Today marked 2 weeks since Oscar's last batch of inoculations, so he is now officially allowed to go out walking with the "big dogs".
Karen and Hugh have been walking him in the garden, with his choker chain and new lead, in an attempt to get him used to it, for the past three days. Eventually it was agreed that perhaps he should get used to wearing an ordinary collar first - even though the breeder had recommended a choker from day 1.
Two against one - that's not fair!
Say what you like, I don't LIKE it!
Preparing for a forward somersault closely followed by a backwards flip.
10 minutes later, the fuss was over - and he hasn't taken a bit of notice of his collar since. It WAS highly entertaining at first though - but he's bright enough to know which battles are worth the effort. Probably that would have been enough exercise him but a promise is a promise - and after lunch, Karen, Hugh, Anya, Oscar and I went for a walk in the Cotswolds.
Anya and Hugh walking the dog - eventually he got a little bit braver and risked using his own legs in the big open spaces
Looking towards Gloucester from the Cotswold Hills. When you're in Gloucester and look towards the hills it's not unlike being in Christchurch, looking towards the Cashmere Hills.
Oscar's first encounter with another dog gave him such a fright that he practically climbed up Karen's legs to safety. That outfit had to go into the washing machine on our return to the house! However, the second dog was on a lead and a bit uncertain too. Oscar's still not too sure about those things with four legs.
The drive home was a doddle - he slept all the way home ... and all afternoon, while the rest of us went to a National Trust house in Worcestershire, where a man referred to as "Mr Wade" had devoted his life to collecting handmade, antique items and restored them. He actually bought a house to store them in - and lived in another, smaller, house on the same property. There were a few interesting items, but I came away feeling that I didn't really think I'd have liked meeting Mr Wade - so it was probably fortunate that he left the house in 1956.
Hugh - our Knight in shining armour ... in one of the items visitors were allowed to handle and try on!
The grounds and views were lovely - but overall it gave the feeling of a home owned by an eccentric old man who never worked a day in his life.
Tonight the clocks go back an hour so that means NZ is presently (Sunday lunch) 12.30 pm while the UK is now 11.30 (almost midnight) pm. I much preferred it for the short period that we were exactly 12 hours difference.
Steph's had her shoulder surgery and I go back to spend a week supporting her (and Ray) on Monday. It will be a difficult time for her, with little or no movement allowed by that arm for 6-8 weeks. I'll probably be home before she can start doing anything with it again. A good way to get out of having to do the vacuuming though!!
No comments:
Post a Comment