Happy New Year!

Best wishes to all my doggie friends out there in cyberspace. I hope 2008 will be a year of many outings and lots of treats!

It's Christmas!!!

What fun! I especially like the cardboard tubes from inside the wrapping paper. They get wrapped up for me, with a biscuit hidden inside. I also got a squeeky ball and a toy cat, but tearing up christmas paper is what I like most.

Tess writes to Santa

Dear Santa,

Do you also bring stuff for good dogs? I would appriciate a few parcels for me under our Christmas tree. It does not matter what is in them, as long as it is edible.

Love,

Tess.

Not fair

This morning all of us dogs were by the river, and the owners were wanting us to swim off some of the mud before going home. Some threw in sticks, but one guy threw in a ball. His dog would not go in, so I retrieved it, assuming that this was an abandoned ball. Now, I have a habit of holding on to property I consider to be mine by right, and when mom told me to drop the ball, I refused. There we were, the guy waiting for that ball, his little yapper of a dog barking away, mom trying to pry the ball out of my mouth, and me holding on to it, growling angrily. Then Rory's mom brought out a biscuit. That made me lose my concertration a bit, so they got the ball. Not fair at all.

Wet Walks

We do three walks every day. That means getting wet and muddy three times a day - and also, getting hosed down with the garden hose three times a day. Is it worth it? Of course. That is why I always get frantic with joy and happiness when I see them getting ready to go out. I don't mind getting wet, and I just love being rubbed dry with my towel when we get back.

Sunday Dogs

Unlike those of us, who go out every morning, year around, some dogs only appear in the park on Sunday mornings. This morning there were more dogs that we have ever seen before:
Charlie, Poppy, Benji, Ben, Rory, Isla, Willow, Pepper, Pepper II, Misty, McNab, Zac, Meg, Bailey, Nugget - and me. Tess.

The Vet

They took me to that awful place again today. I got put up on a table, felt all over, and told how good I was. Good! Scared stiff is how I felt. Still, my skin condition has cleared up, my lumps have not grown bigger, but I have a cough. There will be pills with my dinner again, which is good, because they usually get wrapped in a bit of cheese. I love cheese.

Dining in Style

Mom accidentally kicked my food bowl this morning and broke it. This afternoon we all went to my favourite store, Pets at Home ("well behaved" dogs are actually allowed in the store) and while they were busy selecting my new dinnerware, I checked for dropped bits of biscuit under the shelves. A few items toppled and fell, but so what. So now I have this matching set of bowls and a placemat. As far as I am concerned, however, it is not what the bowl looks like that matters, it is what they put in it.

Long Tongue

The winner of the longest tongue competition is . . . . . .TESS!

Last Year's Toy

This is the toy pup I got last year. I have decided to demolish him now, otherwise I may not get a new toy this Christmas.

You need to turn up the sound on your computer to fully enjoy this!

Waiting

This is me this morning, waiting for my friend Rory to join us for our walk. I look forward to seeing them because Rory's mom always gives me a biscuit.

Yesterday we found a new walk. I love new walks. All the unfamiliar scents of strange dogs and other animals have to be breathed in and memorized.

Dog in Car

I cannot understand why they spent all afternoon raking leafs and tidying the garden when we could have gone somewhere nice. I waited all day in the car but we went nowhere.

Saturday Night

An afternoon walk in the woods, a warm foamy shower, a big dinner and then just relax on the sofa while the two of them sit in their chairs and laugh at some daft programme on TV. Life is as it should be. Good.

Autumn Mist

That white thing lying on the ground is not a dead rabbit, but my buddy Rory, enjoying a good roll in the cool dew.

Good dogs get treats.

Doglick

Can you lick your nose? I can!

Outing

This must be a special "be nice to the dog" month, because I get so many pleasant outings and treats all the time. I also get lots of cuddles from both mom and dad. I think they like me a lot.

We Hate Cats

Chasing cats out of out garden is my job - something I really enjoy. But unfortunately I cannot always be there, there are walks to be walked, and naps to be taken, so yesterday a cat killed a little bird. Mom and dad were very sad because they feed the birds, and like to watch them. That cat better not come into the garden again. I'll get it.

Loch Lomond

These pictures are from last week's outing. Dad admires the view while I check the smells. Would there be rabbits here?

Enchanted forest? No, a woodland walk behind the car park.

How do I get down to swim in that water?

I am tired. It is time to go home now.

Super day out. I had no idea where we were going, but they took me to a new place where there was a woodland walk. We went along a path and up a steep hill and down on the other side and suddenly we were on a little sandy beach at the lakeside. Just the thing for a hot and thirsty dog. I saw something strange there, though. A human went for a swim. I have never seen one do that before. You bet I barked at him. When we got back to the car I got rubbed dry and they gave me fresh water and biscuits. I slept all the way home. Great outing. They must have felt I was due a treat, being such a good dog.

Wooooooooof!

I am awake, I want my breakfast, I want to go out, come on, get a move on!

Out and About

When we go out in the car I never know where I may end. Maybe they are just going to the supermarket, which means a short sniff around the car park, or to the pharmacy, where there is a bit of woodland and forbidden (private) park. Today was good, they drove to the beach and we went for a nice walk. I just love a dip in the sea.

When We Were Wolves

Tess guarding her favourite pink ball.

Once upon a time dogs were wolves. We lived in family groups, and only the Alpha female could have puppies. The other females helped raising them, often even producing milk for them. We are not wolves any more, but we still have these genes. I sometimes go through miserable periods of "false pregnancies." I feel I have to make beds everywhere, my teats have milk in them, and I do not let my favourite toy out of my sight. I even take it along for walks. I also whine a lot, which makes mom worry that I may be sick.

Very Clean Dog

I don't mind being washed, and I love being rubbed dry with my towel, but these days they are overdoing it. Three times a week I get covered in foamy shampoo which must stay on for ten minutes before being rinsed off. All this because I have an allergy to something.  I must admit that I am feeling a lot less itchy these days.

Tess - The Movie

A Lovely Stick

Now, that is a really good stick. I think I will take it home with me.

Having a Ball

We were in a nice park yesterday, and I found this ball up a tree. I could sniff it, and stopped under the tree until dad came and helped me get it. I did not know that balls grew on trees . . .

I Found a Ball

I found it and I am taking it home. I don't know why, but that's what I do. Then I leave it inside our gate and never look at it again. Soon it will be put in the bin, because otherwise our garden would be full of old, burst balls.

Water Dogs

There is a lot of splashing when someone throws a stick in the river. Guess who got the stick (far right).

Baaaaad

We went to a park yesterday. There was a sign saying DOGS MUST BE KEPT ON LEAD but they saw it too late - I was off - chasing a rabbit. Then I went behind a bush to go to the toilet. They decided to leave the park, and went across a field, first making sure there was no livestock. But there was a sheep. I found it. They were not pleased at all when that sheep suddenly appeared, followed by me. I understand that there will be no further visits to the area for a while. I wonder why.

Check out my Slide Show!

The Pill

They keep putting pills in my dinner these days. Normally I just swallow them, because I am too hungry to notice, but this evening I decided to make a fuss. I left it in my bowl. Mom tried everything. She put delicious chicken grease on it, which I licked off. She wrapped it in ham, which I ate. She put it in my mouth along with a biscuit, but I spit it out and ate the biscuit. Then she tried to push it down my throat, but I got the better of it, and out it came yet again. In desperation, she threw the now wet and soggy pill in my bowl, so I went over and ate it. Just like that.

Rolling Rory

My good friend Rory is a white Westie, and his "mom" likes to keep him white. Rory, however, is a normal dog, and dogs like to roll in things. There he is, after a good roll in the mud.

Summertime

Ahhh, is there anything better than sleeping in the warm sun on a summer afternoon? But I am not sleeping. I am watching them. A walk down to the river would suit me fine right now. Or a biscuit.

Dog Pack

There is a lot of us now in the group that meets every morning for a walk in the park. From left: Pepper, Charlie (pup), Kilo, Misty(sitting), Benji, Rory, Big Pepper, Meg (yellow lab), and me. The people, oh never mind their names. The best ones always carry dog treats in their pockets.

New guy

This little guy is called Charlie, and he is a brand new member of our pack of dogs (and humans) that walk together around the park every morning. Being just three months old, he has a lot to learn, which we older dogs will teach him. Do not bother us with puppy antics, do not pinch any sticks or toys we might have taken fancy to.

Travelling Dog

There I am, on my way to visit Lindisfarne Castle in Northumberland. We went there for a short holiday this week. We stayed in a very nice hotel that accepts dogs, but not children. I am a dog of habit, so I get a bit stressed in strange surroundings. I am always keen to go, but even happier to get back home.

The Vet

They took me to see the vet last Monday. I have a couple of bare patches, in my "armpit" and on the bottom of my tail. I like licking these bits, and my skin has become ugly and itchy, making me want to lick even more. There was a lot of other dogs in the waiting room, some of them quite undisciplined. I needed to growl at them, to remind them of their manners. As usual, dad had to carry me into the examination room, because I will not go in there of my own free will. This time it was really bad. I got felt all over, and the vet used cellotape to take samples from my bald patches. I hate gluey stickers and cellotape. The worst was to come - he stuck his finger up my bum! The whole time he kept saying "good dog, what a good dog." I know I am a good dog, or I would have bitten him. Now mom sneaks pills into my dinners, as I have some kind of fungal infection. She also believes that a dog on medication should be well fed, which is great.

Shiny Dog

People do admire my shiny coat. It must be in my genes, although I do not remember whether Avonstream Eva (my real mom) was shiny, and I don't know whether I ever met my dad, Avonstream Kaiser. I think it helps that I shed my coat completly twice a year and grow a new one. I have just started my spring moult.

Housecleaning

"The house smells of dog and there are hairs everywhere!" That means they will start cleaning. I hate that. The noisy vacuum cleaner, the smelly furniture polish, and all my favourite rugs have been hung out to air. Wherever I try to sit I am in the way. "Move, Tess," or "out of the way Tess!" Then they are almost too tired to take me to the park.

The Ritual of the Biscuit Packet

When my biscuit pakcet is empty, I get it. I like to tear it to pieces to check whether there is anything left in it, and funnily enough, there always is one biscuit there.

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park

That's where we went today. We had a picnic and a walk. Unfortunately we could not find the woodland path we had ment to explore, and mainly walked circles around the car park looking for it, and as it was a bit chilly we had to have our picnic in the car.
Still, I had a great time. A little paddle in a clear stream makes my day.

Garden Days

There I am, relaxing in a flower bed, while mom and dad slave away in the garden. Yesterday we all went to a big garden centre to buy plants, and as I innocently walked on my lead beside dad, two horrible little white terriers came running out of the building and attacked me. Now, I am a dog who is well capable of defending herself, so there was a bit of noise, and dad hurriedly took me back to the car. The terriers then started patrolling the car park, looking for me in every car, and dad got worried that they might get a sniff of where I was, and scrape his new car. So we left in a hurry and mom only bought half of what she had meant to buy.

Freedom

They were busy digging the garden, and I wandered through the back gate on my own, into the woods. After a while I heard them calling, but I was too busy exploring to bother. They became a bit frantic, running up and down the path, calling me, but it was not until mom went back to the house, fetched my collar and shook it, that I reappeared. The sound of that collar means "walkies" to me.

A Cool Drink

There is a nice water bowl for me in the kitchen, but this is where I like to get my drink of water. I also drink when I go paddling in the river. So natural.

It wasn´t me . . .

Who was it that wanted out at 4.30 am this morning, and went and trampled all over mom's newly dug, raked and seeded vegetable plot, leaving an unmentionable deposit? No, it wasn't me. It must have been some other bad dog.

Dreaming

They tell me I often "talk" in my sleep, and that my paws twitch. That happens when I am having an exciting dream of chasing the neighbours cat.

It's Hot

I love the sun, but somtimes it gets too hot. We went for a car ride and a walk, and dad had to go and buy a bottle of water for me. I drank it out of a plastic glass.

Another new bed

This is the new bed they bought for me to use outside. Watertight base, washable cover. This is the first time I use it, and the smell is not quite right yet.