Tails from the Bark Side

Good Friday Gang

thebarkside — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:14:34 +0000

Schnauzer, Collie, Springer

I decided to forgo a night in the pub to hang out with these three hooligans. The springer is Cooper, a last-minute doggy sleepover customer, and he’s full of beans. His tail, especially, contains a lot of beans. A true springer – he walks like a caterpillar, is never still, throws himself around enthusiastically and loves his toys. He goes home tomorrow, which is a shame – he is a lovely boy! We hope to see him again! Hang on… it’s gone quiet! They’re ASLEEP! Nobody move!

Today’s Mission (and what a mission it was…)

thebarkside — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:47:42 +0000

Just the Home Team today! I had to visit my mum in her office in Nursling so Floyd, Didz and I decided to carry out today’s manoeuvres at Lords Wood on the way home. Lords Wood is a pretty coniferous forest surrounding the Southampton Sports Centre and a popular ornithological site – I’m sure they loved us today, as Floyd’s barking skills were on top form!

The boys on a big ol' slope.

Things went a bit wrong when we took a wrong turning somewhere and ended up on a cul-de-sac. Oops. I tried to head back down a path I thought might take us back the right way, but I ended up being smacked in the face by a branch, stranded for a while in the middle of the Bog of Eternal Stench (while my sure-footed collie and schnau~~zer~~ntain goat hopped through it without getting very muddy at all) and got a big scratch on my finger. Then we came to a fence and a solid dead-end where I had to admit defeat, lift the poor dogs over the fence, climb over it myself and ask an old man in his back garden for directions back to my Hundwagen.

The fence we climbed over - that stack of chairs was handy until they crumbled under my feet. Ouch.

I realised then that although I had my bag with me and my important dog-walking things (phone, gloves, extra jumper, Polos) I had failed to pack the boys’ leads, and we were now on a road. Floyd decided he was going to spend a bit of time munching on some bits of hot-crossed buns that someone had left out for the birds, so it was difficult to get his attention long enough to tie him to a sleeve of my spare jumper. We got some funny looks from people in the road, that’s for sure.

I'm glad I had a spare jumper.

And I could’ve really used that jumper, because as we walked back to the car it started to snow! I couldn’t wait to get home for a cup of tea!

The Alfie Takeover

thebarkside — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:17:53 +0000

This weekend we have had two Alfies to stay. One was Big Alfie, the ridgeback. He comes upstairs to sleep, because he’s so big he can simply step over the stairgate that keeps the upper floor of our house dog-free. Not only does he invade sacred humanspace, but he takes over my whole bed!

Shove up a bit!

Then there’s little Alfie (a Cavalier King Charles spaniel) who has the loudest snore of any dog I’ve ever heard. I caught this on video last night. Behold:

I think I will get some earplugs for the next time he stays over!

Today’s Mission

thebarkside — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:02:42 +0000

Alfie, Didz and I went to Deerleap. We often head here on ‘Alfie days’, as it’s only a ten-minute drive from his house. We get nice and muddy here too, not because of the boggy grassland as you might expect, but because of the crazy orangey gravelly mud in the car-park! The dogs are completely used to the livestock we meet when we go to our favourite places in the Forest (usually inclosures) and they leave the cattle and ponies well alone.

Just these two boys today because we are working really hard on Didz’s recall. At 22 months, he’s started to listen to his nose (and hormones) rather than me. Uh oh!

Today’s Mission

thebarkside — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:28:17 +0000

Today I went with my good friends Alex (human), Holly (chocolate lab), Zac (black lab), Lucy (springerdor) and Ronnie (German pointer) to explore Blackwell Common, which is near Fawley; almost under the shadow of the Refinery. All four rather sizeable canines fit snugly in the back of my Mazda 303. I think that must be the highest number of dogs I’ve put in it at any one time! I think it’s about time I got a bigger Hundwagen.

L-R: Holly, Zac & Ronnie

Blackwell Common is a flat piece of heathland right on the edge of the Forest, which is great for me because I can always see who’s coming and redirect the bumbling labs where necessary. The only trouble with it being so open is that it’s freezing. I took Alfie (ridgeback) and Zac there a couple of weeks ago and all the puddles were still frozen, even though there was no ice anywhere else in the Forest. Here’s a video of them trying to eat the water.

Welcome to the Bark Side

thebarkside — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:37:19 +0000

I kissed a dog...

Hi! I’m Gemsy, resident of Southampton and proprietor of Mutts and Mops. Here you’ll hopefully find stories about me and my dogs and reasons why it’s always so great to come home to a warm and waggy welcome. When I can think of a place to start, that is…