archie… He joined me on a wander across Marley Common this Thursday.
