I went for a WALK!

What a big exciting world it is out there.

I went out of the gate on my new lead! Maia and I walked (well pranced a bit) 'around the block' turn left out of the gate, through another gate, along a hard road, across a bit of grass, along another road, turn left again and along our rumbly bumby road back our gate. I saw so many new things, hedges, gardens, people and cars. Loads of new smells too. Oh wow – can I go again please???

Ah, that's what it's for!

I know what the green harness is for. You wear it to go in the back of the car, not on the dog shelf but sitting on the back seat! We tried it out yesterday evening. I'm not sure about it, the other girls know where they sit and I've not found my place yet, I'm sure they'll make space for me; we'll have to try again.

New Clothes

Yesterday (Wednesday) was very good. To start with I got a new lead. It very smart, rope like the big girls but it clips onto my collar. It's a lovely shade of deep purply-red. And for once it's brand new not a hand-me-down. I got to try it out by walking round the garden, it goes very well. Then after a bit of sleep we went upstairs and flapped a yellow duster around – that's great fun. We also looked in lots more cupboards and out of one of them came a green harness. It fits round my chest and over my back; the girl fiddled with the straps and buckles and made it fit me very comfortably. I can run and jump and play and it doesn't bother me at all. But then it was taken off and I've not seen it since.

A weekend of outings.

On Saturday I went in the car four times! First time was to the vet for another needle. It was very interesting. There were lots of other animals and I got weighed again. I'm 9.7kg – even the vet (a nice lady vet this time) said I was big for my age and she commented on the glossiness of my coat. Then back in the car for trip number two and this time we came back to the house. I was just settling down when I was put in the car again; this was a quick one with a very short stop but only The Mother got out of the car and then got back in and we ended up back at the house. I had a good sleep after that and then – we got in the car again! This time all my people got out and I was left in the car with only Maia. But it wasn't for too long and my Girl came back and we set off again only to end up back at the house again. After tea the other black girls went out (in the car I think) leaving me to play with Cara. When they came back they brought nice smells of food. We got some of it, it's called rice and it's sticky but tastes very nice which makes it worth while chasing the silly little bits all over the floor.

I'm getting very good at stairs now and can even manage to dismantle and climb over the barrier at the bottom of the stairs to go exploring.

I've had some more time walking round and round the garden on my lead. I think I'm getting better.

More adventures....

Monday - We had visitors today. Flag came to say hello, he's been in the wars and is wearing the most ridiculous lampshade. He was quite embarrassed about it and didn't want to play.

Tuesday – today's excitement was a new toy – it's a bell with a ball around it and it jingles when you roll it. It's really, really good. And more visitors, the people from the 'shop' (whatever that is) came to say 'Hi', they really liked me and stayed for a while. They have two Labradors but I wasn't allowed to meet them.

Wednesday – another boring day although there was a delivery of lots of boxes which were carried upstairs. After the boxes went upstairs they came back down again! My people do some very strange things. But I was allowed to investigate the boxes and I had lots of bits of cardboard to play with. I like cardboard. Later on after tea I worked out how to get past the boxes and climb the stairs, it's really good up there, lots of new rooms and things to sniff, lick, pounce on. And the doggie in the window is still there, I wonder it what it does when we're not there. I hope it doesn't get lonely.

When I went out after supper there was a strange browny green waddling thing, it didn’t taste very nice at all. Maia says it's a toad and to pick them up you carefully slide your bottom jaw under its belly and lift, that way you don't get the nasty taste on your tongue, but I don't think my mouth is big enough yet. I hope it comes back soon then I can try it.

Thursday. More office work, but I've been upstairs again. I really do like it up there. I walked round the garden on my lead again today. I'd still rather explore on my own but then again I do like all the good girls.

Oh no.

That damn puppy is now back in our bedroom so there's no rest at all. I must say it's stopped yipping and Maia is very good at diversions.

We had an interesting weekend.

Friday was a boring day, in the office again and despite my best efforts I couldn't distract the people but later on we opened lots of boxes and did things with heaps of paper. I like the boxes, they are lovely for chewing. Having had a boring day I wasn't very tired so I kept calling for playmates and distractions, but my people didn't seem too pleased to be out playing in the garden whilst it was still dark. Saturday morning we did interesting things in the house and garden, I got to investigate those cupboards again, I've not found any more yet but I'm sure there must be some somewhere. We trued the string on my collar again and I discovered that Maia has one too! She doesn't have a collar like mine just a big blue bit of rope that goes over her head. It's a lovely bit of rope just the right size for my mouth. We walked round and round the garden and backwards and forwards. Apparently this is 'doing figures of eight' whatever that is. Well whatever it is I get lots of good girls so I think I like it. In the afternoon the people watched that rugby again, it took longer this time so that was lots of time to sleep. As I'd slept so much during the day I didn't really need to go to bed when it got dark but everyone else went so I thought I would too but I was bored so I decided to explore what I can fit in my mouth. It turn's out to be lots of things if I scrabble at them with my paws first and then gnaw a bit. I like plaster but not wallpaper – that's sticky and tastes funny. But even with all that to entertain me I get lonely and cried for company. It was the Girl who came to see me tonight and she wasn't happy at all. I thought she'd be lonely too and would want to play. Apparently not – oh well.

So eventually we get to Sunday morning and everyone is up and about. We did interesting things in the big doghouse. Everything got moved and there was loads of fluff – I love fluff – but it was all swept up and put in the big black bin. Then even more amazing my cage bed was flattened, moved and made 3d again but in the doghouse! Wow…. And when it was dark that was where I went to bed, with the other black girls but no hound. I don't know where she went but she was there again on Monday morning so it can't have been that far. Everyone keep disappearing up those stairs, I must try to get upstairs again and have another explore.

(sorry it's late folks - there so much to do I keep forgetting to tell you all about it!)

Lots and lots of news

I have such a lot to tell you. The vital bit of electric string that connects Goathland with the rest of the world broke and we've been incommunicado ever since – well until now obviously.

Monday was a day of discoveries. First I discovered cupboards – this house has lots of them, some of them with plates in, others with human bean food, some hot ones (called aga), others which are cold and called fridge and one which is very, very, very cold and is called freezer. Then there are magic cupboards there's the one with the round door where the people put in nice smelly clothes and they come out all wet and not smelly. And then there the one where all the plates that I'd like to lick go, they stay there for a day or so and like the clothes they come our all clean too.
After my post-lunch snooze I went out and found this lovely black rock it leaves black lines on the yard and makes my tongue all black too. The people didn’t approve and took it away, Maia says it called coal and they burn it in the winter to make a lovely warm fire (not sure what all of that is yet but I'll let you know). My last discovery of the day was the big black car which is called discovery – it says it on the door. Maia and I got in the big door at the back and Juno sat on the seat in front– don't know why she doesn't come with us, perhaps there's not enough room. Anyway the noisy bit started and then we went out, I can just see out and I watched some of the world go by, but there was an envelope in the door and tearing that was more interesting. After a bit we stopped and we all got out and guess what? – we'd not gone anywhere at all we were still outside the house, this needs more investigation.

Tuesday I went off on an adventure. There are lots of stairs, the people and Maia too sometime go up them. Well, obviously, I was curious and wanted to know why they kept going up them, so I saved my energy and I went up too. There's another whole house up there – it's amazing. And there's this strange window which has another little doggie in it – wherever I went it followed but it couldn't come out of the window so I had to leave it behind.

Wednesday was a bit boring. There are boxes on the stairs and I can't get past them to carry on my adventure. The people seemed very concerned about the lack of string to the rest of the world and much time was spent plugging in new bits of string and new bits of machinery appeared – it all made strange noises and so did the people there were lots of sighs and huffs and grunts. After tea we went in the big black car again, we were in there longer and the view was different but we ended up back at the house again – very strange we'll have to go again.

Thursday was another boring day in the office – it's very tiring this 'work' lark. In the evening when it got cooler I was playing the garden practising being a gardener which was great. Then all the other dogs were made to go inside and the Girl attached a bit of rope to my collar and pulled it. I didn’t like that and tried my very best to stop it and I yelped and pulled backwards at one point I even fell over but my Girl who is usually so kind and caring just stood there and watched me. When I stood up again and walked a little bit she told me I was good girl and we went a bit further. Then I tried to get out of my collar again and my Girl just stood and stopped talking to me. I like being talked to especially when it's nice words like good girl and well done. I seem to get these when I walk along so I'll try that for a bit and see how it goes – I'll let you know the results.

What a busy weekend.

On Friday afternoon I woke up from my post lunchtime snooze and I was wearing my frock (that's a collar to the uninitiated) I'm not sure I like it that much although everyone says how fetching it looks. It's a bit annoying but I forget about it quite quickly.

Saturday we went in the big black car, I sat on The Mother's lap. It was a long way and I got a bit restless so they pressed a button and suddenly a strange man started singing out of the door – most peculiar but it didn't last long. We stopped and The Girl carried me to a new building, I had to sit still for a bit and then another strange man called us into a room. He looked at me and poked and prodded a bit and THEN he stuck a needle in my scruff – it's a good job I've got lots of spare skin there otherwise it would have really, really hurt but I'm a big bold girl so I didn't grumble about it. I got weighed too, I've put on 1.25kilos in a week, I'm now 7.75kg! After that we came back home and I slept a lot. Maia and Juno say the man with the needle is call 'Vet'.

Saturday evening we watched the talking box - this is really interesting with moving pictures and sound. It was obviously very good because the humans kept jumping up and down and shouting. Maia says it's something called rugby and they normally do this in the winter not usually in the summer.

More discoveries on Sunday. We did lots of things and did lots of sleeping because it was sooo hot! I know about rain we've had lots of that since I was born but this hot ball of fire in the sky is something new. And then I met the guinea pigs. These are small brown and white beings, they go 'weeeaak' and scuttle about a bit in a cage on the grass. They seem quite friendly and came to greet me but they went back to munching the grass and when the cage is moved they behind lovely long bits of very chewy paper. Cara likes these too.

I love my puppy!

I love my puppy although I wish she would leave my ears alone, I've got a thing about my ears and she insists on inspecting them. I have to keep telling her to leave them alone. She's not leaving me as much food now but we cuddle up to snooze and I protect her from strange things. The Girl keeps telling me what a good girl I am so she's obviously pleased we're getting on so well.

It's learning

Well, it's still yipping at me but we're all getting lots of attention. However, I'm settled in my routine and she keeps interrupting me especially when I'm sleeping, as boss (and most senior) of this pack I need a lot of sleep. She's learning to play nicely but does seem a little slow in learning her lessons. I'm sure she'll there – Cara did in the end.

More photos

So click on "Photos of Me" in the left margin.

I've been very busy, in fact I was a bit too busy yesterday so today I've mostly slept. I still found time for a new activity - it's called gardening and it involves a long green snake which makes strange noises, big containers of water which splash all over, and sometime you pull up plants - I'm very good at that. Perhaps that's what I'll be - a gardener.