Hippopotamus Days

Phew it was sunny and hot hot hot today. I went up to have a drink from my favourite mill pond and guess what...it had turned into a mud bath !  It looked just like one of those places I've seen big Hippo-pot-a-puppys roll about in on telly. 

Well, you know what they say....when in Rome....

You've got to love the South Downs....

This green water tastes LOVELY!

Now hold on a minute there staff...I don't like that look in your eye.... I know EXACTLY how to get this mud off....no worries...works every time. No really....I can do this....there's no need to run a bath...

Right, that's me clean then.... told you I could do it!

Uh oh......THREE baths later!  

But it was WORTH IT ! 

Spring is here, time to get digging ....

What's everyone looking at?

Ah well, back to the garden. Watch out worms here I come!

Woofus Wainwright - Playing my Piano

We stayed at some of the staffs' friends yesterday and they had a big noisy wooden box with weird black and white bits on it - think they called it a pee-ano or something. Anyway, after my staff had finished banging away at it, I had a bit of a go myself. Not bad either. I might even do a show at Pup Aid if they have the right kind of security to keep a star of my calibre safe from the hoi polloi...

Thanks to Sally for her tolerance over the piano and for providing the perfect pun!

How to hide things from the staff

Ah, now , this is a message just for my doggy buddies. NO HOOMANS ALLOWED!

That's better. Well, I was given a bone yesterday from the lovely butcher stripy apron man down the road. Thing is, I'd already been gorging myself on leftover lamb so there was no way I could fit it in my full little terrier belly. So what I did was worked out how to hide the little 'white wonder' from the staff in case they saw I hadn't eaten it and threw it away

Here's how I did it. It's not easy burying things indoors, but I think I found a way. Pay attention my young apprentices...that the bone in the top left hand area of my bed

Job done!

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Now I had the time of my life...

Loving Life !, originally uploaded by susank66.

Ah, here I am finally off lead after DAYS of walking on the lead. Just cos I keep running after dogs and trying to leave the park with their owners, shouldn't mean I have to pound pavements for days!

Shame my staff didn't get her camera out quicker. If she had you would have seen me scattering a big gang of those white rabbits with wings I keep seeing down the beach. Not sure about those big beaks but they soon fly off when I go running over. Can you hear my feet plopping through the water? They got all clogged up with sandy cement stuff & I had to go in the bath AGAIN when I got back. Not impressed.

Dylan, Jody & the Great Duck Caper

I nicked a furry duckster off my new friend Jody yesterday - she was very determined to get it back. Look at that little diva go!  Don't think she counted on my super speed and clever half-turns! 

Sunny August Frolics

Off to the Recreation ground today in blazing sunshine- this heat is too much for a little Welsh lad to bear but I was off lead so I had to get in as many bunny hops as I could....

Here's me doing my 'Obedience Special' - just enough to get mum off her guard then ....well...you see that man in blue walking along in the background ? Seconds after the below I ran into him like a bullet and got him to spill that stinky smelling hooman beer all over himself. Ha ha.  Mum didn't take a video of that bit. Can't think why?

P.S.  I noticed mum taping up the hole in the dog bath today- I'm going to have to write this quickly then hide under a chair in case she tries and puts me in it ....HATE baths!

Dylan Woz Here

Just when I thought the garden was safe...

Ball...door...rope...duhhhhh

Dylan got his 'ball on a rope' caught behind the living room door tonight with the rope end sticking out under the door. Here's what happened....

Listen carefully for the confused growl.

Strictly Come... Licking

There's nothing Dylan likes better than an evening in front of Brucey and friends watching ballroom dancing and irritating his owners....

Bumper Car Dylan

Dylan has been obsessed with shredding his little beige bed and has managed to rip a big hole in the bottom of it . He was running around with it this afternoon and when I looked up he'd managed to tip it upside down, get underneath it then pop his head through the hole he'd torn. I wish I'd had the camera the moment his head popped through- he looked so surprised!

What Dylan thinks of photos

I made it to the post before Dylan today so no chewed letters or mangled envelopes....or so I thought. After popping into my study I half heard a quiet 'thud' coming from the kitchen. Stupidly I didn't go and investigate straight away. When I did just minutes later, I found Dylan had helped himself to the letters from on top of the the kitchen table, found the pack of freshly printed photographs of himself and proceeded to attack them. He tried to cut himself out of this one. Perhaps he didn't like the submissive pose...

Scenes of Devastation in Local Garden

Long term readers of this blog will remember Dylan's attack on my hanging basket.The half macerated basket has sat on top of the barbecue ever since waiting for me to get around to fixing or throwing it. Today Dylan decided enough was enough...if I couldn't make a decision , he would! The result? Well see for yourself....and here is he is examining the remains.

Frankendog's last stand

Dylan's favourite toy since we got him has been a little felt dog which I got free from a pet shop. It was re-named 'Frankendog' after I sewed up his torn bits with black cotton one day. Alas, Frankendog suffered a violent assault last night and lies injured and broken. Perpetrator unknown... but just who is that shadowy figure watching on ?

Mother and Son

We visited Dylan's mum, Darcy, and family today in Hampshire. Dylan was good as gold as ever in the car with only the occasional squeak from his toy dinosaur to be heard. Once there, he had a crazy afternoon running around at 100 mph and causing havoc in his lovable Dylan Dog way. He really loved having so many people fussing around him and a whole house to explore. Puppy heaven.

Darcy looked really wonderful and has fully recovered from having all those naughty puppies running around a few months ago. She is such a chilled out dog. We were amazed to see that Dylan at 5 months is just about as tall as Darcy already...is it possible we've been sold an Airedale by mistake?

Darcy and Dylan had some good runs around the garden which was a joy to see. Unfortunately we had to cut this short when Dylan took a fancy to the chickens.... see the video. He may not ever have actually gone in for the chomp but he does love roast chicken and I fancy he caught a scent of it when he sniffed the feathered birds! All in all he had a wonderful time springing around his long lost 'first family' and chewing on everyone's ears at every opportunity. He even found time to run upstairs a couple of times in search of the family cats. Needless to say, the little pupster is now flat out in front of the TV and can't even find the energy to gnaw at his favourite rug!

Thanks Julie,Gordon ,Callum, Jessica and Darcy for a lovely visit - we hope to see you all again soon!

Video Bonanza....Dylan and the Chicken

1. Mother and son frolic in the garden

2. Dylan meets chicken....

3. Dylan thinks about eating chicken ....

(disclaimer: no chickens were hurt in the making of this film!)

4. How Dylan prefers his chicken .....

(photo only)

5. Darcy pretends Dylan isn't there ...

'Good Citizen' Shocks Owner in Garden Rampage Incident!

This teething malarkey seems to be driving Dylan berserk. I've done nothing but chase him around the house all day removing his teeth from various forbidden objects (most teeth still attached to his gums...for now!)

Here he is on his favourite chair but in a new mischief making pose. Luckily I hadn't planted up the hanging baskets this year. The ancient clematis has also taken a hammering and it's trunk is scattered all over the garden. I'm sure there will be more to come.

Look at that innocent face....

P.S. I know I shouldn't be taking photos when he's naughty but you do have to laugh!

He's a baby

I took Dylan to the park last night for his final walk of the day. There was a big gang of teenager girls going past and they all became very excited gathering around Dylan shouting "here's a puppy"and "he's a baby, he's a baby!" at the top of their voices much to Dylan's excitement.

I carried on trying to drag Dylan past and it was only when I finally got away and saw what he had in his mouth that it all began to make sense!

The little scavenger is inseparable from his latest treasure - I fear it won't last the afternoon...

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 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 ...

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...