Dylan goes North

We went to see my mam for her birthday this week up in the North East. What a glorious sunny weekend it was and Dylan had lots of fun and frolics on the local beach, running around in the sand like a crazy thing. He's only ever seen a pebble beach before! We were so lucky with the weather and super photographer Kev was there too so I actually feature in a picture or two! (Note to self... must teach Dylan how to take snapshots. Wonder if it's on the puppy school curriculum?)

Dylan took a real shine to my mam - think it might be something to do with her trip to the local butcher's to get him some lovely bones.....he seems to feel like a 'proper dog' when he has a bone and struts around with bits of gristle and marrowbone stuck to his fluffy legs. He also took to squeezing himself into any spot near mam's favourite chair and contorted himself into all kinds of positions before napping contentedly at her feet whenever he got the chance.

Thanks Mam - we all had a brilliant weekend !

New Best Friend

Chris and little Dan came to visit us from Manchester this weekend. For once, Chris managed not to bring drizzly rain down with him and we've had a fantastic weekend on the beach. Dylan loved having a little playmate all weekend and the naughty puppy has completely tired himself out running around, chasing bubbles (and Dan!) and doing a bit of sea paddling. If you look carefully at the bottom right corner on the video below you'll see our little salty sea dog making a very professional quick exit as soon as he comes close to the deeper water.... he's in plenty of deep water most days already!

It's 7.30pm now and Dylan is sitting here looking all forlorn at the loss of his new best friend and pottering around the house checking to see if Dan is still here. His ears are clagged up with chicken bubble soap and his little legs more scraggy than usual from all that salt water. Looks like we'll have to take the little fella up North for a visit soon and put the 'smile' back on his face.

THANK YOU DAN ...for being so kind to little Dylan and and giving him the best weekend he's had in ages- We'll get some more bubbles in for your next visit!

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?

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

 

Vets, Ducks, Friends and Puppy Bags

What a day little Dylan has had!  First thing this morning Kev and I rushed him off to the vets where he was given a full MOT  - he didn't mind eating the treats but objected to having his tail lifted and his ears examined- perfectly understandable.  Then it was time for the first immunisation- our vet is lovely and a true professional- I don't think he even noticed the injection as he was so busy snuffling around the table after the strategically placed food treats. Jab 1 complete.

Shortly after returning home our friend Ray arrived to help fix our chronically troublesome shower - a good socialisation opportunity for Dylan which he embraced wholeheartedly ! And with help from Kev 'the plumber's mate' we finally got our shower fixed  - all hail the super Plumber Ray!

Then it was time for more adventures. We have 3 weeks now until Dylan's jabs are complete and he can be put down on the floor for a 'proper walk' - in the meantime we have to get him out as much as possible as this is a key time for socialisation and it's really important he has as many experiences as possible. This is where the 'puppy bag' comes in.He's quite happy in there as you can see (helped by the fact that he'd already had some jaunts in a wicker basket with his 'first family'- thank you!).  Off we went down to our local pet shop - on the way we were assaulted by the usual town noises- air brakes on buses, pedestrian crossings, curious people, children and the noise of cars rushing around - Dylan was a star and was so sleepy after his jab that he dozed right off in the bag , with his head and front paws lolling around outside. Gave a woman in the pet shop quite a turn when he woke up as she had thought he was a cuddly toy! 

Then home again and, after a quick tug of war game in the garden with his plush duck, Dylan has spent the rest of the day flat out asleep. I suspect it's going to be a long long night...

Susan