Oh honestly

I don't know what he's done, or how he did it. In fact, I don't even know what it is. All I know is, Henry has done himself an injury. Again. He has spent most of this week hobbling up and down the stairs like a geriatric sloth, looking mournful, sitting by the sofa looking mournful as he found himself lacking the spring needed to get onto it, looking mournful, forgetting temporarily to look mournful and leaping about, yelping, then slinking over to me and looking mournful, and looking mournful about not being allowed off the lead.

I have spent most of the week worrying, manipulating all his limbs, worrying, debating on whether or not to take him to the vets, worrying, making him get up and pootle up and down the corridor every few hours to stop him seizing up, and worrying.

Fortunately he is now staging a recovery. This is fortunate, because if I had spent months doing physio exercises to make sure I can go walking next weekend only to have it scuppered by the damn dog, I would have sunk into a decline.

Whoops!

If you're going to teach your dog to sit, then leap up and speed off when you say 'Ready...... steady.......... GO GO GO!'...

And you go dog walking with a friend who has taught their dog something very similar.....

And you end up both doing this trick at the same time....

It's a good idea for one of you to look and make sure the dogs are not facing each other.....

Because if both dogs are spaniels, they will be far too excited to look where they are going when they charge off......

SPLAT!

Bless their little pea brains!

Read a very good book the other day - The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. Very interesting look at the way dogs think and learn. Well worth a read!

FLOOD!

I'm not saying it's been rainy here, but today's walk might have been easier if undertaken by boat...

I seem to have a real gundog

Well, almost.... Henry and I are just back from our first shoot!

Sorry no pics, this was not exactly planned and I didn't have my camera with me...

So, this morning I drove up to my parents' house in Leicestershire, and when we arrived I took Henry to Bosworth Battlefield for a walk. We saw this group walking towards the path towards us, I thought they were ramblers so put Henry on the lead... but it turned out they were a load of beaters and guns about to start a drive. Got chatting to a nice man (Mike) with a cocker called Charlie, and he asked if I'd like to tag along for the last couple of drives! So Henry and I have been beating this afternoon!

Hen was quite good, he did whine a bit, but just through excitement. I kept him on the lead, and we ended up stood quite close to a gun, but he was ok. At the end of the last drive I let him off, he was off in a flash to meet all the other dogs and thoroughly investigated the pheasants (and tried quite hard to pinch a squirrel someone had shot). In fact he ended up in the game wagon.... I am taking this as a sign he wants to go again. He liked it so much that as we walked away and I let him go, he turned round and tried to get into the game wagon again - the shame! But someone caught him and so all was well!

We can't have been too much of a hindrance as we were invited along again - although sadly they shoot during the week and are 100-odd miles away from me, or I would definitely go. Everyone was really welcoming and even though Hen was not on his best behaviour no one seemed to mind.

So I am just sitting while my dog walking coat goes around in the wash - it looked a bit mucky after all that climbing through the woods... All that worry about being properly dressed, and I end up wandering around in a bright green puffa jacket...

I don't suppose they will see this, but a big thank you to Mike, David the shoot owner (who looked a bit non-plussed to have gained a beater halfway through the day, but didn't seem to mind!) and all the other lovely people who I spoke to!

Can't stop grinning!

Thwarted at every turn!

By the Environment Agency and their bloody flood defence work. Why they are doing flood defence work going into the wettest time of year I don't know. But it meant a lot of footpath closures, which royally buggered up todays walk.



















At first I thought we could furtle round, but then we were defeated by a flooded path through a marsh... not a great option when you're walking solo, really.


















Not that Henry minded the stinky marsh mud - guess who got to ride in the boot on the way home?

On the upside, our alternative, considerably shortened route took us past Walberswick Church, which looked quite normal from the side we approached on...


















But turned out to have this on the other side!


















































































Didn't see this until after having a good explore... oops....


















Fortunately we were not squished by a falling church (not that that sign would have been any help to the parochial church - you can't sign away liability like that....)

Proof was obtained that some people have no souls at all


















Navigation dog is unimpressed by your navigational skills


















Oh look, a rare sight round here - an open footpath (not bitter at all, then)

























































































It said dogs had to be on leads - it never said anything about holding onto the other end...


















Yet another reason for Henry to ride in the boot!


















I can't believe you're making me ride in the boot....