Tails, you lose

Went for Friday walk with GQ and Dougie where she shared yet another doggie story. Again about Peter the poodle. 

Tail docking machine, 19th century. Photo: Science Museum UK. 

The story was prompted by a small black poodle that joined Pip and Dougie for a romp. I commented on the poodle’s cute little pom-pom tail and GQ revealed that it had been docked!

A pig in the making

Pip managed to score two (!) full dinners last night. He tricked us into it.

There is only one letter difference between Pip and Pig...

But first a little backstory. As most of you will know Pip is a Border Collie-Labrador cross, also known as a Borador. When I took him to the vet to get weighted the other day, the vet nurse prescribed Advantage for fleas and something called Milbemax Allwormer for worms. Both products were for dogs in the 10 to 25 kilo range.

Another lone (randy) dog and ahem, more humping...

Went with Frankie and co. to Breamlea beach on the weekend where kids and dogs had a ball playing in the dunes. Breamlea must be one of the few remaining beaches in Australia where stupendously wonderful sand dunes are not fenced off with signs telling you to keep off. 

The dunes at Breamlea Beach

 Subsequently, everyone has a fabulous time doing that old fashioned thing of trudging to the top and then running helter-skelter downhill. It’s also wonderfully exhausting for both kids and dogs.

 We were heading back along the beach however when an unwelcome dog, Max, decided to join our group.

A doggie ghost story!

Went to dinner a few nights ago at GQ’s where a lovely Scottish couple were also in attendance. We’d met the couple on another occasion at GQ’s and instantly hit it off because we all love a great story. And they are full of them!

Do you have a doggie ghost story to share?

 Anyway, it turns out that the Scots have recently bought a house which was previously owned by an old man called Mr Talbot. Now Mr Talbot is no longer of this world but his presence, it seems - remains.

A Lone Dog

Took Pip for a nice long walk on the beach this morning. I’ve been up in Melbourne this week and Him-In-Doors has been crook with tonsillitis so with one thing and another, the poor pup has been a bit neglected.

It was breezy but the sun was out and the beach was a beautiful place to be.  We had just begun our walk when a very robust Staffy bounded down for a play.

Pip underneath Charlie. I think he was enjoying himself!

 Now, to my untrained eye Staffy’s bare a passing resemblance to pitbulls which makes me a tad prejudiced against them...

The great hump

* I have changed the settings on my blog and am now open to all comments. So please let me know what you think :)

Pip is discovering his manliness.

Other dogs discovering their manliness

 He’d had his bits done when we got him so I thought his mojo had been removed but it would seem not. He tried to go a dog on the beach the other day – I dismissed it as a one off. But then we were walking around the lake last night and there was no mistaking it. He found a handsome Kelpie and was on his back before you could say ‘How ‘bout it?’ 

The great poo debate

Ok, I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but I did something mildly heroic today. I picked up someone else’s dog poo. Unlike, Mrs Sinatra – she’s one in a million – this is not something I do on a regular basis. But there’s something about dog poo that ahem, gets under people’s skin.

This particular poo was large and while not steaming was still a bit on the squashy side. It was also on the beach, quite near the stairs and also very close to a bin. It was just waiting for some innocent – possible non-dog owning person – to step in it. 

But exactly why is dog poo considered so gross?

The Terrible Twos

Remember how toddlers want to put everything – and I mean everything – in their mouths? Well, Pip does too.

I've tried buying him his own personal chew toys - but just like kids, if it's allowed it's not quite so appealing.

Pip with his Op Shop belt

 I even bought him his own belt from the Op Shop to chew on - which entertains him for short spaces at a time but then, inevitably, he goes off hunting for forbidden treasure...

A guest post from Him-In-Doors

There comes a time in every family’s life when the huge and important task of rolling back the gender stereotypes comes to a screeching halt. It wasn’t baby poo: handled that with aplomb, even when the brown bomb appeared in the bath. It wasn’t ironing shirts: I am the only one who knows how to do it anyway. It wasn’t being a stay-at-home Dad, even though a grim Italian Granny used to hiss  ‘Why you no work?’ at me as I pushed D1 about in the pram.

No. The things which make you realise that the Y-chromosome has not quite outlived its usefulness are cleaning gutters, mowing lawns, and reading maps. Oh, and doing the tax and making sure there is enough LPG in the barbecue gas bottle. Traditionally picking up dog poo is also a bloke thing, hence the intense Pre-Puptial Nuptial negotiations on this score. (See post Jan19)

And then there are the claws...

Him-In-Doors tackles Pip's talons, while D2 comforts

A confession

Have been reading up on blogging and apparently it pays to be self-effacing. So, dear readers, I will confess a dirty secret. In the school playground, (while waiting to pick up the kids) I find it hard to fit in.

Pip is gaining his own personal fan club so simply being Pip’s mum has done wonders for my street cred but there's no denying there's a bit of a clique thing happening.

Ocean Grove Mum's pose for my blog

The thing is; Ocean Grove is packed to the gunnels with long-legged, blonde, designer Mammas – and they tend to stick together. Of course, now that I have a dog, I don’t have to worry about talking to anyone else...

The dreaded puffer fish!

A local dog died recently after eating a puffer fish on the beach. As a consequence I, and many other dog owners, have become fish-phobic.

A dog after eating a puffer fish?

Now Pip, as regular readers might know, is a connoisseur of all things gross. So guess what he picked up at the beach today?

Puppies Galore!

Went for our weekly doggie playgroup session on the beach this morning and got chatting with a lady who breeds golden retrievers. All the male dogs were giving her dog Indi a good sniff and she said it was because they could smell that she was still fertile.

Met a lady on the beach today who cared for 17 (!) Golden Retriever pups

Dog Rage!

*This column has been censored in the interests of keeping my family audience

If it’s one thing I’m rapidly learning it’s that dogs inspire intense emotion. So far, it’s predominantly been witnessing the growing love that my family has for our lovely Pip.

But today two dog rage incidents gave me paws (sorry!) for thought.

Puppy School - the finale!

My boy graduated from puppy school this morning.

I don’t think this means he’s a grown-up but I’m proud to report that he passed with flying colours. No certificate or anything but I guess he would’ve just eaten it anyway.

Just the three of us...

Had a rare night out with Him-In-Doors on Friday night. Both daughters were sleeping over at respective friends and we were looking forward to a quiet morning. Got up to make Him-In-Doors poached eggs but, of course, had to feed Pip first...

An inside dog

Went to doggie playgroup again on Wednesday. Frankie and Mrs Sinatra came and Pip was in doggie heaven.

Pip  and friends from doggie playgroup

  Meanwhile, I have been experimenting over the past couple of days with letting Pip inside...with mixed results.

Puppy School - lesson 3

Him-in-Doors put Pip in his harness for me this morning so I could strap him into the car. The harness attaches to a seat-belt. This was much more successful than the crate and although he stood up a few times, it made for a more pleasant journey to puppy school.

Gravy Beef marked P.S for Puppy School

Felt mildly guilty because we hadn’t really done a whole lot of practice. Luckily I have a smart dog, who once he realises there’s half a kilo of gravy beef on tap, he pretty much does what he’s supposed to.

The Great Dog Wash

Went with Frankie’s family to Breamlea beach on Saturday morning. The weather was a bit spotty but everyone had a great time – exploring the dunes, etc. Pip and Frankie found a lost doggie toy and had a great game of tug-of-war.

Frankie and Pip play tug-of-war at Breamlea Beach. Photo by Mr Sinatra

 

And then I decided it was time to give Pip his first bath.

Lost...

A terrible thing happened yesterday. Took the kids for a long-promised treat to the local lolly shop. Left them with Pip while I ducked into the supermarket. I put the lead under the leg of D2’s chair and left them happily comparing lollies. I guess I should’ve anticipated D2 would stand up at some point...

Pip with D1(top), D2 and GQ's son in happier times

The Friday walk - not!

Set-out for our Friday walk with Dougie and the Groove Queen (GQ). The sky looked ominous and, as we passed our favourite coffee shop, the rain suddenly got serious.

Pip's friend Dougie