My Little Foibles



JUST WHAT A GOOD BEACH IS FOR



Much is made of a dog's ability to walk and run and I am sure it is very laudable but I have to say that at this moment in time I am not very keen

and this seems to have created a bit of a problem with my Mum and Dad. Apparently my predecessor, Stormy, was mad keen on 'walkies' and seemed to have set a bit of a precedent. He was out for hours on end and loved nothing better than chasing after a frisbee or a stick. I think my Dad naturally assumed I would be the same but I can't really dredge up any enthusiasm or interest. Chasing after, catching and retrieving a frisbee does not compare in my eyes to a really good sniff!

Walking off the lead I don't mind too much but I cannot stand being on the lead. I'm not too sure why but I think it goes back to when I was very young, only a few weeks old on the farm, and used to be held by the scruff of the neck. The result is I don't like anyone touching me around that area and having a collar on is a pain. When a lead is attached it's even worse and any desire for a walk soon disappears.

As I said before I am quite highly-strung and this doesn't help when going for a walk. Sometimes I am fine but other times I just do not want to go out and just want to stay safe indoors. Even when I am out, the slightest little thing can set me off. I remember one of the first times we were down on Cei Bach beach early in the morning and nobody about, the whole beach to ourselves or so I thought for far in the distance I could see this one solitary figure coming towards us. At first I didn't think anything of it but as he came closer wrapped in his 'hi-vis' bright yellow jacket, he took on the guise of a demon and I was off, back along the beach,up the path and back to the car without stopping. Poor old Dad arrived sometime later and I am not sure to this day whether he had a look of despair that I had run off or one of relief that I was safe.

Noise is another thing that get's me going, not necessarily loud noises but one's that are repetitive. I often go for a walk in the farm fields near us or down by the river but unfortunately there is an Army firing range nearby and although the firing is not loud I do not like the constant 'popping' sound and I'm afraid that is the end whenever it starts.Apparently, a dog living just up the road, he got spooked by the same noise a few years ago and ended up a few miles away and lost for a fortnight. Touch wood it hasn't got that bad yet!

When Stormy died, Mum and Dad were not sure about getting another dog and decided that if they did, then they didn't want one too similar to Stormy. Well I can assure them that their wish has come true but I hope that I can make up for their loss and in my own way, be just as much a companion as he was. 

Introduction - Part 2

MY COUNTRY SEAT

Good Morning and to continue, once I was over my tummy troubles or at least the worst of them, I found that I had more than one home and was pleasantly surprised to be whisked off to my other home by the sea, a caravan in New Quay,what treats were in store running on the beaches, skipping through the mud and generally being made a fuss of by all and sundry.

Now I have to admit I think I was put on this earth to sniff and there is nothing like a good beach for sniffing, endless sea-weed and for the first year I was there, a good supply of dead dog-fish. Even better, you could pick them up, put them down, roll over on them, anything but eat them. The only problem was the proverbial stink in more ways than one when I got back to the caravan. However you are only young once and you've got to have a bit of fun.

There are some lovely beaches around New Quay but on the whole I was not too keen on the ones closest to the caravan as there were normally too many people around and anyway during the Summer months they were closed to the likes of me. I should admit at this stage that I am quite a nervous dog. don't know why, some people say it's because of my problems when I was first born but whatever I don't think I will ever change. The end result is that any strange noises or people and I am off. However, my favourite beaches are at Cei Bach, normally empty and the main source of the dog-fish, and Poppit Sands, never seen so much sand and if ever it is busy, there are always the dunes to get lost in.

All in all it is a lovely place to spend the Summer and can't wait to get back there this year. If the weather isn't up to much, I love sitting gazing out the window at all the comings and goings or just lying on the decking in the shade and having a surreptitious nibble at the plants growing there. The first year we were there I always seemed to be on the move, whenever Mary and Dave, Mum and Dad as I call them, went out I went too. I didn't mind as I like travelling in the car, I like confined spaces as it makes me feel safe. I don't think they trusted me to stay in the caravan on my own, can't think why not! This last year things were a bit different and I spent a bit of time on my own which was no bad thing.

Even at the tender age of two, it's funny how the opportunity of a bit of sex can concentrate the mind! Everybody seemed to think I was up for it and it was a bit like an arranged marriage. I was taken off to see Gracie, another Retriever and very nice too. They all stood about and waited for us to perform so we couldn't let them down and we didn't. The end result was fifteen, yes fifteen puppies. I did feel sorry for Gracie. she had a hard time of it. Unfortunately only eleven survived but hopefully have all gone to good homes like me. One of them, Daisy, is living with a friend of Mums and has already been up to no good chewing cables, she has not got that habit from me, I can assure you.

That has basically got us up to date so I hope you will to continue to accompany me on my journey.

Introduction - Part 1



 Hi,

GLAD TO BE HERE

I'm Dylan, a Golden Retriever, and welcome to my Diary. Unfortunately due to the ignorance of my owner for all things technical (especially blogging), we have not really started at the beginning so please allow me a bit of time to back-track and introduce myself and bring you up-to-date with what has happened in the first two years of my life.

I was born on a farm in West Wales in September 2008 and spent the first couple of months with my brothers and sisters which was comforting but there was little human affection. In fact, there was very little contact with anybody and we were left in a dark damp outhouse. Whilst we were all together it wasn't too bad but gradually the other puppies started to disappear until there was only one brother and myself left. I couldn't understand what was happenung and by now, I wasn't feeling too well. I think my brother was feeling the same as he was making some funny whining noises.

Early in November, everything changed when we were hauled outside, one under each arm to be inspected by prospective owners, we must have looked a funny sight with me trembling and my brother whining. I don't know how they chose me as we were pretty similar except for my brother's slightly darker coloured ears but the gods must have been smiling on me as I was the chosen one and the last I saw of my brother was being put in a cage to be taken off to other prospective owners. In retrospect, I hope that he has been as lucky as me. With little delay, I was in the car and off to my new home and I have to say that never has the saying 'parting is such sweet sorrow' been so irrelevant!

Despite moving to my new home in Chepstow, the next couple of months were a struggle, not only to shake off the memories of the past but I was still feeling ill and seemed to spend  my time in the garden making a mess. All I heard was the comment that it looked like the Somme on a bad day! It transpired that I had got Coccidiosis and Campylobacter infection at the same time which takes some doing and I was quite poorly for a while. Several visits to the vet were required and at the time I was a real pill-popper. 

I think that is enough for now and in my next blog I will bring you further up-to-date with what has happened to me so far.