Sports fan

Bert is getting the hang of sports. He was most interested in the rugby and football. He wasn’t so keen on me shouting, cheering and jumping around. He’s with the kittens on that one! They tend to leave the room.

In my defence, there was a lot of that going on!

First we watched England beat France in the rugby. That was a very tense match with England coming from behind. And off the back of a rather awful performance last time out.

Then we watched Brighton beat Chelsea in the FA Cup. Again, they came from behind. And off the back of a 7-0 defeat last match out.

I say we, Bert slept through most of the second half. Seems he’s more of a rugby fan.

There were similarities in both my teams. Today the underdogs won. I love an underdog. So that makes me very happy. Wonder who Brighton will get next…

Frostbite

My goodness the wind has some bite to it today. I couldn’t feel my face by the time we’d finished our walk. Bert was on top form! He was having a blast chasing the leaves as they swirled about.

He really does make me laugh. He been in full Spaniel-mode the past few days on our walks. It’s wonderful to see his exuberance.

He got a few more admirers today. We had two trips to the same venue. First for breakfast, then back again later for coffee. He was introduced to sausages. Let’s just say he’s a big fan! Well there has to be perks to going out. Thankfully, Spaniel-mode is switched off when we’re out. Well for the most part…

Zoomies

As Bert has been doing so well with his recall, we’ve been experimenting with him being more free-range on his walks. Just for a few minutes to test the water. As a spaniel, he’s driven by his nose, so loves a good sniff. So this way he can sniff without getting caught round a tree!

Today he was in full zoomies mode. He made me laugh as he was tearing back and forth. His ears were flapping so much, he could have taken off!

Just call him Bert the Blur!

As well as he’s doing now, I’m preparing myself for the next phase when he forgets everything he’s learnt…

Coffee company

It was a glorious morning so I took my mid-morning coffee outside to enjoy the sunshine. Hugo decided to join me. He was purring away next to me. He was definitely giving the birds a run for their money in the sound stakes.

As I sat soaking up the rays and admiring the snowdrops, I felt very blessed indeed. In recent days, I’ve been feeling a bit frustrated and down about a few things. Today I took stock of things. There are definitely more things to be grateful for. More pros than cons.

Snowdrops are a wonderful sight for me. They are a real indicator that Spring is on the way. My favourite season. It’s a season of hope, new beginnings and starting over.

Amazing how a bit of sunshine, nature and coffee can boost one’s mood. The company was pretty good too.

Bouncy

Buddy and I tackled this exercise today. A bounce to a one stride upright for those who are wondering. A good gymnastic exercise get him back into jumping-mode properly.

He bounced through it like Tigger! Couldn’t fault him. Me on the other hand… a few dodgy lines. My focus for 2025 has to be straightness. I have a naughty habit of cutting the corner.

I kept it nice and small ashes had a bit of time away from these sorts of exercises. Still I’d say it was a very successful session.

Best get us entered for some competitions.

Returns

The Dark Destroyer strikes again! I bought Bert a new car bed as he’s starting to outgrow the car crate. This is one of those fluffy ones that goes on the seat and they clip into it.

This is what is left of the box it came in. He had so much fun destroying it! Let’s hope I don’t need to return it…

And he doesn’t destroy the new bed! We’ll road test it tomorrow. Wish me luck!

February sun

I felt like I needed to press the reset button today. I overslept (clearly needed it) so felt like I was chasing my tail (something Bert is rather good at).

So l thought I’d take the oversized Labrador out for a walk in the February sunshine. Well makes a change from the compact Sprocker.

I did one of my favourite rides. It definitely helped to reset my brain as I was getting a bit discombobulated with life.

Pupped out

Bert was all pupped out earlier. He’d had a lovely day though. First up was Puppy School. We were working on sit and down again. Then loose lead walking. And finished with some recall practise.

He aced them all! Each week I am seeing improvements in him. He was so excited to be at Puppy School that he jumped out of the car and dragged me across to the door. Not quite the control I’d hoped for… Made me giggle as he was so keen to get to school. Reminded me of those kids who leave their Mum’s for dust in their haste.

He had a quick nap in the car on our way to Centre Paws. He was meeting Oreo there (and his owners). Oreo is a Sprocker too. He’s 3 and not that much bigger than Bert!

It was very busy in the field, so the perfect setting to check my recall. Gold star for my baby boy. He came back each time. Even when he was distracted by other dogs.

Getting him away from the Alpaca wool was a bit more of a challenge! He loved eating it! He loved eating his first ‘pup cake’ more though.

Next time I think he’s going to want a ‘puppuccino’ too. He has more of a social life than I do!!

January

We made it! The last day of January. What a weird month it’s been. Not just for me. It was a reoccurring theme when I was peopling this morning. So many people seemed to have had an odd one.

But one of the clients reminded me of this quote – “Saying goodbye to January means welcoming the next chapter with open arms.” It made me smile.

So here’s to the next chapter. Let’s see what February has to bring…

Pine scented

I love the smell of pines. It’s such a comforting smell. Reminds me of living in Sweden. So walking through these woods was heaven. Bert and I stopped off for a wander on our way back from lunch. My goodness, it’s good for my senses to be around trees.

It’s also good for my stomach to have a lush lunch. I met up with a friend. He’s nearly 85, but we still have so much to talk about. Mostly horses. It’s fascinating listening to his stories of eventing and farming over the decades.

It’s one of the things I appreciate about the horse world. It’s very egalitarian. I have met so many people through horses. From all walks of life. In many age brackets. The common thread is a love of horses.

And horses are by far the best thing I’ve found for my heart and soul. But to be fair, being in nature comes a close second. Apparently you can ride in these woods. Now that would be a wonderful…