I know what we did last sumer Part 1 (at least I think I can remember)

First we went to Ventnor on the Isle of Wight.
There were scary wee hairy things. WAaaaaaaay too friendly for Hamish.One of the only really sunny days from what I remember. Smashing walk near Godshill.
Chilling on the cliff walk outside Ventnor.
It is very tiring being on holiday you know.
Very tiring indeed.
Oh, no....more hairy things.
Another Bisto moment.
Another idyllic picnic fun day.
Finally, a beach that likes dogs.
What a dog has to put up with, eh?
Hurry up these flies are really annoying.
We stopped here for a picnic.
What a pair, my boys.
Give me the ring please....I need the ring, I must have the ring. Pleeeeeeeeze!My presssssssssssssssshious, I got you now my precious. HaHa!
Hmmmmm. Has anyone seen Hamish!!!
Oh, no that tree is moving. Let's get outta here quick.Chocolate box Church.
No, I'm the handsome one.
Hamish always like to read up on his local history where ever he goes.
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside. Steephill Cove - Hamish loved the Crab Pasties and walked to heel with EVERYONE who had bought one.Wait, do I smell another one in the distance.
You're being very boring Steven.
Yes, yes the flowers are very pretty on the Isle of Wight.
The end of the road for now....look out for part 2 of our summer adventures - coming soon.

Vizsla Rescues Swimmers at Whitstable Beach Tea Party

What can be going on today I wonder? So much activity and no playing at all? All a bit boring for a holiday at the beach so far isnt' it?
Hamish decides to wait patiently and see what transpires. Anyway it's far too hot to whinge and whine for very long.Hang on, has everyone jumped ship and left Hamish to keep guard of the sandwiches? No I think he's on Lifeguard duty. Earlier, on the way along the seafront, he popped into the lifeguard's hut for some shade and got a few tips from the boys.
The current is looking mighty strong, Hamish keeps a close watch for that rip tide that just might wash his masters out to sea and then what would he do for dinner?
Hang on, this is looking pretty serious.....
Do you think it's wise to go in after them or are the sandwiches left unattended now?
A dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta to do.......fetch the humans if you want any supper and a nice warm bed tonight.
Finally Hamish pulled us into shallow waters safe and sound.
Didn't he do well? Now give over the sandwiches....please, pretty, please!
Saving lives is a very hard job indeed. But very rewarding too.

Heatwave Hits Hackney - Vizslak Refuse to Get out of the Water

Honestly, just imagine having no sweat glands and a fur coat on in this heat. How would YOU feel? Like a dead man walking? Hamish has never been so well behaved as he's not got an ounce of energy for misbehaving.
At least until, he dives in the cool, reviving waters of Regent's Canal, Victoria Park pond or......What's this? Did a spaceship land in our back garden last night? The best toy Hamish ever had. More photos will follow when friends come over to visit. One at a time please ladies. Welcome to the playboy mansion.

Two Timing in Epping (Shhhhhhh!)

Well, at least I've managed to stick to my resolution to visit Epping forest more often. Here we are again with the 'other woman' in Hamish's life - Ruby Red.

Water Rats in Ecstasy in Epping Forest - *Note to self - must go more often

Andrea and Lasse are very busy this week-end so we were very lucky to have Vigo for two days in a row. She is so well behaved we're hoping some of it will rub off on Hamish.
As the weather was so great today we decided that it would be nice to go to Epping Forest.What a great decision that turned out to be as we all had a really wonderful day.I think because of falling in the canal too often, Vigo is still at the paddling stage, swimming will come later. But she still likes to watch the birds, splash around and cool down in the water.I have decided that Epping Forest is our top, favourite, number one, bestest local(ish) dog paradise, even better than Hampstead Heath as it's much quieter and even more like the real countryside.We've only discovered a tiny bit of it so far and already we've came across 4 swimming ponds.And a few beaches too.The people and dogs seem much more friendly.Everyone is very happy and relaxed because of the beautiful sunshine today though.As Vigo doesn't swim yet she has learnt an old trick from Hamish which is to wait until the retrieving dog approaches the bank and ambush them and steal their dummy.We met a sausage dog called Daniel - not the eating kind of sausage, but not much more than a mouthful.Now that the weather is warmer Hamish is very eager to get in that water. He is more enthusiastic about water retrieving than on land I think.Vigo tries her luck again in the shallows.
This one is a lily pond.Sleepy dogs coming home on the train. Lots of deeply satisfied long sighs.
The best of friends. Make the most of the bed while you can Vigo.

Life is NEVER humdrum when you own a Vizsla

After a very hard week in the office.....
Lasse and Andrea came to pick us up and took us on a long drive to visit Olive.
Olive has two houses and we went to the one in the country near here.It wasn't just a visit though because a teacher was there and we all had to work extremely hard and jump up and down on this trampoline. When we got home things had changed and the boats on our canal were sparkling like this one.It all proved too much for a trainee townie clicker gundog boy.

First Swim of the Year, Back to School and a Sleepover

Is it my imagination but are our dogs better behaved when the sun is shining? Do you think their spirits are lifted and they get more cheerful as we do? Well Hamish certainly seems to be in a better mood this week and today he decided it was time for his first swim in the canal for 2009. It was totally his idea but it did take him some time to finally take the plunge and a small crowd had gathered to cheer him along.
You may already know, but Hamish is back at school at the moment with the helping hand of renowned Clicker Gundog trainer Helen Philips. The first lesson we had to learn was to calm everything down and work on Hamish's ability to focus on me and therefore the job in hand. With a bit of imagination I have incorporated a 'trick' borrowed from Anna and Ziggi to help him relax.Ruby has been back at school with us too but last weekend they got to have some fun when she came over to stay. Actually Hamish stayed at Ruby's on Friday and Ruby came to stay with us on Saturday so they had a whole weekend together.They get on so very well together and were as good as gold....the reform school is obviously doing them good.Hamish is having to get used to being in his crate all over again. It's our first small step towards getting him over his Separation Anxiety and the first time we've had the crate up since he was 10months old. As you can see Ruby is trying to help him out.

A very Snoozy Easter weekend in Fawsley Hall

What happens when you've been working too hard and take some time off to relax.....? You sleep and sleep and feel more tired than ever. Well that's what we did this weekend at Fawsley Hall, another dog 'friendly' hotel in Northamptonshire. I say 'friendly' because they weren't nearly as enthusiastic about Hamish as they had been in Stapleford Park, but that would have been very hard to beat, after all there he had his own check-in, bed and dog biscuits on his pillow at night too. In Fawsley Hall the dogs are ONLY allowed in the bedrooms but not in any of the public places - that's not dog friendly to our standards that's barely dog 'tolerant'. But this isn't Trip Advisor so I won't go on.Close to the hotel were Badby Woods, which are home to the most concentrated population of bluebells I have ever, ever seen. Unfortunately we were a few weeks too early. A local lady in the Windmill pub in Badby told us 'Bluebell Sunday' is traditionally the first Sunday in May. That would be a beautiful sight to behold and might just bring out the odd fairy or two.
The surrounding countryside was really marvelous but there were many lambs in the fields so we had to be extremely cautious. Still there was the occasional opportunity to explore off the leash.
The bed was super comfy and absolutely HUGE!
Didn't have much luck with the weather though, not a glimpse of the sun unfortunately.
The woods were H's favourite and plenty muddy too.
They say a dog should sleep 17hrs a day...well the humans weren't far behind on this occasion.

Mediaeval Sofa Surfing and Walkies in Sunny Suffolk

Suffice to say we had a very nice time.....?