Rugby Sunday

Brilliant day at the local rugby ground- Dylan and I stumbled on a charity rugby tournament on our morning walk so off Kev went to collect us a big bag of beer, newspapers and snacks and we spent the rest of the day lazing in the sun. Dylan lived up to his 'Arthur Chilcott' pedigree name and charmed all the rugby players and spectators with his antics. All home very tired by 6pm. I just about had enough energy left to raise the camera - same couldn't be said for the other two men in my life!

Sunny Beach Days

A beautiful sunny day again so off we went to a quiet bit of the beach to let Dylan have a run around. The tide was right out and it was very beautiful. Dylan loved pottering around on the pebbles and wet sand - not so keen on the waves covering his little cat paws ! The jury is out on whether this little pup will be a 'sea dog' yet.

Rainy Wednesdays

I saw some beautiful pictures of Dylan's litter mate, Alfie yesterday. He is so fluffy and gorgeous and has an 'innocent' look about him. Beautiful puppy. I'll try and get a photo for the blog. As a result, I was inspired to take some 'portrait pictures' of Dylan this morning . What a contrast to his well groomed brother! He'd just woken up and as you can see is just a  scraggy little outlaw ...but hey, this is who he is and we love him !

Bank Holiday Play Fest

What a lovely Bank Holiday it has been. Apart from this morning when it poured down first thing, we've had sun, sun, sun and Dylan has had a fun packed weekend.

Damian and Steve came to stay this weekend for Festival jaunts in the spiegletent - Damian is a complete dog whisperer and Dylan thought he was completely fabulous and sprang all over him at every opportunity giving us a lovely break from ankle biting - Thanks Damien! You can see their emotional goodbyes above. 

We also took advantage of the nice weather and took Dylan up to the lilac park again today where he made lots of new dog friends. Dylan especially liked the lovely little Staffie pup who was exactly the right size to have wrestling matches with... unlike the standard poodle and Husky - he was outclassed by their long legs pretty quickly ! And here he is competing for Kev's attention with a little and very hot Westy-Scotty cross .....  guess who had chicken in his pocket?

Crocs and Crocodiles

After a few nights of wet feet in the garden Kev and I decided to throw away our fashion sense and buy in a couple of pairs of croc wellies for muddy days with Dylan. They look like giant moon boots and should raise a few eyebrows at the local park. How did we come to this ? We'll be wearing bum bags next. 

Dylan decided to customise my red pair even before I'd had the chance to wear them . Look closely and you'll see the unmistakeable pattern of puppy crocodile teeth.... there goes my waterproofing ! Must have felt nice on puppy gums though. Bless him. 

Dylan Does Mensa

Dylan has a new toy -  'the Dog Brick'. It's from a range made by those clever Swedes and I can see already they are right up Dylan's street . You fill the little round holes with treats then slide over the black 'window' blocks then have your dog try find the treats.

The instructions say that dogs take time to 'get it' and you should start by putting really tasty treats in there with all the 'windows' open so the dog can work out what to do . Needless to say Dylan didn't need all that... straight in and opening the windows with his little cat paws first time. 

Only trouble is, he can't seem to work out when he's already eaten the treat - left to his own devices he would probably carry on flicking open the windows for hours on end sniffing out a non existent treat . But that would just be mean! 

 I usually go for 2 refills then take it away - Dylan is devastated at this point and does his best 'puppy dog plea' - paws together and staring balefully at the shelf. I won't give in though. One day I shall be the boss of this young terrier scamp....

P.S. Sorry about the extended bottom shot - I'll never make it as a film director !

Dog Days

More frolics at the lilac park and Dylan 'playing dead' after a long long dog day...

Dylan - The Freedom to Walk Tour

I took Dylan to this amazing 'puppy play area' yesterday. It's a large area of parkland with one of the biggest collection of lilacs in the world. A huge area of the park has been surrounded by fencing to prevent rabbits attacking the lilacs and, in an amazingly dog friendly initiative, the council have agreed that residents can use this area for puppy play. It's completely fenced in and only used by dog owners - what a stunning place!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday and Dylan was able to run around having a manic time with other pups and dogs without any fear of him doing his houdini act and never being seen again. Here he is with his Cairn Terrier friend....

Dylan Cam - first walk

The day finally arrived for Dylan's first 'proper' walk today. Off we went to the local Rugby ground-this seemed apt as Dylan's pedigree name is Arthur Chilcott - Chilcott being a famous rugby player apparently . I don't know anything about rugby but I love saying the name in a strong Yorkshire accent- I only use it when he's in trouble...that's quite a lot now I think about it!

Dylan couldn't believe his luck as he saw the massive green expanse in front of him...with smells, sights and sounds of other pooches everywhere. After 10 minutes of bucking bronco with the leash and an attempt to escape by ...you've guessed it...tearing at my trouser legs, Dylan had a fantastic walk. Well more of a 'stop start wander' but you get the picture.

Along the way he met 3 dogs - a 12 year old spaniel who was horrified at Dylan's attempts to climb on top of his head , a Labrador and a HUGE cross breed who was absolutely gorgeous and very gentle with Dylan. I think the dog's owner was very surprised at Dylan's bravery - size means nought to our little scamp and he ran up for a play immediately and would have happily gone home with the big fella. We also met a man trying to make his way home with what looked like a huge hangover and a very bad head....Dylan greeted him like a long lost friend and he managed to break a smile - I like to think Dylan made his day. 

Here he is ...

Dylan cleans up, and other stories ..

Hi All! Thought I'd better scribble something just to let you know that I AM still involved in Dylan's upbringing, though admittedly Susan is doing most of the work. After years of committed dog non-ownership, on Thursday I found myself accompanying Susan to Puppy School in Eastbourne, who'd have thought such a thing would ever happen? We arrived a tad late (I was tired, and grumpy, sorry Suzie) feeling a bit intrusive as it was week three for the other paricipants and we were newbies. The lady running the course was very down to earth, literally so as when she addressed us she knelt on the floor at one end of the room, which was a vet's waiting room. All us trainee dog-owners sat around the edge of the room on chairs, nervously holding back our excited pooches and hoping that our's would not be the first to do something embarrassing. The class was well worthwhile and we received several useful pieces of advice, particularly how to hold Dylan under control when he gets aggressive. During the class there was a socialisation period during which the puppies were given free reign to frolic round the floor together. For some time Dylan was struggling to hold his own against a young Staffordshire terrier pup, it was a bit like someone being outclassed in a wrestling match so eventually our teacher requested that 'Hulk Hogan' be removed by his owner to give poor Dylan a chance to run around without being pinned to the mat every five minutes. Free of his oppressor Dylan took off down the room at pace, then hit a slippery patch and lost his footing. Everything went into slow motion as most of the room watched Dylan gliding on his side, straight through a puddle of pee recently deposited at the end of the room by one of his larger classmates. An audible 'ohhh noooo' escaped the lips of myself and several other owners in unison;as we watched, Dylan righted himself, steered into a turn and raced back towards the trainer. At this point it became clear that our teacher had not witnessed Dylan's 'canine mop' impression, before we had time to warn her she had opened her arms to welcome the damp welsh rocket into her embrace. I shouldn't admit it but I have to say that the look of distaste she gave when Dylan made contact was the funniest thing I had seen all day, I really couldn't stop myself laughing. To her credit, after quickly shaking Dylan out of her lap the trainer recovered her poise and took it in her stride, I would imagine it wasn't the first time she has been sponged by a smelly dog! I know, I know, I shouldn't laugh. Sorry!

To get uptodate, I had a fabulous time at a party hosted by great friends last night (you know who you are, marvellous cocktails and super band). Why I am I mentioning this on a 'dog blog' ? Well, much to my suprise I awoke with only the barest smidgeon of a hangover, and much to Susan's suprise agreed to drive down to the beach with Dylan first thing in the morning. Okay, I admit the presence of a beach-side cafe and the promise of a fry-up were additional incentives not to be sniffed at. Fortifed by an 'english breakfast we gave the young scamp a run out on the beach, it was a lovely bracing morning, plenty of white horses and only hardy surfers out on the water (nutters). We forgot the camera but we have some mobile phone pictures which I hope we will include soon with this blog entry. There should also be some images of his lordship sunning it in the garden when the sun belatedly decided to come out AFTER our return from the beach. Cheers all, Kevx.

P.S. from Susan:Here's the photos.  I've also been trying for days to get some pictures of Dylan with a familiar object as I keep being asked how tall he is - here is my attempt to measure him up against the milk carton for scale. As ever Dylan had other ideas ...

When Dylan met Betty

Dylan had a very exciting afternoon today as he met a beautiful little Jack Russel Puppy called Betty. Betty is going to be in the same Puppy School so we thought it would be a good idea to get them together in the garden before they start school.

Betty is a little younger than Dylan and just seeing the cute little dot made us realise how much Dylan has grown. He was towering over her and pawing away like a mad giant ... Kev and I had to grapple the little lunatic to the ground a few times. Poor Betty didn't know what was going on for the first half an hour. I guess Dylan was bound to be a bit territorial on his own patch but he does need to learn some puppy manners fast - I don't think he's realised yet that not all puppies want to run around at 80 miles an hour and play rough. Soon though, Betty was holding her own and gave him a few swipes and nips back - go for it Betty! The girl's got spirit. I expect Dylan will get detention when they get to school and Betty will be gold stars all the way. 

After a while things calmed down and Betty and Dylan settled down to enjoy a chicken stock ice cube in the sun - ahhhhh.  

Wash Day

I know I had another peg here somewhere.......

Son of the sea

'Dylan' is a Welsh name that means 'son of the sea' - perfect for a Welsh Terrier living on the coast. I read somewhere this week that it is fine to put young pups down on a bit of beach where the tide has just gone out leaving pristine beach with no sources of infections lurking so I popped Dylan into his travel crate today and off we went to the beach. I used the retracting lead to let him have a bit of a runaround by the sea and he absolutely loved it ....except, as you can see by the look on his face, he would have really liked a much longer lead. There's no pleasing this dog! He came home with little wet paws and went to sleep for the rest of the day like a good old salty seadog should.

Dylan Meets Fizz

Dylan met his soon to be regular companion Fizz on Sunday- they had a fantastic time tearing around the garden & round and round the tent. Fizz is a collie/springer cross and a beautiful dog - apart from putting Dylan in his place a couple of times she was very tolerant of his antics. It looks like a firm friendship is on the cards and Dylan loved all the fuss from the children too. A much more positive experience than the pekinese party! He clapped out for the rest of the day when we got home and there was barely a murmur from him that night. Must borrow Fizz more often...

Eat Your Greens

Dylan continues his run of trying to eat everything in the garden. A few days ago he discovered my little grow bag of rocket from last year. It's started to spring up again unaided but I don't think we'll be having it on our salads this year...

Dylan and the handbag have finally parted company- he is just not a 'handbag dog' and my arms can't take anymore sharp teeth as he desperately attempts to leap out at every opportunity. We have bought him a little travel crate which he is most impressed with.  It's brilliant for going out in the car an no travel sickness so far - he loves his new little mobile home and I suspect will be touring widely this summer.  Coming soon at a campsite near you...

Last Days of the Teddy Blanket

A few weeks before we collected Dylan, we left a little 'teddy blanket' to have in his sleep area - the idea is that this picks up the scent of the mum and litter mates and is a comfort to the puppy when you bring them home. All worked really well and the little blue blanket has been a constant companion since Dylan arrived, usually staying in his crate where he sleeps with it at night. I haven't wanted to wash it but yesterday it seems Dylan decided the blanket was no longer a comforter but a new toy. He dragged it all over the house shaking it like a rabbit until....well...you can see the results ... I'm afraid blanket and teddy head are now 'separated'. The look on his face when the head came off was quite something but sadly I didn't have my camera . Still he seems to enjoy carrying the head around in his mouth even more  - gruesome if you ask me!

Dylan continues to terrier-ise us most days- flapping trousers still a favourite and chewing arms is a constant pleasure for him but definitely not for us. Especially as it's at its worse first thing in the morning. His latest tactic is to carry a cuddly toy onto Kev's feet and pretend he's chewing that , then sneakily move his teeth over the ankle area shortly after!  I was pleased to hear that Dylan's mum,Darcy, also liked to chew trousers when she was a pup and one of his little litter mates is doing the same in his new home- at least we are not alone. It's all in the genes.  Thanks for the moral support Julie! 

Dylan's first 'puppy party' at the vets turned out to be more of a 1 on 1- there was only Dylan and a very placid Pekingese there! (perhaps someone had told the other pup's he was coming?) Mixing Dylan with a dog that is mainly carried and had hardly been down on the floor at all was NOT a match made in heaven. Dylan thought "what a fantastic new fluffy toy" and jumped all over it. The Pekingese thought "Really! I'm never going down on the floor again if this is what it entails."  Even when it came to be weighed, Dylan demanded to go first pushing the Pekingese off the scales...so embarrassing! Perhaps another party next week when there's some bigger dogs to keep him in line...

And finally, Dylan's antics with the cork have finally been captured on video. He's subsequently realised the game was up and taken the cork elsewhere - he doesn't give up that boy. 

Happy puppy days. 

Dylan and Digby

Sally and Digby came over today to say hello to Dylan . It was all way too exciting for Dylan who decided to do his Tasmanian Devil impression running around the garden like the maddest mad-thing in madtown and doing super 'tigger jumps' at poor old Digby.

Here's a quiet moment before the chaos started...

Thanks for the squeaky hotdog Digby- he loves it and is now big enough to carry it around the kitchen !

Bank Holiday

A busy busy bank holiday for Dylan with lots of visitors and excitement. On Friday we took him to the local pub for a little G & T after work (for us not Dylan.... he was happy with a stripy straw!) Once again he drew the crowds and it's amazing how he can be doing his manic houdini act one moment, desperately trying to escape his bag , but then stops stark still and does a  'how cute am I?' pose the minute a stranger approaches. The barmaid loved him!

I think the highlight of the weekend for Dylan was a visit from our friends and their daughter Savi who loves dogs and was absolutely brilliant with him - little Dylan played and played 'til he clapped out on her lap for the rest of the afternoon! He also had a little 'home alone' in his crate while I cycled down to the Brighton Festival Children's Parade and Jamie Oliver's new place for lunch - seems he slept the whole 2 hours . Great timing and great lunch. 

We have become the petting zoo of the street. At one point this weekend we had both sets of neighbours and their own friends and family hanging over the fence to catch a glimpse of Dylan scampering around . His favourite toy at the moment is a champagne cork he found in the garden (nothing to do with us gov) - he seems to take particular pride in it as it is his own retrieved treasure and he has several hiding places for it in the garden to keep it hidden away from us. Wish we had a webcam to watch his stealth tactics. 

After all the excitement of the weekend and some fantastic training sessions (more later), Dylan settled down to eat a frozen banana in the sun. It's a dog's life.

Susan

 

Sitting Dylan

Dylan completely showed off with Kev in the garden today -sitting and lying to command with the aid of a clicker. One man and his dog! Or is it Barbara Woodhouse?

Like a true Welsh Terrier he got bored with following command eventually and decided to do it his own way!

Flower Pot Dog

Spinning around

Another  sunny day and Dylan started the morning with a chillout in the deckchair- he really is starting to take this 'sit' business a little bit too far! Kev started training him to 'lie down' last night - annoyingly, it seemed to work well straight away - Dylan was a superstar a couple of times and did the whole sit to lie down thing...but when I tried it today , 'down' seems to have translated in Dylan's head to 'pounce on your owner's hand, toenails at the ready' ! Close though...

I decided to get Dylan his own cushion to sit on in the front room -  as you can see,  I didn't measure the one I ordered!  It's a tad on the large side but Dylan seems to like it. Think of it as an oversized sofa for the stylish urbanite dog. 

The plush duck took a battering again today as Dylan 'did a Kylie' and started spinning around... Tasmanian Devil eat your heart out!