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.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, August 09, 2010
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
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??
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??
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