Human why do you love to bathe so much?

House re-wire in progress!

So, whilst I’m staying here my mum is having her house re-wired/plastered (great timing I know!). As I write this, the light fitting in the bathroom is unfinished, meaning we have to bathe with the door open (so we can see in the dark) and a lamp.

Of course all the animals popped in and out during my bath last night, because the door was open, but Jess’ reaction was so hilarious/intriguing! Her expression was like ‘human, why are you lying in the giant scary box thing which terrifies me?!’ Perhaps I was naive in thinking ‘oh if I look like I’m enjoying myself, she might change her mind about baths…’ She did her usual sweet little head tilts at me, which are irresistible may I add! But also everything that has been there for years; the bath mat, shower curtain, toiletries, all suddenly became so fascinating! Her nose was working overtime! She was also licking everything and trying to strain her neck to reach the soapy bath water.

Then I spotted the starfish on the side, so I showed it to her, and she backed away! She was not a fan of her spiky new friend! She was intrigued though, kept creeping back in for a sniff, then jumping away. I couldn’t smell a thing on it, but I don’t have 200 million scent receptors! So I left it on the side and she suddenly became brave now that it was out of my hands, and was all over it!

Afterwards she claimed it as her own, until she tried eating it so I had to take it away… Here she is with her new five legged friend :)

Friends!

A sting in the tail

I write this blog post with great relief, as an incident that occurred two days ago could have been much worse!  At the moment I am visiting family in Rochdale, Lancashire (as I now live in Kingston upon Hull). A place that we often explore with the dogs during our trip is Hollingworth Lake, one of my favourite places, which holds some happy memories for me :)

After our leisurely evening stroll around the Lake, enjoying ice cream and watching the sunset we were just 10 minutes away from the car when disaster struck. We were passing the little wooded area in which we have ventured many times, and as usual decided to wander in. You enter via an old wooden bridge, which takes you over a narrow stream, then use another to get back across. This time however, the second bridge had been replaced with a new metal one, with gaps, meaning dogs cannot cross. My mum simply carried Shih Tzu Max across in her arms, me & cross Labrador Jess however, had to turn back. Its not a long way back, not at all, but panicking at the fact that everyone else was on the other side Jess attempted to jump across…landing in the stream instead.

This was not the problem, the water was just ankle deep, but the banks very steep, and it was that she’d landed on & disturbed a wasps nest that was the problem. As some of you may already know Jess can be nervous, nervous of new people, and new situations, so of course panic set in for the both of us. Everything happened so fast, but I can clearly remember looking down at my arms, wearing a black cardigan, and they were covered, with at least 10 buzzing yellow wasps. Next I looked down at Jess, and felt a sinking feeling as they were swarming all over her body from head to toe.

If the wasps hadn’t have been there, it’d have simply been a matter of leading her down the stream to find an easier way out. But now it was a case of getting her out as quickly as possible. This became really difficult as the wasps were stinging me, i’ve never been stung by anything before (great way to start, i know!) and I was losing footing down the banks myself. Her collar and harness were just slipping from my grasp, and I could see the worry in her eyes as she gripped her claws into the earth. We don’t know what we’d have done next if it wasn’t for a passer by who saved the day. A man and lady noticed the commotion and the gentleman managed to drag Jess out (and boy is she heavy!). They both stumbled over, and at this point I was waving my arms around and yanking off my cardigan! We are so, so grateful for his help.

I came away with five wasp stings, but we weren’t sure about Jess. On our arrival home I cleaned mine up and made a cold compress for my hand in particular, which had become quite swollen, bright red and extremely sore. I gently rubbed Jess down with a cold damp towel, and felt for any swellings, particularly around the eyes, nose and mouth, but couldn’t find anything. Wasp stings are usually harmless, unless they affect the airways, but multiple wasps stings of course means more venom and dogs can also have allergies just like us. Later, Jess’ eyebrow looked a little swollen, again we bathed it and kept a close eye on it.

Two days later and we are both fine :) If you saw the stream where all this happened you’d probably think ‘how did that cause such a drama?!’ Our lovely day definitely had a sting in the tail (and hands, eyes, arms…) but everyone is okay, and that’s the main thing :) I will also be posting some holiday snaps from the rest of the trip (with plenty of dog photos!) when we get home :)

Before our meeting with the pesky wasps!

Friends?

Meet Alfie and Bea :) Who today are making a guest appearance on DogTailsBlog!

The brother and sister duo are the latest additions at my dads house, and oh they are adorable! Alfie is the very lovely and very stripy kitten on the left :) He is the bigger and braver of the two, and settled in quite quickly. On the right is his tiny little sister Bea, the more delicate and quiet sibling. They moved in around August time, and Oscar couldn’t wait to meet them…

Meeting Alfie…

Being your typical black Lab, Oscar loves splashing around in water on walks, rolling in goodness knows what, eating, well anything, and he never tires of a game of fetch with his football.And although he is heavy and boisterous and has a painfully whipping tail, he has good intentions :) He just wants to make friends! But of course the kittens weren’t as keen to become best buddies with a giant, black, noisy, sniffing, strange smelling…thing!

They were definitely intrigued by him, but poor Oscar just scared them off as soon as his excited tail began thudding up and down on the wooden floorboards when they approached. Then he would just look up at us as if to say ‘But I just want to playyy…pleeease!’

Luckily, this stage didn’t last too long…and now the trio are friends! Hooray! They even sleep together, and Oscar has also downsized and started squeezing himself into the cat bed!

Alfie’s discovered a new toy…

‘I will fit into this bed…’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Talk to the paw…’

Watching the world go by…

The story of Jess

Today I fancied writing, and seeing as though I could probably write forever about Jess, I thought today I would write her story :)

The story begins nearly four years ago…

First walking into the kennel block of Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home was overwhelming. There was one long row of kennels, and barks and whines filled the air. I’d been to a shelter before, but the dogs were viewed in the outdoor part of their kennels, so the noise wasn’t as intense and it didn’t feel so enclosed. It was a very emotive place, and I couldn’t decide whether to feel saddened or angry that the dogs were there.

Jess was one of the first dogs we saw, she was sat in the far left corner of the kennel, kind of slouched and quiet, while her three kennel-mates paraded themselves at the front of the kennel. Each kennel housed multiple dogs, which must be so daunting for those who like a bit of peace, but I assume it’s the only way the shelter can house so many dogs at once. So we walked up and down the row, taking in all the different faces, then we noticed a couple taking Jess, who at this time was known as ‘the black dog’ out of her kennel. I was a little disappointed. I did like the look of another scruffy looking mutt. He was literally jumping up the walls, barking wildly. My boyfriend, Ashley, just looked at me and said ‘No, are you serious?’ I did like the look of him, but being a terrier type he might not have become the best of friends with our rabbits! Speaking of rabbits, as we read the information for each dog, one of them said ‘reason for re-homing – ate our pet rabbits’. So we steered clear of that pooch too…

Suddenly my mum was calling me, ‘It’s back, the black dog is back in its kennel!’ For whatever reason the couple who took her out, decided not to take her home. Now when I look back, I like to think it was fate. Straight away we asked the kennel staff if we could take a look at her, it must have been so unnerving for Jess, four strangers towering over her, and she just stood, with her tail between her legs. The staff mentioned her nervousness, but it didn’t really faze us, she was just lovely.

As for her name, she didn’t have one. She also didn’t seem to suit anything unusual or fancy, she just suited a traditional dogs name, hence ‘Jess’. Her age was estimated at around 1 1/2 to 2 years, and her breed guessed to be cross Labrador. I’ve since seen photos of other dogs that look very similar to Jess, one being Lab x Collie and another Lab x Boxer, but she also has spotted markings like a pointer or a dalmatian so who knows! In terms of her life before us, all we know is she lived with a large group of dogs previously, and was picked up whilst roaming the street.

We soon realised Jess’ nervousness was quite severe. On walks we would have to cross the road when a pedestrian was walking towards us, as Jess would panic so much she would try and slip out of her collar.  Jess also has a love for food. This is great for training, but hard work when she will eat anything she can get her paws on! Now, with the help of positive reinforcement and never punishment, she will happily trot past fellow walkers, both canine and human, and will sometimes allow them to give her the loving attention she deserves. Jess does still present us with a few ‘challenges’, but I don’t mind tackling them at all, as it means she will be a happier dog. It’s the least I can do in return for the love and trust she puts into us.

The pair of us thoroughly enjoy training time, and Jess’ selection of ‘tricks’ include sit, paw, lie down, up, roll over and spin. Jess has such expressive brown eyes and her tail is usually wagging. Her personality is warm, loving, obedient and trustworthy and she listens to your every word.

All in all Jess is a wonderful dog, and a perfect companion.