And Then There Were 5

It's a hard life at Dogs to Stay - the guests obviously don't feel at home at all.

Well until 8.00 this evening when Zomba joins the pack .... watch this space.

Lappy days

Aplogies and Reasons, NOT Excuses

 last entry was on Sunday, I had intended to update the blog of Keksi and Ismo's stay yesterday (Tuseday) however the gremlins got into our BT Home Hub (wireless router for the uninitiated) and as a result had no internet until Wednesday afternoon.  What happened to Monday's entry?  I hear you ask - well sorry about that but having a wisdom tooth extracted that day was more painful than I thought it would be.

Anyway - enough of me and my problems, lets talk about the guests.

Kiva and Keksi Relax in the Lounge

Other than Ismo's fondness to impersonate a seal our 2 guests really are no trouble at all.  Coming downstairs in the morning is a true joy - Ismo and Keksi make it quite obvious how pleased they are to see us - though trying to stroke 4 dogs at the same time can be an issue.

Kiva and Keksi in the Kitchen
(the grout should be lighter btw)

The shot below is indicative of how the dogs get on - angst is most definately not on the menu with these pack members.

 Keksi and Mylo .... ahh, bless

I tried to get all 4 of them in this picture but ismo was being stubborn and refused to leave the lounge.

3 Happy Lappies (Ismo was camera shy for this one)

Oh, if you would like to see where we walk why not check this link out: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts?w=p2jT44urURQ though I'm not sure about the 80mph max speed.

As we say at Dogs to Stay "Lappy days"

Keksi and Ismo's Return Visit

It was over a year ago when Keksi and Ismo were last with us and, until Thursday, it wasn't definite that they would be coming to Dogs to Stay because of the flight disruptions due to the Icelandic volcano.  However they are here and have been since Friday - and what a pleasure they have been.

We have enjoyed some glorious walks - little and often, well not so little for some of them, being the order of the day - and, when not walking or playing the dogs are all very relaxed.  The chemistry between them is a joy to watch - Keksi and Mylo seem to have become an item with Keksi paying particular attention to Mylo's ears - Kiva is almost ambivalent to the guests and Ismo is as good as gold, helping Louise in the kitchen (ever willing to wash any vegetables that might inadvertently drop on the floor) and, contrary to what I expected, remarkably quiet - well, fairly quite, until I pick up his lead.

 

I have just upgraded my mobile phone and as a result now have one of these fancy "smart" phones onto which one can download "apps" (no Luddite me) one of which allows me to track my walks.  I now know that the "round the village" is 1.9 miles and the longer "across the field" walk is 2.5 miles - when I have worked out how to do so I will post the links to a web site which allows you to see the actual route.  As I write Louise is preparing Sunday lunch with Keksi, Ismo, Mylo and Kiva at her side hoping for some more dropped carrots - having dogs underfoot whilst cooking certainly makes the job more interesting.  Not long now before lunch is served - the dogs will be getting theirs too.

Lappy days.

Now THIS is a Husky

For the past three and half years we have had to deal with people we meet whilst out walking the dogs who ask "Are they Huskies?" or "Look at those gorgeous Huskies" to which we have to explain that the aren't Huskies but Finnish Lapphunds.

The Husky was the first dog that we considered getting before eventually deciding to go for Finnish Lapphunds - I had always wondered what having one of the Lappies relatives would be like - now I know. Dogs to Stay were asked to have a 6 month Siberian Husky stay overnight - and who am i to say no? Viggo joined us at 1.00 and since then has played with Kiva, played with Mylo, played with Kiva and Mylo, drank lots of water (much of it whilst lying down) been for a walk and is now ..... playing with Mylo.

A Day Tinged With Sadness

As well as having 2 lapphunds, and looking after many others, we have also spent the past 7 years in the company of 2 cats. Brother and sister Sam and Lucky came to us from the RSPCA as three year old cats that had never been outdoors. They quickly settled themselves in and have been part of the furniture for 7 years. Their noses were put out of joint a little by the arrival, back in 2006, of Mylo, but since then have become dog tolerant.

Four weeks ago we discovered a lump on Sam's shoulder and around his chest - a visit to the vet saw us informed that he had cancer. We discussed the options open to us, one of which was spending a small fortune with no guarantee that he would be any better. We decided to make Sam's last weeks as comfortable as possible and have been amazed at how he had stubbornly refused to give in to his illness. Yesterday, however, we decided that the time had come to do the right thing and give him a dignified end to his full life.

It wasn't easy for Lou and I, lots of tears were shed, however Sam is now pain free. Run free in Rainbow Valley - Milly will have been waiting for you.

As well as saying goodbye to Sam we also said cheerio to Wheeto - leaving us with Obi as our only guest. Dogs are remarkable creatures because they have been so calm since Louise's and my return from the vets - it's almost as if they new something was remiss. Accordingly yesterday evening was very relaxed and, perhaps more importantly, this morning was very quiet.

With no invalid on the bed the decision was made to let the dogs upstairs. I think Obi appreciated it and will hopefully look forward to his next visit - he goes home today and he too will be missed :-(

Lappy days

And Owners Stay Too ....

Yesterday was Wheeto's last day with us as Laura, his humum came to collect him - she arrived in the early afternoon and left this morning; she appeared to like it so much that she wanted to stay too .... all part of the service at Dogs to Stay. We enjoyed a nice walk with the pack through the village and across the fields and a very pleasant evening talking dogs, well actually talking Lapphunds - there is a difference you know.

Louise and I walked the dogs before breakfast whilst Laura enjoyed a lie in - before leaving she and I took a few final pictures of the pack, we tried to get a shot of all 4 on the top step, sadly they did not cooperate.



After Laura and left with Wheeto I, along with Mylo, Kiva and Yoda, sorry, Obi, met up with Phil and Fat Sal for a hike across the fields and, for the first time this year, was able to walk without getting muddy - I could get used to this warm and dry weather.

Obi and Kiva post walk

Damn - No Pictures So I Better Do Some Words

I no longer need to write about Wheeto as his owner, Laura, has come to visit - apparently her husband, Michael had to curtail their holiday for work commitments - pft, I think Laura was missing Wheeto. Laura is with us for the night and will discover more of the village and the walks around it tomorrow.

Yoda, sorry Obi, is with us 'till Wednesday and he is, as always, Mr Chill - or as Yoda would say - "Mr Chill I am". I am seriously thinking about not being in on Wednesday when his hufamily come to collect him ... We shall miss Obi, he is rather special.

Pictures Speak Thousands of Words

The Joys of a Lie In

Wheeto woke us at 8.30 ..... nuff said, today is going to be a good day, even the weather looks like being kind for us and our visitors (Oskar, with Wendy, making the trek from far flung Malvern).

If you are wondering how it went see below ....



Lappy days :-)

More Sun ....

Another beautiful day that, for a change, didn't start that early - thanks Wheeto. However we have managed to pack loads into it.

The dogs have enjoyed having the run of the garden - it looks as though the care we took of it over the winter will ensure that we have something green to look out on this summer :-)

Life with the 2 guests has become almost a routine - there is no angst, everyone gets on and everyone is chilled - if Obi was any more chilled he'd be an iceberg.

We have just returned from a walk through the village and across the fields - all perfectly calm until we saw a whippet running alongside a cyclist - not something you see everyday and certainly a new experience for Wheeto. He has certainly been introduced to some interesting sights during his stay.

I should have taken lots of photos but for some obscure reason the battery on my camera wouldn't charge - fortunately that problem has no been fixed so .... watch this space.

As promised

More Blue Sky; Thanks Gordon.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that ever since our unelected prime minister announced a general election that the weather has taken a turn for the better :-) So, at last, I have something to be grateful to the Labour (sic) party for.

Anyway, enough political satire - you came here to read about dogs and we have plenty of those, so many in fact that I can't escape from my desk. I would take a photo of them all but unfortunately to get my camera would mean disturbing them - and that would be cruel.

Wheeto woke us at 6.45 again, that dog is either smart (knowing Lou had to leave early today) or Obi isn't playing with him - let's see what happens tomorrow.

We have done the first walk of the day; Obi calmly walking alongside with Wheeto at the front eagerly hunting out sticks to pick up, carry, chew, discard. Home for breakfast, yup, you guessed it; 4 dogs = 4 different diets. Obi having his raw mince and kibble, Wheeto his "Fish for Dogs", Kiva and Mylo a mixture of kibble and, in Mylo's case Nature Diet and for Kiva 1/2 a pouch of Butchers tripe - fussy buggers.

They all enjoyed a treat last evening being allowed to lick clean the pot used to cook my speciality ham and mushrooms in creme fraiche served with pasta.

After dinner Kiva decided to make herself comfortable.

Last evening whilst updating the Dogs to Stay Facebook page I got into conversation with a fellow Lappy owner living in the Lake District (lucky for some eh?). She was keen to find out who "the big boy with the good coat" was, when told it was Obi and that he had been neutered Sara responded; "He does look lovely. Typical, every time you see one with a good coat it's always because they have been neutered." Obi; you have another fan.

Thursday Part 2

Blue skies prevailed - it was even warm enough to go out without a coat, it looks as though spring has finally sprung. The dogs have loved being able to have the run of the garden and the ground floor of the house.

They have also enjoyed their walks especially being off-lead in a secure field - fortunately I had another pair of hands, and eyes, to keep watch on them - hardly necessary as they were all reliable with their recall.

Much of their afternoon has seen them totally chilled - playing in the garden and 4 mile walks seems to be wearing them out .... until after dinner that is.



It's all part of the fun at Dogs to Stay - Lappy Days

But It Didn't Work Today

Lappies - you have to love them don't you, especially at 6.30 in the morning!

Memo to Wheeto - if you can't see us in the morning we're still asleep - so please, no more noise in the early hours.

Rant over - the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the dogs have been fed, watered and exercised and as I write they are all sleeping - which is nice.

Though chilly yesterday we enjoyed 3 walks, a pre-breakfast amble, an hour's trek across the fields after lunch and a stroll round the village before dinner - the dogs loved it but it all this exercise is beginning to tell on my right knee, bizarrely one of the few parts of my body I have never injured but that is now giving me some gip - old age I suppose :-(

I spent some time yesterday going through my photo archives and uploaded some of the better (sic) ones to the Dogs to Stay Facebook page; you don't have to be a member to see them so why not click here; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dogs-to-Stay/346579877322?ref=ts

I will be uploading some more today but in the meantime here are some I took yesterday:

Wheeto in what used to be Mylo's chair

Three in a row

Obi looking stunning whilst Kiva looks on

Obi and Wheeto on the kitchen floor, Obi assures me that he is really comfortable

The Cunning Plan Worked

Obi's presence has had the desired effect - Wheeto didn't wake us at the crack of dawn :-) Obviously having someone new to play with tired him out and amused him this morning.

First walk of the day saw Louise and I take the pack round the village - a great opportunity for them to do their business under various bushes and hedges. Wheeto, rather amusingly, had klingons which saw him take a few steps - squat, a few steps more - squat, before we took pity on him and removed the offending article. It was probably very cruel of us to laugh but it was amusing.

Breakfast has been served - all is calm, Mylo under the kitchen table, Obi asleep to my right, Wheeto to my left and Kiva behind me (OK - use your imagination here please folks; I am at my desk, my chair can't be moved either left or right - I can't move it back - I am stuck).

Oh well, if I can't get away from my desk I better get some work done.

Lappy days

And Then There Were Four

Firstly: "Hello to Laura's mum and dad" - Wheeto's biggest fans.


Secondly: Laura, what do we need to do to discourage Wheeto from waking at 5.30am?

Actually I think we have the answer to that as the wonderful Obi has come back for a stay and the way he and Wheeto are playing suggests that they might just tire each other out.



Obi is a wonderful boy and this is his third, or maybe fourth, visit to Dogs to Stay - he has, as you will see, the most magnificent coat and a wonderful temperament. He also has a rather bizarre diet; a golf ball size ball of raw mince (now mixed in with a handful of kibble, I think his hufamily are spoiling him) for breakfast whilst for dinner he has a layer of kibble covered with milk topped off with a carefully measured quantity of cooked chicken. Pft, some dogs do get treated well.



Earlier this afternoon we met up with Fat Sal for a walk - my cunning plan being that another pair of hands means I only had to hold 3 leads, and enjoyed a stroll around the village and across the odd field - all good, and surprisingly, rather clean fun.

The untypical Bank Holiday weather meant that the lawn has had a chance to dry out and, after a quick cut, the dogs have been enjoying playing outside - hopefully this will mean a relaxed a chilled evening, then again maybe another walk might be in order - past the pub maybe .... now there's a thought.

Mad dogs and Englishmen etc.

Mylo, who doesn't "do" crates does a crate

Wheeto admires Obi's tail thinking "when am I going to get one like that?"

Now That's What I Call a Bank Holiday

No rain, good company, enjoyable walks and well behaved dogs.

Well, almost well behaved dogs as Wheeto decided to wake us at 7.00 - somewhat earlier than when Zack was with us - maybe he was bored and wanted someone to play with. Oh well at least it meant I could read the paper in peace whilst Louise enjoyed a lie in with a cup of tea and Sam who, thankfully, is still with us and was busy purring when I took her Louise's up.

As it was a nice morning, nice = no rain ;-) I decided to take the pack out for an early stroll round the village - I didn't see a soul - it was beautiful. At 10.00, Lou now being up, we took the dogs out to join in the village Fun Run - a 1.8 mile charity fun run between the 2 Priors villages - well it would have been 1.8 miles but we decided to walk there and back - we didn't win however we did walk further than most (well that's our excuse).

With the dogs well and truly chilled it has been a very relaxing day for all of us. Tomorrow Obi comes to join us for a week - Wheeto will be pleased because our new guest, like Zack, does enjoy his jiggy jiggy. Hopefully it will mean that we don't get woken to early again.

The pack have had their tea and Wheeto is currently chewing on Lou's slipper - she asked me to ask if this is normal procedure or does he normally wait 'till you have taken them off? ;-)

No Rain - it Can't be a Bank Holiday Surely

It's Easter Sunday - we have enjoyed 2 walks, and it hasn't rained !! Now that must be a Bank Holiday weekend record. As result the dogs have been able to enjoy the whole garden as opposed to just the all weather areas - and boy have they enjoyed it.


Sadly Zack has gone home - he'll be back though in May, it might not be the same though as Wheeto will have taken his vet bed back home and Zack did get rather attached to it.

In Zack's absence Wheeto has had to encourage Mylo and Kiva to play with him - Mylo kindly obliged - I think Wheeto might be regretting it though because Mylo is somewhat older, wiser and more experienced at playing with puppies than Zack - Wheeto is now shattered.

Sunday being Sunday the dogs were fed their very own Sunday Roast - Lamb being the order of the day, and rather nice it was too, the dogs agreed.

All is quite at the moment, Mylo lying at my feet, Kiva in the kitchen and Wheeto, after a couple of amusing sliding off incidents is under the coffee table.

Guess What - It's Raining

However we did manage to enjoy a couple of nice walks - the latter in the company of Fat Sal. The dogs have all enjoyed their dinner, though I am not convinced that Wheeto enjoyed the chopped cabbage that much, and, as is customary post-dinner = play time.



As I write peace has resumed; Mylo is in his kennel, Kiva asleep in the lounge, Zack is in the crate (from choice I hasten to add) and Wheeto is on Mylo's (formerly my) chair.

I would like to think that Wheeto quite likes it here :-)

Keeping the Hund's Apart

Having a selection of dogs in the house is always interesting and watching them interact is an education, well it certainly is with Zack here as he is besotted with his nephew. Because of this I made the decision to keep him and Wheeto apart during the night; Wheeto slept in the kitchen with Kiva and Mylo, Zack slept on my bed !! That wasn't the plan - I had wanted him to sleep on the floor, however turning over during the night was made somewhat difficult with Zack's presence - no matter, a good, and safe night was had by one and all.

Breakfast was served - well the dogs' was, and then it was time for their walk in blue sky and sunshine, wait - it's Easter, that can't be right :-0

Wheeto continues to amaze us with his maturity and behaviour, oh, and his endearing habit of walking through the village with a twig, branch or half a tree hanging out of his mouth.

Lappy Easter folks - it is here.

Good Friday - Part 2

Unfortunately it's been typical Bank Holiday weather - yup, rain. However we have managed to get out in between showers. At midday we met up with Fat Sal and her hufamily for a walk through the village and across the fields - an opportunity for Mylo to go walkabout, Sal and Kiva to play and Wheeto to collect sticks. One of the downsides of living here is that any walk involves passing the pub and, after an enjoyable walk what could be better than a pint?

Wheeto was as good as gold - once again the quality of his training was a credit to his owners, then again he might just have been tired.

Later in the afternoon Zack arrived for a weekend stay - for those of you not in the know it is Zack who is responsible for Dogs to Stay as he was our first guest - Zack is also Kiva's brother and therefore Wheeto's uncle. I think Zack likes having a nephew - well he likes licking his ear and trying to do (as Ranbir, Zack's hudad would say) jiggy jiggy with him.

We made the decision to take the dogs out for a walk before feeding them so it was Louise and I and the pack of 4. On our return it was dinner time, well it was for Kiva, Mylo and Wheeto - Zack declined his delicious looking kibble - maybe later.

As write the dogs are all calm, for once Zack isn't licking Wheeto's ear or pestering him, Kiva is asleep with her head sticking through the dog flap, Zack, Mylo and Wheeto are sleeping on the lounge floor.


Lappy days.

How's Italy? It's Great Here :-)

All is well with Wheeto who has quickly settled in to become part of the pack. He slept through the night waking at 7.30 - went out to be busy and then began his new day playing with Kiva and Mylo.

Breakfast was served and enjoyed by all of them - does Wheeto have carrots? Well he does now and boy does he enjoy them.

All is quiet at the moment - 3 dogs sleeping after their first walk of the day. Wheeto met some of the local characters; black labs, a gaggle of terriers, a sheltie and a spaniel - totally unfazed and impeccably well behaved. Later we will be walking with the black lab Fat Sal (I must stop calling her that as she is now quite slim) and if things go according to plan we might just have to call in to the village pub, well it is Easter, the sun is shining and the sky is blue (knowing my luck as soon as I press "Publish Post" the weather will change).

Wheeto is very well behaved and the training his hufamily have carried out with him has been to good effect - now if only I could get Mylo to behave as well as our 5 month old guest I will be happy.

Jobs For The Day

9.30 - take Kanto home (done)
11.00 - walk Kiva and Mylo (done, c/w Fat Sal and Phil)
12.00 - leave home to drive south down M1 to collect Wheeto (done)
1.00 - meet Laura and Mikey to collect Wheeto (done, though it took longer than expected because Laura didn't want to say goodbye).
2.45 - get home (done, though it took longer than expected due to 50mph speed lmits being enforced through roadworks to "protect workforce" - what bloody workforce?)
3.00 - watch Wheeto play with Kiva and Mylo (done, finally finished playing at 5.30 when I started writing this entry, when not playing he has spent most of his time exploring the toy box; bones found to date - 15)
5.30 - start writing blog and upload a few photos (done).

Mylo and Wheeto Compare Teeth Whilst Kiva Looks On

When I started writing this entry Wheeto was sleeping on the kitchen floor.

However he soon woke when he realised that it was dinner time at Dogs to Stay

And after dinner it's time to wait to go into the garden and be busy

All is good at Dogs to Stay it would seem, Lappy days indeed.