BECAUSE ITS FUN TO SHARE

Kizzy, Alfie and Mac share a breakfast

After a long walk you really do work up an appetite, and if you happen to be at a mates house afterwards feel free to tuck in to their food. If there isn't a bowl big enough for you then just help yourself right from the bag. 

LIVING THE DREAM

 There was a time when I lived in London and thought that all I wanted to do was attend Gala Openings in the West End, spend all day reading in the British Library to complete my PhD and eat my way around China Town.  I have done these things, but now I discover that I would much rather be doing this - walking on the beach with my dogs.   Its great to find out that you just don't care about who is on at the Tate Modern, what's on at the pictures, or even what day it is.  I have discovered that my dream is a very simple one and I get to live it every day and every day I am grateful.

Longdog puppies - What we did the first year

Bob, Mac and Kizzy

 

Mac

I found these pictures of the dogs when they were puppies.  You can see that Mac was only just getting his ruff, so I guess he was still less than a year old.  Bob has got his binoculars on so that we can keep an eye on them when they run off.  When you first start some serious training with your sight hounds you have to go through some very scary moments so that you can build up trust with them.  We did this right out in the country miles from any roads, but that still doesn't stop you from feeling sick when you lose sight of them.  Mac was still on restricted exercise because of his size but he got a few good runs in on that day.

Kizzy



Me, Mac and Kizzy.

  During that first year with Kizzy she was both the worlds best and worst dog  You can see from her body language in these photos that she is trying her best.  When we let her off the lead within two seconds she was just a little black dot on the horizon.  She did come back though (much to every ones relief).  Kizzy likes to run for the sheer joy of it, dashing round in tight little circles whilst making her 'laughing' noise.  Mac, on the other hand, likes to fling himself around throwing things over his head.  His favourite fun activity is for you to hold a stick high above your head so that he can leap up and grab it.  He can get ten feet off the ground from a standing start - AMAZING!


I hope the walk never ends....

My daily walks with the dogs are my inspiration and I don't know what I would do if I couldn't spend time tramping the hills with them every day.  We have had so many adventures together that I am beginning to think that I don't have to use words at all with them any more.  They just look at me and I look at them and we all seem to know what we are thinking.  In this photo Mac is hoping that I will dish out another biscuits whilst Kizzy is hoping that a rabbit is going to pop up so she can chase it.    All of us are hoping that the walk will never end.

Everybody needs a hug sometimes.

Sometimes I am surprised by how cuddly dogs are.  Mac will climb right up on my lap if he feels the occasion demands it - he likes to tuck his head in and hide when the world gets too much for him or just when he is feeling really, really tired and doesn't want to be bothered.  Kizzy on the other hand likes to tuck up in a ball next to you and sigh heavily whilst looking at you with the big HALF MOONS.  Sometimes the two of them get in a pile and then the cat sits right on the top.  I'm still trying to take a photo of this when it happens but as soon as I move the dogs go on the alert - in case I am off to do something interesting like bake dog biscuits.

How to talk to your dog and how to listen when he talks back

Do I talk to my dogs?  Yes I do.  I tell them all kinds of stuff and they appear to listen intently whilst getting on with the day to day business of licking their feet or foraging through an empty crisp packet they found at the back of the sofa.  Do my dogs talk to me?  They sure do.  You can see in this photo that Gordon MacDonald is clearly saying to me 'keep stratching my back, oh please keep scratching my back, yeah, right there, oooh yeah, right there, don't stop, keep going up and down my back....puleaaase.'