Posts tagged ‘outdoors’
Strangest. Comment. Ever.
In the car park after our walk yesterday, a family of three kids and a brace of adults got out of their car in a jumbled heap with two joyful Norfolk Terriers in tow. As they got themselves organised we could hear them talking to each other quietly. Then one of the youngsters who was around 11 sidled over and said, “My mum thinks your dog looks like Donald Sutherland“. We’re not sure if this was supposed to be an insult or a compliment, but either way we loved it, even if Mum must’ve been on the crack pipe again…
Phoenix.
Donald Sutherland.
Is it us or does living with a dog open a gateway to some kind of surreal universe where everything is slightly off-kilter?
Megalithic Pointer.
Looking imperious.
"Boinging" at Lanyon Quoit.
The official hottest-day-of-the-year-so-far saw us pack a picnic and head off to the far west of Cornwall, just a few miles from Land’s End. The whole region is dense with megalithic monuments and we visited the Merry Maidens circle as well as taking a moorland walk that encompassed Lanyon Quoit and Mên-an-Tol. This last is reputed to have a pixie guardian who grants miraculous cures. In one “case” a Changeling baby was put through the holed central stone in order for the mother to get the real child back – evil pixies having changed her child – The ancient stones came through (naturally enough…) and were able to reverse the Pixie spell. Sadly we didn’t spot any pixies, evil or otherwise, but did enjoy a meet-and-greet with a German Shorthaired Pointer and her owners who, after establishing that “She’s not a Spinone is she?” became quite infatuated with Phoenix.
The Business of Show.
We’re now in full preparation for Phoenix’s official first show – she’s in a graduate class at the 3 day long Taunton and District Canine Association Open Show in a couple of weeks where she’ll be showing amongst much older and considerably more experienced handlers and dogs. It could go either way: she’ll either show like a dream, or wreak havoc and chaos around her like an anarchist mob in a grump. It’s the not knowing that lends an edge to the whole thing….
Meanwhile Phoenix continues to grow apace and we’re hoping that she eventually slows down before morphing into a new breed: the GHWV (Giant Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla). This impression wasn’t helped any when we were approached by an admiring family when out walking recently. They said in an emphatic rather than questioning way: “She’s a Great Dane, isn’t she?”
Memorable recent canine HPR interactions for Phoenix have included numerous Weimaraners in a variety of shapes, ages and sizes, and a gorgeous pair of GSP (German Shorthaired Pointer) boys with whom she had a great romp whilst we owners all held a mutual appreciation meeting. She also took a particular shine to Merlin, the spectacular Irish Wolfhound whom we met at ringcraft. Merlin was rescued from a pub in Liverpool where he was being “kept” by a couple of teenage boys who mistakenly thought that because Wolfhounds were very big, they’d make good fighting dogs. Wolfhounds are *very* gentle and who knows what horrors would have befallen Merlin if he hadn’t been scooped up and delivered to his new and very loving home. It’s nice to hear of a happy ending for a change…
Scarface.
Scarred?
Phoenix was very briefly attacked by a collie-cross while we were out walking recently. She approached her potential new pal, wagging and jolly to say hello who then promptly, and without warning bit her on the face. She now has an inch-long and currently rather conspicuous cut on her cheek. We’re desperately hoping that this won’t leave a long term scar, but it will probably be some weeks before we’ll know. Thankfully it hasn’t in any way put her off saying hello to other dogs though, which is good.
Her recall and general ability to sit, stand etc. has improved enormously and she regularly manages to impress other people when we call her away from them. That click and treat thing has worked wonders.
On our walk today Phoenix was cooed over by a family with two Border Terriers who referred to them as their “border terrorists”, which made us giggle.
Bee Bee See.
Now, that much of the “testing” early puppy period is starting to fade into memory, albeit heavily blogged memory, we are now entering the stable period of our life with Phoenix. Of course the term stable is a relative one compared to say, mud slides in Latin America or erupting volcanoes in Japan, but the upshot of this is that the only things we have to report at the moment can really be filed under: “cavalcade of whimsy“….
…Phoenix inadvertently discovered bees recently, when our neighbour Eric took Tim and her for a trip around his apiary. One bee stung Phoenix on the ear and she sat down on the ground unsure of what had happened and emitting a very faint whimper. A second sting followed, and then it really kicked off and Tim, Eric and Phoenix headed rapidly for cover. Interesting fact alert: did you know that if one bee stings you it instantly communicates to all the others in the hive via pheromones and they all come a-hurtling ready to lay down their bee lives in defense of the colony. No, neither did we, until all parties (minus the grumpy bees obviously) barricaded themselves into Eric’s house pending the return of calm.
Meanwhile, there was an anxious moment or two wondering if we’d have to rush Phoenix off to the Vet Hospital as we didn’t know if she would have an anaphalactic reaction to the bee stings. This, thankfully, was not the case and essentially she barely noticed what had happened and had a “what’s all the fuss about?” look on her face during the inevitable faffing and panicking going on around her.
We’re Not Scared of Sinking Sand.
By the Sea.
On the Beach.
WOW what a warm and calm day it was today, too good to be stuck on the internet. So we packed a flask and some water and headed out to the beach again. This time we touched down on Northam Burrows which, when the tide is low, is really like being on another planet. The sea was at least a mile out, so we were walking on the seabed with all its little pools and strange patterns on the sand. We ignored the story our friend Robie had told us about her plunging hip deep into sinking sand and just strode on to the horizon without a care…
Larging it with a Spaniel.
Crab Hunting.
Driftwood.
Phoenix swam with a spaniel, splashed in the sea, dug in the sand, hunted for crabs and met a Weimaraner and a Pointer together, making three Pointer Sisters but with better hair.
Seaweed Hostage.
The light was fantastic today with lots of warm tones being emphasised because of the low sun. This meant that Phoenix’s coat was radiating an intense copper glow. She looked great.
The Modern Antiquarian.
Curious.
At Scorhill.
This w/end was the first trip to Dartmoor, to the “strange and eerie” Scorhill Stone Circle which Dartmoor folklore says animals often refuse to enter because of “bad vibes”. This didn’t stop Phoenix or the fifty or so horses that rode through on a point to point meet from frolicking in the middle. The horses were a magnificent sight, and one rider shouted at us “I’ve got two of those” pointing at Phoenix as she cantered by. However on investigation, this turned out to be a false positive – she lives with two smooth haired Vizslas…
Phoenix and Proud Dad.
We had a picnic by the beautiful granite strewn West Teign River and despite all the exciting sights, smells and distractions, Phoenix used the small percentage of her genetic code that comes from bloodhound to track down an abandoned pair of socks in the midst of thousands of acres of pristine wilderness. It’s a gift!
Phoenix went back and forth across two ancient granite clapper bridges
Potential Lino Terrorist in the Making.
quite merrily and also got extremely muddy as she plunged into a typical example of a murky, peaty, gooey bog which Dartmoor excels at. Muddy paws rule.
Trip to the Sea.
Digging at the Beach.
Collecting Shells.
We are blessed here in North Devon to be located very near to several of the countries best beaches, and we figured that at 14 weeks old, it was about time that Phoenix was introduced to the joys of the sea and sand. With this in mind we headed to Saunton Sands on an unseasonably warm and sunny Winter’s afternoon (alongside half the working population of North Devon who had also bunked off work at the first hint of sunshine).
Striding on with Fred and Ad on an "overcrowded" beach.
Phoenix met lots of dogs (including a 12 week old Weimaraner boy, the world’s largest Labradoodle and an even larger and exceedingly bouncy, playful Bernese Mountain Dog) alongside many human admirers.
Into the Sea.
She enjoyed digging in the sand and hunting for shells, although she was a little more dubious about the icy cold Atlantic Ocean. Tim, Freddie and Phoenix all suffered chilly toe syndrome which took some time to recover from. Chips helped to chivvy along the cure…
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 