The wall

After several weeks of training my mum says I’ve hit a wall.  WALL, what wall??  I’ve not hit a wall, my nose is perfectly intact!

Oh…I’ve come to a stop and aren’t taking things in any more, going backwards sometimes.  I agree with that – my mum is always turning round and taking me back the way we’ve come.  Oh, she says that’s the way it’s supposed to be if I don’t do what she wants, walking behind her instead of in front.  Well, if she strolls along what’s a highly motivated Springer Spaniel like me going to do other than step up a pace?  That’s not how it goes, she tells me.

Don’t want to fall out with her cos she says I’ll get no more beach runs until I behave on the lead.  Maybe have to put my thinking cap on and get my brain in gear.  Follow her, look at her, walk behind, look at her, she’s the pack leader……

Exhausted.dog.com

Liz the trainer came back this week to check on how my humans are doing.  Mum has been letting me walk too far forward, so I had to endure a lot of correction in the session, but the Irish aunt seems to have got it right.  We did loads of turning, turning, turning until my mum was dizzy so then we went to the park and I was let off to run about.

Or so I thought!  Apparently that was part of the training as well because they had me all of a muddle, running between them then telling me to sit halfway.  I didn’t know which way to go.  Think I need to get my brakes seen to.

Afterwards I zonked out in my bed with my lavender bunny.  This training lark is exhausting.

Zzzzzzz……

Rats!!

Rats!!  I’ve had a lovely time over the weekend with my new pal Ben, meeting my real doggie mum, my first human Leesa (I really liked her, wasn’t pleased when Ben came for a cuddle as well) and roaming new territory.  But now we’re home my mum says It’s all hard work on the training regime cos I’ve been allowed to slack the last few days.

Ben in his house, me below   In the woodland

I thought I was very well bahaved.  I let Ben lie on his rug in front of the fire, didn’t take over his bed in the hall and never touched his food.  I let him keep up with me when we went on woodland walks (he’s a much older dog) and didn’t eat all his chews.  Apparently I wasn’t very good on the lead and should have been paying attention to my mum instead of tugging and absorbing new smells.

Coming home, she says, I was an embarrassment.  We stopped on the way to walk up a hill to a famous battle site – Flodden, where the English and Scots fought in 1513 so 500th anniversary this year.  She wasn’t pleased that I leapt out of the car before her (she says it was lucky I was still attached to the seat belt!), pulled cos I was raring to go, did a big poo at the top of the hill then afterwards jumped in the car boot which was full of luggage and shopping.  I was supposed to get in the back seat again.  Wouldn’t have mattered so much but there were other people around – so, I was in the dog house for the rest of the journey.  I went to sleep so I couldn’t get into any more bother.  Who says I don’t have brains?

Me and Ben, me and Leesa