Christmas time

Christmas is over and done with at last.

Christmas is a good time to be a JRT in our house. Owners are around more, food is about more and people come visiting more. That roughly translates as I have company and more walks, I get lots of treats and I get to bark at people!

Tommy had done very well this year with his Christmas presents. A lot of food based presents, some of which are too big for him - they turn him ‘silly’. He gets all protective and agitated when he has them. Visitors walking around are obviously not going to the toilet, or getting a drink. They are trying to distract Tommy so they can steal his treat. It’s just not worth Tommy getting all upset over (by that I mean him growing, barking, and generally snapping). I’m quite happy to give him a rawhide chew of a smaller stature, or a pig’s ear, sometimes even a dried bone, but the large treats, or the very hard treats are just not worth it.

Personally, I’d prefer stuffed squeaky toys as a present. They last about the same time before being totally destroyed!

Dog poo

'Excuse me' called the (suspected) drug dealer from his window 'can you not let your dog poo there'.

'Don't judge others by your low standards, just because you don't pick up your dogs poo and if you didn't have a smelly carpet halfway across the pavement that the bin men haven't collected for the last month because they don't collect carpets he wouldn't even be sniffing here anyway! And why are you looking out of your window at 1:30am on a Saturday morning, waiting for another customer' I thought...

'He's just sniffing and I pick it up anyway' I repiled...

Snow - FTM...

Forgot to mention... Monday mornings walk it was extremely icy. Mainly due to the snow thawing a bit before the temperature dropping and turning it to sheet ice. I slipped over heavy on my left knee, ripping my best jeans (I know, I shouldn't be wearing my best jeans to walk Tommy). To add insult to injury, Tommy jumped on me very excitedly as he thought it was a game 'great! Moms on all fours too - that never happens!'.

Snow time!

Life, in general, is very exciting when you are a JRT. Life becomes ‘fit to burst’ exciting when there is snow on the ground! Yes, the snow came and now that it’s nearly all gone, here is the JRT highlights…

The snow started last Monday night, in time for last walk. Tommy wasn’t that impressed with the wetness of the snow on his nose as he left the warmth of the flat, but was soon distracted by the white stuff that flies everywhere if you play bow it. From my perspective, it was a really nice change to see the street covered in white with the moons reflection making the night walk an almost summer affair because it was so light out. The bitter cold had also turned into something warmer.

By the morning, the roads were impassable and we had 6 inches of snow on the pavement. Tommy loved his (much shorter) morning walk and play was on the cards! He loves to chase the snow to try to catch it and seems bemused that it just disappears further into the blanket. The smells of chicken bones were covered so the sniffing was less and the walk enjoyable. By the time we got back, b/f needed to inspect the main roads to see if he could get into work. Definitely not, but Tommy loved the extra 5 minute walk to get up the road. B/f worked from home, and took Tommy round the block lunchtime. He was running around b/f on the end of his extender lead, we now call this ‘doing the helicopter’. It warms the heart to watch.

Getting Tommy out of the flat whilst the snow got thicker was still not a problem. Even when, by Friday, the snow was up to his shoulder he was still bounding along the pavements. Tommy’s eyes have been so bright and his tail held so high! We saw other dogs (obviously) out and about during our evening walks, and the owners, although through gritted teeth because of the cold, all commented on how much the dogs loved the snow! There were bounding, happy dogs all over the place. All excited by the strange white stuff on the pavements.

One night, whilst walking Tommy, I went through the underpass. Coming up the other way, there was a man with his SBT, scrabbling up on the ice, desperately holding onto the rail with one hand and his pulling dog on the other. His SBT was a growler. What is a girl to do in this situation? You know what we done! Carried on walking, telling Tommy to ‘leave it’ (which he did, thank goodness!) whilst the man looked on enviously at the well behaved JRT walking to heel and confident lady with very grippy soles on her shows out in the snow!

The garden had about 10-11 inches at its deepest. Watching Tommy bound his way around made standing out there more bearable. We have discovered that Tommy does the same route every time he gets let out (why we hadn’t realised this before, I don’t know!). Up to the summer house, sniff the shed, round the back of the summer house, sometimes a bark, across the garden to the bamboo, along the back fence to the summer house, round the back of the summer house again, maybe another bark just to be sure and along the path to the back door.

On Friday, I didn’t fancy the drive to Stambridge for Waggy Walkers, so brought Tommy into work. We walked, not because I couldn’t get my car out, but because it would do us both good to get some ‘proper’ exercise. It took 50 minutes to get in, but it was well worth it. We both came in with grins on our faces and I had rosy cheeks. Why had I not thought of walking to work before? He had a good day with lots of fuss and only barked at one delivery driver! Luckily he also has a JRT and ‘know what their like’. He stayed in the office for a few minutes till Tommy calmed down enough to stroke and then I gave him some garlic beef to give him (the delivery driver to Tommy, not the other way around). They are now firm friends.

The walk home was chilly, and something really spooked Tommy enroute. He screamed, like the time he was picked up by the head. I checked his paws but nothing there. I’m not sure what is was but we carried on.

By Saturday morning, the snow was typically melting big time. Tommy and I went to the park, but with only 2 inches of snow on the ground it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hoped.

We’re now left with solid ice on a lot of the pavements. It makes for tricky walking, and the temperatures have dropped. The only thing that’s fun now is watching Tommy bemused as to why he cant get the chicken bone that’s frozen solid in the clear ice, but that’s nowhere near as much fun.

Rain does not stop play

As our boiler is now very spasmodic in its working (thanks b/f) I decided to take Tommy out on a long one last Thursday evening. There was no point staying in, as it was as cold in the house as it was out. It was only slightly raining, but nowhere near enough to keep me in.

I had been meaning to go down the seafront to have a look at how ‘City Beach’ is developing – I saw some pictures in the paper about the Lighting masts and I wanted to see how they have changed the feel of the seafront. So that’s where we went.

Five minutes into the walk and the rain started to get heavier. The wind also decided to show its colours and was thrashing the rain into my face. Tommy was still very much nose to the ground, more smells, maybe food and I’m out the house – hurrah!

We got to the seafront and the rain got heavier. I moved up a gear and Tommy didn’t seem to mind the faster pace. The masts weren’t obvious to see, with my hood up, face down against the rain with a bit of a march on. The pavement seemed to be more broken and cut up the further we walked (all I could see with my head down!), which was a bit depressing… and then I came to a barrier. And then I saw my first Lighting mast. They are big. Very big. And if the ‘Better Southend’ web site is to be believed will definitely be ‘a centrepiece of the project, helping to extend the day into the evening’. How long till they are vandalised is another question. And how I had walked past two of them makes me believe that they will not stand out too much against the rest of the seafront.

We crossed the road and carried on past the arcades. Tommy constantly sniffing for a dropped chip, or if hes lucky, a bit of saveloy. The seafront was pretty much deserted, but Tommy still enjoyed nosing through the windows at the arcades. The noises coming from them, as well as the lights, bring out his curious side.

The rain started to ease off as we carried on up Pier Hill. Tommy looked completely surprised when we came to the Royals. He looked at me as if to say ‘we’re here! But this is morning walk. Can we go straight home…I’m very wet’. No Tommy. We’re off up the High Street as I need to get milk. Past the Royals and we were just about to turn off when Tommy spotted a balloon. I was going to tell him to leave it so we could carry on but then I thought, the rain has almost stopped. Why not play! I picked the balloon up and for about 10 minutes, Tommy and I were playing with the balloon, in the high street, outside Costa. A few of the customers were looking out very amused, especially when the rain started to come down harder again. Rain did not stop play. The balloon must have been made from some super strength rubber because even with Tommy trying to kill it, me picking it up (and maybe squeezing it a little too hard), being bounced off benches and posts, the thing didn’t burst. Most of the people walking past looked at me like I was mad, some of them smiled, a couple even kicked the balloon back towards the center of the High Street. Still it would not burst and the rain continued to come down.

It was at least another 15 minutes before the balloon burst. I had to pick it up to move it away from the road. When I put it down, it burst. A couple of the people in Costa looked sad that the balloon had gone. It must have broke their day up seeing a happy JRT, playing with a balloon in the rain, in the High Street. It certainly cheered my day up!

Firework time again

Tommy has had a while to get used to the fireworks this year. Adventure Island has had displays for the last 4 or 5 Saturdays, when X-Factor is on. No worries for us as we’ll subtly turn the TV up so we cannot hear them. A couple of times Tommy has got spooked, but not too often.

Walking in the evenings hasn’t been too bad either. Strangely, we haven’t had as many fireworks where we live now as what they were over the other side of town. This has been a blessing! I managed to get out every night last week without hearing a single firework. Friday was quite bad, we heard a lot but after an hour or so of cowering under the sideboard, Tommy came out and fell asleep in his bed quite happily.

Saturday could have been a lot worse! I took him out in the afternoon for about 2 hours. We walked to Southend Leisure and Tennis where he played with a couple of Labrador crosses and a Bichon Frise before catching the bus back home. This seemed to do the trick! I settled down at about 7 to watch the rubbish but good TV and as the fireworks started, the TV was turned up. On a few occasions, when a particularly loud rocket went off, he would go under the sideboard, but otherwise he was curled up in his bed most of the night. Bless.

5 4 3 2 1

Is a song by Manfred Man. It’s also a technique we use when walking Tommy. If he gets stuck on a smell when on lead, we sing ‘5 4 3 2 walk on’. It gives Tommy the chance to wee on the smell if needs be, but also some notice that we are walking on and to hurry up! This was b/f idea that I wasn’t even aware of till I moaned one evening about Tommy’s sniffing. It kinda works. But it has to be sung, saying it doesn't work. Singing ‘5432walk on’ also proves to the locals that although we work, we are also complete nutters!

New Walks

Tommy and I have finally sorted our morning walk. It took a while after the easiness of the graves, but now we have found (and appreciate) our morning walk. His 'off lead' time has diminished, but the walk itself is about 10 minutes longer.

We go down the dual carriageway, where Tommy sniffs, wees and poos. We then go through the graveyard and along to Royal Terrace. This is right in the heart of Southend, we see the Pier and the river every morning. He will go off lead here most mornings, as long as there is no rough sleepers or someone taking in the morning air (for some reason he's so suspicious of people sitting on benches). He often sees squirrels or foxes to chase. Then there is the random fish pond for me to look into. I just find it a bit wierd that there is a fish pond in this part of Southend. The pond often has old beer cans, chip wrappers and condoms floating in it, but the fish seem to survive.

We then go up the stairs, back towards the High Street. Tommy goes back on lead here, but to make the walk back home more interesting, we play catch with the tennis ball (this also stops him sniffing so much!). Five minuutes from home, I let him keep the tennis ball which he carries quite happily all the way back.

I love this area of Southend - I fall in love with it again every morning.

Vet time!

Tommy had his annual vet trip tonight. He has only been to ‘my’ vets once before, and as no harm had been caused, I thought this trip would be easy. But he was so worried, bless him! He was quite happy in the waiting room watching the world go by but that certainly changed after I had to drag him into the consulting room! He wasn’t having any of it…

When we eventually 'coaxed' him in, the vet and I thought a sniff round and weigh might settle him. Tommy now weights 9.35kg! That's a 1.5kg or 20% increase, but the vet said he doesn’t look fat, his ribs are nicely defined and his spine is covered, so that’s ok. It’s probably down to more body mass. We then got him on the table where the vet listened to his chest and checked to make sure Tommy’s chip was still readable, which it was. Tommy had his standard boosters and kennel cough up the nose. All without problem but he took some persuading to eat his treat!

Mr Gilmore, in my opinion, is an excellent vet. He stands away from the table and never looks the dogs in the eye unless he has to. When he examines the dog he seems to choose his moments, and is quick, but gentle. What needs to be done is done very quickly and without undue stress. We talked about pet insurance, as I’m still unsure as to what breed of dog I should class Tommy as – JRT, JRTx or general mixed breed. Mr Gilmore said that he would be happy to sign off documentation stating JRTx. He then went onto say that JRT are very healthy, sturdy breeds and don’t seem to have any inherent problems that a lot of pure breeds do. I didn’t have the heart to say I wanted it more for the public liability! He also cracked a joke saying he’s a fine dog, looks very healthy but could do with some plastic surgery on his ear! I am happy to pay more for his services.

Play? or aggression??

Tommy came into the office with me yesterday and spent most of the day chasing flies and laying in the sun. At home time, I decided to take him to Victory Park – its normally one of my favourite walks…

When we got there, there were four other dogs in the middle being walked by three ladies and a girl. One dog was hastily picked up by one of the ladies, who was there with the girl and walked off. They called a Westie along and walked out of the park. I’m not sure what happened, but Tommy and I carried on round the outside of the park for a while and then I decided to cross over the middle of the park (something I never do!) to let Tommy play with the remaining two dogs.

Tommy saw the dogs and ran over to them, greeting a (what looked like) beagle JRT x, (intact male I’ll add here) with bounds of energy and a ‘chase me’ stance. From where I was standing, about 90 mtrs away, they looked like they were playing and having fun. A bit of chase, some boxing, and rolling around on the floor, but the owners body language told me otherwise. I sped up my walk across the park. ‘Is he being mouthy?’ I said. ‘He’s aggressive and shouldn’t be allowed off lead’. Humm, I thought. I called Tommy to me, he was having fun and not really interested (the other dog didn’t look too bothered either if truth be told!). The dogs were running round; both play biting, and bumping shoulders. I called Tommy but he was having way too much fun to notice I was even there. I launched myself at Tommy when he was on a return run, slipped on the wet grass, which made Tommy look. I called him again, with my finger in the ‘wait’ position, which he did. Lead goes back on. The other dog then starts circling Tommy, running off, coming back and play bowing. ‘I’ve owned dogs all my life and your dog is just nasty, if I see him off lead again I’m going to report him’. She was trying to get her dog back, so she ‘could look for bite marks’. I said ‘can you call him back then please, I’m not leaving this park until I know your dog is ok’ (I knew he would be!). The dog was having a whale of a time playing tease with her, not wanting to come back. He came several times back to Tommy though! I was making sure Tommy wasn’t looking at the dog, and I held Tommy’s muzzle. There was no way I was going to let Tommy sniff this dog again. The lady walking the other dog said ‘I don’t know what’s up with him today, it must be the weather’. I decided silence was golden; besides, I was fighting back the tears.

After the lady had caught her dog and said ‘no he’s fine’ I said ‘that’s good’ and carried on walking Tommy, on lead towards the other end of the park. Walking along the fence was the old lady with her aged collie and cocker spaniel bitch. I walked along with them. Tommy being excellent on lead and not even pulling towards the bitch. I felt so sad, but I managed to get home before I burst into tears.

Emma of Waggy Walkers fame asked how the move was today. I said good, flat is lovely but it took Tommy until Wednesday to really settle in’. ‘He’s such a sensitive soul’ said Emma. ‘Well, yesterday I got told he’s really aggressive and if he’s ever seen off lead again in this park he’s going to be reported’. ‘Really, what park?’ said Emma. ‘Victory, near Sutton Road’. ‘Oh I don’t go to that one' 'The other dog didn’t seem that bothered though’. ‘The dogs never are. It’s a more common thing this reporting to the authorities. (sigh) Next time you should say ‘he's goes to a behavourist every week. Talk to her about dog behavour’. We talked a bit more about how hated the dog world now is and went our separate ways. It made me feel a bit better (or maybe justified) talking to Emma, but I still feel sad about Tommy not being able to go to Victory off lead anymore.

He's back!

At last! I've missed the annoying playful thing he is!

Tommy had eaten some of his breakfast and the rest went into his treat ball. He was staying at home today by himself. I couldn't get away lunchtime so dad took him for his walk.

I left him with the radio on and his treat ball. When I came home tonight he was so pleased to see me! No change from how he normally is but his kong was empty and he'd been knocking his treat ball about as there was only a couple of bits of kibble left. When I went in the garden he was in full tail wag mode with nose down investigating allot more than what he had done all week. He was enthusiastic on his walk and greeted b/f with wags and play bows. And he ate all his dinner!

Welcome home Tommy.

Still not eating...

Tommy came into work with me today. He ate a bit of his breakfast (and I put some olive oil on it to make it taste nice!) but he left most.

He moped most of the day at work. Not interested in his treat ball or the flies. He had his kong lunchtime stuffed with a bit of pastry but otherwise he seems really down. Even the foreman noticed!

We went over Victory on the way home. He showed some interest in his tennis ball but after about five retrieves he'd had enough. We went home where he went straight to his bed and didn't eat his dinner. He did come through to the front room after allot of cajoling from b/f and I.

His skin is very bad (and bald) again at the base of his tail where he keeps itching. He has no fleas and his treatment is up to date. Oh when will Tommy come home??

1st 'Pick me' day

It's Tommy's 'Pick me' day today! As we don't know when his birthday is, I've decided to use his adoption day as his special day and named it his 'pick me' day. I think it sounds great!

What a year its been, some lows, lots of highs, and allot of general getting to know you stuff. I'm still unsure sometimes of Tommy. He still has some issues and sometimes I wonder why I chose him. Then he rolls on his back with his nylabone in his mouth... What a cutie!

Here is one of Tommy's first photos -



And here he is now. (I couldn't get him in the pose I'm afraid!)





As you can see, he's put on some weight! But seems allot more relaxed in his surroudnings.
We didn't do anything special to celebrate - I'm more worried about him settling into the flat to be honest! He's still off his food...

Worried!

Tommy is still not eating. I had to go out for quite a while today and b/f said he was looking for me most of the time. He (Tommy...) seems really quiet and all he wants to do is stay in his bed in the kitchen. He doesn't want to play or sit with us in the front room...

I hope it passes soon.

All done!

Well, we've moved. Tommy was well behaved all day. He loves running round the garden and didn't bark at the guys helping us move. He kept a very close eye on what was happening but only ate his breakfast quite late in the day. I hope he settles quickly.

Moving date (at last)

We have our moving date at last! It has been a struggle but on the 3rd September we shall pick up our keys!

Tommy has taken to living around boxes no problem. The only time he took any notice was when I packed some of his toys, his treats and his coat. He laid by the box in the small room for a very long time then!

I wish I wasn't so stressed about it all. He is going to Waggy Walkers for an extra day on Thursday so I can get on with packing and not worry about his walk. Emma can't take him on moving day as she is going to Burley horse Trails... It may work out better in the end as he can see all the 'stuff' being moved into the new place. I hope he settles.

On the move...

We are moving flats soon – hurrah!

When we viewed this new place, there was a park about three minutes walk away, which would have been excellent for Tommy’s morning walk. Since then, this park has closed for ‘redesign’ work. They are building a café in the middle. I’m not happy.

The other reservation I’ve got is we back onto the railway line. What if Tommy decides that the big black thing going along the bottom of the garden is the enemy and needs to defend his garden? The train will reward him every time as it trundles on its tracks… I hope the neighbours don’t mind barking dogs.

Westerham

Today we went down to Westerham to meet up the Jack Russell Terrier forum for a walk and (more importantly??) a pub lunch.

We drove down to Kent with no problems really – Tommy has always travelled well – but being held up on the M25 meant I was 25 minutes late. I called ahead and was told ‘its ok, we’re just quieting the dogs down at the moment, they’re quite excited’ – they’re jacks, they've have had a long drive and they're somewhere else.. of course they’re excited! Westerham is a very pretty village but I was too late for the market. We went for a walk round some woods and through some fields. The dogs were all very well behaved which was nice to see. George and Arnie didn’t go off lead but Whiskey was. When Whiskey was off, so was Tommy, well, most of the time! Lyn let George off when we were heading back to the village. Tommy was so excited and really wanted to play bitey face with George, but Lyn decided that George should really go back on lead…I put Tommy on instead as George had been on lead for most of the walk – he still wanted to play with his new friends though!

When we got back to the village, we went to the pub for food. George and Arnie were put back in the car whilst Whiskey and Tommy came to the pub. Whiskey was very well behaved, but Tommy was more interested in a stray tennis ball to lie down nicely. And then he nearly knocked the vase over….

We stayed in the pub for a couple of hours, chatting about the dogs and their characteristics (or should that be problems??!!) and another short walk before sitting on the common.

On the common, a short distance away was an English Bull Terrier with its male owner and his daughter. The EBT was very interested in our four, which made us slightly nervous. The last thing we needed was 4 defensive Jack Russell’s going for one EBT! Of course, the girl dropped the dogs’ lead who came running up to us at full speed! Tommy was the only one who managed to get a growl in before the EBT was lead away... We headed home shortly afterwards.

It was a really relaxing day meeting other JRT owners and sharing a common interest. I’m looking forward to the next meet.

Roll call - Tommy, Whiskey, George and Arnie.

Arsenal staffies

On the morning walk today, Tommy was very naughty. We left at our normal time and I told him to ‘leave it’ and ‘nothing to do with you’ to the three or four people that were walking towards us and all was fine. He gave them a side wards glance, but carried on, with his ears back. We got to the graves and the lady with the stroppy Alsatian was over there. I kept Tommy on lead and exchanged pleasantries then continued on our way round. Once she’d left I let Tommy off.
Over the other side of the graves was the man with the Arsenal staffies. Now, Tommy normally loves playing with these two. They have a good game of bitey face and ‘I’m on my back, no I’m on my back’ with some charging around. This morning was very different. The black staff came running towards me looking for Tommy who had run ahead and was hidden behind a gravestone. The black staff then ran back to her owner and then back to me. You could tell she was looking for Tommy. Tommy, on the other hand, had spotted their owner and seemed most put out that he was over the graves and started to bark at him. His nervous bark, half play bowing and tail wagging but with a definite ‘keep away from me and my mom’ tone. The man looked at him and looked at me ‘what’s up with him today?’ ‘I’m not sure to be honest, he’s been fine for ages’. ‘Maybe its because I’m not wearing my hat’. I carried on walking and Tommy carried on barking and playing up, albeit about 6-10 feet away from him. The staffies were just running around being happy. The black staff tried to get Tommy to chase her (normally his favourite game) but he wasn’t having any of it. The man half bent down but this just made Tommy worse. After about a minute, the white staff had had enough. She ran at Tommy and pushed him out the way with her shoulder. No malice at all but it was a ‘leave my dad alone’ kind of thing. Tommy yelped like a girl but wasn’t even knocked off his feet so I said ‘serves you right’. The man told his dog to ‘leave it out’ and called her straight to him, which she did, annoyingly. We all carried on walking our separate ways.
When I got in and told b/f about it he said that Tommy was probably jealous that I was talking too long with the man. I said we didn’t even get to exchange pleasantries. B/f then said he has often seen Arsenal Staffie man without a hat.
I hope Tommy hasn’t decided that he doesn’t like Arsenal staffies man and his dogs. The dogs are great and it would be a shame for all that to go – for whatever crazy reason.

Sea Wall

Tommy’s road sniffing has become so extreme recently, that we missed our train on Sunday. Normally, the walk to the train station would take 15 minutes tops, but it took us over 20! There are only so many times I can say ‘come on Tommy’ in a happy voice before I hate the sound of it. Maybe it’s the smells of the Saturday night take away, or just the heat on the pavement enhancing the smells that attracts him so much. Either way, pavement walking at the moment is taking a lot longer than normal. This is why, when we got to the station, we had to wait 20 minutes for our train. Not my fault boyo! Tommy was excited to be on the platform, but that soon passed, and he laid down looking just a little bored. Our train turned up on time so off to Benfleet we went.

The plan was to catch the train and then walk back as far as we wanted and then jump on a train home. I wasn’t sure what way to walk back, so on the way out I was looking left towards the sea wall and right towards Salvation Army land. There was lots of cows on the Salvation Army land so even though it’s a prettier walk, I decided on the sea wall. I didn’t fancy any upsets…

It was the right decision to walk the wall. There was a light breeze and Tommy enjoyed the smells coming from the cows. The grass is quite long so obviously some ‘bounding’ had to be done. The difference in Tommy’s body language is so visible when we walk somewhere away from town, even the town parks. Instead of scrabbling for smells and unfinished take away, with almost constant full alert for other dogs and (how dare they!) cats, he seems to relax a bit. Take in the smells and his eyes definitely do shine brighter. As we got further into the walk he seemed to relax more. His floppy ear got more floppy and his shoulders didn’t seem so stiff. His tail is a lot happier…

The only people we seemed to meet were bikers. When I saw them coming, I would call Tommy to one side, ask him to sit and I was holding him on a wait with one finger and hardly any eye contact! I’m not sure if it was just because he was tired and decided to behave or if he actually wanted to, either way, he was perfect every time. I was happily surprised.

We stopped at the driving range near Two Tree Island for tea and cake (well, I had tea and cake). The café area was empty so I tied Tommy to a table leg whilst I went in to get my treat. Typically, someone came into the café and went up to Tommy to say hello. Tommy wasn’t happy and told him off. Luckily the gentlemen used to own a Jack and said ‘I should have known better, my one would do exactly the same, even if I was with him!’.

Tommy and I carried on walking along the sea wall, past the abandoned barge, where Tommy had another dash around the mud before we headed to the train station. I had hoped to continue through Old Town onto Chalkwell, but time was against us. We only had a couple of minutes wait for our train and then off home we went.

The local pavements still proved a perfect (yet annoying) sniffing ground for Tommy. He was especially bad as he was hungry as well. I wish I could train him out of it, but I suppose there is only so much I can expect from him in one day!

Panorama

This wouldn’t be a dog blog if I don’t comment on Panorama last night. Obviously I watched it, any caring dog owner would, and that is unfortunately the problem. The ‘caring’ dog owners would not breed from a dog to make money. The ‘caring’ dog owners would not hand their dog into any rescue centre because it doesn’t match the furniture. The ‘caring’ dog owners already have their dogs chipped, vaccinated and maybe even neutered. ‘Its all those others’.

So what can be done? They could bring in licensing, and I would be very surprised if the government doesn’t, but that will cost a lot of money to administer and like all these things, the people that care will get it done and the people that don’t, wont.

It focused a lot on Staffies, not surprisingly, but there are lots of other dogs being bred for cash. Teacup Chihuahuas for instance can fetch up to and over £1000.00. And if you ask the breeder, they could ‘drop it round tonight’. The problem with Staffies is not the Staffies. It’s the media image of the Staff. Personally, I’ve met more snappy JRTs, Yorkies and Westies than Staffies, but these are normally the ‘nice’ ones, brought up by ‘caring’ dog people.

So, even though licensing I think will come to force, it wont stop the rescue centres being overwhelmed with unwanted dogs in the short term. I think its great that the Rescue Centres have finally come out and showed figures on how many healthy dogs are being put down. I am embarrassed to say that if Tommy were taken into Battersea, he would be put down. On lead, he can snap at another dog. There is no rhyme or reason, and sometimes he can be happy with a dog one day and not the next. So he would be PTS. I think I’d be hard pushed to find any dog that is completely bomb proof. But I suppose Battersea need an ‘excuse’ to keep putting these healthy dogs down.

I think they could look at the stipulations they have for rehoming, maybe ‘adjust the bar’ a bit. Look at the people wanting to adopt, not just if the box is ticked or not. I know a lot of people who have bought dogs because they couldn’t adopt and that leave their dogs at home all day whilst they are at work. Most of the owners feel guilty about that, and these dogs probably receive the same, if not more, attention, training, walking and care than someone who is at home all day. If they live in a flat, so what? If they are prepared to walk down the stairs to take ‘Tiddles’ out four / five times a day for wees, does it really matter?

I am worried about the future for dog owners. We live in an increasingly intolerant world where the media exasperate situations to a baying mob. Most cases, its not the dogs fault, it’s the owners. But who really wants to hear that??

Leads

Tommy has four leads. Too many? I think not!

Normal lead – its black and white. It’s made of rope. It does what it says on the tin.
Extension lead – a 5mtr tape extension lead. I’m not keen on this one, but use it for when we go round the small park in case there are picnickers there and Tommy can’t be let off. B/f uses it a lot and I just don’t think you have particularly good ‘control’ over the dog. We did use the cord ones for a while. Tommy’s lead rages as I like to call them soon destroyed them!
Pub lead – This has two clips on it – I think they are used if your dog has a head collar? Anyway, as this is doubled up, I can put the lead round my waist when having a beer and not have to hold it, or tie Tommy to the table. He has been know to pull tables over to try and get to another dog / wandering cat. Its also handy if I’m at an ‘outside’ event and have a burger to try to demolish! It can be very hard with a dog pulling to make the most of a burger!
Waggy Walkers lead – Tommy sometimes has to go into the back of the van when he’s with Emma. Now, because Tommy is quite a nervous dog, he will chew his lead when he’s in crates. I will take his lead off when he’s in the crate in my car, but Emma leaves it on. So, he has his special ‘ Waggy Walkers’ lead that is half chewed, but still safe enough for purpose.

On Friday when I went to pick Tommy up, Emma said that she had a present for me and produced a lead that she had found over the woods. She said that Tommy could do with a new lead. I didn’t have the heart to say he has three others and he only wears the nibbled one because you leave it on him! I took the lead gracefully, and threw his chewed one away when I got home. Five leads…now that is too many!

Buses and cars

I like to take Tommy on public transport, and on Saturday I decided to take the bus to Priory Park. The bus stop is about 10 minutes walk from our house, and the park is only 3 stops away. Depending on how long we have to wait for a bus (never more than 5 minutes on a Saturday), it can be just as quick to walk there but I think it does Tommy good to be amongst other people as well as the different smells on the bus.
We waited at the bus stop; Tommy had a small wag going on and enjoyed sniffing the air. There were other people waiting and you could see them smiling at Tommy. The bus pulled in and Tommy got very excited. His tail was wagging more as we walked towards the door. I had to hold him back to let the other passengers on! He is so rude… The bus was quite busy but we found somewhere to stand, near the front amongst the older ladies and their shopping trolleys. Tommy was enjoying the smells and the fuss. I made sure he stayed close and was sitting, focusing on me when the bus stopped – this ensures he’s not startled or scared by the people getting on and off. We got off our 3 stops later and was off to the park. It was quite busy, with a couple of groups having picnics, so he stayed on lead for a lot of the time. We did have an off lead romp round by the wildlife garden and I threw some sticks for him (forgot his tennis ball). He got stuck on a smell at the bridge so I carried on walking. What I didn’t realise was there was an event going on on the football pitches, so I headed towards the priory rather than round that field. When Tommy finished with his smell he went running towards the field and try as I might to call him, he couldn’t see me so off he went up the field into the crowd. I kept calling him so he came charging back again. Even though I was waving my arms like a mad woman, he still couldn’t spot me so off he went again into the crowd. Nothing else for it, off I go to stop him panicking. When he spotted me his whole body language changed to the ‘there’s my mom, must dash’ – ears fully back, full sprint towards me, little jump when he arrives and then sitting for his treat. He went back on lead then and we left the park to catch the bus back home. He laid down on the way back, in the sun. The people boarding and leaving the bus didn’t distract him…he was tired. Ah bless.

On Sunday there was a classic car show along the seafront, excellent dog socialisation. We set off at about 3:00 and headed towards the Seaways car park, about ¾ hour walk away. It was a nice day for walking, quite warm but with a breeze. When we got there it was full of Fords! Not quite the classic show I was expecting so we walked along the seafront towards Westcliff. It must be around somewhere! We enjoyed the walk. Tommy wanted to go on the beach, but he’s not allowed this time of year so he had to make do with play bowing the beach and stealing chips at every available opportunity. We stopped at Adventure Island for a while. Tommy likes to smell the people going on the rides (is it the adrenaline he can smell?) and then play bowing the rides! He’s so funny. We stayed there for about 10 minutes watching the rides and the people and then carried on. Dropped melted ice cream, saying hello to a few dogs and a very wary walk on one of the wooden quays later, we find the car show. Up the other end of the seafront, by the cliffs, about a 15-20 minute walk from the house rather than the hour and half walk it had taken us! There was some lovely looking cars there, but to be honest, that’s not what its all about. It’s more to do with walking Tommy in a crowded area with lots of unfamiliar smells and noises. People stopping in front of him so he pays more attention to where he’s going than to the floor. Me setting a very slow pace looking round all the cars so he focuses on where I’m going. Accepting some children will want to stroke and pet him and letting them (I always make sure they do not lean over him as he hates that, and they don’t stay stroking for too long as it makes him nervous. If he’s good with them and there parents let him, then I’ll get them give him a bit of garlic sausage). When we started to head back, there were some motorcyclists revving up by the zebra crossing. Then one back fired and kept doing so. Tommy was not impressed and the flight thing happened that I hadn’t experienced since November. He pulled me up that hill and didn’t really calm down until we got to the little park. It was a shame to end the day on such a scary note. We’d had an (almost) pleasant 2½ hours.

Dinner

Dinner
B/f and I went out to dinner earlier, under the arches. That’s it really…

Only kidding! When b/f came in from work he said ‘I’d like to take you out to dinner’ and as normal I pulled my pained expression, the one that says ‘but Tommy has been home all day and I don’t want to leave him tonight as well’. B/f then added ‘we could go under the arches, Tommy can come too then’. So that’s what we done. 15 minute walk with a very excited Tommy (wow! The whole pack is out tonight!) and we arrive. We went to one called the Estuary and sat inside because it was very windy and looked like rain.
I quite like the arches, looking out on the joggers, (especially as I’d already been for a run) especially when the weather is bad, it all looks very atmospheric, as long as the gas works don’t get in your view!
We both had the mixed fish with pancakes for desert. Tommy was a very good boy and laid quietly under my chair looking out at the pavement or chewing his nylabone while we ate – the waitress even commented on it!
We walked back up the cliffs and Tommy got to have an off lead dash around. I felt a bit bad because I didn’t have his Frisbee or tennis ball with me and that’s what we normally play with on the cliffs.

Paddling

In my constant effort of ‘doing new things with the dog to make him a go anywhere – do anything dog’ and my b/f obsession with kayaking, I took Tommy down to the paddling pool between Chalkwell and Leigh stations, along the cinder path to practice his swimming. It had been hot all day and the water was very warm. Luckily there was no one else around so I got the tennis ball out and threw it a few times on the sand to get Tommy’s interest (like the thought of the tennis ball isn’t enough!). I then paddled out to half calf height and he followed me (who am I trying to kid, he was after the ball). Then a bit further, and a bit further, and deeper still until he was swimming. I gave him a break often for a charge around chasing the ball so he didn’t get bored. He did obviously find some food on the beach – a scotch egg – so every time he chased the ball he ended up in the same spot eating the Scotch egg! Eventually I had him jumping into the water and swimming to get his ball. It was great fun and am looking forward to bringing a picnic down there one evening with b/f so we can all play – what a break from the working week that would be!

Writtle Fete

It was the Writtle Fete last Saturday and Duke and Tommy were both entering the Dog Show. It was a fun (!) event with silly categories such as ‘dog most like its owner’ ‘waggiest tail’ ‘prettiest bitch’, well, you get the idea.

The competition was on between Tommy and Duke, both of them entering the same 4 categories, with very little chance of either of them winning. Dad kept saying ‘come on Tommy, we need a win’, my sister then piped up ‘oi! What about Duke?’ Dad then said ‘come on Duke, we need second place too’. Tommy won nothing! Duke came 4th in the ‘dog that the judge would most like to take home’; this was after he’d snotted all over the judges’ glasses. Dad said it was a fix and they didn’t want us ‘out of towners’ winning…

It was still a good day. We loafed around the green for a while and settled in some shade for all our sakes. Tommy and I soon had to move as it was next to a stall handing out balloons! He kept play bowing and trying to get them off of the children. He enjoyed watching the Morris Dancers, his tail didn’t stop wagging. Tommy had lots of fuss from Sarah’s girls and we all went back to Maggie’s for the afternoon of lying around. Tommy obviously barked ferociously at the cats, but was very good with everyone else letting them stroke and pet him. He followed the girls around, he’d worked out they are the most likely to drop food! Duke just sulked in his kennel. He’d been got by the water pistols and wasn’t too impressed. Tommy enjoyed them at all in that heat – he was trying to catch the spray!

Good Citizen Bronze Award

Tommy had his exam today for the Good Citizen Bronze Award. It was a very nervous day for me, the other dog owners and Pam the dog trainer. We were given our numbers which we had to pin to on. This piece of paper flapping around really got Tommy excited, or was my nerves moving down the lead and he could sense it? Either way, play bowing, lead biting, jumping around and all the other ‘normal’ JRT behaviour were being shown! Luckily, the examiner was late so Tommy managed to calm down…just a bit!
It was a bit overcast (typically) this day, so I knew the down – stay for one minute would be the hardest, followed by the gate.
We all done our heelwork easily and the gate exercise didn’t cause a problem like it had the previous couple of weeks (walk towards the gate, dog to sit, open gate, dog to wait, you walk through gate, call dog and ask to sit and wait while you shut the gate). The walking round in a circle and into the middle caused a bit of a stir with a couple of dogs, but nothing of note really. Tommy’s recall at training has always been excellent (no idea why, it’s rubbish elsewhere) and today was no exception. We all returned to our mats for grooming (does your dog roll on its back? Try and keep him on his front!) and then collar, id tags and poo bag inspection (‘that’s a small bag’ the examiner said to me, ‘he does small poo’s’ was my response!).
Then the time was upon us, 1 minute down stay… Pam was so nervous she couldn’t look (bless her). 15 seconds gone and all was well. 30 seconds and Tommy looked quite chilled. 45 seconds and yes, he had a scratch, then he found a blade of grass and then I had to return to him to put him back in the stay. He had failed…
I felt a bit rubbish about it, but there were 4 other fails in the class, and considering he didn’t even know how to walk on lead let alone sit nine months ago, I thought he done quite well. Shame the sun wasn’t brighter, because then he can be hard to move let alone a one minute stay! We’ll try again next year, hopefully completing the silver on the same day.

WTF??

How did this happen?? It’s Thursday evening and I’ve been at the scout hut being ‘prepped’ for an exam on Sunday!! All I really wanted was a dog that would sit and come when he was called…

Another Hard Day at the Office

Up town pt 2

I looked at the map to see what parts of the park Tommy could be off lead. We had walked through some formal gardens from the tube station who were displaying the ‘dogs to be kept on lead’ signs (boo!!),
I found the main part of the park and headed towards that. Excellent I thought to myself, Sunday afternoon football. I let Tommy off anyway and it did take him a whole 10 minutes before he started running on the pitch trying to join in…back on lead and away from the pitches.
We started to walk along the far perimeter fence, and what I didn’t know is that Regents Park is next to London Zoo! Tommy had his first sights of Ostriches and Hippo! His nose stayed in the air sniffing for ages. We carried on along this path and met up with two ladies walking about 8 small dogs between them. Unfortuately, they weren’t the London Small Dog group and had never heard of them. We walked along together for a while and Tommy played very nicely with the other dogs. At least he got some dog action I thought.
Tommy and I turned away from the ladies because I was in desperate need for tea by now. We headed towards a café and what did I hear? That’s right! Lots of small dogs and chattering people! I have found the London Small Dog group! Hurrah! Even if they were about to leave. We spoke for a short while, and then they left. I’d like to meet up with them properly sometime.
Tommy and I hung around for a while longer. The sun had come out by now and we were just having a nice time really. I started to head home just after 4:00.
We stood on the tube for the journey back to Fenchurch Street. It was a lot easier than trying to keep Tommy off the seats – especially as he was getting tired. Quick wee stop (for me) and then the train home.

Although we didn't spend as much time as we would have liked with the group, it was still a good day. Here's how I know -

Up town...

In my constant effort of ‘doing new things with the dog to make him a go anywhere – do anything dog’, I found this group on the internet. They meet maybe once a month in London, with an annual trip to Southend. As there was no training on Sunday, (yes! A whole day off!) which co-in sided quite nicely with their April meet, I thought a day trip to London would be a fantastic idea.
Tommy has often gone on the train so settled quite well on my coat, with just occasional glimpses out of the window as to where we were going – especially after the first half hour as he’s never been on the train longer than that.
We got to Fenchurch Street and as usual at the weekend it was disserted. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realise that Tower Hill underground station was shut! So off we went round to Bank to catch the tube to Morgate.
Tommy seemed very different to walk in the city rather than in Southend. He held his head a lot higher and didn’t seem to sniff the ground so much – maybe not so much to smell? We got to Bank tube station and I found what platform to catch the train from. We waited for the second tube rather than the first. This was so that I could get him steady in the sit; take in the noise, smells and airflow and to see what was expected of him when the next tube pulled in. On we went and as it was only two stops, we stood.
At Morgate we changed lines. More consulting of the map and walking Tommy for miles over to the other line. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Eyes bright, tail wagging and walking to heel. He looked up at me a couple of times as if to say ‘am I doing it right?’. The response was always ‘good boy’ and sometimes a treat as well.
When we got to the other tube, it was a long wait before it was going to pull out, plus half hour journey to Baker Street. I got on a reasonably quite carriage and took my coat off to put on the seat for Tommy to sit on, and then sat down. Tommy jumped onto the coat and someone else on the carriage said ‘don’t let him on the seat love’. I was going to explain that he was on the coat, but the gentleman had a point, what if the tube got busy…maybe I should make him stand / sit on the floor. Which is what I did. The rest of the journey went without note really, lots of people smiling at Tommy and asking about him. I was only too happy to let them fuss him and give him a tiny bit of treat if they wanted too.
When we got to the park, we were an hour and a half late. Oh well, I thought; let’s go for a walk anyway.

More tomorrow

End of Princes Street training

It was the final week of Southend training tonight. Her puppy classes are full with a waiting list, but her adult classes only have three dogs that regularly go. Although the only thing Val taught me was the ‘down’ (thank you thank you thank you), what she did teach me was the importance of bonding with your dog, that training sessions don’t all have to be about ‘sit’ and ‘down’ and ‘heel’. Keeping your dogs mind occupied on new tricks is just as important. Will not miss the weaving through the legs though! Here is a picture of the dogs that always went: - Honey, Tommy and Mickey (Its quite a dark one I'm afraid!). We clubbed together and framed this photo. We had tears as well. I don’t think I will find another ‘club’ nearby for a week night ‘play’.

Holidays

As b/f and I went to Dublin last week for St Patrick’s day (what a crack!), Tommy went to stay with Emma (of Waggy Walking fame) for a week.

He wasn’t bounding with joy, as such, when I went to pick him up, just indifferent. Emma said he’d been good all week (I doubt that!) and had slept on her bed ‘not in the bed, just on the bed’. He seems to have toned up a bit (or lost weight??) and has got a scratch on his belly (from jumping through thorns).

When we got home he was over b/f like a rash. Charming, I thought.

Clothes that Tommy has ruined in six months

One t-shirt – general excitement at thought of a walk, jumped up, got hold of, forgot to let go.
One work shirt – general excitement at me coming home from work, following me into the kitchen, jumped up, got hold of, forgot to let go.
Combat trousers – left on the bed. Tommy got into the bedroom and there were treats in the pocket. Obviously couldn’t find the opening to the pocket so ripped them instead.
B/f waterproof coat – Rainy walk, b/f was running around, Tommy jumped up at back of coat and forgot to let go. I told b/f not to run with Tommy without having something to throw!
One running top – Tommy’s first run off lead. He was very excited and jumped up, forgot to let go.
Bit of a pattern here don’t you think!

Tommy does a 'down'

Yes! I know! I can’t believe it either! After all this time the penny has dropped! I had been teaching him the ‘down’ in the normal way. Get the dog to sit and then place your hand on the floor with the treat and the dog follows the treat. He does that bit fine, but getting him to go down without my hand with a treat in it on the floor, just never happened. Until two nights ago…

I was at Southend training and Val said tie your dogs to the piano / table / chair so they are steady. Then, move towards the end of the lead and ask them to sit. Then down. The dogs were all doing well as we were no further from them than normal. Then we had to move away another step so the dogs were tied just a small way away. Getting them to sit and immediately reward. Try the same with down. Still move your hand towards the floor but too far away from the dog so they can get it. As soon as they are down, immediately reward. So that’s what I done. And that’s what Tommy done! I couldn’t believe it! We practised this a few times, stepping a bit further away, and then went on to some other practice.

When we practised ‘at home’ training the following night, I tied him to the cabinet in the hall and we done the exercise again. And he done downs again!

The following night, I didn’t tie him to anything and it worked! I couldn’t believe it! After four months of training I can finally get Tommy to ‘do a down’ without me having to touch the floor, bend over or anything! I can stand my height and just tell him ‘down’. I’m so impressed with him.

You get what you give

It’s turning into a really long, harsh winter. It’s been too cold for my dad to walk Tommy lunchtimes and since the attack on the air con man, Tommy hasn’t been allowed into work so much so his days are long at home all day. I do go home lunchtimes to take him round the block, but it’s not much of a break for him. I always thought that getting a dog in March would be a better time of year, but the timing was right in September.
I have found it hard to get the enthusiasm up during the week to find new and interesting things to do with Tommy. Let alone the dark morning walk and the bitter cold! I have been tired a lot with the late nights (my fault!) and early mornings and it’s all proved to be a bit much. Tommy has started to be more ‘assertive’ when out walking. He will bark at some people, no pattern, and dogs on lead are now a no no. I haven’t been enjoying the walks. It’s down to me not being ‘bothered’ recently, and I know it and feel guilty.
A few nights ago on his ‘quick one round the block before bed’ walk; I had a bit of a breakthrough. Recently, I’ve been ‘oh come on Tommy, lets get this done’ with a bit of a moaning tone to my voice and almost pulling him on his lead to get the walk done. Monday night I walked more briskly than normal, put on a happy tone and kept my head up, being the assertive one. Being the pack leader. The walk was easier, and Tommy was wagging his tail more and not sniffing so much.
Tuesday mornings walk I tried the same. ‘Come on Tom, there’s a good boy, yes he is’ was recited a lot in a happy, almost baby tone. I called him back more when over the graves and gave him a tiny treat when he came rather than leaving him to his own devises. When I took him lunchtime, more brisk walking and brought his ball to the park with us. With the time saved by the more assertive walk, we had time for a very quick game of fetch. When I’ve got in from work I’ve been thinking of Southend Training rather than Rochford Training. More fun stuff, different stuff to challenge his mind. Weaving threw my legs; find the treat under the cups, paw, high five, crawl. A quick game of fetch in the house, blowing some bubbles. And it’s working.
I’m starting to enjoy Tommy again! His mind is more occupied, his behaviour out and about is better (but no where near as good as it could / should /was!), and he’s looking at me more for direction. He seems happier and more relaxed.
Proves that you only get what you give…

Snow and Priory Park...

Went to Priory Park today for a frolic in the snow. The sun was out which made for striking scene’s but the snow is showing no sign of melting, and its been trod on so much its loosing its virgin beauty.
I was picking my way across the icy paths and Tommy had run off somewhere. I started to call him when I got past the pond as I hadn’t’ seen him for a while. I couldn’t hear his collar clicking so I turned back and picked my way across the icy path. And then I spotted him, poor Tommy! As the pond had frozen over, he’d decided to say hello to the ducks and had fallen in! He was looking very sorry for himself, pushed up against some reeds, dripping wet and freezing. He was very pleased to see me. We made our way back to the car where I dried him off as best I could and then home to warm up slowly in front of the radiator.
It wasn’t until later that the feeling of dread came over me when I realised I could have lost Tommy today. If he hadn’t have been able to pull himself out of the pond, or had got lost under the ice, he could have died. I felt so bad, what if I’d lost my little fella? I gave him some chicken with his dinner, to make up for my stupid ness and have made two quiet vows to myself. 1. Priory Park is a bogey park and to be avoided at all costs. 2. Tommy is not Khan who would follow me round the park nicely and come back when called. He is a very inquisitive JRT who needs constant supervision to keep him out of trouble.

Snow pt 2

The snow hasn’t been thawing at all. We haven’t had much more, but at 4-6 inches deep, it’s deep enough for Tommy! The novelty still hasn’t warn off and because the boss can’t get into work, Tommy has been coming in all week. It’s been weird on the industrial estate. I haven’t seen so many grown men play snowballs ever. Tommy pulled me over one day in the week on our lunchtime walk – I wasn’t impressed…We went for a walk along the Cliffs today and there were people out sledging. Tommy loves to chase the sledges – and he barks at them (the sledges) as people pull them along! Everyone seems happy outside at the moment, it’s really nice that winter fun hasn’t been completely replaced by Wii’s and X-Boxes.

Training

As the ‘adverse weather conditions’ have been continuing, it was only me, Pam and Alan (the trainers) and Tommy at training today. It was quite good. We done some off lead work with him which made a change. He is still so hand shy. Bless him.

Snow

Its been snowing! Not normally something I’d celebrate at all. I quite like walking in the snow, but being constantly bombarded with snowballs is not something I appreciate. But now, I have a Tommy dog. He has never seen snow and its so much fun! B/f and I went over the graves this morning (a rarity in itself…we don’t normally both walk Tommy) and played over there for ages! We think it’s the first time he’s seen snow, he was so distracted out and about when we first got him, the idea that he knew what snow was is pretty inconceivable. We threw snowballs for Tommy to chase (and to try and get each other with) and digging in the cold stuff. Let alone trying to figure out where all the grass had gone! It was good fun and then up to the butchers for sausages and bacon for breakfast.

New Coat

Khan was a very spoilt dog. He was my first dog and I adored him. My parents also adored him and he was called their ‘granddog’. Dad had Khans’ coat made by the tailor at the Post Office where he worked. It was made to measure, made of thermal ‘Post office’ coat material and had stripes down the side, one reflective, one bright. It was a one off and Khan loved it.

Mom and dad are ‘cute’ towards Tommy. Dad takes him for a walk once or twice a week during the day to give him a decent break when he’s not at work (Tommy, not dad. Dad’s retired now). They aren’t quite so over the top this time round though (Thank God! I won't have to put up with the t-shirts!), as they have real grandchildren now. So when the discussion about dog coats came up I was surprised. I hadn’t thought of getting Tommy a coat. I think of Tommy as a ‘real’ dog, not the spoilt ‘toy show’ dog that Khan was. His coat is growing back quite thickly now so it didn’t occur to me he might want / need one. Discussing it with mom and dad, they said it might be nice if the weather carries on the way it is, they were also unsure what to get Tommy for his Christmas present. I chatted to b/f about it and he laughed – a dog with a coat! How stupid. So I immediately got defensive and said it might be nice on the last thing at night walk round the block before we go to bed walk – you know – the one where I’ve got my gloves, hat and scarf on and still come in with cold extremities that go against you when we get into bed. I also said he wouldn’t have to walk Tommy with it on…

I knew dad couldn’t get the ‘Post Office’ special from last time, but they were willing to pay up to £15 for a coat! I searched the internet (as you do) and found this site. They mainly deal with greyhound and whippet coats. British hand made to order coats. Right up my street! I ordered the green ‘Clip Close’ coat with the reflective upgrade and a slightly reduced belly strap.

Tommy received the coat just too late for Christmas but it’s a perfect fit. And when he’s wearing it I’m sure his tail was more upright and waggy than normal! Bless him.